RM Sotheby's Sets New Collector Car Auction Benchmark With $172.9 Million Monterey Extravaganza

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- 

RM SOTHEBY'S MONTEREY BY THE NUMBERS:

• More than 3,600 auction attendees
• Bidders from 31 countries
• Nine hours of auction action
• 129 cars sold
• $172.9 million in sales
• 36 lots achieve million-dollar-plus results; four lots exceed $10 million

RM Sotheby's cemented its leadership position in the global collector car auction industry on the weekend, generating $172.9 million* in auction and post-auction private sales during its three-day Monterey, California event. The impressive tally ranks the event as the highest grossing collector car auction of all time, besting the company's 2014 Monterey performance by more than 20 percent.

In addition to posting the top auction sales of the week, the RM team clinched its sixth 'Best of Show' win at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, with the spectacular 1924 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A F. Ramseier & Cie Worblaufen Cabriolet, owned by The Patterson Collection,  freshly restored by RM Auto Restoration.

"We've certainly reached new heights with this year's Monterey sale, setting multiple new benchmarks," says Ian Kelleher, RM Sotheby's. "The results reflect our commitment to bringing not only the best to the market, but backing our product by extensive research and documentation. In addition, the Monterey event was a fantastic showcase of the RM and Sotheby's teams working in concert to build a global platform for collector cars. It was definitely a weekend for the history books, and to cap it off with a Best of Show win at Pebble Beach made it all the more thrilling."

Bidders from 31 countries were drawn to the RM offering, with multiple bidding contests between those in the room and on the telephone, including collectors bidding with Sotheby's representatives. No less than 36 lots achieved million-dollar-plus results, with four lots exceeding $10 million. In total, RM Sotheby's was responsible for six of the top 10 sales of this year's Monterey Car Week, including the top sale – a historic 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, which garnered $17,600,000, a new auction record for the model.

The Pinnacle Portfolio
The Pinnacle Portfolio – an extraordinary private collection of 25 post-war sports cars – offered August 13, set the tone for the event, realizing $75.4 million in auction and post-auction private sales to set a new record for a single-day, single-vendor automobile auction. In addition to the sale-topping Ferrari 250 LM, the group was highlighted by strong results for contemporary supercars, led by the iconic 1998 McLaren F1 'LM-Specification' at $13,750,000, setting a record as the most valuable British car sold at auction. One of the sale's most exciting moments came when the 2005 Ferrari Enzo, originally gifted by the factory to Pope John Paul II, more than tripled the previous record for the model at $6,050,000.

Additional Highlights
Multiple new auction benchmarks were set during the course of RM's three-day Monterey event. Among highlights, the 1953 Jaguar C-Type Works Lightweight realized $13,200,000 to become the most valuable Jaguar sold at auction, while the 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione 'Tour de France' also achieved a world record $13,200,000.

Top 10 sales:
1.   1964 Ferrari 250 LM - $17,600,000 
2.   1998 McLaren F1 'LM-Specification' - $13,750,000 
3.   1953 Jaguar C-Type Works Lightweight - $13,200,000
4.   1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione 'Tour de France' - $13,200,000
5.   1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider - $8,500,000
6.   1950 Ferrari 275S/340 America Barchetta- $7,975,000   
7.   2005 Ferrari Enzo - $6,050,000
8.   1931 Bentley 4½-Litre Supercharged Two-Seater Sports - $4,015,000
9.   1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy - $3,960,000
10.  1994 Ferrari F40 LM - $3,300,000 
       1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 - $3,300,000

Full results, along with a calendar of upcoming events, are available at www.rmsothebys.com.  

About RM Sotheby's
RM Sotheby's is the world's largest auction house for investment-quality automobiles. In February 2015, RM formed a strategic partnership with Sotheby's, uniting the two companies for the full calendar of future automobile auctions. More: www.rmsothebys.com. 

*Results are listed in USD and are inclusive of 10 percent buyer's premium. Sales totals include post-auction private sales.

Video - http://youtu.be/AxchPj16Ni0

SOURCE RM Sotheby's