Motostalgia Amelia Island 2016 – Auction Report
Motostalgia joined the burgeoning Amelia Island week auction schedule in 2016 with a 71-car sale.
The auction was held Saturday evening. The timing conflicted with the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance banquet. Several rows of tables fronting the block were reserved for registered bidders. Speakers and banners obscured the cars, which were dimly lighted with distracting moving and multi-colored spotlighting.
Not all the cars were cataloged. Others featured in the catalog didn’t show up and were replaced by uncataloged late entries. Six unannounced lots were added at the end of the sale.
Auctioneer Brent Earlywine and ‘Color Man’ Phil Skinner along with the ring-staff did their best, but it was a challenge.
The real challenge, however, came with four lots not present at the auction and offered sight-unseen while physically in Mexico. Two were less of a challenge, a Copilco edition VW Beetle, one of the last 200 Beetles built by VW in Mexico, and a nearly new Latin American diesel version Land Rover Defender, both relatively small potatoes and both sold on the block, the VW for $25,000 hammer and the Defender for a highly impressive $90,000 hammer for a car that will have to wait ‘til it’s old enough to sign a rentacar contract before it can cross the U.S. border.
The other two? A pair of 2011 Ferraris, specifically a 599 GTO and 599 SA Aperta. Both were described as essentially new with 80 and 180 miles respectively, but both were Latin American versions (identified by an ‘L’ in the eighth position of their VINs) without U.S. required equipment. The block announcer recited statements about the possibility of a ‘Show and Display’ exemption, but since both models have U.S. market versions that is not going to happen. Neither lot was sold on the block where bidding stopped at $600,000 and $875,000 respectively.
Both were later reported sold on Motostalgia’s website for $770,000 and $1,250,000 all-in, which is remarkably generous. RM sold a U.S. spec 599 GTO with 7,200km earlier the same day for $687,500, and a 1,500 mile 6-speed in Arizona for $770,000. Similarly, RM sold a 1,200 mile 599 SA in Arizona in January for $1,182,000.
Two other lots were sold post-block, bringing the total for four post-block sales to $2,326,000, 48.9% of the $4,754,800 total changing hands at Motostalgia’s 2016 Amelia Island auction.
Amelia is a high profile venue. RM|Sotheby’s and Gooding & Company are well-established with high profile, slickly produced auctions of high quality cars. Bonhams has recently established itself with its own style of presentation and similar quality consignments. And there’s a consignment-style auction from Mike Flynn’s Hollywood Wheels down the road at the Omni Convention Center.
Motostalgia’s first effort at joining the excitement was commendable, but needs to up its game in presentation and consignment quality by an order of magnitude if it is going to compete here.
[$2,428,800 on block] |
Motostalgia Amelia Island 2016 – Auction Report
Lot
# 05 1971 Porsche 914/4 Targa; S/N 4712908012; Green/Black vinyl;
Estimate $25,000 – $35,000; Visually maintained, largely original, 3-
condition; No Reserve; Hammered Sold at $9,000 plus commission of
10.00%; Final Price $9,900 – Bosch fuel injection, steel wheels with hub
caps, Bridgestone Potenza tires, AM/FM cassette stereo. – Long, jagged
scratch on the engine cover. Lots of masking errors around the front
bumper. Big chip on the right front fender. Overspray in the wheel wells
and on the suspension. Paint flaking off of the frame of the roof
panel, and small cracks in the vinyl at the edge of it as well. Good,
lightly worn original interior. Pitted door handles. Clean underneath.
This could have been an impressive, preserved car kept dry thanks to a
clean and dry existence where it was sold in Utah, but the distinctions
of originality were ruined by a crude, rushed respray done in 2012. –
Just sold at Bonhams’ Scottsdale sale, where it brought a generous
$16,500. It seems a case of buyer’s remorse struck, prompting this no
reserve sale just weeks later or perhaps the 7 more miles on the
odometer were discouraging. The $6,000-plus hit for the seller must be a
tough pill to swallow, but at least the buyer this time around has
quite a bit more room to give this car the attention it really deserves
and the seller can move on.
Lot
# 08 1980 Ferrari 308 GTB Coupe, Body by Pininfarina; S/N
ZFFAA01A0A0033527; Red/Tan leather; Estimate $95,000 – $125,000;
Unrestored original, 3 condition; With Reserve; Not sold at Hammer bid
of $80,000 – Bosch K-Jetronic, Michelin TRX tires, roof spoiler, power
windows, Borletti air conditioning, Alpine cassette stereo, radar
detector. – Engine out service last year. Dull exterior plastic. Two big
chips out of the bottom lip. A few tiny stone chips on the nose.
Decent, swirled original paint. Worn, lightly discolored seats. Lightly
worn switchgear. The standard for Ferraris, even 308s, is high, so
although this is a sound, cared for example, it’s in used car condition
and for a car with 31,631 miles on the odometer it should really be in
better cosmetic shape. Anyone wanting a better car than his won’t have
to look far. – The reported high bid of $80,000 would be a fair price
for a car that was significantly better than this one, so if there was
any money near it the car should have gone to a new owner.
Lot
# 09 1987 BMW M6 Coupe; S/N WBAEE140XH2560693; Cinnabar Red/Beige
leather; Estimate $40,000 – $55,000; Unrestored original, 2- condition;
With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $35,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final
Price $38,500 – Alloy wheels, Michelin TRX tires, rear spoiler, power
windows, air conditioning, Sony CD stereo, sunroof. – Good, clean
bumpers. Very good original paint with a small touched up chip on the
hood. Right rear plastic side trim is loose. Very good, very lightly
worn original interior. Clean detailed engine bay. A very solid original
car with 69,930 miles but looking like a car with much fewer. – Of the
three first generation M6s for sale in Amelia, this was the best by a
significant margin and brought a correspondingly higher price.
Lot
# 17 1936 Cord 810 4-Dr. Sedan Westchester; S/N 1113A; Engine # FB24F;
White/Dark Blue cloth; Estimate $65,000 – $80,000; Cosmetic restoration,
3- condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $82,500 plus commission of
10.00%; Final Price $90,750 – Wheel covers, whitewalls, suicide front
doors, pre-selector, Bench seat, engine-turned dash. – Amateur respray
with masking errors and gloppiness around the headlights. Cracks at the
bottom of the right A-pillar. Touched up crack on right B-pillar. Uneven
gaps everywhere. Large ding on the left front wheel cover. Cloth
upholstery is lumpy and loose. The rest of the interior, however, is
good and sound. Discolored whitewalls. An amateur cosmetic restoration,
and an old one at that. Any coffin-nose Cord deserves a lot better, but
at least it’s a sound example underneath that you could take apart and
restore to a proper standard. – Sold by Worldwide in Houston in 2012 for
$46,200. It shows just two more miles on its odometer presently (hardly
enough to get it on and off a transporter) and no better today than it
was then. This is a resounding result for a car that doesn’t even rate
the adjective mediocre, a truly expensive automobile.
Lot
# 18 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe; S/N WP0AC299TS375507; Black/Black
leather; Estimate $155,000 – $175,000; Unrestored original, 2 condition;
With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $137,500 plus commission of 10.00%;
Final Price $151,250 – Michelin tires, sunroof, spoiler, rear window
wiper, Alpine CD stereo, power windows, air conditioning. – Small chip
in the nose. Small scratch below right headlight. Very good original
paint otherwise. Very good interior. Showing 51,826 miles. Recently
serviced. Not the best, but still very good. – Not particularly
expensive in the context of recent 993 prices, but still more than it
cost new (not counting for inflation).
Lot
# 25 1987 Ferrari Testarossa Coupe, Body by Pininfarina; S/N
ZFFSG17A4H0072941; Red/Tan leather; Estimate $180,000 – $215,000;
Unrestored original, 2 condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at
$117,500 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $129,250 – Bridgestone
tires, five-piece luggage, leather-wrapped Momo steering wheel, power
windows, air conditioning, Ferrari wristwatch, books and tools. – Very
good original paint. Very good, lightly worn interior. Classiche
certification. Up to date service. Your typical babied Testarossa
showing 22,140 miles. – Given recent Testarossa prices this is something
of a bargain for its condition and known miles.