RM Auctions - London Highlights

RM Auctions concluded its 2009 auction season on a high note in London on 28th October. The Battersea Evolution played host to this year’s stunning RM event and what a performance it was! Posting £10.9 million in total sales with a strong 87% of all lots sold at the third-annual ‘Automobiles of London’ event.

Attracting strong international interest from bidders in the room, on the phone and over the internet, the single-day sale interestingly saw cars offered from 11 countries selling to buyers hailing from a different set of countries. Due to high international interest and a wonderful selection which RM provided, most cars exceeded their estimates and 13 lots reached over their original guide price.

Max Girardo, Managing Director of the company’s European office, took to the rostrum for the first time in an RM European sale and did a great job selling 82% of the 84 cars o offered for sale. The 40 lots of memorabilia also posted high sales achieving £48,485 in sales, including £4025 for a Colnago Ferrari racing bicycle.

On the Ferrari front, the 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC by Zagato sold for £101,750, the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO Recreation sold for £230,000, 1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona sold for £132,000, The 1991 Ferrari Testarossa sold for £30,250.

Amongst the highlights was a stunning 1967 Ferrari 250 LM Replica bearing chassis no 6167R, this faithful 250 LM Replica was inspired by chassis 6167, which was raced extensively throughout Europe in 1967 and 1968 in fact Richard Atwood took Chassis no 6167 to significant victory in a support race to the July 1967 Silverstone Grand Prix. The Ferrari 250 LM Replica was built in the early 1990,s from a limited few original LM parts by the experts at Autosport and Bachelli the estimate was between £300,000 to £350,000

This 250LM is a beautifully-built tool room copy of an original LM racer the exacting detail is outstanding and the result is stunning in every respect. A huge amount of fun at a fraction of the cost of an original but the 1967 250 LM Replica sold for under its original estimate at £220,000.

The 275 GTB presented at the London Event started life as a right-hand drive car with the desirable torque tube and long nose. Destined for the British market, it was fitted with the appropriate license plate frame, cast alloy wheels, instrumentation in miles, and originally finished in Celeste Chiaro Metallic with black leather and a headliner in light gray. The car had been ordered new by Ronnie Hoare’s Maranello Concessionaires and was completed in March 1966 before first being registered for road use in England in June, to be used until 1967. During this time the car covered 4,100 miles, most probably as Ronnie Hoare’s personal car. By August 1968, the car was owned by Sir George Burton of Ipswich, England. D.L. Griffiths-Hughes of Surrey owned it thereafter, and it was evidently even fitted with a Westlake supercharger before being owned by D.R. Good in 1972.

As evidenced by the documentation in the car’s history file, 08391 was converted to its current NART Spyder configuration in the late 1970s while in the ownership of marque specialist Brian Classic. He employed two ex-Chevron Racing Team mechanics to help with the transformation. They were aided by the fact that Classic had a friend who owned an original NART Spyder to use as reference. Although he claimed the conversion was relatively easy, the lines of the car and the hood mechanism would have been impossible to replicate authentically without an original example to copy.

It should be noted that, as a marque specialist, Brian Classic recognized how important it would be to keep all the original parts. The aforementioned ex-Chevron mechanics were therefore extremely delicate with the original parts, including the roof section, so as to preserve them for future owners. Once the roof was removed, it was carefully packed and stored with the car. Chassis 08391 retains the original roof to this day. Additionally, RM Auctions have consulted with marque specialists, who confirm that it would be possible to return this car to berlinetta specification with the original roof, should the new owner wish to do this. Given the extreme rarity and very high values of the 10 authentic NART Spyders, This concours 1966 Ferrari 275GTB “Nart Spyder” Conversion sold for £467,500, Estimate £450,000-£550,000, 08391 represented a unique opportunity for its new owner to enjoy a NART Spyder at a fraction of the cost.

Even if many people are tightening their ways we know from recent sales, that collectors are still willing to spend on the right cars and RM-Automobiles of London had some very serious cars.

 
Prior to the sale, Max Girardo announced that RM would be holding a Monaco Sale in 2010. This new event will be held on May 1, at the Grimaldi Forum, and timed to coincide with the biennial Monaco Grand Prix Historique.

“This sale wraps up another fantastic year for RM globally” said Max Girardo, Managing Director RM Europe.

Max Girardo added
“We’re proud of our reputation for consistently achieving record prices and offering the finest motor cars available to the market, and yesterday’s results were certainly no exception. With an 87% sell-through rate and numerous lots exceeding their estimates, it’s fair to say that the collector car market is still remarkably strong.”

For the RM 2010 Auction schedule please visit www.rmauction.com
We look forward to some more fantastic cars and wonderful auction locations in 2010