Market Intelligence
Pebble Beach auction analysis. I'll buy what I've always dreamed of
An analysis of the prices of German cars at Pebble Beach shows Porsche and Mercedes doing well. RUF-modified Porsches were in high demand, with Gooding's RUF R Turbo selling for $445,000. The 911 2.7 Carrera RS Touring sold for $1,072,520, beating the previous record by almost $200,000. The only aluminium 300SL Gullwing sold for $5,010,000, down from the one sold in January for $6,825,000. Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing and Roadster remained flat in the market.
After the analysis of the prices of Italian cars at Pebble Beach, we now repeat that exercise with the Germans, where Porsche and Mercedes positively sparkled. Once again, two constants emerge: the average price ranges guarantee greater elasticity and this, for interesting vehicles, excites the room to the point where unexpected records are set. However, this is less and less the case for cars in the region of or above 10 million dollars. A good example is the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Roadster, the second-best price of the week which, at $9,905,000, was perfectly aligned with the prices of the model over the last 10 years.
The second reason for the success of certain models, and Porsche has largely benefited from this, is the law of memory: I dreamed of it in the past, now I can buy it! This is precisely what has been happening with certain, more accessible Ferrari models of late. As was the case with some of Maranello’s more historic models, stainless steel models such as the Mercedes 300 SL, didn’t do so well. Indeed, the Gullwing unexpectedly fared better than the Roadster.
Let’s take a closer look:
