Historic ‘Porsche’ auction blunder
After the biggest blunder in recent auction history, one of the earliest cars made by Ferdinand Porsche failed to sell, writes Hannah Elliott.
During a highly charged, standing-room-only auction recently in downtown Monterey, California, auctioneers at RM Sotheby’s premier sale dimmed the lights and showed a promotional video they had made ahead of the much-anticipated sale of the 1939 Type 64.
The controversial silver coupe had been expected to sell for about
US$20 million (NZ$31.3m) before a massive mistake by the auction house upset the crowded room, leading some collectors to believe it was an attempt at a joke.
‘‘This is the only surviving example personally driven by Ferdinand Porsche,’’ the emcee said, then announced that bidding would open at ‘‘US$30m’’, a figure that was written on the front media screen of the auction theatre. Half of the crowd laughed; the other half cheered.
After rapid bidding up to
‘‘US$70m’’, with the crowd on its feet, iPhones raised, and cheering, the auctioneer announced that he said
‘‘US$17m’’, rather than ‘‘US$70m’’. The media screen was quickly changed to reflect the US$17m sum. Boos and shocked yelps and shouts ensued. People walked out.
‘‘What a joke,’’ said Johnny Shaughnessy, a collector from Southern California, who was in the room when it happened. ‘‘They just lost so much credibility. My father could have bought that car for
US$5m years ago. It has been passed around for years, and no one wants it.’’
The company said as bidding opened on the Type 64, ‘‘increments were incorrectly displayed on the screen, causing unfortunate confusion in the room.. This was the result of a totally inadvertent and unintentional mistake.’’
It added that it was an ‘‘unfortunate misunderstanding amplified by excitement in the room’’.
Comments from collectors in the crowd right after the episode included ‘‘What a scam’’, ‘‘They just slit their own throat’’, and ‘‘It worked for Banksy; it didn’t work for RM’’, a reference to the 2018 Sotheby’s sale when a piece of artwork by Banksy was shredded in a surprise stunt just after it sold.
John Bothwell, the director of Pur Sang Bugattis, called it ‘‘a massive f...-up’’.
Two RM Sotheby’s representatives
were not available for comment after the sale; a third walked away without a word when approached for a statement about the car.
In an emailed response to a Bloomberg News request for comment, a spokeswoman said that ‘‘despite interest from discerning collectors, we were unable to reach common ground between seller and buyer on the night’’.
The auction, for the Type 64 was terminated in minutes, after no bids above US$17m appeared in the room.
It’s not enough money. The car is listed as ‘‘Still for Sale’’ on the RM Sotheby’s online auction catalogue.
The Type 64 was far from the only rough sale during a weekend where gross totals were down about 25 per cent, or about US$50m, from 2018.
Across the board, while there were 16 more cars offered for the first two days of auctions in 2019, almost 30 fewer cars were sold. The average sale price was US$75,000 less than last year. Insiders at RM Sotheby’s described the current market as ‘‘a bloodbath’’.