2019 RM Sotheby's Monterey Sale (Auction Preview)

A 1939 Porsche Type 64 and a 1994 McLaren F1 are the lead cars for the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 sale – new marque-records above $20 million are expected.

The two most-expensive cars on offer during the Monterey Week 2019 collector car auctions are both at RM Sotheby’s sales: the 1939 Porsche Type 64 – the first car to wear the Porsche name – and a 1994 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’ are both predicted to set new marque-records at above $20,000,000. Almost cheap in comparison, with estimates around $10 million, are the 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, 1953 Aston Martin DB3S Works, 1962 Ferrari 196 SP, 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB and a 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype. RM Sotheby’s expects million-dollar results from 49 cars on offer at the Monterey 2019 classic car auction.

RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 Sale

RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 classic car auction: 15 – 17 August 2019 with the first day dedicated to Aston Martin marque cars only.

In 2019, RM Sotheby’s earned $107 million from the three-day Monterey sale. The sell-through rate was 74%.

At the 2018 Monterey auction, RM Sotheby’s earned $158 million by selling 124 of 150 lots (83%). The average sale price was $1,270,903.

At the 2017 auction, RM Sotheby’s earned $133 million with a sell-through rate of 88% and 32 cars sold for over a million dollar. RM Sotheby’s three-day Monterey 2016 auction remained the highest grossing classic car auction ever with $173 million earned and 35 million-dollar cars sold.

Million-Dollar Cars at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 Auction

The following 49 cars on offer at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 classic car auction have pre-sale estimates exceeding a million dollar:

	Year	Car	Estimate
1	1939	Porsche Type 64	Upon request
2	1994	McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’	21,000,000 – 23,000,000
3	1962	Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider	10,500,000 – 13,000,000
4	1953	Aston Martin DB3S Works	8,750,000 – 10,500,000
5	1962	Ferrari 196 SP by Fantuzzi	8,000,000 – 10,000,000
6	1962	Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta	8,000,000 – 10,000,000
7	1965	Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype	7,000,000 – 9,000,000
8	1960	Porsche 718 RS 60 Werks	5,750,000 – 7,750,000
9	1955	Ferrari 375 MM Coupe Speciale by Ghia	5,000,000 – 7,000,000
10	1965	Aston Martin DB5 “Bond Car”	4,000,000 – 6,000,000
11	1952	Ferrari 225 Sport Spider by Vignale	4,000,000 – 5,000,000
12	1954	Maserati A6GCS	3,250,000 – 3,750,000
13	1995	Ferrari F50	3,000,000 – 3,500,000
14	1961	Aston Martin DB4GT	3,000,000 – 3,400,000
15	1961	Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Coupe Aerodinamico	2,900,000 – 3,500,000
16	1966	Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy	2,900,000 – 3,500,000
17	2014	Ferrari LaFerrari	2,900,000 – 3,400,000
18	2006	Ferrari FXX	2,850,000 – 3,250,000
19	2017	Pagani Huayra Roadster	2,750,000 – 3,250,000
20	1930	Bentley 6 1/2 Litre ‘Speed Six’ Sportsman’s Saloon	2,600,000 – 3,200,000

	Year	Car	Estimate
21	1985	Ferrari 288 GTO	2,550,000 – 2,800,000
22	1969	Ferrari 365 GTS	2,250,000 – 2,750,000
23	1966	Ferrari 275 GTB	2,200,000 – 2,400,000
24	2014	Pagani Huayra Tempesta “Scozia”	2,000,000 – 2,400,000
25	1991	Ferrari F40	1,500,000 – 1,800,000
26	1961	Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II	1,500,000 – 1,800,000
27	1962	Aston Martin DB4 “GT Engine” Series IV	1,400,000 – 1,800,000
28	1966	Aston Martin Short-Chassis Volante	1,400,000 – 1,800,000
29	1932	Duesenberg Model J Victoria Coupe by Judkins	1,400,000 – 1,800,000
30	2019	McLaren Senna	1,350,000 – 1,650,000
31	1963	Aston Martin DB5 Convertible	1,350,000 – 1,500,000
32	1955	Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America	1,250,000 – 1,500,000
33	1965	Shelby 427 Cobra	1,250,000 – 1,500,000
34	1996	Porsche 911 GT2	1,250,000 – 1,400,000
35	2005	Porsche Carrera GT	1,200,000 – 1,500,000
36	2017	Ford GT	1,200,000 – 1,500,000
37	1938	Lagonda V-12 Rapide Drophead Coupe	1,200,000 – 1,500,000
38	1934	Packard Twelve Individual Custom Convertible Sedan	1,200,000 – 1,400,000
39	1957	Mercedes Benz 300 SL Roadster	1,200,000 – 1,400,000

	Year	Car	Estimate
40	2008	Bugatti Veyron 16.4	1,100,000 – 1,300,000
41	1966	Shelby 427 Cobra	1,100,000 – 1,250,000
42	1965	Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake by Radford	1,000,000 – 1,400,000
43	1927	Bentley 6 1/2 Litre Le Mans Sports	900,000 – 1,200,0000
44	1959	Bentley S1 Continental Drophead Coupe	900,000 – 1,200,000
45	1937	Packard Twelve Concertible Victoria by Rollston	900,000 – 1,200,000
46	1956	Mercedes Benz 300 Sc Roadster	800,000 – 1,000,000
47	1956	Mercedes Benz 300 Sc Cabriolet	800,000 – 1,000,000
48	1955	Lincoln Indianapolis Exclusive Study by Boano	800,000 – 1,000,000
49	1962	Aston Martin DB4 “SS Engine” Series IV	780,000 – 1,000,000

Top-Ten Most-Expensive Cars at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019

The ten cars with the highest presale estimates at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 classic car auction are:

1939 Porsche Type 64

The top car on offer at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 sale is the 1939 Porsche Type 64 – the first car ever to wear the Porsche name. No estimate has been released but at the announcement of the sale a result well in excess of $20 million was predicted. The Porsche will certainly be protected by a high reserve too.

The 1939 Porsche Type 64 is the sole survivor of three Type 64 cars that were produced shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Porsche used the car as his personal transportation during much of the war. In 1946, when the Porsche company was officially founded, Ferry Porsche personally fixed the Porsche name on the bonnet of this Type 64 and used it originally as his personal car.

1939 Porsche Typ 64 Porsche — Staud Studios © 2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Porsche sold it to Otto Mathé, an Austrian race driver who kept it for nearly five decades. After the Porsche family, the Type 64 had only three private owners, who on several occasions refused to sell the car back to Porsche.

If the 1939 Porsche Type 64 sells for over $20 million, it will become the most-expensive Porsche ever sold at public auction. Only two of the 49 cars ever sold for more than $10 million were Porsches. The current Porsche marque record is $14,080,000 paid for a 1971 Porsche 917K with a Steve McQueen connection at the 2017 Gooding Pebble Beach auction. The only other Porsche to ever have sold for more than $10 million was the 1983 Le Mans 24 Hours winning 1982 Porsche 956 in Rothmans livery that Gooding sold for $10,120,000 at the 2015 Pebble Beach sale.

1994 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’

RM Sotheby’s second Monterey 2019 headline car is the 1994 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’, serial no. 018, estimate $ 21,000,000 – $23,000,000. If it sells within estimate, it will raise the marque record by more than $5 million.

Only 64 McLaren F1 cars were ever produced of which only two production cars were subsequently upgraded to LM-Specification. It has 21,500 km on the clock.

The sister car in LM-Specification, the 1998 McLaren F1 ‘LM-Specification’, serial no. 073, sold for $13,750,000 at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2015.

However, the current McLaren marque record is $15,620,000 achieved at the Bonhams Quail Lodge 2017 sale for the 1995 McLaren F1, number 044, which was the very first McLaren F1 imported into the US and the very first of only a handful of F1s to become fully federalized as a US road-legal car. These were the only two McLarens ever to have sold at public auction for more than $10 million.

1962 Ferrari 250 SWB California Spider

The leading Ferrari at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2019 is a 1962 Ferrari 250 SWB California Spider, chassis no. 4131, (Est. $10,500,000 – $13,000,000). It was the second to last of 56 examples built and probably the only remaining unrestored SWB California Spider. It is a very original, well-preserved example presented in its original colors and with its original interior.

A long-wheelbase 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider is the lead car for the Gooding Pebble Beach 2019 sale and expected to sell for similar money.

1953 Aston Martin DB3S Works

1955 Aston Martin DB3S - $5,500,000 — 1955 Aston Martin DB3S © Gooding & co

RM Sotheby’s added a special third Aston Martin-only day to its Monterey 2019 sale. The leading car for this single-marque sale is the 1953 Aston Martin DB3S Works, (Est. $8,750,000 – $10,500,000). It has a successful in period racing history first as a works car and later as a private entry by Peter Collins and other owners.

The car on offer was the second DB3S built by the factory, and although Reg Parnell crashed it on its first outing, just a month later the legendary Peter Collins drove DB3S/2 to 3^rd in an all-Aston Martin podium at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Parnell and Eric Thompson drove DBB3S/2 to victory at the Goodwood 9 Hours.

1962 Ferrari 196 SP by Fantuzzi

The 1962 Ferrari 196 SP, chassis no. 0806, (Est. $8,000,000 – $10,000,000), was the final of just six examples ever built and one of a mere five survivors. The 196 SP was campaigned initially by Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) at the 1962 12 Hours of Sebring, where it finished 3^rd in Class, and at the 1000KM Nürburgring piloted by Pedro and Ricardo Rodríguez as a Scuderia Ferrari Works entry. The car went on to enjoy a successful North American racing career in privateer hands, achieving a half dozen podium finishes and multiple class victories across nearly 20 races in period.

This 196 SP had just four private owners in the last 50 years, including time spent in Pierre Bardinon’s former Mas du Clos Collection.

1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta

The 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta with coachwork by Scaglietti, chassis #3359 GT, estimate $8,000,000 to $10,000,000, is offered without reserve. It is one of only 40 steel body SWB Berlinettas built in 1962.

In 2012, the restored and Ferrari Classiche Certified car was invited to the exclusive Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, where it received the Mention of Honour award in the competitive Ferrari 250 Dynasty Class.

1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype

The 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype, chassis no. GT/108, (Est. $7,000,000 – $9,000,000) was influential in the development of Detroit’s first purpose-built prototype-class race car, which famously went on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans for four consecutive years. The eighth of 12 GT40 prototypes built and the first of a mere five roadsters, this is the only example of its kind to have continually survived in its original form.

Built for Shelby American as a test and development car, GT/108 is one of two cars also used by Kar Kraft for “J” and “X” Series development. Driven by the likes of such legendary drivers as Carroll Shelby, Ken Miles, and Jim Clark, this is one of the finest, most original, and rarest examples of Ford’s racing icon.

The Mecum family refused a $10 million bid for the sister car – chassis GT/109 – at the Mecum Kissimmee 2019 auction.

1960 Porsche 718 RS 60 Werks

The 1960 Porsche 718 RS 60 Werks, chassis 718-044, estimate $5,750,000 – $7,750,000, was one of 18 built and the final of four used as official factory entries. It was a very competitive car in races but reliability let it down at amongst others Le Mans and most famously at the Targa Florio where Stirling Moss retired while in the lead only 8 km from the finish.

The Porsche was recently restored and is presented in its Targa Florio livery. It is in race-ready condition and participated in several historic races in recent years.

1955 Ferrari 375 MM Coupe Speciale

The 1955 Ferrari 375 MM Coupe Speciale, chassis no. 0476 AM, (Est. $5,000,000 – $7,000,000), wears a one-off, alloy body by Ghia, and was the final Ferrari ever bodied by the famed coachbuilder.

One of just four 375 MM Berlinettas featuring special coachwork, the car was built on a full racing-spec 375 MM chassis and drivetrain and made its debut at the 1955 Turin Motor Show on the Ghia stand. Finished in its original configuration and complete with its original interior, the 375 MM appears to have covered just 13,000 original kilometers.

1965 Aston Martin DB5 “Bond Car”

1965 Aston Martin DB5 James Bond Q Prepared — Simon Clay © 2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Although the description “the most famous car in the world” is a bit over the top, the Aston Martin DB5 famously driven by 007 James Bond in several 007 movies is perhaps the most iconic Aston Martin of all time.

The 1965 Aston Martin DB5, chassis no. DB5/2008/R, estimate $4,000,000 to 6,000,000, is one of just three surviving examples commissioned in period by Eon Productions and fitted with MI6 Q Branch specifications as pictured in Goldfinger. The car on offer was not actually used in the movies but rather for promotional purposes in the US to promote Thunderball.

Monterey Week 2019 Car Auctions News

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