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68
Record sales
at Florida’s
signatureevent
BONHAMS,
GOODING & COMPANY,
RM SOTHEBY’S
THE FIRST WEEK of March generally means two things to serious
car collectors: Spring is finally coming, and it’s time to shop in Florida.
The annual Amelia Island auctions, held in conjunction with the Amelia
Island Concours d’Elegance, are the traditional second stop on the Big
Three collector-car auction weeks, the other two being Scottsdale,
Arizona, in January and Monterey, California, in August.
We saw strong results overall at Amelia. Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s
increased total sales by more than $ 2 million and more than $ 1 0 million,
respectively, with similar sell-through rates to last year’s auctions.
Gooding & Company suffered a setback this year, selling nearly $ 14
million less than it did in 20 18. Prewar cars featured strongly; Bonhams
did particularly well, selling all lots from the pre-eminent Don C. Boulton
Collection of Brass Era cars and parts. Read on for top-five sales results
from each auction, along with some of the auction highlights.March 7-9, 2019
AMELIA ISLAND, FLORIDAby
RORY
JURNECKA1963 Volvo P 1800 S
Sold, $3 2 ,4 80
If you have an eye—but
not the budget—for Aston
Martins, may we suggest you
try a Volvo P1800? The classy
Swedish coupe was originally
built in England by Jensen
until production switched to
Volvo’s native country with the
“S” version in ’63. With steel
bodywork and just 108 hp from
a 1.8-liter twin-carbureted four-
cylinder engine, the P1800S
isn’t what you’d call quick, but it
provides a stylish and involving
drive. The days of snatching up a
P1800 coupe with change found
in the couch are long gone, but
fortunately that means more
owners are finding it worthwhile
to restore and maintain these
cars. This seemed a good-quality
driver-condition car that sold
strongly on its honesty.1966 Mercedes-Benz
230 SL
Sold, $33,600
These “Pagoda” SLs began a
new era for the Mercedes Sport
Leicht program and are in
fashion among collectors looking
for a highly usable classic. As a
replacement for the aging 190
SL—the four-cylinder roadster
that borrowed its good looks
from the motorsports-derived
300 SL—the squared-off, Paul
Bracq-penned 230 SL was
thoroughly modern, with four-
wheel independent suspension
and a fuel-injected six-cylinder
engine good for some 150 hp,
or nearly double the power
of its predecessor. This car
was originally delivered to
Switzerland and as such has the
slimmer Euro-spec bumpers and
Euro-style lights. It presented
as a slightly scruffy driver, andpaired to the four-speed manual
transmission (many U.S.
Pagodas featured automatics),
this should make a sporty and
comfortable classic roadster for
about the cost of a new Miata.
Examples in perfect condition
sell for double this amount.1988 Ferrari Testarossa
Sold, $64,400
A couple short years ago,
Testarossa values rebounded
strongly after they bottomed
out somewhere around $50,000
for average cars, and this
example may well have brought
$100,000 or more. Since then,
the market has softened for
volume-production Ferraris
(the factory built more than
7,000 Testarossas, and that
number swells to nearly 10,000
when including the 512 TR and
512 M models), though this
car’s winning bid of $64,400
still seems a touch light at first
glance. Factor in the 39,200-
mile odometer reading and the
likely need for a fresh engine-
out major service ($15,000
if you’re lucky, double that if
you’re not), and suddenly this
one’s at market value.1913 Mercer Type 35J
Raceabout
Sold, $ 8 96,000
It may look somewhat humble
today, but you could consider
the Mercer “Raceabout”BONHAMS
Total automotive sales:
$ 1 5,775, 860
Cars sold:
90 of 108
( 8 3 percent sell-through)TOP 5 SALES
1. 1930 Cadillac Series
452 V- 16 Roadster,
$ 1 , 18 7,500
2. 1968 -69 Repco
Brabham-Cosworth
BT26/BT2 6 A,
$ 1 , 1 05,000- 1913 Mercer
Type 35J Raceabout,
$ 8 96,000 - 1914 Simplex
50HP Speedcar,
$ 88 5,000 - 1 904 Peerless
Type 8 Style K 2 4HP
King of Belgium,
$69 8 ,000