Steve McQueen’s Lusso will highlight a sale of highlights
New York – Christie’s 2007 Monterey car auction, the annual flagship sale for Christie’s International Motor Cars, takes place the evening of Thursday August 16 and is once again located in the Monterey Jet Center. Featuring 60 cars, the sale is expected to realize in excess of $7.5 million – with a third of the automobiles offered with no reserve.
The undoubted leader of the pack is Steve McQueen’s 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso (separate press release available), a vehicle that has garnered much attention since its consignment announcement in April. The auction also contains dozens of other striking cars set to entice, excite and thrill the enthusiasts and collectors who congregate each year on the Monterey Peninsula to pay homage to the automobile.
Rupert Banner, International Head, and Christopher Sanger, Head of Car Sales, Christie’s Americas, says: “We look forward to our return to the Monterey Jet Center for the fourth time, offering our carefully edited selection of Exceptional Motor Cars. With an emphasis on quality over quantity, our Monterey sales bring a fresh perspective to buyers and sellers in a clear, transparent auction format that is both timely and entertaining. 2007 marks two distinct changes for us – firstly, a flat buyers premium of 10%, simplifying the buying and selling process for all our clients, and secondly, a new auctioneer, Hugh Edmeades. One of the leading auctioneers worldwide, Hugh will invigorate our Thursday night proceedings with his much-admired flair.”
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance 2007
This year, the featured marques for the 2007 Concours are Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg and the Christie’s auction includes an excellent example of each of these great American Grand Classics. A 1930 Duesenberg J Convertible Berline, coachwork by LeBaron – one of only three examples in this configuration (estimate: $700,000-850,000); a 1936 Auburn Model 852 Straight Eight Supercharged ‘Boattail’ Speedster (estimate, without reserve: $250,000-450,000); and a 1929 Cord L29 Cabriolet (estimate, without reserve: $120,000-200,000).
Bugatti Collection
With its continued success in the Bugatti market, Christie’s is honored to offer three fine examples from the Collection of the late Allan B. Stone, the celebrated post-war and contemporary art collector and dealer. The lead lot is a 1938 Bugatti Type 57 Three Position Drophead Coupe, complete with the much-coveted Letourneur & Marchand coachwork (estimate: $600,000-800,000). Two other Bugattis feature in the collection – a 1927 Bugatti Type 40 Two Seater (estimate: $150,000-200,000) and a circa 1928 Bugatti Type 52 ‘Baby’ (estimate: $25,000-50,000). Originally conceived for Roland Bugatti, Ettore’s second son, the ‘Baby’, designed for 6-8 year olds and with a top speed of 18 k/ph, went in production after an enthusiastic response to its showing at the 1927 Milan Automobile Salon.
Celebrity Ties – Steve McQueen, Max Weinberg and Peter Fonda
In addition to the much-anticipated sale of the Steve McQueen 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso (separate press release available), the sale includes two other significant celebrity-owner offerings.
Property from the Collection from Max Weinberg features three cars from the long-time drummer for Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, and music director/bandleader for NBC TV’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Max has been cited as the ‘backbone of the E-Street Band’ by The New York Times’ Robert Palmer, voted ‘Best Drummer’ in the 1986 Rolling Stone Critics Poll, and is no stranger to playing for Presidents, either in the White House or at their Inaugurations. The three cars he is selling provide a personal reflection of the man – a 1951 Ford F-1 pick-up, from his birthyear and a reminder of his father’s work at summer camps and the TV series Lassie he watched as a child which featured this exact model (estimate, without reserve: $35,000-55,000); a 1931 Woodie Ford Model A Panel Truck ‘Hotrod’, a automobile that reminds him of the Beach Boys era, one of his major musical influences (estimate, without reserve: $60,000-75,000); and a 1957 Chevrolet Corvette, his dream car, in cascade green. In triple mint condition, this Corvette was once owned and worked on by Dominick Salvemini, the fabled Corvette restorer, who, before meeting Max and fully restoring the vehicle, showed it around the country as the ‘half car’, with one side restored, the other in original condition (estimate: $200,000-240,000).
The 1998 ex-Peter Fonda Harley-Davidson FLHR ‘Road King’ provides bike aficionados, Harley enthusiasts and 60s fans with a unique opportunity to own Captain America’s own Harley. Fonda, forever immortalized in the iconic 60s film Easy Rider as the counter culture-hero carrying the hopes and fears of a revolutionary generation, used this well-kept bike extensively for nine years, and rode it to numerous Harley-Davidson Anniversaries, ‘Love Rides’ and Sturgis events. Bought in 1997 from the Glendale dealership owned by Fonda’s friend and ‘Love Ride’ creator Oliver Shokouh, the bike comes with its own custom trailer and the successful bidder will have a chance to meet with Fonda after the sale (estimate: $35,000-65,000).
Other Notable Lots
A 1908 Napier 45 HP Type 23A Tourer is a fine vintage addition to the sale. Exceedingly rare and with high horsepower, this car remains a great tourer (estimate: $400,000-500,000); a 1965 Porsche 356SC Cabriolet provides a stunningly original example of the marque (estimate: $160,000-190,000); and a 1955 Ford Thunderbird, in excellent condition, is being sold to benefit the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation (estimate, without reserve: $45,000-55,000)
At the beginning of the sale, a 24-lot collection of scratchbuilt and handbuilt top drawer quality model cars will be offered. Many have been built as one-off originals by the skills of the finest modelers and cover such collectable marques as Bugatti, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, McLaren & Maserati.
Auction: Exceptional Motor Cars at the Monterey Jet Center
August 16 6.30pm
Viewing: Monterey Jet Center, Monterey, California
August 12 – 14 10 am to 5pm
August 15 10 am to 4pm
August 16 9am to 3pm
Christie’s is the longest continuous name in the collectors’ car market, having held auctions devoted solely to motor cars since 1972. Christie’s remains the choice of the individual who wishes to sell a unique and rare motor car or collection. Uniquely placed in the market, Christie’s International Motor Cars concentrates on quality rather than quantity. The Department consists of seven specialists based in London, Brussels, New York, Texas and California, devoted to network of sale sites that include Paris, Le Mans, Monterey and Connecticut.
Visit the Christie’s Car Department at www.christies.com/cars