European sportscars dominate Bonham's Quail Lodge sale

Carmel, Calif. -- Bonhams’ annual auction, held August 24th at Quail Lodge during the largest collector car week in the world, was a success. With 135 cars on offer, the garden party atmosphere in sunny Carmel Valley was the perfect setting for a sale that achieved a highly respectable sell-through rate of 82% with the collections of Walter & Emily Mead and Robert Koons being 100% sold, and a total of $37.7-million.

European sportscars dominated the sale. New model benchmarks were set by the1953 SIATA 208 S Spider – 1 of only 37 built – that sold for $1,655,000; the 1928 Bentley 6½-Liter Open Sports Tourer by Barker – the sole surviving example – that was bought by an American collector for $1,655,000; and the elegant 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Record Sport Coupe de Ville – with one-off coachwork by Saoutchik – that achieved $962,000, to name but a few examples.

The 1996 911 GT2 Clubsport made $1,105,000; the 1997 993 Turbo S sold for $489,000; 1989 930 Turbo “Slantnose” Cabriolet was bought for $456,000; and the 1991 964 Carrera 4 achieved $156,800, among others.

The 1921 Stutz Series K Bearcat – a motorcar that’s been in the same family since new – was hotly contested among several bidders in the room and found a home with an American collector for $478,000. The 1948 MG TC Midget sold for an impressive price of $112,000.

Other notable sales were: the 1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione Berlinetta, which was bought by a private European collector for $3,525,000; the rare 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Sports Roadster that sold for $3,277,500; and the beautiful 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Series II Cabriolet that achieved $1,682,500.

For a complete list of results, go to Bonhams.com/Quail. To learn more about upcoming motorcar and motorcycles sales – to consign and to bid, including Goodwood Revival in England in September, and Simeone Auto Museum in Philadelphia and Barber Motorsports Museum in Alabama – both in October, please visit Bonhams.com/Motorcars.