Auction Results: Gooding & Company’s 2013 Pebble Beach sale
Gooding & Company celebrated its 10th anniversary at Pebble Beach on Aug. 17-18, 2013. Quite a bit has changed during the last decade, when the upstart was taking on established companies such as Christie’s, Bonhams and RM. In fact, two individual cars have sold for more than the $14M Gooding’s successful first sale generated in total, just in the last two months alone. Gooding has also transformed into an industry leader that seemingly sets the bar higher at each venue. For example, last year in Pebble Beach the company established a record for the highest-grossing collector car auction ever, with $113.7M in sales.
It shouldn’t come as a disappointment, then, that Gooding amassed a slightly lower overall total this year, with 116 of 127 lots selling for $112.0M, including buyer’s premium. The figure it was aiming for, after all, was uncharted territory. Furthermore, bidders were very close on three multi-million-dollar lots, and a sale of any one of them would have elevated the total beyond last year’s figure. Consider 2013 a success.
Overall, prices at the auction consistently came down at the bleeding edge of the market. A 1915 Cretors Model C popcorn wagon captured the crowd’s imagination, rallying all the way to a $374,000 sale price, or just slightly less than what could have been spent on what is often regarded as one of the prettiest and most significant automotive designs of the postwar era — a 1948 Cisitalia 202 SC coupe ($385,000). A 1959 Fiat Jolly earned $148,500 and a 1968 Triumph TR5 sold for $115,500 — both high numbers indeed. The rise of 1960s Ferrari 2+2s continued, only in a hyperbolic fashion, with a 1968 330 GTC trading at an incredible $946,000.
Top sale over the two days was a 1957 Ferrari 250 GT 14-louver TdF that sold for $9.46M. While this was a world record for the model at public auction, the price seemed mostly in line with prevailing market conditions since the car ticked both the boxes for immaculate condition and superb usability. Private sales of 4-cam Carrera 356s have been rumored at prices above $1M, but this was finally publicly crystalized with the sale of a 1956 Porsche 356 1500 GS/GT Carrera Speedster at $1.485M. A 1956 GS Carrera coupe also changed hands for a tidy $715,000. The Porsche 993 is another aggressive car in the market. Being the last air-cooled 911, it has a vocal following and a GT2 variant sold for a remarkable $506,000. Other big news from the sale was the $8.47M that a 1997 McLaren F1 garnered. These cars are skyrocketing in price and for those who hadn’t tuned in lately, the amount was likely a shocking surprise for a car that could be found for $2M-$4M in 2010. Not all the buys were over the top, of course, as deals lurk at every auction. In particular, the $1.485M that a 1964 Shelby Cobra 289 independent comp car went for seemed to be a bargain.
Overall Top 10:
- 1957 Ferrari 250 GT TdF Berlinetta sold for $9,460,000
- 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Atalante sold for $8,745,000
- 1997 McLaren F1 Coupe sold for $8,470,000
- 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione Berlinetta sold for $7,150,000
- 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione Coupe sold for $4,840,000
- 1966 AAR Gurney-Weslake Eagle Mk I Race Car sold for $3,740,000
- 1957 Ferrari 500 TRC Race Car sold for $3,080,000
- 1967 Ferrari 365 California Spyder sold for $2,970,000
- 1929 Bentley Speed Six Grafton Coupe sold for $2,860,000
- 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy Berlinetta sold for $2,585,000
Next up for Gooding is the company’s annual Scottsdale sale, Jan. 17-18, 2014.
