Beneath the warm Arizona sun at the beautiful Westin-Kierland Resort & Spa, Bonhams hosted it’s seventh annual collectors’ car auction during the Scottsdale Car Week. With the venue appreciated for its relaxing atmosphere and convenient accessibility, and the event for its high quality and breadth of offering, large crowds turned out for another successful sale that saw a total of $25.2m with an 87% sell-through rate. Leading the sale were sports and sports-racing cars from Europe. The star of the day was the historic 1958 Porsche 550A Spyder – the Le Mans works entrant that clinched 2nd in class and 5th […]
Beneath the warm Arizona sun at the beautiful Westin-Kierland Resort & Spa, Bonhams hosted it’s seventh annual collectors’ car auction during the Scottsdale Car Week. With the venue appreciated for its relaxing atmosphere and convenient accessibility, and the event for its high quality and breadth of offering, large crowds turned out for another successful sale that saw a total of $25.2m with an 87% sell-through rate.
Leading the sale were sports and sports-racing cars from Europe. The star of the day was the historic 1958 Porsche 550A Spyder – the Le Mans works entrant that clinched 2nd in class and 5th overall, as well as 1st in class at Nürburgring, among others. With bidding launching quickly into a brisk tennis match-like volley, the victor was a private American collector who won the bid at a final price of $5,170,000, establishing a new world auction record for the model.
The matching numbers, expertly restored 1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider sold for $2,640,000, while the 1991 Ferrari F40 Coupe made $1,512,500. Other top lots include the exquisite 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster – the first imported into the US, that achieved $1,512,500, and the commanding 1930 Bentley Speed Six Le Mans Replica Tourer that sold to a southern California enthusiast for more than 50% its high estimate at $1,457,500.
Two of Carroll Shelby’s personal cars, the 1966 Ford Shelby GT 350H fastback and 2006 Ford GT, which were the subject of intense global interest before and during the auction, exceeded all estimates and sold for $253,000 and $489,500, respectively.
The incredibly cool 1982 Lancia Rally 037 Stradale, another car that received tremendous attention, exceeded its estimate and went for $451,000.
“We saw strong international bidding at Thursday’s auction, and the results speak for themselves,” said Jakob Greisen, US Head of Motoring. “There were many fierce bidding battles where the winning bidders ended up with some fantastic cars for their collections.”
“Our sale really demonstrated the strength of the collector car market across all eras of motoring,” said Rupert Banner, Group Motoring Director, who, along with Jamie Knight, Group Motoring Chairman, was the auctioneer. “We had lots of global interest and many new, first time buyers, which is a very positive indication of the growth and future of the hobby.”
To view all results from Bonhams Scottsdale Auction, visit Bonhams.com/Scottsdale. For more information on next week’s Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction, go to Bonhams.com/Vegas. And for next month’s Grand Palais sale in Paris, visit Bonhams.com/Motoring.
