Some of us might be still counting the pennies after Christmas, but buyers of top-drawer classics don't seem to be feeling the pinch. Following its sale in Arizona, on January 15-16th, RM Auctions reported sales in excess of $63 million (roughly £42 million) with 17 cars sold for more than a million dollars and a number of vehicles beating previous auction values.
What was sold?
A 1964 Ferrari 250 LM achieved the highest value of the sale at $9,625,000 (about £6.4 million). The car, chassis number 5899 GT, is the ninth of 32 LMs built and its original delivery was to one of the factory's foremost customers - Scuderia Filipinetti in Geneva. Following an interesting competition career and time in the hands of a number of collectors, the car recently underwent restoration by the factory and received Classiche certification.
Of the ten most valuable classics at the sale, eight wore the prancing horse badge; notable results included a 1984 288 GTO that sold for $2,750,000 (£1,817,665) and a 1966 275 GTS that reached $2,365,000 (£1,563,547) - new record values for those models. Even the less expensive Ferraris - relatively speaking - reached higher prices than ever before; a 575 Superamerica from 2005 achieved $517,000 (£341,815), which probably represents a significant increase on what the original owner paid.
Anything other than Ferraris?
The two non-Ferraris in the top ten were a 1971 Lamborghini Miura SVJ and a 1965 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS. Plenty of other cars exceeded expectations too, including a matching numbers Mercedes-Benz 280 SE 3.5 Cabriolet and a 1975 Lamborghini Urraco P111. A 1984 Audi Sport Quattro, cited as an example of the growing popularity of classics from the 1980s, sold for $401,500.
Commenting on the auction results Ian Kelleher, Managing Director, RM Auctions' West Coast Division said: "We're thrilled with the results from our Arizona sale. Carefully curated by our specialists, our offering was defined by its quality and uniqueness, with fantastic prices recorded across the board. The results not only prove that quality sells, but reflect our commitment as a company to deliver the best of the very best. Arizona provided a terrific start to our new collector car auction calendar and we look forward to continuing to raise the bar throughout the 2015 season."
