Gooding & Company realized more than $106 million at its Pebble Beach Auctions over the weekend. The auction house sold 107 of 121 lots, which resulted in an 88% sale rate, with an average price of $990,699 per car and an impressive 30 cars sold for over $1 million. Auction records were broken during the two-day sale, as new benchmarks in automotive excellence were set for 16 cars including a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider, a 1955 Aston Martin DB3S and a 1956 Maserati 250F, among others.
The top lot of the weekend overall was the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider. This Ferrari is the highly sought-after covered-headlight example. In addition to this distinction, 2903 GT is one of a limited number of SWB California Spiders factory equipped with an optional hardtop. Offered for sale for the first time in over 14 years, this stunning Ferrari sparked a round of feverous bidding that resulted in a final sale of $15,180,000, a world record for a Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider.
This Ferrari wasn’t the only example that reached enviable sum, but also since the auction also included a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet (sold for: $5,610,000), a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose Alloy (sold for: $4,620,000), a 2001 Ferrari 333 SP (sold for: $2,365,000), a 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso (sold for: $2,365,000), a 1956 Ferrari 250 Europa GT (sold for: $2,310,000), a 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso (sold for $2,200,000) and a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Series II Cabriolet (sold for: $2,090,000).
Also during the sale, Sir Stirling Moss presenting the 1956 Maserati 250F (sold for: $4,620,000), which he triumphantly drove to victory in the 1956 Italian Grand Prix, and Jay Leno’s energetic participation in the charity sales of the 1957 Buick Caballero Estate Wagon (sold for: $280,000) and the 2014 BMW i8 (sold for: $825,000).
Auctioneer Charlie Ross: ‘What a sale!…30 cars sold in excess of $1 million and several world auction records–including the magnificent California Spider which, after a round of spirited bidding topped $15 million dollars.’
Auctions of automotive excellence will continue at Gooding & Company’s Scottsdale Auctions on January 16 and 17, 2015 and the Amelia Island Auction on March 13, 2015. Highlights and star cars will be available in the weeks preceding each sale.
