Market Intelligence
Bonhams Monterey. Seeing is believing
The article reports on Bonhams' alternative online auction of classic cars, organized in response to the canceled Monterey Car Week due to COVID-19. Despite offering some high-value lots, including a pre-war Alfa Romeo and three Mercedes-Benz vehicles, the auction failed to generate significant sales. Although 62 cars were sold out of the 98 on offer, sales totaled just $12,625,730, a disappointing 34.58% of the estimated value. The article also discusses the challenges and opportunities of online auctions for high-end classic cars, and the significance of the failed Bonhams auction in shaping future sales choices. The article concludes with a report of the most expensive and best deals of the auction, including a 1959 Porsche 718 RSK and a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta.
The auctioneer visible online, four minutes per car, some pretty serious lots on offer and instant sales. Or not, given the results of this auction which had been organized with a spirit that could mildly be called “as if nothing had happened”. This must have been the orders from Bonhams headquarters when they decided to organise their alternative auction to the sale at The Quail (as part of the now-cancelled Monterey Car Week) because out of all the active auction houses, Bonhams was the one that changed its approach to sales the least.
The most obvious thing was, of course, how the enchantment unfolded. Exclusively by appointment, all the cars were viewable live in one place (holding it in the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles was a very nice idea). Then there was a real-life auctioneer who, in front of a camera, called in the offers. And finally the timing of a normal auction: not the usual 3-4 days but 4 minutes tops, and on to the next lot!
And if all this was clear from the start, what got me thinking was the kind of cars on offer. Top lot: an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Cabriolet, a triad of pre-war Mercedes-Benz valued at over $1 million each, a 1935 Aston Martin Ulster and finally an Aston Martin DB6 Shooting Brake. Let’s just say some very risky lots to take to an “online” auction. And indeed, unfortunately, they all went unsold.
