Market Intelligence
Gooding tries its luck online. And sets a new record.
Gooding & Company, a Californian auction house, recently hosted an online auction that achieved a good result despite some initial caution around showcasing top lots virtually. The auction featured 51 items, 34 of which sold, achieving a total of over $14.3m, representing 72.5% of the total value on offer. The top lot was a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Longnose, which sold for $3,080,000, setting a record for a car sold at an online auction. Additionally, a 1934 Duesenberg sold for over $1m. The auction also included an iconic NART sign from the Luigi Chinetti-founded team, which sold for $51,250.
Seeing that both RM and Bonhams were not stopped by the lockdown and simply changed their strategy with online sales, Gooding plucked up the courage and at the beginning of July announced that it too would organize a virtual alternative to the Monterey classic. In reality, the Californian auction house was perhaps somewhat shy about brandishing the top lots (although there were no shortage of big-calibre items), perhaps waiting to “make a splash” with some upcoming physical auction. In the meantime, it has announced that it had re-scheduled the London auction due to be held in April to the 5th September. We’ll follow that one very closely indeed.
When, on the evening of 7th August, online offers closed (they used a method similar to RM with online offers followed by 4 days for additional bids, unlike Bonhams who placed an auctioneer in front of a camera and gave bidders 4-5 minutes per lot), a great number of smiles broke out in Santa Monica, even if just 66.66% of the cars on offer were sold (34 out of 51) as all the “blue chips” changed hands and the total takings amounted to over $14.3 million, a good 72.5% of the $19.7 million on offer. And this does not include the automobilia on offer.
And it is automobilia that gave us the lot that kept bidders, experts and inquisitive attendees holding their breath the longest. We don’t usually talk about automobilia, but this time it was really worth it. The object in question was a NART sign, once belonging to the team founded by Luigi Chinetti that went down in history for its countless victories with Ferraris. Measuring some 3.6 metres long and 1.2 metres high, it had an American flag in the centre (incomprehensible with 11 stars, perhaps the number of affiliates within its network?) and tons of patina in testament to its originality. Estimated at between $10-15,000, it was soon clear that this object was destined to sparkle because it had already exceeded its maximum estimate halfway through the auction. After a myriad of raises it was finally sold for $51,250. No doubt that made Matthew Ettinger happy, the Ferrari collector who put it up for sale.
