A race-winning 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder is offered at the Bonhams Quail Lodge 2020 classic car auction.
A 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder is the first high profile car announced for the Bonhams Quail Lodge 2020 classic car auction that is due to be run as a live streamed-only sale from Los Angeles on 14 August 2020. The Porsche extensively campaigned by legendary driver Bob Holbert at numerous SCCA and international events, including the 1959 Bahamas Speed Week where it was a multiple first-place winner.
Bonhams Quail Lodge 2020 Sale
With much of the Monterey Motor Week 2020 canceled, Bonhams announced plans to stage a live online auction as its 23rd Quail Lodge sale. Although potential buyers will be able to inspect cars in person with advance appointments, the actual sale scheduled for 14 August 2020 will be behind closed doors with only telephone, online, and advance commission bidding allowed.
The virtual but live sale will take place at Bonhams’ Los Angeles office rather than the more traditional Quail Lodge in Carmel on Monterey Peninsula. The number of cars offered will probably be fewer than in recent years:
In 2019, Bonhams earned $32 million with a sell-through rate of 76% of the 217 cars on offer. In 2018, Bonhams earned $37.7 million with a sell-through rate of 82% with 110 of 135 lots sold.
At the 2017 Quail Lodge auction, Bonhams earned $56,430,000 with a sell-through rate of 80% of the 105 cars on offer. The top result was a marque-record $15,620,000 for a 1995 McLaren F1 sports car.
1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder
The first high-profile car announced for the Bonhams Quail Lodge 2020 sale is a 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder. No estimate has been released yet but at least three 718 RSK Spyders sold for between $2.9 and $3.7 million at auctions in recent years.
Giant killers come in all shapes and sizes, but none more elegant perhaps than the stunning 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder. The lithe and quick German car earned its nickname in endurance road racing events in Europe and America where it went head-to-head with its bigger-engined Italian rivals, and beat them. The 718 RSK won or was placed at Le Mans, Sebring in Florida and Targa Florio in Sicily, (Porsche taking a 1-2-3 clean sweep at the latter in 1959 with the RSK in the lead.)
An evolutionary successor to the legendary 550A Spyder, the purpose-built 718 RSK featured more power, enhanced bodywork, superior braking, and improved suspension. Only 34 of these beautiful machines were built which makes the example very rare indeed. The Porsche on offer at Quail Lodge – chassis no. 718-031 – was ordered new by noted New Jersey motorsport enthusiast, Bernie Vihl, and extensively campaigned by legendary driver Bob Holbert at numerous SCCA and international events, including the 1959 Bahamas Speed Week where it was a multiple first-place winner. The 718 RSK has been in the same ownership since 1974.
The only other two cars thus far announced for Quail Lodge 2020 are:
- 1957 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Veloce with coachwork by Zagato — one of 18 built and Mille Miglia eligible.
- 1920 Vauxhall D-Type Touring with coachwork by Jackson, Jones & Collins.
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 Announcements
- Bonhams Quail California Streamin 2020 — 1959 Porsche 718 RSK
- Gooding Geared Online
- RM Sotheby’s Shift/Monterey
Major Online Classic Car Auctions in 2020
Some of the major classic car online-only sales by major auctioneers in 2020 include:
- September: Bonhams Brussels Sale, RM Sotheby’s Auburn Fall (Sales from September onwards may be traditional auctions if conditions allow.)
- August:
- RM Sotheby’s Shift/Monterey
- Bonhams California Streamin: Porsche 718 RSK
- Gooding Geared Online
- June: RM Sotheby’s European – Results
- May: RM Sotheby’s Driving into Summer – Results
- March: RM Sotheby’s Palm Beach