Gooding: fireworks at Amelia Island
10 March 2022 3 min read 10 images
There was a lot of expectation for the Gooding Auction, what with it being the first since Pebble Beach 2021 and also because the experts managed to bring a mouth-watering selection to Florida: almost a quarter of the cars had a minimum estimate in excess of a million dollars.
With 99 cars on offer and 91 sold (91.92%), it’s fair to say that they reached their goal but in reality, they went much further than that: the $66,534,480 (€61,252,305) in takings exceed the previous record from an auction at Amelia Island by 10%.
The most expensive car on sale was a 1937 Talbot-Lago T150C SS Teardrop Coupé. I’ll tell you why it was the car that left my jaw firmly on the ground. In 2005, I saw my first Teardrop sell for $3.5 million and others in the following years changed hands for similar figures with the last one selling in 2017 for €3,360,000 ($3,649,753). When I saw the estimate of “over $10 million” I said to myself: “they’ll never sell this”. Oh how wrong I was! Sold for $13,425,000 (€12,359,189), a new record for a French car ça va sans dire... But why this impressive leap? I’m not in a position to answer that but, without a shadow of a doubt, this model, known as the Goutte d’eau (drop of water) has become the symbol of an era.
The last time I talked about a Gooding auction, I suggested that the Chevrolet Corvettes from the 60s were well worth following, especially those from 1963, because they were on the rise. At Gooding, two examples shattered every prediction. The first was a 1963 Z06 Split Window, the finest on the market with just 5,400 miles on the clock and never restored. The estimate of $750,000-$900,000 was slightly high but not too much for the unique condition of the car.
The other was a 427/390 Coupé with just one owner, 10,672 miles from new and a very interesting history. This time, the estimate was $250,000-$350,000. Strategically placed one lot after the other, they set two crazy records: the 427/390 more than doubled its minimum estimate, selling for $533,000 (€490,685), while the more valuable Z06 annihilated any previous standard for the model, changing hands for $1,242,500 (€1,143,855). For reference, the previous record was $588,000 (€541,318).
The collection of the late and legendary Rudy “Mr. 993” Mancinas, was huge success. His collection of BMWs made between the ’70s and 2000s and Porsche 911s plus a 912 Targa, 18 lots in total, all sold with 16 going for more than their estimates. For example, two Porsche 993 Carrera 4S, one from 1997 and one from 1996, reached $246,400 (€226,838) and $196,000 (€180,439) respectively, well above the estimates of $150,000-$200,000 and $125,000-$150,000. A 993 Carrera 2S also set a new standard at $207,200 (€190,750) against an estimate of $130,000-$160,000.
Although it did not come from the same collection, the 1998 RUF Turbo R Limited in a flamboyant Riviera Blue (the only example produced in that colour), with 1,500 km on the clock from new and carbon-ceramic brakes, estimated at $1.4m-$1.8m made its way very easily to $2,040,000 (€1,878,045).
Among the various records set this weekend (from a Porsche Carrera GT at $2,012,500 to a Toyota 2000 GT at $2,535,000) the most interesting one was undoubtedly the 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback. One of only 23 left-hand drive examples produced with the “floor mounted” gear lever, it was however, devoid of bucket seats that would have increased its desirability even more. With an estimate of $2m-$2.5m it was elegantly sold for $2,975,000 (€2,738,815). And here is my amazement: in a market that is “penalizing” cars from the 50s that caused so much furore until only recently, this would appear to be a somewhat rebellious signal. Worth keeping an eye on.
The great “loser” (so to speak...) of the event was Ferrari. Let’s be clear, nothing alarming, but the most interesting lots left a slightly bitter taste in the mouth. The 1991 F40 for example: one of the 213 US-spec models that had covered just 3,800 miles from new. Recently, it seems the price bar has been creeping upwards on every occasion. The last one sold, a European model with 14,000 km on the clock, changed hands for $2.75 million (€2.5 million) in January. The estimate of $2.4m-$2.8m seemed almost pessimistic (I fully expected to see a figure that started with 3), but in the end the sale price of $2,452,500 (€2,257,795) meant it was the buyer who came out better off.
Another deal was made for a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB. Admittedly it was a shortnose (the least desirable models) and also in need of restoration – the fact that it left the factory in a different colour did not matter, because it needed be restored – but the estimate of $1.3m-$1.6m took this into account since a “ready-to-drive” model changed hands in Arizona for almost $1.9 million. However in the end, the hammer dropped at $1,215,000 (€1,118,540) and the buyer couldn’t have been happier.
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