Ferrari ascendant; muscle holds its own; classics tread water
The annual Arizona collector-car auctions made headlines yet again, posting another record-breaking year of sales: 2,532 lots changed hands, racking up $293 million in sales. But there's a lot going on behind those headlines -- someone with a mathematical mind and access to a powerful supercomputer could really pull some useful info from the raw sales data gathered by Hagerty's auction observers about market trends.
Instead, we've browsed through as many auction results as we could stand and selected 16 interesting cars that may (or may not) tell us more about the state of the hobby than the headline-making top sale numbers alone. We've included estimated prices, if they were provided by the auction house, and final sales figures.
In forming this list, we've tried to cover as much ground as possible -- from the American muscle cars that have become so closely associated with the Arizona events to the postwar European sports cars that have dominated the top of the sales charts. We've also included a number of cars that failed to meet their estimated prices. Signs of an overheated market starting to wind down or a manefestation of shifting collector tastes? You decide.
1982 Ferrari 512 BBi
Estimate: $140,000-$180,000
Sold for: $357,500
This 1982 Ferrari 512 BBi broke loose of its handlers and trampled several other cars by nearly doubling its high estimate, bringing $357,500. These were never sold in the U.S., to be sure, though demand for them has been growing lately as collectors are moving on past the obvious '80s supercars like the F40. This is a rare federalized example, not one that has been brought into the country recently, and it showed just 8,553 claimed miles on the clock. This was a car that sat in storage for 20 years, waiting for this day. Expect to see more 512 BBis at upcoming auctions.
1959 BMW 507 Series II
Estimate: $1,800,000-$2,200,000
Sold for: $1,815,000
There is a very finite number of 507s, and values have taken off in recent years. Even though this 1959 example sold toward the lower end of the estimate, this is a reaffirmation of their growing values -- proof that the recent hike in prices was not just a fluke. Lest we forget, these were trading in the $500,000 range just eight years ago. That’s not a long time in the auction world, especially in light of the fact that their values jumped almost a million dollars from this time in 2013. One other example recently achieved $2.45 million.
1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396
Sold for: $66,000
Finding an “average” muscle car in the vast and varied Scottsdale auction catalog can take some work. A lot of customs, clones and re-creations change hands each year -- sometimes for not a lot of money, sometimes for a surprising amount. But this restored, well-equipped 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 sold by Barrett-Jackson, which seems to be a 360-hp L34-code car, fits the bill nicely.
Its sale price of $66,000 places it just below current market highs for similar cars, and it’s probably not going to shed value any time in the foreseeable future. Like the Mustang Boss 429 mentioned below, its solid market position is a result of its legendary name and immediate and widespread appeal: Looking at this car, you don’t need to have GM option codes memorized to know you’re dealing with a classic piece of American iron.
1977 Mercedes-Benz 6.9
Estimate: $70,000-$85,000 | Without Reserve
Sold for: $71,500
This was a well-kept Mercedes-Benz 6.9 by all accounts, one with just over 19,000 miles on the clock and with those gigantic DOT bumpers and quad sealed-beams. Much has been made of the recent appetite for preserved or restored W123 station wagons, but this Teutonic barge managed to land toward the bottom end of the very ambitious estimate. It's nice to see these get the recognition they deserve. We have not seen seen a contemporary BMW 745i achieve a price anywhere close to even half of what this sedan realized. Of course, this also means that every low-mileage W116 sedan on eBay that's been slathered in Armor All will now have a similar starting price to this car.
1968 Toyota Corona two-door hardtop
Estimate: $20,000-$30,000
Sold for: $11,000
This Toyota Corona two-door hardtop, which Bonhams called a "time capsule" due to its immaculate state of preservation, was part of the Martin Swig collection. That ought to have given the charming, but otherwise less-than-remarkable Japanese classic a bit of provenance. So why the low sale price? We suspect the market position of old-time Japanese steel might be a little weaker than fans of the genre (and auction-house marketers) previously supposed; a 1967 Toyota 2000 GT offered by Bonhams failed to meet reserve, and a 1970 Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R "Hakosuka" sedan offered by RM sold for below its low estimate.
Even if these Japanese classics aren't exactly blue-chip collector items, we suspect most of the survivors have become too valuable to crush -- which is great news for enthusiasts who want to get in on the fun without spending ridiculous money.
1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special Motorama concept
Sold for: $3,300,000
Many of Barrett-Jackson’s headline-grabbers this year came from the Ron Pratte collection. Pratte, a former Arizona real-estate developer, spent the past decade building a stable of premier collector cars -- many purchased at Barrett-Jackson -- before deciding to liquidate the whole thing, to much fanfare, at this year’s auction.
This 1954 Pontiac Bonneville Special Motorama concept, one of two built, joined the legendary GM Futurliner bus as one of the most photogenic and intriguing offerings in B-J’s massive catalog. Values of concept cars can be tough to estimate, as they’re often one-offs that come to market very infrequently, but this Pontiac fell right within the expected range with a $3,300,000 hammer price.
Despite their rarity, it’s unlikely that these cool old concepts will ever command Ferrari money. It takes an individual with particular tastes to shell out seven figures for an oddball car never built for rear-world performance. That doesn’t mean the Bonneville Special won’t serve as a worthy focal point for its new owner’s collection, though.
1991 Ferrari Testarossa
Estimate: $110,000-$140,000 | Without Reserve
Sold for: $154,000
Testarossas in all conditions are carefully inching upward, and this result just barely exceeded the high estimate. The low-mileage cars are being helpfully pulled along by the sudden glut of delivery-mileage Testarossas coming out of secret stashes, like original-trilogy "Star Wars" figures that have been boxed up for decades. A strong result for a car that not all that long ago was still trying to shake off its "Miami Vice" image. Now it owns its "Miami Vice" image, as the kids of the '80s are buying the cars they had posters of on their walls. One such pickled example, in case you’re wondering, brought $250,800 last week.
1977 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40
Estimate: $60,000-$90,000
Sold for: $38,500
This was another Japanese classic that fell flat. Estimated to bring between $60,000 and $90,000, the seller ended up cutting it loose at $38,000. That must have been a massive disappointment, but it seems sellers of just about every Japanese classic came away disappointed this year. And every auction house, even including those that normally field just 120 or so lots, had at least a couple of FJ40s on offer just to feed the trend. We’ll see if the 2016 auctions go this heavy on FJ40s again.
1956 Studebaker Sky Hawk coupe
Estimate: $30,000-$40,000
Sold for: $19,250
We didn’t inspect the car in person, but we suspect someone got a tremendous deal on this 1956 Studebaker Sky Hawk coupe, which failed to meet its low estimate. Though its lines aren’t quite as coherent as those of the 1953 Commander Starliners, this is still a very attractive cruiser sold at a very reasonable price. With its somewhat worn interior, it's not a show queen (but it might be at home in a preservation class...), but the years it spent in Calfornia promise a rust-free future. It seems that the European sports-car craze has steered money away from postwar American cruisers -- and in doing so, opened up opportunities for enthusiasts who want solid, stylish drivers but lack bottomless pockets. We're not complaining.
1989 BMW E30 M3 convertible
Estimate: $70,000-$85,000 | Without Reserve
Sold for: $77,000
A fair result for a car with some cosmetic needs, which conversely allows this cabrio to be used as a weekend driver without worrying about stone chips. Hopefully, this will serve as a wake-up call to owners of the many European-market BMWs that are languishing overseas, such as the E30 station wagons with BMW’s all-wheel drive. This result should also serve as a reminder that period M3s, including the next-generation E36 cars, should be treated with respect.
1988 Porsche 959 Sport
Estimate: $1,500,000-$2,000,000
Sold for: $1,705,000
This is a Porsche 959 Sport -- a rarer model than the Komfort in terms of production numbers -- and it had been upgraded to the factory Stage II spec. The 959 easily achieved mid-estimate money, helping prove that the recent legal appearance of these beasts in the U.S. triggered more than a temporary bubble. This is another car that languished in the sub-$500,000 area seemingly forever, until this time two years ago. And this appears to be a new record for this model by a margin of $500,000 over the previous top results.
1932 Packard Deluxe Eight Individual Custom Sport Phaeton by Dietrich
Estimate: $900,000-$1,200,000
Sold for: $1,045,000
This gorgeous 1932 Packard Deluxe Eight Phaeton is one of those old-school classics that seems destined to, at the very least, retain its value, even if it won’t be benefitting dramatic price appreciation anytime soon. At $1,045,000, it sold comfortably within its estimate range -- and comfortably out of the reach of the average enthusiast. The sort of car that would have been a concours showstopper in previous decades, it’s no less stunning today. But we’re entering a new era of taste and appreciation: A Ferrari did just win Pebble Beach, after all.
1978 Aston Martin V8 Volante
Estimate: $85,000-$100,000
Sold for: $155,100
This factory demonstrator managed to beat its estimate by a healthy amount. This V8 Volante has been in the U.S. almost since new, though it has been difficult to find these achieving serious money due to their maintenance needs -- needs that have not always been met in the U.S. The further in time we get from the DB6-shape cars, the more attention their successors like the DBS and the V8 attract. These overlooked Astons have been on a roll for the past few years.
1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 fastback
Sold for: $330,000
It isn’t all gloom and doom in the muscle-car world -- though the market still hasn’t achieved anything near pre-crash highs, some cars, like this 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 fastback, have no trouble commanding big money. That the car has immediate and near-universal appeal doesn't hurt. Everyone knows the Mustang, and everyone knows the Boss moniker -- unlike some of the shining stars of the muscle-car craze, its value isn’t tied up in the fact that it’s one of four produced with some vanishingly rare combination of factory options. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that Ford just rolled out its latest take on the Mustang last year.
At $330,000, this car’s sale price represents the top of the market for these, at least for now: Mustangs of this vintage have been steadily creeping upward in value since their most recent low point.
1975 Lamborghini Urraco P111 by Bertone
Sold for: $126,500
A rare U.S.-market Urraco P111, this managed to just about triple the values for international-market Urraco models, whose average values hang out in the low-$30,000 range. Rarity does not equal collectiblity -- Maserati collectors know this better than anyone -- but this one-of-21 American-market Urraco managed to snag a serious pile a cash. Just two years ago, the best Urracos were struggling to achieve $30,000. Their values have since “skyrocketed” into the low-$50,000 range, and this result might compel a few more to emerge from hiding in time for the spring auctions. Still, we’ll treat this result as an outlier.
1951 ‘Barbeque Stove Bolt Special’ hot rod
Estimate: $80,000-$100,000
Sold for: $49,500
Pouring your heart, soul and paycheck into your own custom car, and then expecting to see a return on it when you turn around and sell it, is not exactly what you’d call sound financial planning. Take the bizarre (but very cool) 1951 “Barbeque Stove Bolt Special,” a hot rod built using parts from “16 cars, two motorcycles and an airplane.”
The motor alone is a marvel; we’re gonna go ahead and quote the RM Auctions catalog description here, because it’s a doozy:
The engine is the most interesting feature. Its power comes from a 1928 Chevy four-cylinder “Stove Bolt” block that had been capped off with a Harry Miller-modified overhead-valve head from a 1921–1923 Model 54A Oldsmobile. The three-port head, sometimes called the “Poor Man’s Rajo,” was a favorite with hot-rodders in the 1920s and 1930s, as they were often grafted onto Model T engines. It has been upgraded with valves from a Buda diesel engine and Nash rocker arms.
Deep inside is a Ford “C” crankshaft, the counterbalanced version found in 1933–1934 four-cylinder cars and trucks, which had been rotated by Pontiac connecting rods and Jahns solid-skirt pistons. Spark comes from a Bendix magneto, which is driven by a cross-drive arrangement from an airplane and fed by SU side-draft carburetors from a Jaguar. Lubrication is dry-sump, working at 60 pounds of pressure, and a 1924 Dodge water pump keeps it cool.
All of these modifications to the engine required considerable welding and machine work, and the Hills [the car’s creators] set it in a bed of charcoal for several days to cool and cure; thus, the “barbeque” appellation.
A good story isn’t always enough to move sheetmetal; this car sold for $49,500, well under the $80,000 high estimate. In this case, it isn’t exactly hard to see why. The Barbecue Stove Bolt Special isn’t the prettiest car, but it’s too original -- and has too much of a history behind it -- to restore. Want to drive it? If you break something, it’s not like you can put this wondrous one-off back to factory spec. Better hope your on-call machinist is as skilled as the car’s creators …
No, this classic rod is probably best enjoyed as a piece of automotive art, not a potential Race of Gentlemen contestant. The market priced it accordingly.
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