Another August, Another $18 Million Ferrari Ready To Break Records

Another August, Another $18 Million Ferrari Ready To Break Records

You know it’s time for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance when auction house bosses start talking about setting records as if they’re Olympians training for battle. We’re taking a look at some of the automotive gems that will be offered during the Monterey peninsula concours week that culminates with the big awards and sales Aug. 16. 

Here’s the scoop on Gooding and Company:

“The Ferrari market is on fire,” says David Gooding, with perhaps a touch of understatement. Thermonuclear is more like it.

The de facto star of Gooding’s auctions, which unfold Aug. 15 and 16 at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center ($40 for one, $100 for two plus catalog), is a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, a model that is fast creeping up on the mythical 250 GTO in both value and star status.

Gooding says his Cal Spider is estimated at “a conservative and reasonable” $16 to $18 million, a proclamation that’s based on the sale last year of an unrestored Cal Spider for $18 million. In contrast, this European-kept gem with extensive ownership records has been Ferrari Classiche certified, which is the factory’s way of saying that all is right with the model, from matching numbers to correct and working parts.

Although chassis 3095 GT, one of only 37 covered-headlight short-wheelbase examples, comes in Ferris Bueller-approved red over tan, Gooding says “it would be really interesting if the next owner returned it to its original livery, which was dark blue over red.”

All images copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photos by Mathieu Heurtault

Gooding and Company will have a number of other regal Prancing Horses crossing the block - including a 1957 Superamerica Series II Coupe ($5 million to $6 million) that belonged to the Shah of Iran and post-divorce his wife, and a 1965 Superfast ($3 million to $3.4 million) that was purchased new by the Aga Khan - one of the most interesting Ferraris costs way less.

Dubbed the Vetroresina, Italian for fiberglass, this 1976 308 GTB is a telling marker for where the Ferrari market is going. While Vetroresina models and in particular the hard-top GTB variant were always rare birds, the fact that this example in classic Rosso Corsa red over tan Connolly hides is slated to get between $175,000 and $225,000 speaks to the way in which the rising eight-figure Ferrari tide is causing lesser examples produced in high volumes to rise in value.

Until very recently, a well-kept 1989 328 GTS - the last of that plentiful model’s run — might have cost $50,000. Today, that same car is worth closer to $120,000.

“In years back, we might have had one or two 308 or 328 models at auction, but this year we have 10,” says Gooding, who quickly adds that owners of that Pininfarina-penned gem have come out of the woodwork lately and deluged the auction house with their cars.

“We only take the best, and not all of them are in great shape,” he says. “But it’s clear that the ones in good condition will do well. After all, millions of us grew up watching ‘Magnum PI’ (whose on-air star Tom Selleck drove a 308) and have a real soft spot for them. This Vetroresina has the added distinction of being the oldest 308 ever imported into the U.S.”

While Ferraris continue to command some of the top prices at auction, longtime on-track rival Porsche is gradually gaining on the house of Maranello. Two Gooding Porsches promise to command healthy seven-figure sums next month, beginning with a 1982 956 that could fetch between $7 million and $9 million. 

This 956 is one of only 10 factory works cars overseen by engineer Norbert Singer, and it started its life in the hands of Jochen Mass and Vern Schuppan, who guided the car to second place at the 1982 24 of Le Mans race during a dominant 1-2-3 Porsche sweep. The very next year, it won Le Mans outright in the hands of Schuppan, Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood. Porsche’s 1-2 win at Le Mans this year will likely only whet appetites more for this machine.
“It’s simply one of the most important Porsches of all time, a great representative of a model that dominated the competition during much of the ‘80s and into the ‘90s,” says Gooding.

The other Porsche that will set Zuffenhausen fans alight is a 1960 RS60 ($5.5 million to $7 million), which was campaigned by the factory team at Le Mans, Sebring, Nurburgring and Targa Florio.

“This is the ultimate development of the (550) Spyder,” says Gooding, who adds that this factory works machine has a slightly different nose than other RS60s. “Sir Stirling Moss drove all kinds of cars in his legendary career, but he’s said that driving an RS60 was his favorite. I think we may see a record with the one.”

Last year, the Monterey auctions brought in nearly $400 million in a few days, with the average car selling for about $535,000. With the kind of cars coming up for sale this year at Gooding, those records look built to be broken.