Published: August 17, 2018, 8:55 AM
Updated: August 21, 2018, 7:09 PM
Pebble Beach Automotive Week ( August 18-26, 2018)
The annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, with its display of priceless automobiles, is one of the undisputed stars in the automotive firmament. But there’s much more happening on California’s Monterey peninsula, during what has become known as Pebble Beach Automotive Week, than just the Concours itself – including several high-value, classic car auctions.
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Pebble Beach Auctions
Auctions of rare classic and collectable automobiles have become an entrenched part of the week’s activities, with sales held by such notable auction houses as Bonhams, Gooding and Company, Mecum, RM Sotheby’s, and Russo and Steele. Here’s a sampling of some of the spectacular cars that could be yours from Gooding and RM Sotheby’s if you’ve got the bucks – lots of them. The estimated sales prices are included with the description of each model.
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1962 Ferrari 250 GTO by Scaglietti ($45,000,000-$60,000,000)
Last year at Monterey, R-M Sotheby's sold a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1 Le Mans racer for $22,550, the highest price ever paid for a British car at auction. This year, this car, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, is expected to achieve the highest price ever paid for any car at auction!
The third of only 36 GTOs built, it is considered by marque experts to be one of the most authentic and original of all GTO examples. It’s one of just four upgraded in period by Scaglietti with Series II GTO/64 bodywork and one of just seven to ever receive this more aggressive coachwork.
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1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso ($1,400,000-$1,800,000)
Much more affordable, at least by Pebble Beach standards, is this 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, also by Scaglietti, which is arguably one of the prettiest variants of the 250 GT line. One of 350 built, this one could use some restoration, but Gooding also has another Lusso available, once owned by baseball star, Reggie Jackson, that will probably sell for a half-mil more.
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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If a Ferrari is not in your future, how about a classic Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing? award-winning restoration work continues to characterize this stunning Gullwing. Derived from the all-conquering 300 SLR race car, the road-going 300SL’s trademark “gullwing” doors were necessitated by its unusually tall “birdcage” frame design. This one is fully restored and includes a matching set of fitted luggage.
(Photo courtesy RM Sotheby’s)
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1966 Porsche 911 Spider ($700,000-1,000,000)
Also from Germany, by way of Italy, Gooding offers this one-of-a-kind Porsche 911 Spider with unique roadster bodywork by Nuccio Bertone. The car was custom-built for influential California Porsche dealer John von Neumann, who felt that Porsche’s Targa approach to top-down motoring wouldn’t sell on the left coast. It made its public debut at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show.
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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For all those who grew up with posters of a Lamborghini Countach on your walls, here's your chance to have the real thing. This early 'Periscopica' version, one of just 160 built, is arguably the most attractive of the lineage, mercifully free from wings. It has spent most of its life pampered in Japanese museums.
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV ($2,500,000-$3,000,000)
There’s American iron, too. Big iron! This Ford GT40 Mk IV is chassis number 10 of 12 built. Although it’s now trimmed in Le Mans-winning guise, it spent part of its life with open bodywork, campaigned in the Can Am series (including at Mosport) by such luminaries as Jack Brabham and Peter Revson. It’s literally history on wheels!
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1965 Aston Martin DB5 ($750,000-$900,000)
From England, this DB5 is not James Bond’s personal car but it’s close. Fortunately, the unrestored coupe is one of just 220 built with left-hand drive. Plus, unusual for its time, it’s fitted with factory air-conditioning. A bargain at the price?
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1963 Corvette Sting Ray ($140,000-$170,000)
On the subject of bargains, this Corvette Sting Ray truly qualifies. It's a '63 split-window coupe (available for that one year only) with a 360-hp, 327-cubic-inch fuel-injected engine - the holy grail of Corvettes from that era. Plus, it has only 46,000 miles on it since new and and it's a Bloomington Gold and Duntov Award winner. Any bets that the price estimate will be low?
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1967 Toyota 2000 GT ($800,000-$1,000,000)
Arguably the prettiest car ever to come from Japan, this Toyota 2000 GT is one of just 62 left-hand-drive models built for the American market. Developed in conjunction with Yamaha, it marked a turning point in Toyota’s conservative history and remains a milestone car today.
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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Back on the Italian front, this rare Maserati is one of just three Frua Spiders built on the A6GCS/53 chassis. Considered to be among the most beautiful sports cars of the 1950s, it has been shown at Pebble Beach and it was awarded the prestigious Coppa d’Oro at the 2010 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. How’s that for provenance!
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1966 Ferrari Dino Berlinetta GT ($2,000.000-$3,000,000)
Equally rare, from a decade later, this Ferrari Dino is the second Dino prototype built by Pininfarina. Using a pre-production Chassis with a longitudinal Tipo 135B engine, it was displayed on the Ferrari stand at the 1966 Torino Motor Show. It’s an important one-off featured in numerous books on the marque and it’s for sale!
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona ($800,000-$1,000,000)
More common, to the extent any Ferrari can be considered common, is this iconic Daytona coupe. Unveiled in Paris in 1968, the 365 GTB/4 gained its unofficial name as a prototype when Ferrari’s legendary “P-cars” swept the podium at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1967. Today, the Daytona epitomizes the classic front-engine Ferrari GT concept, with its lean and aggressive styling widely acknowledged as one of Pininfarina’s finest designs.
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1966 Ferrari 500-Superfast Series II ($1,750,000-$2,000,000)
The auctions are flush with Ferraris of all kinds, including this striking Superfast Series II model by Pinin Farina. One of just 12 produced, it was the last generation of the original Ferrari super-coupes. This one features right-hand drive and is finished in its rare original shade of blue.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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Now an acknowledged Ferrari competitor, Lamborghini was just a tractor maker when it entered the market with the 350 GT, its first sports car. This example, with bodywork by Touring, is the 11th of just 13 built during its first year of production, paving the way for glory to come.
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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Much of that later glory came from the mid-engined Miura, with body by Bertone, which may not only be the most attractive Lambo ever but among the most beautiful cars ever. This SV model came near the end of the production run, incorporating a host of engineering improvements absent from earlier models. A highly desirable Lambo, indeed!
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series II ($5,500,000-$7,500,000)
Back in the Ferrari camp, the 500 Mondial, introduced in 1953, was Ferrari's first four-cylinder production sports. It was named in honour of Alberto Ascari’s two Grand Prix World Driving Championships. All Series II Mondials featured open coachwork by Scaglietti, prefacing the look of multiple models to come. The one for sale here is said to be the finest example of this rare breed of sports racing Ferrari, of which just eight were produced.
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1965 Iso Grifo GL ($500,000-$600,000)
The Iso Grifo was created by Italian automaker Iso Rivolta to compete with the most prestigious marques of the day. Released for public sale in 1965, the Bertone-bodied coupe was powered by a Corvette engine and quickly earned a reputation as a worthy competitor. Its makers labelled it "the finest car in the world,” which may have overstated the fact, but it remains distinctively attractive today.
(Photo courtesy Gooding & Co.)
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1958 Porsche 356 A 1600 Speedster by Reutter ($375,000-$475,000)
If your budget falls below half-a-mil, you might consider this iconic 356 Speedster, built in the last year of that model’s production. Introduced in 1954 to compete with lower-cost British imports, this iconic bare-bones Porsche blew them all away.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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1972 Nissan Fairlady 240ZG ($60,000-$80,000)
Similarly aimed at the low-end British sports-car market, more than a decade later. Was the Datsun 240Z. This rare example is a Japanese home-market version, called the Nissan Fairlady 240ZG – a Group 4 homologation special, of which no more than a mere handful made it to the U.S.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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One of those low-cost British sports cars that others were targeting was the highly successful Austin-Healey 100. Although not originally a racer, this fine example has been upgraded to full ‘Le Mans’ specs.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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1961 Plymouth Asimmetrica Roadster by Ghia ($400,000-$600,000)
For something completely different, there’s this Plymouth Asimetrica show car, built by Ghia. One of two made, at most, this only-known survivor is the design successor to Chrysler design chief Virgil Exner’s wild XNR show car.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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1953 Chevrolet Corvette ($275,000-$325,000)
Back to the world of real cars, this 1953 Corvette is number 245 of the 300 built in the marque’s first year of production. Although considered a production models, each car was essentially hand-crafted. Al, like this one, were finished in Polo White with red interiors and black tops.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Alloy Berlinetta Competizione ($9,500,000-$12,500,000)
On the subject of iconic cars, few are more so than this 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, with coachwork by Scaglietti - one of 42 alloy-bodied examples completed in 1960. While others may be rarer and more valuable, this is the quintessential Ferrari.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8-Litre Coupe ($500,000-$700,000)
Equally iconic is the Jaguar E-Type, which has defined the brand from its introduction. This rare example, chassis number 10 of 20 early production LHD coupes is considered the holy grail of early E-Types.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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1953 Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta($7,500,000-$9,000,000)
If the swooping lines of a Ferrari are more to your liking, however, there’s this early 250 MM Berlinetta, with body by Pinin Farina - the 15th of just 18 built. It debuted the iconic 250-cc-per-cylinder Colombo V-12 engine that would be the basis of multiple Ferrari 250 models thereafter.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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1966 Shelby 427 Cobra ($1,200,000-$1,500,000)
We’ll close this sampling of Pebble Beach exotica with the ultimate anti-Ferrari – a Shelby 427 Cobra. These are just a few of the hundreds of spectacular automobiles up for auction during Pebble Beach Week 2018. More information on the auctions as well as all the surrounding events can be found at the Pebble Beach Concours website.
(Photo courtesy of RM Sotheby's)
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