It’s not every day that you open up an auction listing and see a Peel P50 next to an Aston Martin DBR9. Two special cars in their own right, and for die hard fans of the ‘Old New Top Gear’ ones that both had memorable features on the show, but two cars that have absolutely no business being alongside each other. I guess, however, that is the whole point of Monterey in a nutshell and the effect that RM Sotheby’s were hoping to have on the car loving (and buying) public.
Monterey car week and the fanfare that surrounds it has long been a staple in the car calendar, we don’t need to tell you that, but of late it seems to have grown ever more in magnitude and been reborn – the American FoS if you will. Throughout California at this moment in time you will see rare and expensive classics being driven around next to the latest and greatest of the modern generation. RM Sotheby’s are holding their Monterey auction this weekend which covers all automotive bases, and you can’t help but be pulled in by what they have for auction.
Let’s start with the cars I opened with – the Peel P50 and the Aston Martin DBR9. These two cars are seldom seen up for auction and the fact that they follow each other in the listing is yet another indication of how exciting this auction is set to be. The Peel P50 is famously one of the smallest production cars ever made and will offer a less than accommodating driving experience, but for it’s guide price of between $90,000 – $120,000 it seems there is sufficient interest in this British Microcar to justify such a hefty price tag. You can read the full details HERE.
From one cramped, noisy and hot driving experience to another – the Aston Martin DBR9 (perhaps they aren’t so dissimilar after all) is up for sale at Monterey for between $275,000 – $325,000 and is a historic slice of some of the most exciting and best sounding FIA racing in recent memory. One of just 10 Works DBR9s created this is an opportunity rarely seen at auction, read more HERE. There is also an Aston Martin Vulcan coming up for sale this week for around the $2 million mark, no doubt this car shares the basic architecture as the newer car and will be equally raw but for a tenth of the price and has racing pedigree – bargain?
Variety is what the Monterey auction is all about and there will also be comfortable classic cars for sale , you will be glad to hear, like this 1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Series III Coupe, 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series II and a 1930 Bentley 6½-Litre Speed Six Sportsman’s Saloon by Corsica.
If you’ve had a look at the links above you will realise this auction does not mess about when it comes to pricing, with cars under $1 million in relatively short supply. There are also cars for fans of any decade, which is where this auction shines. Should you be into your older classics then the above cars and more will give you plenty to drool over, and the 70’s and 80’s are equally well represented. Not ignoring the multitudes of younger car buyers and fans RM Sotheby’s have acquired some of the finest and most legendary machinery of modern times for auction.
From the 90’s we have the 993 Porsche 911 GT2 and two 993 GT2 club sports, a Lamborghini Diablo GTR and Ferrari F40. While flying the flag for the noughties and 10’s there are some of the most exciting and collectible cars of recent times, it would be tough to mention all of them but the three headline grabbers are a 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari, 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder and 2014 Pagani Huayra Tempesta.
We’ve spoken about the V12 Ferraris at auction before and how the bubble is starting to pop on these so will be interested to see how the $3 million ‘LaF’ faires at Monterey given the model’s poor performance at Villa Erba earlier this year. It is, however, a joy to see a Huayra enter the auction space and with an estimate of $2.2 million – $2.8 million on the black beauty we are excited to see for how much this car sells on the day.
There’s not long to go until the sale on Saturday so if you would like to see the full lot listing click HERE.
