A works 1971 Porsche 911 ST and an unrestored Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing were announced for the Gooding Geared Online 2020 sale.
Gooding announced two further top cars for its inaugural Geared Online auction in August 2020: a works 1971 Porsche 911 ST Rally (Estimate: $950,000 – $1,250,000) built for the 1971 East African Safari Rally and an unrestored Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing (Estimate: $1,200,000 – $1,400,000), factory-equipped with Rudge wheels.
Gooding Geared Online Classic Car Auction 2020
Gooding & Company announced a new platform for auctions to be held exclusively through the company’s website and mobile bidding app. The inaugural event begins on August 3rd and ends August 7th, 2020, and will mark a new milestone for the auction house, which has seen success with online bidding during recent auction events. Gooding’s virtual auction series will complement the company’s annual live auction events and offer a selection of reserve and no reserve lots.
Gooding & Company plans to house all vehicles included in the online auction within one accessible setting, providing interested bidders with the unique ability for on-site inspections of each available lot.
With the Geared Online sale, Gooding seems to follow a similar auction format as RM Sotheby’s with the staggered closing of online bids over a few days, rather than Bonhams’ live auction format with online, phone, and commission bidding.
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing
The matching-numbers 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing (Estimate: $1,200,000 – $1,400,000) was built as a special order US-export model, finished in Fire Engine Red with gray leather interior and equipped with rare and desirable Rudge wheels. Incredibly, this Gullwing remains in unrestored condition and benefits from only five California owners since new, with its current caretaker acquiring it after 40-plus years in single-family ownership.
Thanks to his family’s prior ownership, Gooding & Company’s Specialist, Garth Hammers, provides rare insight into the Gullwing. “Riding along to gatherings and rallies as a child is really what solidified the Gullwing as my all-time favorite car,” states Hammers. “My family owned this Gullwing when I was 13 years old and it was the only one we ever had with Rudge knock-off wheels. I was still too young to drive it at the time, but this car made a huge impression on me.”
The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing is often referred to as the first modern supercar, setting a new benchmark for sports car design. Inspired by its victorious 300 SL racing cars, Mercedes-Benz produced a limited run of production Gullwings between 1954 and 1957. Their visual excitement and advanced engineering contribute to their allure, with historians and enthusiasts in agreement that Mercedes-Benz produced a car decades ahead of its time.
1971 Porsche 911 ST Rally
In 1970, under the direction of Dr. Ferdinand Piech, Porsche developed a competition version of its 911 called the ST. Like the original 911R of 1967, these factory-prepared 911s were lightweight, purpose-built racing machines that saw a remarkable variety of events, from endurance events like Le Mans to punishing, off-road rallies.
The 1971 Porsche 911 ST Rally (Estimate: $950,000 – $1,250,000) is one of five rally cars constructed by the Porsche works racing team to contest the 1971 East African Safari Rally, a grueling 4,000-mile contest that traversed the toughest roads of Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. An important international event, the Safari Rally attracted several leading factory teams including Nissan, Ford, Lancia, and Porsche. This 911 ST, chassis 0647, is one of the two original practice cars – Trainingwagen in German – used for testing by the Porsche works drivers prior to the event.
Offered from a prominent Porsche collection, this important works-prepared 911 ST Rally car has been carefully researched by a leading model authority and completely restored by noted marque specialist Gary Kempton. This car was originally finished in white and specially built to rally configuration with wide fender rear flares, a strengthened body shell, revised gear ratios, 40% locking differential, twin-plug engine, and specialized off-road equipment. Today, the car appears as it did when it left the Porsche factory in 1971 and is accurately detailed down to the proper whitewall tires and period-correct rally equipment.
Monterey Motoring Week 2020
Most of the traditional Monterey Motoring Week events scheduled for mid-August 2020 were canceled. Gooding canceled the Pebble Beach 2020 Auction and replaced it with Geared, its first online-only auction ever. Bonhams Quail Lodge 2020 will be a live auction but behind closed doors (telephone, online, and commission bidding) while RM Sotheby’s plans a Shift/Monterey online-only auction.
Monterey 2020 Results
- Bonhams Quail Motorcar Auction Results (Quail Lodge replacement)
- Gooding Geared Online Sale Results (Pebble Beach replacement)
- RM Sotheby’s Shift / Monterey Online-Only Auction
Monterey 2020 Previews
Monterey 2020 Announcements
- Bonhams Quail California Streamin 2020 — 1959 Porsche 718 RSK
- Gooding Geared Online – Ferraris F40, F50 & Enzo
- Gooding Geared Online – Bugatti Type 57
- Gooding Geared Online — Gullwing and 911 Rally
- RM Sotheby’s Shift/Monterey — Early Highlights (500, F50, BMM M1)
- RM Sotheby’s Shift/Monterey – Competition Ferraris
Major Online Classic Car Auctions in 2020
Some of the major classic car online-only sales by major auctioneers in 2020 include:
- May: RM Sotheby’s Driving into Summer – Results
- June: RM Sotheby’s European – Results
- July: RM Sotheby’s Open Roads: European & North American
- August:
- RM Sotheby’s Shift/Monterey
- Bonhams California Streamin — Results
- Gooding Geared Online — Results
- September: Gooding London — Results, Bonhams Brussels Sale, RM Sotheby’s Auburn Fall (Sales from September onwards may be traditional auctions if conditions allow.)
- October: Gooding (Geared Online)
