A Bugatti Type 57C Aravis and a Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet were the top results at the Gooding Mullin Automotive Museum auction in Oxnard 2024.
Four cars achieved results of over a million dollars at the Gooding Mullin Automotive Museum auction held in Oxnard, California, in April 2024. The most expensive car in the sale, a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Aravis ‘Special Cabriolet,’ sold for a model record $6,605,000. A 1933 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet achieved $2,315,000 and a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster $1,105,000. A 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Semi-Profilée Coupe sold for a world record $1,105,000.
Gooding Mullin Museum Collection Sale 2024 in Oxnard
Gooding & Company auctioned a selection of vehicle and automobilia lots from the world-renowned Mullin Collection on Friday, April 26, 2024, at the famous Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California.
The premier selection of French and European automotive gems offered from the collection of late collector and philanthropist Peter Mullin and his wife, Merle, performed especially well at auction. Offered entirely without reserve, 100% of lots from the collection sold, achieving a total of $19,016,295 in sales from 114 lots.
Million-Dollar Results at the Mullin Museum Oxnard Auction 2024
The following four cars from the Mullin Collection sold for over a million dollars each at the Gooding auction in Oxnard 2024:
| Year | Car | Price ($) | |
| 1 | 1938 | Bugatti Type 57C Aravis ‘Special Cabriolet’ | 6,605,000 |
| 2 | 1933 | Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet | 2,315,000 |
| 3 | 1957 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster | 1,105,000 |
| 4 | 1930 | Bugatti Type 46 Semi-Profilée Coupe | 1,105,000 |
Top Bugatti Results from the Gooding Mullin Collection 2024 Sale
The most expensive car sold in the Gooding Mullin Automotive Museum sale was a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Aravis ‘Special Cabriolet’, which sold for $6,605,000, doubling its pre-auction estimate. This was the most expensive Bugatti and the fifth-highest auction result thus far in 2024 and the most expensive Bugatti.
Debuted in 1934, the Type 57 easily became Bugatti’s most successful road-going model, and the Type 57C bolstered performance with a factory-fitted supercharged engine. French coachbuilder Gangloff offered an elegant 2/3-seat Cabriolet body for the Type 57 called the Aravis, named after a mountain pass in the French Alps. Only three examples of the Gangloff-bodied Aravis survived.
The Bugatti at auction was ordered new by Avignon agent Granat & Fils for famed Bugatti team racing driver Maurice Trintignant. Featuring ivory bodywork with dark blue fenders and trim, chassis 57768 was successfully raced in-period by Trintignant at the Grand Prix du Comminges in 1939. In more recent years, as part of the Mullin Collection, the Aravis was restored by Sargent Metal Works and at the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® was awarded First in Class.
The 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Semi-Profilée Coupe also set a new world record by becoming the most valuable Type 46 to sell at auction in achieving $1,105,000.
The auction also witnessed the historic sale of cars from the legendary Schlumpf Reserve Collection. Many of these lots performed exceptionally well, including the 1927 Bugatti Type 40 ‘Break de Chasse,’ which brought in a tremendous $445,000, the 1927 Bugatti Type 40 Faux Cabriolet, which sold for $246,400, and the 1931 Bugatti Type 40A Roadster, which achieved $302,000. The pair of Bugatti Type 57 Ventoux examples also performed well: the 1934 example sold for $472,500 while the 1936 example sold for $511,000.
Other Top Results at the Gooding Mullin 2024 Auction
Other top sellers from the auction included the multiple-class award-winning 1933 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet, which sold for $2,315,000, and the 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, sold for $1,105,000. As one of the most expensive cars of its day, the J12 boasted a 9.4-liter V-12 engine producing 220 hp, proving it had both the capability and the looks of a proper supercar of its time. The 1933 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet offered here is a pedigreed example, with provenance including noted collectors Dr. Sam Scher, Richard Paine, and John Mozart. Featuring unusually attractive coachwork by Vanvooren, the elegant J12 Cabriolet joined the Mullin Collection in 1992.
Spirited bidding allowed the sale figures of other lots to climb to impressively high levels above their pre-auction estimates, as with the 1912 Renault Type CB Landaulet, which achieved $257,600, the 1938 Avions Voisin Type C30 Cabriolet, which sold for $357,000, and the 1966 Citroën 2CV Sahara, which went to its new home for $128,800.
Automobilia lots from the most esteemed European marques also fared quite well: the c. 1946 Bugatti Type 75 You-You Boat achieved $62,500, and the c. 1928 Hispano-Suiza 12NB Aircraft Engine, No. 430193, went for $52,500.
