Worldwide Auctioneers Scottsdale 2017

Mitchell Carlson & Roy Velander, reporting

Worldwide co-owner John Kruse (right) makes one more sweep looking for any interested bidders just before a 1967 Corvette L88 is hammered sold by Rod Egan (at right, on the podium) for $1.8 Million at their inaugural auction in Scottsdale, AZ.

Scottsdale, AZ - Joining the Arizona auction fray in January this year was Worldwide Auctions. Set up in a defunct auto dealership near downtown old Scottsdale, they were the second of the seven venues to sell cars during the week, conducting their sale on Wednesday evening in near perfect weather.

With folks wondering if there was room for another cataloged auction during this frenzied week – especially another one catering to the upper end of the market – it appears that the answer is yes. With nearly ten million dollars in sales of almost three-quarters of the cars consigned – to include two cars fetching at least a million dollars – Worldwide not only opened up the upper end market auctions strongly, but made an impressive showing for their first sale in the valley of the sun.

Topping all of those sales was a 1967 Corvette convertible, one of 21 equipped with the famed L88 aluminum 427 CID V8. As the only one to be a Silver Pearl convertible, it also had a set of GM off-road exhaust side pipes that were installed by the original owner. This beautiful boisterous C2 saw competitive bidding, especially after it was declared that the reserve was surpassed at $1,650,000. With a few more bids, it changed hands at $1.8 million.

Originally owned by John Lennon of The Beatles, this right hand drive 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL made music as it was declared sold for $225,000.

The other million dollar sale was a finely restored 1955 Lancia Aurella GT B24S convertible. Offered with a removable hardtop that looks just as good as having the top off, this Pininfarina bodied roadster found a new telephone bidder for a cool million bucks.

Our Pick of the Sale was the 1931 Pierce-Arrow 8-45 4-door touring sedan. One of four Pierces from an estate offered here, it may seem a bit difficult for some to believe that a running CCCA Full Classic was the cheapest car sold here, at $18,000.

Proof that the “barn find” thing isn’t dying off just yet. It may not look like much, but this 1961 Aston-Martin DB-4 project car was the fifth highest sale at the inaugural Worldwide Scottsdale auction on January 18, changing hands at $340,000.

*10-percent buyer’s fee not included in these results

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1931 Pierce-Arrow 8-45 4-door touring sedan 1955 Lancia Aurella GT B24S convertible 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230SL 1967 Corvette L88 John Lennon Old Cars Weekly Scottsdale Worldwide Auctioneers

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