The Classic car market is about to get it’s first real test next week.
One major highlight will certainly be Clark Gables Mercedes 300SL Gullwing which is up for sale by Barett Jackson also in Arizona from Jan 13-18th.
What makes Lot 5001 at Barrett Jackson so interesting is one word: Provenance.
You see, provenance is considered one of the most important equations when evaluating a classic car. While the car itself and the condition play a major role in determining the value, the provenance or ownership history can play a large role aswell. Especially when the first owner was a movie star like Clark Gable.
Clark Gable was one of the greatest movie stars of the 1940’s and 1950’s, the embodiment of Hollywood’s golden age.
He is most famous for his role in ‘Gone with the wind’. Like many well known celebrities, Gable liked nice things and thus in 1955 he ordered the car from Hollywood motors in California, in silver, with red interior and ordered the sought -after ‘Rudge Wheels’ instead of the standard wheels. Unfortunately Clark Gable passed away only five years later.
For details of Clark Gable’s 300 SL Gullwing click here. Lot 5001 will be interesting to follow not only because Clark Gable is such an icon and still considered by many women as the most handsome man that has ever lived, but also because the 300 SL Gullwing is such iconic classic car itself.
Today the Gullwing is still among the most sought after and collectible blue chip classic cars, with only 1300 examples produced. It is perhaps the most important German car built after the second world war by Mercedes Benz. Without a doubt the 300 SL Gullwing is a favorite classic car at LME and we will be writing much about this iconic car in the coming months. Other Auction highlights in a few days are as follows:
- A 1960 Ferrari 250 SWB Competizione (estimate is $8-9m). This will clearly be the highlight of RM Auctions.
- A 1958 Ferrari 250 LWB California Spyder (estimate is $5.5m-7m). This will be the highlight of Gooding & Co.
- A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 in stunning original colors and classiche certified (estimate is $1.4- 1.75m) RM Auctions.
- A 1957 Mercedes 300 SL Roadster in beautiful dark blue and well restored (estimate is $1-1.3m) Gooding & Co.
- A 1956 Lancia Aurelia B24 S America Spyder, one of Pininfarina’s masterpieces (estimate $800’000- $1m).
- A 1958 Porsche 356 A Speedster, in beautiful light blue (estimate $225-275’000). Gooding & Co.
My predictions for 2013
While the upcoming auctions in a few days will certainly give a good early indication of the health of the classic car market, we believe that the market will remain strong throughout the year.
Much of the conditions remain in-tact for the Classic car market to be strong: Low interest rates globally, strong interest in tangible assets, and lastly continued global political and economic uncertainty. Global auction houses like RM host five to six auctions throughout the year so collectors have a relatively liquid market in which to buy and sell. Make no mistake, prices of classic cars are very high today. But we see little reason for that to change.
Would you rather have CHF 500’000 in the bank earning close to zero interest or have an Aston Martin DB 4 in your garage? Have $1m invested in the S&P 500 index or Clark Gable’s 300 SL Gullwing?
The answers to these questions give us reason to believe that the classic car market will remain strong for the foreseeable future.
