Monterey 2008 Auction Results

The numbers have been posted and the big auction companies have sent out press releases claiming their victories on the block in Monterey. Records were broken, but we think that more often than not buyers walked away with some bargains.

In 2007, the combined sales came to just under $135 million. This year’s sales seem to just squeak over $138 million. And it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Auctioneers were working hard to get the bidders to put their paddles in the air. At times we thought a root canal might have been less painful for these folks working the crowds to sell each car for something close to its estimate, especially in the range of $300,000 or less.

As usual, the historic and rare cars didn’t disappoint the crowds who were looking for a bidding frenzy. Here are some of the highlights from each of the auctions:

Gooding and Company with a total sales of $64,228,300 and a Pebble Beach record selling the Bugatti Atalante for $7,920,000. Their top sellers were:

1914 Stutz Series E Bearcat - $1,375,000

1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K Cabriolet B - $1,045,000

1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Barker Boattail - $1,210,000

1939 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante Coupe - $7,920,000

1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 B Mille Miglia - $2,585,000

1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider - $3,630,000

RM Auctions totals exceeded $44,000,000 and had these special cars to thank:

1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta - $4,510,000

1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Special Town Car - $2,310,000

1948 Tucker Sedan - $1,017,500

1930 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton - $1,760,000

1961 Ferrari 400 Superamerica - $1,650,000

11967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta - $1,925,000

Bonhams & Butterfields did an impressive $22,700,000 in sales and set three worlds record sales for these marques.

1936 Lagonda EPE 97 - $1,400,000

1939 Talbot-Lago T150 C SS - $4,300,000

1960 Jaguar E2A Le Mans Sports-Racing Two-Seater Prototype - $4,500,000

Russo and Steele sold 150 cars that brought $9,100.000 in sales. They also set a world record of $302,500 for a 1973 Porsche Carrera RS Coupe.

Be sure to check back next week because we'll be posting our photos of the cars we took at each of these auctions. We guarantee some pleasant viewing for your eyes. In the mean time, you can go to our Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 2008 photo gallery.