THE MARKET

RM Sotheby’s bucks the trend with a massive sale rate at Atlanta

Sales, previews and an Isuzu 117 Coupé guide

The only Paris-Dakar Porsche 959 ever offered at auction – one of three in the 1985 event – tops this month’s auction chart. It sold for $5,945,000 at RM Sotheby’s Porsche 70th sale at Porsche Experience Center Atlanta on 28 October, helping to boost the total to $25.8m with 92% of lots sold.

Another highlight was Project Gold, the 993 Turbo recently built by Porsche as part of its celebrations. This one-off, created to showcase the parts available for the classic 993, reached $3,415,000 and the money will be donated to the Ferry Porsche Foundation. A 1958 Porsche 356A 1600 ‘Super’ Speedster (pictured below right) looked perfectly distressed after it emerged from 35 years in storage. One of very few original matching-number cars, and offered in running and driving condition, it doubled its top estimate at $307,500.

Artcurial’s Automobiles sur les Champs auction in Paris raised €4,390,732 even though just 65% of lots sold. A 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster topped the billing at €997,600, while the 1972 VW Beetle of celebrated singer Sylvie Vartan made €29,800. A collection of Facel Vegas commanded some fevered bidding, the rare 1962 Facel II selling for €274,200 and a 1964 Facel III Cabriolet smashing its €50k upper estimate at €81,100.

Bonhams’ annual London to Brighton sale on 2 November, ahead of the Veteran Car Run, raised £1,750,778 and sold 94% of its lots. A 1903 Darracq 24hp Model JJ with excellent history made £599,640, while the oldest car, an 1894/95 Peugeot 2½hp Twin-Cylinder, achieved £356,500.

Brightwells’ 24 October auction at Bicester Heritage saw sales of 65% and £1.15m, with pre-war cars faring well. A 1930 chain-drive Frazer-Nash, in continuous ownership since 1963, sold for £207,000, and a Lagonda 3 Litre tourer with Brooklands history made £85,000.

Silverstone Auctions generated £4.2 million from the 60% of lots that sold at its two-day NEC Classic Motor Show sale. Modern classics performed well, as did cars with previous celebrity owners. Steve McQueen’s 1945 Willys Jeep MB, owned by him to his death in 1980, attracted a final price of £84,375.