Monterey

Portola Hotel & Spa
16 - 17 August 2013

THE MOST VALUABLE ROAD-GOING CAR IN AUCTION HISTORY SELLS AT RM AUCTIONS' HISTORIC $125,000,000 MONTEREY SALE

RM Auctions conducted what will surely be remembered as one of the most historic and successful sales in auction history. Over two nights that witnessed the sale of some of the world's finest and most significant automobiles, a total of 120 handpicked lots achieved an incredible sales total of more than $125,000,000, with over 87 percent of all lots sold, making RM's 2013 Monterey sale the highest-grossing collector car auction of all time.

History was made when the ultra-rare and ultra-desirable 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider smashed its way into the record books by selling for an incredible $27,500,000. With all proceeds being donated to charity by the consigning family, the car established a new world record for a road-going car sold at public auction whilst also lodging itself into the all-time record books as the second most expensive car ever sold at auction.

“From day one, our singular aim was to tell our extraordinary father's story and honor him in a way that would have made him smile by donating the proceeds to charities that Dad and our entire family are fond of. We feel very blessed to be able to touch thousands of lives in such a positive way. RM Auctions did a tremendous job from start to finish, forever linking Dad's legacy with the car he loved so much. Attending the festivities on the Monterey Peninsula with our friends and family was precisely what Dad would have wanted us to do!” said Eddie Smith Jr., son of the original owner.

The Friday night sale set the tone, which was to continue through to the final lot on Saturday night. Friday saw no less than 11 cars achieve more than $1,000,000, each headed by the wonderful ex-Jim Kimberly 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider, a rare car with incredible racing history and a unique one-off pontoon fender body, which sold for $9,075,000. The 375 MM crossed the block shortly after an additional star lot, the 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster, another rare car sporting one-off coachwork by Sindelfingen, which sold for an incredible $7,480,000.

Saturday night witnessed another wonderful Mercedes-Benz, the 2012 Pebble Beach Best of Show-winning 1928 680S Saoutchik Torpedo Roadster, secure $8,250,000, rounding off the top four places in a list of no less than 26 automobiles, which exceeded $1,000,000 sale totals. The sale total of $125,000,000, a more than 30 percent increase over RM's 2012 Monterey results, correspondingly establishes an average sale value in excess of $1,000,000 for each of the 120 lots sold.

RM's fantastic weekend on the peninsula was wonderfully topped off when the truly spectacular 1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Dietrich Convertible Victoria, which was freshly restored by RM Auto Restoration, won Best of Show at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, further enhancing RM Auto Restoration's reputation as the world's leading restorer of fine automobiles. This marks the fifth time the company has won Best of Show honors in the new millennium – an extraordinary and truly unmatched achievement. The Packard also received the Gwenn Graham Most Elegant Convertible award, along with First in Class in the C-2: American Classic Open Packard category. Additional honors achieved by RM Auto Restoration include the Elegance in Motion Trophy for the 1938 Talbot-Lago 150C SS Figoni & Falaschi Cabriolet and 1st in Class for the 1931 Cadillac 452A Fleetwood Coupe in the C-3: American Classic Closed category.