Sotheby’s Tries Selling New York as a Car Auction Destination
Sotheby’s Tries Selling New York as a Car Auction Destination
It was also evidence of RM Sotheby’s interest in making New York — and Sotheby’s — synonymous with high-end car auctions.
In an auction season of record-breakers — when a flawed da Vinci painting brought $450 million at Christie’s and a Paul Newman Rolex wristwatch went for nearly $18 million at Phillips — the RM Sotheby’s combine presented design icons from various eras
that included a 1973 De Tomaso Pantera ($146,000) and a 1958 Austin-Healey 100-Six ($179,000).
“A move like offering the Ferrari Formula One car that Michael Schumacher drove to a win at the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix
in a New York sale — of contemporary art, no less — is a pretty good indicator of intention,” Mr. Kinney said.
“New York is a hub for luxury buying,” Jake Auerbach, a cars specialist for RM Sotheby’s, said before the sale.
But in New York, nearly new models can earn a spot, too: A 2018 Bugatti Chiron, the first in the United States, brought $3.8 million.
That logic was affirmed by some outstanding results in the most recent sale: A 1959 Ferrari 250 GT
California Spider commanded $18 million, and 10 other cars each brought more than $1 million.
It was also evidence of RM Sotheby’s interest in making New York — and Sotheby’s — synonymous with high-end car auctions.
In an auction season of record-breakers — when a flawed da Vinci painting brought $450 million at Christie’s and a Paul Newman Rolex wristwatch went for nearly $18 million at Phillips — the RM Sotheby’s combine presented design icons from various eras
that included a 1973 De Tomaso Pantera ($146,000) and a 1958 Austin-Healey 100-Six ($179,000).
“A move like offering the Ferrari Formula One car that Michael Schumacher drove to a win at the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix
in a New York sale — of contemporary art, no less — is a pretty good indicator of intention,” Mr. Kinney said.
“New York is a hub for luxury buying,” Jake Auerbach, a cars specialist for RM Sotheby’s, said before the sale.
But in New York, nearly new models can earn a spot, too: A 2018 Bugatti Chiron, the first in the United States, brought $3.8 million.
That logic was affirmed by some outstanding results in the most recent sale: A 1959 Ferrari 250 GT
California Spider commanded $18 million, and 10 other cars each brought more than $1 million.