Market Intelligence
The suit doesn't make the man
RM Sotheby's auction in London felt like it was held in 1981 due to the location's setting and décor. The auction had a total of 40 cars, which were high-quality and of double the average estimate compared to two years ago. However, only 60% of the cars offered were sold, resulting in a poor value of 41.49% of the estimated takings. The blame can be laid on the two top lots, which did not meet expectations. The Ferrari LaFerrari, however, sold for slightly less than its estimate due to its unique color, while the Porsche 959 went beyond its estimates, attracting a lot of interest.
RM’s auction on 6th November in London felt like it was held... in 1981! The first feeling I got when I saw the location and the setting was akin to rewinding the tape 40 years or so.
There are several reasons for this: first, as RM was the sponsor of the London-Brighton rally (which was held the following day), they had organized the sale in the main hall of the Royal Automobile Club, an environment whose décor and style dates back to the Belle Epoque, unlike the typical and ultra-modern locations of the Canadian auction house. The only thing that clashed in all this classicism was the logo, albeit minimal, of RM Sotheby’s. English auctioneers, which seemed right in this context, even if RM is not, but they weren’t superstars (yes, there are superstar auctioneers).
