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The Old And The Beautiful Compete For New Money At RM Sotheby’s

If the annual Pebble Beach, Calif., auctions are the foggy highlight of summer for enthusiasts and collectors, then their balmy winter counterparts unfold each January in Scottsdale, Ariz. Here’s what RM Sotheby’s will bring to the party; check out the rest of the highlights here.

Scroll through the entries for RM Sotheby’s upcoming sale at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel (Jan. 28-29) and what strikes you first is that the list hits almost every letter of the automotive alphabet, from a 1960 AC Aceca-Bristol (a rare left-hand-drive cousin to the Cobra-inspiring AC Ace) to a 1967 Volkswagen Type 2 “21 Window” Deluxe Microbus (boasting 47-hp and seatbelts).

In between there’s just about every wish-list conveyance most car nuts might dream of, including a strangely dazzling 1953 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe by Ghia (Detroit on a date with Milan), too many Ferraris to mention (though I have to mention the always jaw-dropping mid-’80s 288 GTO) and 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Newmarket Convertible Sedan by Brewster (from an era when you car’s name had to at least be as long as you posh family crest).

So you can imagine that when pressed to highlight his favorites, RM Sotheby’s car specialist Gord Duff hesitates. He starts out talking about the already collectible 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder on the block, a white over black carbon fiber number that he expects to grab between $1.3 million and $1.6 million. Then he segues over to a handsome grey over tan 2005 Ferrari Superamerica boasting a now-rare-for-Ferrari stick shift, “which I know is something people will be chasing in this F1 (paddle-shift) era,” he says, adding that the coupe should fetch between $650,000 and $750,000.

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“Let’s just say there’s a huge diversity, from early brass cars to rare ‘30s classics to late-model Porsches and Ferraris with low mileage,” says Duff. “We’re looking forward to an event that as usual kicks off the auction year and tells the tale of the market until we roll into the big event in Monterey (Calif.) every summer.”

But despite such broad observations, in the end Duff agrees to come up with his top three:

All photos Darin Schnabel ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sothebys