A Case of the Benz
Posted by Darby Turnstile in Uncategorized, tags: automobiles, cars, other, transportation, UncategorizedThe Scottsdale, Arizona Auto Auction is finally wrapping up after four days of shopping, dreaming and drooling over hundreds of amazing antique cars. The results of the auction are a bit outstanding. Over 200,000 visitors filed through the various auction houses on just the first two days. Numbers for the weekend are still being added.
Bids were placed, collectors jockeyed and positioned against each other to see just who was willing to go the furthest for the prizes they coveted the most. If the economy is struggling, there was no sign of it this weekend, with a grand total of 182 million in sales with 2,100 cars sold. That is pretty impressive by any means, but just you wait until you see the breakdown.
Perennial auto auction power house Barrett Jackson proved their dominance once again by taking the top spot with 90.9 million in total sales and 1,291 vehicles sold. Taking their top spot was a 1948 Tucker Torpedo which went for a mere 2.915 million dollars. This automobile was an advanced automobile created by Preston Tucker and produced in 1948. Only 51 of them were ever made and today only 47 still exist. Because there are so few of them, it is incredibly rare for them to go to auction, although fetching such a record price might entice a few current owners to put theirs up for sale.
As if that weren’t enough they also sold a beautiful 1947 Bentley Franay Mark VI Cabriolet went for $2.75 million. This classic car is often considered the height of Bentley’s creations, this model is by far the most successful and expensive car they have manufactured. To see one for sale is also a rarity. Other sales included Mercedes, Packard and Duesenbergs.
Despite all of that, top honors went to the fine folks over at Gooding & Co. who auctioned off a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing for $4.620 million. They did well in other areas as well, selling a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe for $2.64 million and a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider for $3.905 million. Gooding & Co. finished the event with $39.8 million in total sales of 116 lots, not bad either.
Another powerhouse company, Russo & Steele, sold 401 lots for $18.3 million as well. Not as much money wise, but they had a lot more muscle cars that tended to go for less. While that may not sound like much compared to some of the others, they still sold several cars that reached the 5-7 hundred thousand dollar mark.
All in all it was a great auction that showed a 25 million dollar increase in sales from the year before. It is also a great start to the auction year and shows that despite everything, there is still a lot of interest in these gorgeous machines.
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