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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Monterey Auctions Score Huge Sales
34 rare collector cars cross million-dollar mark; Ferrari 250 competition spider hits $7,250,000.
Bob Golfen  |  Posted August 17, 2010   Monterey, CA
The 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione was sold by Gooding for a record $7,260,000, the highest sale of the week. (Photo: Gooding and Company)
Monterey’s high-end collector-car auctions scored a number of huge multi-million sales, breaking price records and generally dismissing any notion of an ongoing economic recession.

This swoopy 1938 Talbot-Lago Teardrop Coupe by Figoni et Falaschi was RM Auction's top sale at $4,620,000. (Photo: RM Auctions)
RM Auction’s Sports & Classics of Monterey sold an impressive 95 percent of its consignments in its three-day sale, racking up the highest overall results of the week at $67 million. Sixteen cars sold for more than $1 million, including the top-selling 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale with coachwork by Figoni et Falaschi and the 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta, each hitting $4,620,000 (all prices include buyers premium).

Another remarkable sale was achieved by a 1948 Tucker that sold for a record $1,127,500.

The highest sale of Monterey Motor Week, which culminates in the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, happened at Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction, where a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione broke the world record with a resounding $7,250,000.

The 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza was sold by Gooding for $6,710,000, the highest price ever paid for an Alfa at auction. (Photo: Gooding and Company)
Gooding had its best sale ever, reaching $64.59 Million for 106 cars, for an average price of $609,000. Thirteen of Gooding’s rare offerings broke the six-figure mark, with several world records set, including a 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza at $6,710,000, the highest price ever paid for an Alfa at auction, and a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta SEFAC Hot Rod at $6,105,000.

"We went into this year's Pebble Beach Auctions with high expectations because of the sheer number of extraordinary cars we had consigned," said David Gooding, president and founder of Gooding & Company.

A pair of million-dollar-plus sales were achieved at the Bonhams Exceptional Motorcars and Automobilia at Quail Lodge: $3,967,000 for the pinnacle of Le Mans race cars, a 1970 Porsche 917, and $2,537,000 for a 1930 Mercedes-Benz 38/250 7.1 Liter Supercharged SS.

Bonhams sold the holy grail of Le Mans race cars, a Porsche 917, for $3,967,000. (Photo: Bonhams)
The Mecum at Monterey auction also hit three six-figure sales with a 1957 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta and a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 convertible, both at $1,250,000, and a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder at $1,050,000.

While Russo and Steele had no million-dollar cars, the auction did score $770,000 for the Mark Donohue 1971 AMC Javelin Trans Am, and a strong $649,000 for a 1965 Shelby Cobra.

RM also hit another high note on Sunday when a 1933 Delage D8S de Villars Roadster restored by RM Auto Restoration was named Best of Show at the Pebble Beach Concours. This is the fourth time that an RM-restored car has won the prestigious annual award.

The top-10 sales for the RM auction were:

• 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale Teardrop Coupe - $4,620,000
• 1954 Ferrari 375 MM Berlinetta - $4,620,000
• 1949 Delahaye Type 175 S Roadster by Saoutchik - $3,300,000
• 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder - $2,612,500
• 1955 Jaguar D-Type - $2,090,000
• 2007 Ferrari FXX Evoluzione - $1,925,000
• 1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III Coupe - $1,760,000
• 1933 Packard Twelve Coupe - $1,622,500
• 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet - $1,622,500
• 1964 Shelby Cobra USRRC Roadster - $1,595,000

Top 10 sales at Gooding were:

• 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione - $7,260,000
• 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza - $6,710,000
• 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta SEFAC Hot Rod - $6,105,000
• 1928 Mercedes-Benz S 26/180 Boattail Speedster - $3,740,000
• 1995 McLaren F1 - $3,575,000
• 1956 Maserati 200SI - $2,640,000
• 1951 Ferrari 340 America Spider -t $2,530,000
• 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Sport Cabriolet A - $2,145,000
• 1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Speciale - $1,870,000
• 1966 Ford GT40 Mk I - $1,650,000

Bob Golfen, Automotive Editor for SPEED.com, is a veteran auto writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, who has driven and evaluated essentially every new vehicle sold in the United States. A lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle, he annually attends and writes about Arizona's famous January collector-car auctions, focusing on Scottsdale’s monumental Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event and other Barrett-Jackson auctions. SPEED.com fans email Automotive Editor Bob Golfen at

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