Boom
or bust? Make up your mind and evaluate the American and
European economies and decide where they are heading.
Cash is being pulled out of Italy, France, England, Spain
and yes, the USA and put in to "safe" investments.
If you are convinced that the stock market and land are
not safe havens for your investments, you have to find
places that are.
This Summer has brought vintage cars out of the garage
and onto the roads. As the season’s historic motoring
events revved up, it’s also has been a time for benchmark
European and American auctions. Car auctions have done
well this year. “Having lost money on the financial
markets, people are putting money into their passion —
be it art or classic cars,” says Matthieu Lamoure,
director of Paris auctioneer Artcurial Motorcars. “An
advantage of cars is that you can use them. They are something
concrete that you can touch. A car is alive.” Mr.
Lamoure sees these old cars as “moving sculptures”
that appeal to “Epicureans, people who love good
wine and good food. They are part of a life style.”
He expects the market to keep on growing as new buyers
enter the field. He states that at the moment, they are
largely from Europe and South America, but he believes
they will soon be joined by China and other Asian countries.
At the U.K.’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in West
Sussex, England, on June 29, rival auction house Bonhams
sold around £22 million ($34 million) of classic
cars. This sum included £5.04 million ($7.8 million)
for a 1929-31 supercharged Blower Bentley single-seater
that was driven by famed British motoring sportsman Henry
“Tim” Birkin. The price was the highest ever
paid at an auction for a British car. The sale’s
close-second was an aristocratic 1912 Rolls-Royce Silver
Ghost double limousine that fetched £4.71 million.
Bonhams says this double-purpose vehicle was “driven
by chauffeurs during the week, then taken out by the family
on the weekends to experience the joys and challenges
of the countryside.”
RM Auctions Monterey
2012
August 17–18, California
Monterey 2012 entered the
record books not only besting all previous
sales totals, but also producing some astonishing
individual sales results — $95.2 million
in total sales and an 88% sell-through rate.
The results represent the highest individual
auction tally in RM’s history and an
almost 20% increase on last year’s
record sale.
The 27th annual RM Monterey auction featured
119 cars, with 20 automobiles achieving
prices over $1 million and five lots breaking
the $5 million barrier. Top sale went to
the 1968 Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage that sold
for $11,000,000, a new world record for
an American automobile sold at auction.
Chassis P/1074, the first, by serial number,
of several lightweight GT40s built for the
J.W.A./Gulf team, was raced extensively
throughout 1968 from Daytona to Le Mans,
as well as the Le Mans trials at the hands
of Jacky Ickx, before it was sold to Solar
Productions in 1970 and used as a camera
car in Steve McQueen’s Le Mans.
Monterey
2012 Auction Results
Of the 119 automobiles
on sale, 105 found a new owner, reflecting
a 88% sell-through rate. Total sales volume
was $95,274,150, inclusive of buyer’s
premiums. The average price per car sold
was $907,373.
Monterey
2012 – Top 20 Auction Results
1.
1968
Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight Racing
Car – $11,000,000
11.
1929
Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top
Convertible Coupe – $1,897,500
2.
1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB
California Spyder – $8,580,000
(In 2011, RM Auctions offered
144 automobiles for sale, with 123 finding
a new owner, reflecting a 85% sell-through
rate. Total sales volume was $78,192,700,
inclusive of buyer’s premiums. The
average price per car sold was $635,713.)
The same collectors that buy cars as
investments also buy literature and memorabilia on not
just their cars but similar cars that they would also
like to own. Compared to the cars, original literature
can sell for very little and an owner or enthusiast
is not concerned about the small cost of literature
after spending tens of thousands for a car. Their car
without the associated literature is like having a car
that is missing a part. They just buy it and if you
own that valuable commodity, you own an investment.
Can you not afford the car yourself ? Buying the literature
is the next best thing. View it as an investment.
