Mecum Auctions 2012 Monterey Results

Mecum Auctions conducted its fourth sale in Monterey August 16-18, 2012 and ended the week with its best total to date. Overall, 345 of 537 cars sold (64 percent) for $32.2 million at the Hyatt, besting 2011’s $22.5 million and the previous year’s $15.6 million. The event also saw the highest price paid for a car at Mecum since the ground-breaking sale of a Shelby Daytona for $7.685 million in 2009.

Top Mecum sale this year was a 1972 Porsche 917/10 L&M Can-Am champion Spyder that sold for $5.83 million. Impressively, this price was the 10th highest received by any car at any venue during the week, and Mecum is to be commended for landing the consignment. Traditionally home to American muscle, nearly 10 percent of the cars sold by the Wisconsin-based company were Porsches. A brutish 1908 Simplex 50 Speedcar sold for $2.014 million, and a 1972 Ferrari Daytona Spyder traded for $1.113 million, rounding out the top three.

Mecum’s top 10 sales at Monterey:

1. 1972 Porsche 917/10 Spyder sold for $5,830,000
2. 1908 Simplex 50 Speedcar Roadster sold for $2,014,000
3. 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder sold for $1,113,000
4. 1974 Porsche 911 RSR IROC sold for $927,500
5. 1987 Porsche 962 sold for $874,500
6. 1965 Shelby Cobra 289 R&P Roadster sold for $636,000
7. 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Convertible sold for $609,500
8. 1977 Porsche 935 Desperado Racecar sold for $577,700
9. 1967 Chevrolet Corvette COPO Convertible sold for $556,500
10. 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS Lightweight Coupe sold for $498,200

As Gooding & Company and RM Auctions increasingly chase the headline-grabbing cars, the lower part of the market has been priced out of those auctions. Mecum has comfortably become the sale of choice for these consignments, and the numbers illustrate how successfully the company has tapped into this market. More than half of the cars Mecum sold at Monterey went for less than $50,000.

Mecum returns to action September 5-8, 2012 in Dallas, with more than 1,000 consignments slated to cross the block. Highlights include a 1963 Swiss Cheese Pontiac Catalina, a 409/409 1962 Chevrolet Biscayne and a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429.