2014 RM Auctions Monterey Classic Car Sale Results

RM Auctions set a new classic car sales record grossing $143 million with 35 cars selling for more than a million dollars. A 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale achieved $26 million.

1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Special — Photo: Darin Schnabel ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions

RM Auctions set a new record for the highest grossing classic car auction when it grossed $143.4 million at its 2014 Monterey sale. The top result was $26.4 million for a 1964 Ferrari GTB/C Speciale – the second highest price paid at an auction during the Monterey classic car week. A further two Ferraris sold for more than $10 million each. No fewer than 35 cars achieved results in excess of a million dollar each, including 15 Ferraris and four Mercedes Benz 300SLs.

RM Auctions – Record 2014 Monterey Classic Car Sale

RM Auctions Monterey 2014 Sale in Action — RM Auctions Monterey 2014 Sale
Photo Darin Schnabel ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions

RM Auctions set yet a new record for the total earned at a Monterey classic car sale. In 2014, RM Auctions grossed a new single auction record of $143.4 million breaking the record $125 million set a year ago. A new single-day record was also set when $88 million was earned on Saturday August 16 – more than $20 million per auction hour!

RM Auctions 2014 Monterey sale had 129 cars on offer with a sell-through rate of 91% (87% in 2013) with 35 (26 in 2013) million-dollar-plus cars. Of these, 15 were Ferraris, compared to 13 a year ago. The average price per car sold was $1,215,400 ($1,201,858 a year ago).

The top result this year was a million dollar shy of the record $27.5 million paid for a 1967 Ferrari GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider. Fittingly, this year’s top result was also for a very special 275 GTB.

RM Auctions 2014 Monterey Classic Car Sale Results

The 35 million-dollar-plus cars at the 2014 RM Auctions Monterey classic car sale in California in August 2014 were:

	Year	Car	Price
1	1964	Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale by Scaglietti	26’400’000
2	1964	Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti	11’550’000
3	1967	Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti	10’175’000
4	1965	Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype	6’930’000
5	1967	Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy by Scaglietti	3’750’000
6	1965	Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy by Scaglietti	3’382’500
7	1963	Ferrari 400 SA LWB Coupe Aerodinamico Series II by Pinifarina	2’915’000
8	1953	Ferrari 250 Europa Coupe by Pininfarina	2’750’000
9	1955	Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing	2’530’000
10	1911	Mercer Type 35R Raceabout	2’530’000
11	2013	Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse “Le Ciel Californien”	2’420’000
12	1963	Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso Berlinetta by Scaglietti	2’117’500
13	1960	Aston Martin DB4GT	2’090’000
14	1971	Lamborghini Miura SV	2’090’000
15	1964	Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso Berlinetta by Scaglietti	1’980’000
16	2003	Ferrari Enzo	1’925’000
17	2000	Ferrari F1-2000 Racing Single-Seater	1’804’000
18	1966	Ferrari 275 GTS by Pininfarina	1’760’000
19	1966	Shelby 427 Cobra	1’705’000
20	1965	Aston Martin DB5	1’650’000
21	1937	Bentley 4 1/4-Litre Open Two-Seater by Carlton	1’595’000
22	1948	Tucker 48	1’567’500
23	1936	Mercedes Benz 540 K Special Cabriolet by Sindelfinger	1’540’000
24	2006	Ferrari FXX Evoluzione	1’485’000
25	1961	Mercedes Benz 300 SL Roadster	1’375’000
26	1969	Lamborghini Miura P400 by Bertone	1’265’000
27	1953	Bentley R-Type Continental Sports Saloon y H J Mulliner	1’210’000
28	1957	Mercedes Benz 300 SL Roadster	1’182’500
29	1962	Mercedes Benz 300 SL Roadster	1’127’500
30	1953	Lancia Aurelia PF200 C Spider by Pinin Farina	1’100’000
31	1959	Masserati 3500 GT Spyder Prototype by Vignale	1’072’500
32	1967	Toyota 2000 GT	1’045’000
33	1967	Ferrari 330 GTC by Pininfarina	1’023’000
34	1961	Ferrari 250 GT NART Spider by Fantuzzi	1’017’500
35	1979	Lamborghini Countach LP400S Series I	1’012’000

*Prices include 10% buyer’s premium

Top Results at the 2014 Monterey RM Auctions Sale

2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse 'Le Ciel Californien' — Robin Adams ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions

The results of RM Auctions 2014 Monterey classic car sale were led by three Ferraris selling for over $10 million each. Although 15 of the 35 million-dollar-plus cars were Ferraris, the other cars included a variety of manufacturers and cars from different eras ranging from 1911 (Mercer Type 35R Raceabout) to 2013 (Bugatti Veyron).

1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale by Scaglietti – $26.4 million

A 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale by Scaglietti was the top result at the RM Auctions 2014 Monterey sale. This Ferrari sold for $26,400,000 compared to the $27,500,000 achieved by the top earning 1967 Ferrari GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider a year ago. It was the second highest result achieved during the 2014 Monterey classic car week.

The 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale is one of only three ever made making this car even more rare than the Ferrari 250 GTO that set the world record as the most-expensive car sold at public auction at the Bonhams Quail Lodge 2014 sale.

Although built as a works entry for participation in the GT class world championship, a dispute with FIA over its homologation saw this particular car never actually racing. It was sold off to a private owner who used it exclusively on the road.

One of the other three 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale finished third overall at the 1965 24-Hours Le Mans race – still the highest finish ever by a front-engined car.

1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti – $11,550,000

A 1964 Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti sold for $11,550,000 as the second highest price achieved at the RM Auctions 2014 Monterey sale and the fifth highest at any sale during the Monterey classic car week.

Like the top-selling 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale, this specific 250 LM also has a link to Le Mans but was never raced. It was the 19^th of 32 examples built.

Ferrari never reached the 100 examples required for homologation purposes and as a result the 250 LM cars had to participate in the Le Mans race as a sports-prototype rather than in the GT class. A Ferrari 250 LM car won the 1965 24-Hour Le Mans – the last time Ferrari has won the race outright.

1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti – $10,175,000

The third-place car was a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti selling for $10,175,000. Steve McQueen famously was the first owner of this Ferrari and had the color changed from hazelnut (a metallic golden) to red before taking possession.

During restoration, part of the car was re-sprayed in the original color just to confirm that McQueen was right all along.

1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype – $6,930,000

The 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype selling for $6,930,000 was the fourth most-expensive car at the RM Auction and the only non-Ferrari in the top-10 during Monterey classic car week in 2014.

This car was the first of only six GT40 Roadsters produced and the only one to have continually survived in its current form.

Mercedes 300 SLs at the RM Auction in Monterey

Every auction house with sales during the 2014 Monterey classic car week had a couple of Mercedes Benz 300 SLs on offer. Several did not reach the reserve prices.

Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing — © 2014 RM Auctions

RM Auctions alone sold four for over a million dollar each: three were Roadsters but a 1955 Gullwing was the most expensive 300 SL sold during the week. It achieved $2,530,000 – an auction record for a non-alloy Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing. This 1955 model in ivory over red leather is in an originally, well-maintained but unrestored condition – something that seems quite popular currently with 300 SL buyers.

A few other interesting cars exceeding a million dollars at the RM Auctions 2014 Monterey sale:

1911 Mercer Type 35R Raceabout — Darin Schnabel ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions

A 1911 Mercer Type 35R Raceabout was the oldest car and achieved $2.5 million – an auction record for the marque.
A 2013 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse was the newest car and sold for $2.4 million.
A 2000 Ferrari F1 car driven by Michael Schumacher sold for $1.8 million.
A 1967 Toyota 2000 GT just exceeded the million-dollar mark. (Gooding achieved a similar result.)
The highest bids failing to clear the reserves were $3.4 million for a 1998 Ferrari 333 SP and $3,325,000 for a 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sports Coupe Cabriolet by Barker.