Auction News | Highlights of the Monterey Car Week 2021

Auctions are an important part of the classic car market. Especially rare and special vehicles are sold for sometimes extraordinary sums.
In our “Auction News” section, we regularly take a look at the results of the latest auctions. This time: The highlights of the auction houses Gooding & Company, RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams at the Monterey Car Week 2021. While the annual event was cancelled last year due to restrictions caused by the corona virus, it returned in 2021 with timeless classics in their former glory.

Gooding & Company – monterey car week 2021

Gooding & Company was able to hold its traditional Pebble Beach auction on 13 and 14 August 2021 at the Pebble Beach Parc du Concours during the annual Monterey Motoring Week in California, USA, following last year’s Covid 19-related online version.  At this event, the auction house offered its prospective buyers, among others, a 1989 Lamborhgini Countach 25th Anniversay Edition (sold for $368,000 USD) or a 1967 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2 (sold for $346,000 USD).

THESE WERE THE LOTS TO LOOK OUT FOR AT GOODING & COMPANY

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing

A collection of classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles is only considered “complete” with a 300 SL Coupé with its racing heritage and gullwing doors. The inspirational legacy of the Gullwing is well known. In an effort to restore the company’s reputation for incomparable automobiles, the Mercedes-Benz competition department under Alfred Neubauer and Rudolf Uhlenhaut designed a super-light, aircraft-style tubular frame chassis around their best engine, the 3-litre, six-cylinder engine from the 300 luxury saloon, but with mechanical Bosch fuel injection.

In its closed, aerodynamic coupé form, the Le Mans-winning 300 SL could only be entered from above, necessitating the innovative doors christened “gullwing” by the trade press.

The second inspiration came from Max Hoffman, the leading American importer of European exotics at the time, who believed that a customer version of the Gullwing would find a ready market in the USA and was prepared to finance its development if Daimler-Benz would produce it.

The Gullwing prototype, unveiled at the 1954 New York Auto Show, made headlines and attracted more than enough orders to justify its venture. Hoffman exhibited the stunning vehicle in all sorts of places and convinced well-known American drivers to race it, quickly building up demand for the Gullwing.

Sold for: $1,325,000 USD

1929 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix

Considered by many to be the finest racing car of its time and one of the most enduring automotive designs of all time, the Type 35 Grand Prix is regarded as the definitive Bugatti. Unveiled at the Lyon Grand Prix in 1924, Ettore Bugatti’s Type 35 was immediately hailed as a modern marvel, combining advanced engineering with masterful aesthetic design.

Sold for: $5,615,000 USD

GOODING & COMPANY’S BEST RESULT AT MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2021

1995 McLaren F1

As the hammer fell, a new record price was achieved for a McLaren F1 during Monterey Car Week. The official result: 20.465 million dollars, including fees, after a winning bid of 18.6 million dollars. The 1995 McLaren F1, which was sold at Gooding & Company’s 2021 Pebble Beach auction, beats the previous record of $19.805 million for a 1994 example sold at RM Sotheby’s in Monterey in 2019.

Sold for: $20,465,000 USD

RM SOTHEBY’S Monterey Car WEek 2021

From 13.08 to 15.08, RM Sotheby’s opened its doors at the Monterey Conference Center. The traditional two-day Monterey auction was extended by a third auction with 26 vehicles from the Paul Andrews Estate Collection on the spectacular coast of Central California.

In total, the auction house offered 161 vehicles. The offerings ranged from American sports cars like the 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra Works (Estimate $3,750,000 – $4,250,000 USD) to classics like the 1953 Ferrari 166 MM Spider Series II by Vignale ($4,000,000 – $5,000,000 USD).

THESE WERE THE LOTS TO LOOK OUT FOR AT RM SOTHEBY’S

1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ by Scaglietti

The Ferrari 250 GT is known for its impressive engineering, exceptional design and outstanding racing performance. In the mid-1950s, the model put Ferrari at the forefront of Gran Turismo racing. The Ferrari 250 GT is the perfect example of excellence for historians and collectors alike. As the predecessor to the 250 GT SWB and 250 GTO, the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Tour de France remains one of the most sought-after and collectible models today.

The 52nd of 72 250 GT LWB Berlinetta “Tour de France” built with light alloy bodywork and chassis number 1031 GT was originally painted in the Alfa Romeo colour “Giulietta Blue” with a red stripe and havana brown upholstery. These were only the slightest wishes of its original owner: the French industrialist and successful racing driver Jacques Peron.

Sold for: $6,000,000 USD

1962 Ferrari 268 SP by Fantuzzi

The 268 SP, of which only two were made, comes from an era of dramatic change in the racing world. Around 1960, there was a drastic change in thinking: If we mount the engine behind the driver, the cars might handle better.

Ferrari and its sports prototypes adopted this new philosophy. The SP series debuted in 1961, and only six examples of this series were built. Only two of them were equipped with this 265 hp 2.6 litre V8 engine. Fantuzzi’s fantastic bodywork resembles other Ferrari racing cars of the time, namely the 250 TR 61.

Sold for: $7,705,000 USD

RM SOTHEBY’S BEST RESULT AT MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2021

1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato

In the world of classic Aston Martins, the DB4 and DB5 dominate the models built immediately before and after them in terms of higher prices. Nevertheless, there is one variant that clearly stands out from the rest and is widely regarded as the most desirable and expensive of all classic Aston Martins: the DB4 GT Zagato.

The factory race car was built to challenge the supremacy of the Ferrari 250 GT in sports car racing. When it debuted in 1960, the DB4 GT Zagato was not a sales success, even with the very modest goals Aston Martin had set for itself, but that only makes it more valuable today.

Sold for: $9,520,000 USD

Bonhams quail lodge auction 2021

Bonhams returned to the Monterey Peninsula for Car Week in August 2022. The 25th annual Quail Lodge auction took place at the opulent and inviting Quail Lodge & Golf Club and set the stage for a great selection of exceptional collector cars such as the 1974 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 12 (sold for $1,677,000 USD).

THESE WERE THE LOTS TO LOOK OUT FOR AT BONHAMS

1952 Ferrari 212 Europa Cabriolet – Coachwork by Ghia

Introduced in 1951, the Ferrari 212 was the final evolution of the Tipo 166 and the direct replacement for the 195 S. After its completion in December 1951, this Ferrari 212 chassis was delivered to Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin and exhibited on the Ghia stand at the Geneva and Turin Motor Shows in 1952.

By definition, this car has everything a Ferrari should have: 12 cylinders under the bonnet, an open top and a beautiful, sporty body.

Sold for: $1,820,000 USD

1992 Ferrari F40

Ferrari’s F40, one of the most sought-after supercars of its generation, was the inspired by-product of a 1984 programme to develop an improved 288 GTO. This initiative was intended to counter the increasing threat posed by the Porsche 959 in FIA Group B rally competition.

However, the deadly nature of this escalating automotive arms race eventually led to Group B being disbanded in 1986 before the high-tech gladiators from Maranello and Stuttgart could battle for supremacy.

Sold for: $1,600,000 USD

1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Sport Cabriolet Décapotable

The story of Talbot Lago began with the break-up of the Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq combine in 1935, when Venice-born Major A. F. “Tony” Lago bought the Darracq factory in Suresnes and continued production, selling his cars in the UK as Darracqs and in France as Talbots.

The revived marque took up both sports car and Grand Prix racing, winning the French Grand Prix and Tourist Trophy in 1937; from then on it was an uphill struggle against strong German and Italian competition. However, the immediate post-war years saw many notable successes, including three Grand Prix wins for French champion Louis Rosier and a victory at Le Mans.

Sold for: $1,875,000 USD

BONHAMS’ BEST RESULT AT MONTEREY CAR WEEK 2021

1928 Mercedes-Benz 26/120/180-S-TYPE Supercharged Sports Tourer

The “S” was created in a magical time for the company, shortly after the merger of Daimler and Benz, when Ferdinand Porsche was chief engineer. He built a powerful yet versatile car – a true all-rounder that was at home on the race track and in hill climbs and also provided driving pleasure on the road.

The signature technical feature was the on-demand Roots supercharger, which only came into operation when the accelerator pedal was fully depressed, boosting power from 120 to 180 brake horsepower for a few glorious seconds.

Sold for: $ 5,395,000 USD

UPCOMING AUCTION DATES

Gooding & Company:

Geared Online | Fall Automobilia 2021

04. October 2021

RM Sotheby’s:

RM Sotheby’s St. Moritz 2021

17. September 2021,

Via Mezdi 7
St. Moritz
Switzerland 7500

Bonhams:

The Beaulieu Sale – Collectors’ Motor Cars & Automobilia

04. – 05. September 2021,

Beaulieu, National Motor Museum

Text: Lennart Klein Pictures: Gooding & Company; Bonhams; RM Sotheby’s

Author: Lennart Klein

Lennart Klein ist Redakteur beim Classic Trader Magazin. Seine Begeisterung gilt zwei- und vierrädrigen Klassikern gleichermaßen. Traum-Klassiker: Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior & Mercedes-Benz 600. View all posts by Lennart Klein →