There were plenty of amazing cars for sale at the 2019 Scottsdale auctions, but there were a few surprise cars that didn't find new homes.
It has been an exciting weekend for classic and prestige car buyers with a flurry of auction houses taking part at the Scottsdale event in Arizona, USA. Gooding & Company, RM Sotheby’s, Bonhams, Russo and Steele, and Barrett-Jackson were all selling some mighty impressive vehicles, many of which sold for several million dollars.
While there was a pleasing combined success rate of over 80% cars finding new homes, there were a few surprises in the form of lots that didn’t sell. There are all sorts of reasons for this, ranging from ambitious reserve prices to changes in market demands. These 10 non-sellers were especially surprising.
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1964 Ferrari 275 GTB Prototype
Prototype vehicles are like catnip for collectors, with many being fought over for extreme sums of money. With news of a rare Ferrari prototype hitting the auction blocks with Gooding & Company, there was a good chance of riots in the aisles. However, this yellow racer failed to meet its reserve.
1955 Moretti Sport Spider
This unique Italian sports car failed to find a new home due to not meeting its reserve price. Bonhams gave it an estimate of $750,000 - $850,000, which seemed realistic considering it's one of only two ever built. Bidding reached $570,000 but went no further.
2017 LaFerrari Aperta
Being one of just 210 open-top La Ferraris ever made for the marque’s 70th anniversary, this devilishly handsome example is undoubtedly a future classic. However, its $6.5m - $8.5m estimate was pushing the upper limits of what these cars are currently deemed to be worth. As collectable as they are, there seems to be quite a few coming up for sale at the moment.
This Aperta’s top bid was a huge $5.5m, yet this still wasn't enough to take it home.
1959 Lister-Jaguar Costin
Lot 24 of Bonhams' Scottsdale auction also fell short of its estimate and reserve. This highly-original Team Cunningham car was once piloted by Sir Stirling Moss and won the SCCA C-Modified National Championship.
Aiming for north of $2m, bidding stalled at only $1.45m.
1966 Aston Martin Vantage DB6 Mk1
DB6 values have been on the up and this great example must have been on the radar of many collectors. RM Sotheby’s lower estimate of $400,000 was above the market average of $368k but, that said, it was a polished example. The highest bid of $365,000 wasn’t enough to take this British beauty home.
1986 Ford RS200 Evolution
Group B rally cars are the stuff of legend and the opportunity to own one doesn’t come along all that often. The RS200 was Ford’s ultimate rally weapon but this potent Evolution model couldn’t do better than $435,000, which wasn’t enough for its owner to part with the legendary Ford listed with RM Sotheby’s.
1969 Ferrari Dino 206 GT
The once unloved Dino is one of the classic car world’s darlings, which is currently enjoying a resurgence in popularity. While this example from Worldwide Auctioneers reached $450,000 — no small sum — it was still shy of its $525,000 - $650,000 estimate.
1925 Bugatti Type 35A
Pre-war Bugattis are a rarity, but one driven by legendary French racer Louis Chiron, even more so. This beautiful Type 35A had a $1,900,000 — $2,400,000 estimate, a high but potentially viable mark-up given its Chiron connection. The Worldwide Auctioneers bidding war slowed to a stop at $1,300,000, however.
1956 Austin-Healey 100M
This little British sports car, limited to only 640 factory-built examples, would have been a guaranteed ticket to the Le Mans Classic but a $160,000 highest bid wasn’t enough to win the Healey 100M.
1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
These iconic Gullwing cars are very popular amongst enthusiasts and collectors alike. There were a handful for sale at Scottsdale but this particular ruby red example didn’t sell. The top bid of $1.1m was just shy of the $1.2m lower estimate RM Sotheby’s had given it.
