RM Sotheby's Reports Strong Growth In 2017 With $526 Million In Global Collector Car Auction Sales

Sales Total Expands Market Leadership with 17% Increase over 2016; Eclipses sales total for all high-end collector car auction house competitors; With an Annual Sell-Through Rate of 80 percent

More than 2,852 Lots Sold in 2017 across 14 Auctions; Consignments Sourced from 31 Countries and Bidders hailed from 64 Countries; 119 automobiles achieve individual million-dollar-plus prices

40% of Bidders Were New to RM Sotheby's in 2017

$22.55M Aston Martin DBR1 is Top Collector Car Sale of 2017; A World Record for a British Automobile at Auction; RM Sotheby's also secures 13 of Top 20 collector car sales of 2017

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Sotheby's

Dec 15, 2017, 12:01 ET

BLENHEIM, Ontario, Dec. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Highlights from 2017 included:

1956 Aston Martin DB1 (Tim Scott ©2017 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's)

The 1956 Aston Martin DBR1/1 sold for $22.55 million at RM Sotheby's $133 million Monterey sale became the most valuable British automobile ever sold at auction and is the top automotive auction sale of 2017.
In the ultimate culmination of the partnership, and one of the most highly publicized automotive auctions ever staged, RM Sotheby's sells the Michael Schumacher Monaco Grand Prix-winning Ferrari F2001 for a record $7,504,000 in Sotheby's Contemporary Art Evening Sale. Representing the first automobile ever offered in a Sotheby's art auction, the result more than doubles the previous record for a modern era Formula One car at auction.
The historic single-marque Ferrari – Leggenda e Passione sale, held in Partnership with Ferrari at the legendary Pista di Fiorano during the brand's 70^th anniversary celebrations, generated more than €63 million for the sale of 38 Ferraris and select memorabilia. Auction is topped by a one-of-a-kind 2017 Ferrari LaFerrari at €8.3 million with all proceeds benefitting Save the Children and setting a new record for a 21^st Century automobile at auction in the process.
Third New York sale, entitled ICONS, during Sotheby's A Life of Luxury week totals $45.5 million and secures RM Sotheby's the top Ferrari sale of 2017 with the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione at $17.99 million.
RM Sotheby's achieved $70.9 million and a 90 percent sell-through rate at its annual Amelia Island sale – the highest sale total in Amelia Island auction history – comfortably exceeding the combined tally of all other competitor sales held that week.

Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow platform, powered by Invaluable, allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BID).