As usual RM Auctions put on a typically impressive show in London headed up by charismatic MD and auctioneer Max Girardo.  We present the results and our analysis of what they mean to the UK classic car market.

The auction started slowly with notable bargains Colin Chapman’s own mark 2 Lotus Cortina looking like a real bargain at £20,000 and a  Mercedes Benz 300S selling for £55,000 under lower estimate. A 25th Anniversary Lamborghini Countach underlined the popularity of the 80’s icon by making an impressive £200,000 on the hammer and a Jaguar XJ220 made over estimate at £147,500 although we felt that the estimate was a little low.

A 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster sold for £550,000 against a low estimate of £670,000. What looked to be a very nice Lamborghini Miura P400 sold for £580,000 – a seller declined a bid of £560,000 for a P400 only days previously at Silverstone auctions. 

Leading the charge were late model Ferraris which made up for the rather lacklustre performance of some of the other lots. A Ferrari F40 made a healthy £680,000 while a selection of low mileage, one owner cars performed very well against some reasonably conservative estimates. The big ticket cars failed to ignite the expected bidding war and the auction finished with a sell-through rate of 86% – down on the Monterey figures but up on the reported 64% at Silverstone’s Salon Prive sale where the estimates were noticeably higher. The star turn – a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione ‘Tour de France’  – made £4.35 million against an estimate of £4.1-5.2 and Girardo did a good job of teasing out as much as he could from what appeared to be relatively cool audience.

The verdict

In line with bidders behaviour at last week’s Salon Prive Auction sellers’ prices have now apparently exceeded buyers’ valuations and the market appears to be correcting itself. Values are still strong but in the case of the auction results the market will go back to the buyers if they continue to show the level of discipline they have exercised so far in the UK round of big summer auctions. The selling prices are undoubtedly impressive but for the last seven days and over 150 lots the estimates aren’t being hit. No doubt Bonham’s Revival sale will cast even more light on the market.

Media Buzz

RM put on some great theatre with enthusiasts particularly enjoying the Live Stream and Twitter was alive with comment and congratulation. As usual the focus was on the strong results which were not necessarily in context – the ensuing analysis from the classic car and mainstream media will undoubtedly be interesting.

Click the image below for the full results and analysis.

Image courtesy of RM Auctions