RM Sotheby’s Cliveden House June 12, 2024

    Not having budget to travel to the U.K., nor to stay at the site, I watched this first-time sale unfold online, recording the block hammer bids. I thought I’d polish up old skills from the COVID era and compose an auction report from the auction video, the catalog, and the online photos.

 

    That proved to be, from a time management point of view, a mistake because once I started I couldn’t stop myself. RM provided multiple photos of each lot, making the task easier and more accurate, if not particularly efficient.

 

    Condition ratings (i.e., 1,2,3,4,5) are more difficult with online auction reports. These, I think, tend to be more generous in the absence of eyes-on viewing.

 

    As mentioned, this was a first-time sale at this location, a fairly magnificent pile of masonry now operated as a luxury hotel with nightly rates that make even Monterey Car Week rooms look moderately priced.

 

    The numbers below do not portray a particularly successful collector car auction. Prices were soft and only a few lots had more than desultory bidding that challenged auctioneer Sholto Gilbertson to find willing bidders.

 

    Notably, even the righthand drive lots in this U.K. sale struggled to get attractive prices. Total bids for no-sale lots were more than the total for sold lots. $13.1 million in hammer bids to a total (with commission) sale of $10.4 million.

 

    The sale room began to evacuate midway through the auction with few live bidders left at the end of the day. Cliveden House is a marvelous location (for those who are willing to pay £500/night or (much) more) and RM will resolve the conundrum of attracting consignments and bidders, but this was not an auspicious beginning.

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    Lot # 310 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso Berlinetta, Body by Fantuzzi; S/N 4383; Engine # see notes; Rosso/Tan leather; Estimate $1,412,730 – $1,926,450; Modified restoration 2- condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $1,284,300 plus commission of 13.00%; Final Price $1,451,259. 240hp, 4-speed, covered headlights, three nostrils, front and rear fender vents, Borrani chrome spoke wire wheels. Original engine found, not included. This engine is restamped from 5193 GT. Modified by first owner Luciano Pederzani (co-founder of Tecno Racing) who replaced the engine, then had the body modified by Fantuzzi with 330 LMB features including the widened and flattened grille and covered headlights. Further modified later in the U.S. with nostrils and rear fender vents. Later restored by DK Engineering in the U.K. Excellent paint and lightly stretched upholstery. Crisp gauges. Sharp but not fresh engine compartment. Ferrari’s 250 GT/L Lusso is widely admired for its sleek design and styling. The GTO and 330 LMB are similarly admired for their aggressive, purposeful design and recognizable character. This Lusso, despite being an amalgam of both, is neither of those things, a Snuffleupagus mixture of themes that wants to be at one and the same time something(s) that it isn’t. The bidders paid good Lusso money for a Muppet Lusso.

 

 

    Lot # 309 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS Convertible, Body by Pininfarina; S/N 10845; Blue/Tan leather; Black cloth top; Estimate $1,669,590 - $2,054,880; Older restoration 2- condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $1,412,730 plus commission of 12.95%; Final Price $1,595,743. 300hp, 5-speed, chrome spoke Borrani wire wheels, power windows. Excellent paint, flat panels, precise fits and gaps. Lightly stretched upholstery, tight-fitting top. Good engine compartment showing some age with surface oxidation and scaling. Restored by GTO Engineering in 2017. Appears to be lowered in the front. Repainted from Grigio Argento years ago. Ferrari Classiche Red Book certified. Contested between bidders in the room and online from opening at £800K, this result nothing if not a good value. It could have brought RM’s low estimate and still been money in the bank for the new owner. The color change and odd lowered front stance detract from its intrinsic collector value, but not from its appeal.

 

 

    Lot # 352 2000 Ferrari 550 Maranello Coupe, Body by Pininfarina-Scaglietti; S/N ZFFZR49B000119544; Daytona Nero/Sand leather; Estimate $102,744 - $128,430; Unrestored original 2- condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $102,744 plus commission of 15.00%; Final Price $118,156. 485hp, 6-speed, air conditioning, CD stereo, Tubi exhaust, SF shields, black calipers, Michelin Pilot Sport tires, books and tools, Excellent original paint, barely worn upholstery and carpets, neat and tidy engine compartment. Belt serviced in 2022 (next due in August 2025). Ceramic coated paint. This is about as good as a 550 Maranello gets, despite the 75,681 km on its odometer. It has been regularly serviced and maintained. It also is a good value, but was handicapped in this U.K. sale by its lefthand drive. It is worth more on the continent (whether to a new owner or dealer or just as the right car for continental touring) or in the U.S. but this result is fair in the U.K.

 

 

    Lot # 342 2006 Ferrari Superamerica Convertible, Body by Pininfarina-Scaglietti; S/N ZFFGT61B000145391; Grigio Silverstone/Natural leather; Estimate $295,389 - $385,290; Unrestored original 2 condition; With Reserve; Hammered Sold at $256,860 plus commission of 15.00%; Final Price $295,389. 532hp, 5-spoke modular wheels, CD changer stereo, air conditioning, yellow tach face, power windows, books and tools. The online photos show no defects in the Revocromico roof, nor are there blemishes in the paint or interior. Pristine and like new. This is 3-condition money for a 2-condition Superamerica. It was reported sold by RM at Villa Erba in 2015 for $457,208 (Euros 414,400, £295,300 at the time). This result is Euros 272,400 and £230,000. It’s a declining trend.

 

 

    Lot # 313 2003 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale Berlinetta, Body by Pininfarina-Scaglietti; S/N ZFFDT57B000132337; Argento Nürburgring/Black leather; Estimate $231,174 - $282,546; Unrestored original 2- condition; No Reserve; Hammered Sold at $205,488 plus commission of 15.00%; Final Price $236,311. 425hp, 6-speed automanual, gunmetal grey alloy wheels, black calipers, carbon fiber brake discs, yellow tach face, SF shields. Special dedication plaque to its first owner, Ferrari F1 team boss Jean Todt. Odometer shows 36,046 believable kilometers, as does the car which is clean and unblemished. Sold by RM at Monaco in 2018 for $221,094 (£163,200 at the time) with 35,365 km on the odometer. This result is £160,000 hammer, £184,000 all in. The result here is appropriate for a well-maintained Challenge Stradale and carries little or no premium for the Jean Todt ownership or its early production position in the series. It also appears to have an extended driver’s seat track that positions a short driver closer to the steering wheel and pedals. Adorning a Ferrari with SF shields is rarely more than a look-at-me gesture but in this case it is entirely appropriate as all four of the World Championships called out on the Challenge Stradale’s standard plaque were won with Jean Todt at the team’s helm. It is a good value in this transaction.

 

 

    Lot # 314 2009 Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M Convertible, Body by Pininfarina-Scaglietti; S/N ZFFKZ66C000170109; White, Red, Green striping/Red leather; Red cloth top; Estimate $417,398 - $481,613; Unrestored original 2- condition; No Reserve; Hammered Sold at $372,447 plus commission of 14.22%; Final Price $425,424. 503hp, 6-speed automanual, black calipers, carbon -ceramic brakes, Pirelli tires, gunmetal grey alloy wheels, air conditioning. 8,955 miles from new and looks like it. Sold to one of two online bidders at a price that reflects the performance, condition, low miles and benign history of this 16M. This is a sound value and a good value to both parties, but particularly good as a righthand drive car in the UK market.