Auction Results: RM/Sotheby’s New York City 2013 sale

RM Auctions and Sotheby’s successfully conducted their highly publicized “Art of the Automobile” auction in New York City on Nov. 21, 2013. In a little more than two hours, a room packed with excited bidders watched 31 of 34 vehicles sell for $62.5M. To put this feat in proper context, RM needed two days and 200 cars three years ago to achieve a similar result in Monterey, during a sale that was considered strong by all contemporary accounts. More than half of the cars offered in New York sold in excess of $1M, and 11 cars established new record prices of one stripe or another.

The auction’s headliner was a fantastic 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, first owned by Steve Earle of Monterey Historics fame, and the car didn’t disappoint. Continuing the upward climb of Enzo-era Ferraris that has been speeding along since 2009, the LM became the fourth most expensive car to ever sell at public auction (behind the W196 Mercedes-Benz and two other Ferraris), fetching a price of $14.3M.

New high-water marks were set for 300SL roadstsers, BMW 507s (both sold for $1.65M a piece), as well as non-competition E-Types, with a 4.2-liter SI convertible selling for an astonishing $467,500. The three cars that missed their reserves were the 1955 Lincoln Indianapolis design study by Boano (at a high bid of $1.55M), the 1941 Cadillac “Duchess” limousine (bid to $415,000), and a 1997 Ferrari F310B ($630,000 high bid).

Top 10

1. 1964 Ferrari 250 LM Coupe sold for $14,300,000
2. 1938 Talbot-Lago T150 CSS Teardrop Cabriolet sold for $7,150,000
3. 1959 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Alloy Coupe sold for $7,040,000
4. 1955 Maserati A6G/2000 Spyder sold for $4,455,000
5. 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental Sports Coupe sold for $2,420,000
6. 1936 Delahaye Type 135 Competition Court Teardrop Coupe sold for $2,420,000
7. 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Europa Coupe sold for $2,420,000
8. 1956 Aston Martin DB2/4 Mk II Supersonic Coupe sold for $2,310,000
9. 2011 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Roadster sold for $2,310,000
10. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SII Cabriolet sold for $2,035,000

RM’s next event is its annual Phoenix, Ariz., sale, scheduled for Jan. 16-17, 2014. Key consignments for the event include a 1935 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet deVille, a 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6 and a 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso.