Auction World Records
The auctions in the second quarter of 2015 also confirmed the current overall impression for historic racing cars since the end of last year: The auction results for several series and vehicle types are now stabilizing, largely at the high level reached in recent years. $1.98 million (approximately €1.78 million) for a Shelby 289 Competition Cobra, this time a „62 Roadster at RM/Sotheby's “The Andrews Collection,„ is good, but no longer exciting. At Gooding & Company in Pebble Beach in 2011, a “63 version had already sold for over two million euros. Shelby Mustang GT 350 Rs, on the other hand, had reached values around three-quarters of a million euros three times in the past. Therefore, the '65 example from "The Andrews Collection" at $770,000 (just over €690,000) also fell slightly short – after all, it was a car that had once been driven to victory by Pedro Rodriguez.
The $412,500 (approximately €370,000) for a '59 Lister-Chevrolet and the $88,000 (around €79,000) for a '62 MGB Lightweight from the same collection also did not top the previous best for either series (€406,000 in 2013 and €82,000 in 2004, respectively!). Finally, the 1938 BMW 328 auctioned by Coys at Techno Classica in Essen, at €556,170, also did not come close to the previous record of approximately €950,000 for a 1938 model, set by Bonhams in New Bond Street, London in 2013. However, this type of vehicle is rarely auctioned currently. A cautious snapshot: Trees do not grow into the sky (of course).
That there is still movement and room for growth in this market overall is also evidenced by two new auction world records set by RM/Sotheby's. At their auction in Villa Erba, an early Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta with Touring bodywork, built in 1952, was hammered down for a proud 6.72 million euros. This not only improved the previous top price for the 212 Export series by more than four million euros (Bonhams Scottsdale 2014 with an equivalent of around 2.45 million euros for a „51 Berlinetta), but also comfortably set a new record for the post-war sports car racing category from 1945 to 1952 (before the first sports car World Championship). Currently, Ferrari models hold the top spot in all post-war racing car epochs from 1945 to 1971. According to the auctioneer, this Ferrari 212 Export is chassis number “0158 ED," and its first owner, Baron Chiaramonte Bordonaro, used it quite successfully in hill climbs between 1952 and 1955, as well as in the Targa Florio races of 1952 and 1953.
Previously, RM/Sotheby's set a new record of $1.65 million (approximately €1.485 million) for a „62 Chevrolet Corvette “Gulf Oil„ at the auction of the Andrews Collection in Fort Worth, Texas. The previous record for this species had stood since 2008 at around €1.173 million. According to the auctioneer, the specimen now auctioned is a celebrity of the race tracks of that era, the master car of the “Flying Dentist„ Dr. Dick Thompson in the 1962 SCCA A/Production Championship. Bonhams achieved a very slight improvement on the previous auction record for the Porsche 962/962 C series at the “Spa Classic Sale„ with €1.495 million – around €32,000 more (compared to €1.463 million for an “84 ex-IMSA 962 at Gooding & Company in 2012 in Amelia Island/FL). However, this minor improvement – according to the auctioneer, chassis number "962-155", the ex-Obermaier Racing car from 1990 and seventh at Le Mans in 1993 (drivers: Jürgen Oppermann/Otto Altenbach/Loris Kessel) – falls more into the category of stabilizing results.
