WHY AREN’T THERE MORE ONE-MAKE SALES?
As the market prepares for a sale dedicated to Ferraris experts reveal why there aren’t more single-marque auctions
An auction dedicated entirely to classic Ferraris gets underway next month but market experts are divided on the idea of more single-make sales.
Silverstone Auctions is hosting the Maranello-only outing at Sywell Aerodrome on 4 June alongside the National Ferrari Owners’ Day and a few days after one of its multimarque auctions at the same venue.
Higher-value marques including Aston Martin, Ferrari and Porsche have all enjoyed one-make sales and that potentially implies that other marques could follow. CCW has also reported on sales given over entirely to Fords in the past, a reflection of the size of the market for that marque’s classics. Manager of Buckinghamshire specialist Classicmobilia, Keith Riddington, said: ‘One-make auctions take me back because I was part of the team who set up the Bonhams Aston Martin at Newport Pagnell auctions, the first of the onemake auctions.
‘For us at Aston Martin it was excellent because we only had Aston people there – a captive audience with one focus and that was to buy an Aston Martin car or related memorabilia. The only problem was that it became more like a social event for every Aston Martin enthusiast, specialist and follower of the marque.
‘We always tried to get a mixed bag of models because too many of the same model could upset the whole idea of the one-make auction and start to under-value the cars. For the buyer it gives you so many options if you are to focus on buying a car from the marque in question.’
Where auctioneers stand on one-make sales will clearly vary from one to another but Manor Park managing director, Roger Nowell, said: ‘We would consider a one-make sale, though it would be dependent on what make it was and the numbers involved.
‘It would certainly bring us more exposure and hopefully broaden our customer base, too.’
The one-make sale concept needs committed consignor support and while there could be benefits there could be downsides as well. The head of Brightwells’ classic car department, Matthew Parkin, said: ‘The concept of a one-make sale is not so much about sale day itself but more about acquiring consignments from sellers who think that it’s a great idea. It can be, too, but not for all sellers because there will inevitably be a wider choice of similar cars chasing a finite number of buyers.
‘If the model of your car stands alone in the sale and is priced correctly it has every chance of doing well. On the other hand, finding enough cars to make it happen and then sufficient buyers interested in the same make (let alone the same model) can be a challenge. It isn’t necessarily a route to guaranteed success.’
Richard Barnett