Barrett-Jackson, RM Sotheby’s, Gooding & Co, and Bonhams – 2017 Arizona Car Week
No fewer than seven auction companies held their first events of 2017 during Car Week in Scottsdale and Phoenix, AZ. This annual gathering of collector vehicles once again showcased a wide variety of muscle cars, race cars, prewar classics, and exotics. Imagine row after row of coveted dream rides, all on display at locations within a few miles of each other, and all for sale. Each of the auctions is open to the public and anyone can sign up to be a bidder if you’re ready to jump into the action. There are always surprises at these shows to kick up the excitement another notch, such as seeing a famous car from a TV series or movie and celebrity appearances. Here was some of the action at four of the major auction companies from the 2017 events — Barrett-Jackson, RM Sotheby’s, Gooding & Company, and Bonhams.
Barrett-Jackson (Total Sales: $102.4 Million)
Barrett-Jackson, which celebrated its 46th anniversary in Scottsdale this year, brought over 1,750 vehicles to auction. However, as in previous years, this nine-day event is not your traditional auction. With more than 200 vendors and 100+ sponsored interactive exhibits, it’s understandable that Barrett-Jackson would dub its Scottsdale auction a Lifestyle Event. With so much to see and do, it is definitely a “Party in the Desert.”
Of the many star cars in this year’s auction, the top sale was a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, which sold for $1,485,000. However, it wasn’t just the million dollar club cars that created excitement and bidding wars. Following is the top sale, as well as some of the other standouts that crossed Barrett-Jackson’s auction block.
Celebrities and cool cars make for a winning combination. And, at this year’s Barrett-Jackson auction there was an A-list of stars from both sports and entertainment, including Burt Reynolds, Reggie Jackson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Floyd Mayweather, Steve Tyler (Aerosmith), and Justin Bieber. Here are some of the paparazzi moments, as these stars took to the stage.
RM Sotheby’s (Total Sales: $53.8 Million)
RM Sotheby’s kicked off its season by offering approximately 140 classics and exotics for sale. Leading their top spot at this year’s auction was a German marque, a one-off, 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540. This rare five-speed K Special Roadster sold for $6,600,000. Ferraris claimed the next six highest sales spots, ranging from 2 – 4 million dollars, and a futuristic Tucker 48 brought $1,347,500. Here’s the top sale Mercedes-Benz, and other cars featured in RM Sotheby’s 18th Annual Auction in Phoenix.
Gooding & Company (Total Sales: $33.4 Million)
In its 10th year in Scottsdale, Gooding & Company offered an assortment of almost 150 stunning vehicles in its two-day auction. Top marques were Bugatti, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Shelby, Bentley, and Porsche. Perhaps one of the most interesting cars on the docket was a 1969 American Motors AMX/3, a one of a kind prototype sports car, which was engineered and developed by Giotto Bizzarrini, ItalDesign, and BMW. Here are some of the highlights from the 2017 auction.
Bonhams (Total Sales: $36.5 Million)
Bonhams, who is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques, is quickly becoming recognized as one of the leaders in the motorcar collector’s hobby. In their 6th year in Scottsdale, this year Bonhams showcased approximately 100 cars, with one of them, a 1963 Jaguar E-Type Lightweight Competition being the top sale of Arizona Car Week. This sale set the world record for the most valuable E-Type and most valuable post-1960 Jaguar ever to sell at auction. Another star car was a 1928 Mercedes-Benz Type S Supercharged Sports Tourer, which realized $4,812,500. Here are some of the cars that made the news at this year’s Bonham auction.
*All sale prices include buyer’s commission.
