Once again, a Ferrari has ascended the throne to become the highest-priced vehicle sold during an online-only collector car auction, this time during RM Sotheby’s Online Only: Shift/Monterey sale.
“The incredible 2001 Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive, an icon of modern-era sports car racing, achieved $4,290,000 in a hard-fought bidding war on the final day of the sale,” RM Sotheby’s reported in the results for the August 14-15 auction, which stood in for the Canadian company’s customary live flagship auction during Monterey Car Week, canceled due to the pandemic.
The total for the online sale was just over $30.41 million (results include auction fees) for 78 vehicles out of 109 offered, for a sales rate of 71.56 percent, including about $150,000 worth of Nostalgia memorabilia items.
The Ferrari 550 GT1 has quite an illustrious history, the second of 10 Prodrive race cars, completely rebuilt and coming out of single ownership by Care Racing Development, according to the auction description. The coupe competed in 49 races, taking 15 pole positions, 29 podium finishes and 14 outright race wins, including the 24 Hours of Spa in 2004. It is the last V12 Ferrari to win a 24-hour race overall.
The Prodrive Ferrari beats out the previous highest online-only auction sale, that of a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose recently sold by Gooding & Company for $3.08 million. Before that, the top online-only seller was a 2003 Ferrari Enzo sold by RM Sotheby’s for $2.64 million.
But putting the COVID-mandated online auctions in perspective, RM Sotheby’s live Monterey auction in 2019, which was expanded with an extra day of Aston Martin sales, totaled more than $107 million. In 2018, the Monterey auction reached a towering $158 million, which included the most expensive car sold in collector car auction history: $48.4 million for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Si coupe.
Still, collector car enthusiasts, racers and hobbyists have been heartened by the strength of the market during this unprecedented time, with auction companies across the board reporting decent online sales and values overall holding steady.
Ferraris filled four of RM Sotheby’s top-10 online Monterey auction sales. A first-generation short-nose 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB by Scaglietti reached the second highest price in the sale at $1.98 million.
The third-highest seller was a 2014 Pagani Huayra, which brought $1.848 million; it’s the 56th of just 100 bespoke examples produced, powered by a 730 bhp, 6.0-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine hand-assembled by Mercedes-AMG.
Amidst all the sports cars and race cars in the top 10 was an enduring pre-war classic, a 1932 Packard Deluxe Eight Individual Convertible Victoria, which sold for $1.056 million to achieve sixth place overall.
The top 10 sales for RM Sotheby’s Shift/Monterey auction were:
1. 2001 Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive, $4.29 million
2. 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, $1.98 million
3. 2014 Pagani Huayra, $1.848 million
4. 1964 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso, $1.496 million
5. 1991 Ferrari F40, $1.386 million
6. 1932 Packard Deluxe Eight Individual Convertible Victoria, $1.056 million
7. 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, $1.045 million
8. 1972 Porsche 916, $957,000
9. 1980 BMW M1 Procar, $913,000
10. 1960 Porsche MOMO 356 RSR Outlaw, $858,000
10. 2017 Ford GT, $858,000
(All results include auction fees)
“The Shift/Monterey auction has been a phenomenal success for us,” said Gord Duff, global head of auctions for RM Sotheby’s. “We’re proud to have grossed more than the combined sales totals achieved by our two nearest competitors during what would have been the Monterey Car Week, and to have set some amazing records along the way.
“It’s also fantastic to see cars from all eras featuring in the top ten results of this sale, proving that there is still robust demand across a broad cross-section of the market.”
RM Sotheby’s continues its Online Only summer auction calendar with its 50th annual Auburn Fall sale on September 3-5, with more than 500 collector cars and 400 lots of memorabilia. The Auburn sale will allow some live access instead of being entirely online.
“The sale will allow admittance to the event for pre-registered bidders and accompanying guests only, making it the only the second RM Sotheby’s sale of 2020 to allow bidders physical access, while maintaining safety protocols as recommended by the State of Indiana,” RM Sotheby’s said in a news release.
For information, visit the RM Sotheby’s website.
