Market Intelligence
Auctions: Cliff’s gift
The article discusses the surprising results of auctions of various classic cars that were held in 2022. The auctions featured cars of various makes, models and conditions, with some requiring complete restoration while others were almost new. The article highlights the surprising amount of money that some of these classic cars fetched at auctions, including a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE, a 2000 Honda S2000, a 1990 Mazda MX-5, a 1964 Morris Mini Cooper S and a 1973 Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2 that was once owned by Niki Lauda. The article shows that classic cars continue to be popular among collectors, and that they can command high prices.
Just like fishermen once they’ve emptied their nets net after an abundant catch – and the year that’s drawing to a close has been abundant and them some – we’d like to take a few moments to look for some beautiful small, large and, why not, some very large fish that ended up in our catch, cars that we originally had to neglect. A worthy endeavour as it reveals cars from a few tens of thousands of euros to more than a million, and this left me speechless.
On 22nd June, a small English company, Brightwells, auctioned two very hot lots. How long has it been since you have seen a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE in need of a complete restoration? It even had moss growing on its bonnet! And what about the engineless chassis of a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE S3 in similar condition? It goes without saying that the offers came in thick and fast with the sting of one of Mike Tyson’s knock-out punches. The oldest of the two probably set the record for the highest number of raises, with the public raising the price no fewer than 69 times (on average offers stop after 15-20), when it closed at €124,675 ($132,150). But that paled into the distance when the bare chassis sold three lots later for €75,700 ($80,500), after no fewer than 87 raises!
