Scottsdale auction set to astound

The Scottsdale collectors’ car auctions – held by Bonhams, RM Sotheby’s and Gooding & Co – are the first major sales of 2021 and provide an enticing window on the world of classic cars, as well as an early pointer to the state of this year’s market. What cars will be attracting the big spenders’ interest? We went online to do some tyre kicking…

First stop: Bonhams, and a trio of German convertibles. They are led by a 1959 BMW 507 Series II, among the most collectible and coveted of BMWs with a value to match. Bonhams is expecting it to make between $1.9-2m.

The car in the sale is one of just 253 507s that BMW made as its answer to the Mercedes SL. BMW’s most expensive model, each came with a jaw-dropping price tag when new, ensuring that only the most well-heeled could afford one. Owners ranged from Elvis Presley to the Aga Khan. The collector selling this car has had the car for 30 years.

Mercedes’ most expensive model and Hollywood stars’ fave in the mid 1950s was the Mercedes 300Sc roadster. This hand-built four-seat convertible dripping with style and luxury fittings was by far (only 53 ever made) the rarest of the special short-chassis models derived from the 300 series limousine, Merc’s first all-new design after the war. More stately than sporty like the 300SL, the Sc nevertheless had the SLR racecar’s fuel-injected engine under its long bonnet.

The Bonhams car, with a guide of $775,000-875,000, was newly delivered new to New York. It has covered just 500 miles since restoration 25 years ago.

The 300Sc’s spiritual forebear was the 540K cabriolet and one of these completes Bonhams’ German convertible trio. It’s a 1939 Special Cabriolet A model, one of 69 built that year and powered by a supercharged 5.4-litre engine. Mercedes 540Ks have been a cornerstone of collections and concours events for decades – this magnificent example was best in show at Pebble Beach in 1973. No price guide for this one – you’ll have to ask, and you know what that means…

Other Bonhams Scottsdale highlights that tempt us are a 1958 Porsche 356A 1600 T2 Speedster ($475,000-550,000), a 2018 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante ($500,000-700,000) and – alas, still way outside our budget – a 1992 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione 1 ($160,000-190,000). How these cars have shot up!

Bonhams’ Scottsdale auction is a live and online sale that takes place on Thursday 21^st January. Pre-sale viewing is by appointment only and you can watch the sale, and bid, at Bonhams.com.

Gooding & Co is promising collector cars for all pockets and points to a smashing looking 1966 Mini Moke as one of its more accessible offerings. But as you might expect of a company that set several auction records in 2020, including highest priced car in the form of the £9.5m 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports, the emphasis is more on prices with a great many noughts in them…

And right up there for Gooding’s contender for the car with the most noughts is another Bugatti: a 1926 Type 37, among the most iconic of all grand prix Bugattis. This car is believed to be the one of longest-privately owned of all Bugattis, the late owner – a Broadway set designer – driving it most Sundays over a period of 60 years. Gooding isn’t giving price guides; just think lots of noughts.

Other Scottsdale cars that stand out among Gooding’s offerings are a 2011 Porsche 997 GT2 RS (the most powerful 997 and only 500 built, with 3,000 miles from new); a 2010 Rolls-Royce Phantom drophead coupe (you know, the one with the teak tonneau and stainless steel finishes), and, less opulent but still grand four-seat convertible, a pair of ‘70s Mercedes 280 SE 3.5 cabrios (along with a 280 SE 3.5 coupe).

Gooding & Co will also be offering a Porsche 356A Speedster, a Shelby Mustang and a fresh-to-market 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose. Take note though that if it’s a four-cam you want there’s a 275 GTB/4 at Gooding’s subsequent auction at the end of January, when other delights to tempt from an esteemed nine-car collection include a 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT and host of classic Rolls-Royce and Bentley models.

Gooding & Co’s Scottsdale Geared Online auction kicks off on 18^th January and the hammer drops on all lots on Friday 22^nd January.

Our final visit to Scottsdale takes a sneak peek at the 80 or so cars RM Sotheby’s has assembled for its Arizona livestream auction at the OTTO Car Club on Friday 22^nd January. The heavy hitter here, and aiming to maintain the extraordinary prices achieved by pre-war Bugattis in 2020, is another of the French classics: a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC tourer, one of only 16 Type 57S Bugattis delivered with open coachwork. Like the car Bonhams is selling at its Legends sale in London on 19^th February, it is one of eight 57Ss bodied by Corsica. RM estimates it will make between $4.75-6.5m.

Even more valuable by RM’s reckoning is the 1955 Jaguar D-type it is selling at Scottsdale, sold originally by Bernie Ecclestone and with former owners that include Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant. RM expects the red D-type to make between $5.75-7.5m.

And what if old Bugs and Jags don’t float your boat? Never fear for RM has the most exceptional array of modern-day supercars – led by a McLaren Speedtail in what is thought to be the model’s first pubic auction appearance.

Only 106 of the 250mph, three-seat 21^st century reimaginings of the McLaren F1 are being made and this Atlantic Blue car with just 30 miles on the clock is number 36, delivered new to McLaren Philadelphia a few months ago. Each Speedtail comes with a base price around £2m but they are all highly bespoked and this car is no exception. MSO extras on this car, including stealth titanium and gloss carbon fibre finishes, and a £39,000 set of body pinstripes, total £137,000.

What will it sell for? The auction house estimates it at $3.5-4.5m, saying the saga of the Speedtail is only getting started, and that “like its predecessor the F1, the Speedtail is predicted to capture the public’s attention for decades to come.” If in future years Speedtail values go the way of the F1, that $4.5m might be seen as a bargain…

If you think that must exhaust RM’s Scottsdale supercar cupboard you would be very wrong. How about this for a line-up:

• 2019 Koenigsegg Regera, one of 80 produced between 2016 and 2020 and the first to appear at public auction. Crystal white, 200 miles up and with $217,000 in options. Estimate: $2.6-2.9m
• 2019 McLaren Senna, the 95th of 500 examples of McLaren’s most track focused road car, with 500 miles and options – $360,000 worth! Estimate: $1-1.3m
• 2003 Ferrari Enzo, the cover car for Car and Driver, July 2003 issue and with its striking yellow Giallo Modena paint you can see why. Bet they sold out of Car and Driver that month… Estimate: $2.25-2.5m
• 1993 Cizeta V16T. This Gandini-designed 16-cylinder monster was meant to be the next big thing but only nine were ever built. This one, with 620 miles showing, was the 1993 Geneva show car before it went to its first owner, the Royal Family of Brunei. Estimate: $600-750,000
• 2019 Ford GT, not just any GT but one of the few Lightweight 600A spec cars. It’s blue, with the required stripes, and shows delivery miles only. $900-1.2m

RM Sotheby’s Arizona sale will be a live auction with limited attendance for registered bidders, while also allowing bidding online, via telephone or absentee. The cars will be on display at OTTO Car Club in the week leading up to the sale with viewing by appointment. The auction will stream live on rmsothebys.com.

Photography by Bonhams, Gooding & Co and RM Sotheby’s respectively.