RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, has announced a new sale in New York City, November 21. The exclusive auction will celebrate the motor car and its place in the history of design, focusing on iconic styling and the artistry of combining automotive function with exquisite form. Featuring approximately 35 handpicked automobiles from around the world, the auction will be held at Sotheby’s global headquarters in New York and will represent the first time a major collector car auction has been held in Manhattan in over a decade. With an emphasis on bespoke design and “best of category” examples from the […]
RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, has announced a new sale in New York City, November 21. The exclusive auction will celebrate the motor car and its place in the history of design, focusing on iconic styling and the artistry of combining automotive function with exquisite form. Featuring approximately 35 handpicked automobiles from around the world, the auction will be held at Sotheby’s global headquarters in New York and will represent the first time a major collector car auction has been held in Manhattan in over a decade. With an emphasis on bespoke design and “best of category” examples from the world’s most admired automotive marques, the sale will feature one of the most significant collections of motor cars offered in auction history.
As a prelude to the sale, an exhibition showcasing the vehicles on offer will be held November 19 – 20 on the 10th floor galleries at Sotheby’s New York—a setting customarily reserved for the display of world-class works of art offered at Sotheby’s.
“In recent years, collector cars have enjoyed phenomenal interest from enthusiasts and experts who value their historic importance and rarity alongside the achievements of their creators, coachbuilders, engineers and designers, who must be counted amongst the world’s great artistic visionaries,” says Rob Myers, Chairman & Founder, RM Auctions. “Our upcoming New York sale will celebrate the historic importance of the automobile—a singular achievement at the crossroads of art, technology and innovation—at the same time paying tribute to the creativity, styling and imagination of the world’s leading coachbuilders. We are delighted to be working with the team at Sotheby’s for this exclusive event. From the exhibition on their 10th floor galleries to the incredible caliber of the consignments on offer, it will certainly be a sale like no other.”
Maarten ten Holder, Sotheby’s Managing Director, Americas, commented, “We are thrilled that this autumn Sotheby’s will host the first ever automobile exhibition in our 10th floor galleries when 35 of the world’s finest and most important cars will be shown ahead of the RM sale on November 21. As the first car auction in Manhattan for over 10 years and one of the most significant ever held, this is set to be an unprecedented and historic event.”
Leading early highlights for the sale is the stunning 1956 Aston Martin DB 2/4 MkII ‘Supersonic’, chassis AM300/1/1132. A truly one-off creation, ‘1132’ received its bodywork from the renowned Ghia coachworks of Turin, Italy. It is the only Supersonic built on an Aston Martin chassis, was first displayed at the 1956 Turin Auto Salon and was driven by American grand prix racing driver Harry Schell. The car’s first registered owners were newlywed New Yorkers Gail Whitney Vanderbilt and her husband, the record-setting water skier Richard C. Cowell, who took delivery directly from David Brown and were photographed with this car by Life magazine whilst living in the South of France. It was then acquired in the late 1950s by noted American collector Robert Lee and benefits from known ownership history through the present day. Offered for sale from the distinguished James Patterson Collection, it is the recipient of a recent, thorough, no-expense-spared, Pebble Beach award-winning restoration.
“A completely bespoke creation, “1132” is unlike any other Aston Martin of its era,” adds Myers. “From the oval egg-crate grille and covered headlamps to the arrow-like spear running along its sides, Supersonic tailfins and Jet Age tail lamps, it is truly a masterpiece of the automotive designer’s art and emblematic of the most advanced postwar alloy coachwork. Considered alongside what the automotive industry offered the public in 1956, this Aston Martin was not only fast and exclusive, it was downright wild! It’s pop art on wheels!”
The striking Aston Martin, which carries a pre-sale estimate of $1,500,000 – $2,000,000, will be on display in Sotheby’s York Avenue lobby, New York, from today (April 30) through May 7.
Further information on the sale will be provided in the summer.
About RM Auctions
RM Auctions is the world’s largest auction house for investment-quality automobiles. With over three decades of experience in the collector car industry, RM’s vertically integrated range of services, from restoration to private treaty sales, auctions, estate planning, and financial services, coupled with an expert team of international car specialists at seven offices around the world, provide an unsurpassed level of service to the global collector car market. RM proudly holds five of the top ten all-time records for the most expensive motor cars sold at auction. RM’s restoration division has achieved unprecedented accolades, earning Best of Show honors at the world’s top concours events, including the prestigious Amelia Island and Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. For further information, visit rmauctions.com, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter @rmauctions.
About Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world?class works of art since 1744. Sotheby’s became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s presents auctions in eight different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby’s BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids in real?time from anywhere in the world. Sotheby’s offers collectors the resources of Sotheby’s Financial Services, the world’s only full?service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art department, as well as Sotheby’s Diamonds and Sotheby’s Wine. Sotheby’s has a global network of 90 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).
Photo: Darin Schnabel © 2013 courtesy RM Auctions