Market Intelligence
Gooding & Co. has a great European debut!
The article discusses the recent Gooding & Co. auction in London, where 15 cars were offered for sale, including a Bugatti Type 59 Sports, a Lamborghini Miura P400 SV Speciale, and a Bugatti Type 35C Grand Prix. The auction was held with a flesh-and-blood auctioneer, telephone bids, and a select group of bidders, resulting in a phenomenal outcome with 14 of the 15 cars sold for a total of £34,048,900. The article provides a brief history and description of each car, highlighting their unique features and selling price. The author also notes that the auction was successful due to the carefully selected group of bidders and the type of cars offered, which would not have been appreciated by the usual internet bidder.
At the end of last year, when Gooding & Co. announced the sale of some important pieces from the Hubert Fabri collection, David Gooding, founder of the famous eponymous auction house, made a remark that really left an impression on me: “Ever since our first sale (2004, editor’s note), many people have asked me when we were going to organize one in Europe, and I told them: “When something special comes along””. He certainly meant what he said!
A line-up of 15 cars was offered for sale. It was anticipated that they would together fetch in excess of £37,620,000, with a mean price per car of £2.5 million, more than twice the figure recorded at Pebble Beach. The results of the auction were as phenomenal as predicted: 14 of the cars changed hands (93.33%) for a total of £34,048,900 (90.51% in value terms), and the average price per lot was close to £2,432,000. Absolutely jaw dropping!
There is one thing worth bearing in mind: even though Gooding held a completely virtual auction in August (and is lining up another for October), the type of car offered in London would not have been appreciated by the usual internet bidder. In fact, a totally different approach was required. This took the form of a flesh-and-blood auctioneer (none other than Charlie Ross, the protagonist of all Gooding’s sales), an auction house team on hand to receive telephone bids, and a carefully selected group of bidders, seated at tables — duly spaced out — and ready to take part in the bidding. In short, it was like being at a 2019 (or, fingers crossed, 2021) sale.
