I am not a vintage car collector but this article caught my eye... In addition to the obvious blunder on the main lot it sounds like the sale over all was a disaster. I have notice significant weakening for anything other than the very best watches of late.... Curious what happens next

"The Type 64 was far from the only rough sale during a weekend where gross totals through Friday were down about 25%, or about $50 million, from 2018, according to Hagerty. Across the board, while there were 16 more cars offered for the first two days of auctions in 2019, almost 30 fewer cars were sold. The average sale price was $75,000 less than last year. Insiders at RM Sotheby’s described the current market as “a bloodbath.”

Full article below




Porsche’s Type 64 Nazi Car Fails to Sell in Auction Blunder



By Hannah Elliott

(Bloomberg) --

After the biggest blunder in recent auction history, the Nazi car that Ferdinand Porsche made didn’t sell.

During Saturday night’s highly charged standing-room only auction in downtown Monterey, California, auctioneers at RM Sotheby’s premier sale dimmed the lights and showed a promotional video they had made ahead of the much-anticipated sale of the 1939 Type 64. The controversial silver coupe had been expected to sell for some $20 million before a massive mistake, or a blundered attempt at a lighthearted prank, by the auction house upset the crowded room.

“This is the only surviving example personally driven by Ferdinand Porsche,” the evening’s emcee said, then announced that bidding would open at “$30 million,” a figure that was written on the front media screen of the auction theatre. Half of the crowd laughed; the other half cheered. After rapid bidding up to “$70 million,” with the crowd on its feet, iPhones raised, and cheering, the auctioneer announced that he had meant to say “$13 million,” and then “$17 million,” rather than 30 and 70. The media screen was quickly changed to reflect the $17 million sum.

Boos and shocked yelps and shouts ensued. People walked out.

“What a joke,” said Johnny Shaughnessy, a collector from Southern California, who was in the room when it happened. “They just lost so much credibility. My father could have bought that car for $5 million years ago. It has been passed around for years, and no one wants it.”

Comments from collectors among the crowd right after the possible error or backfired prank included “What a scam,” “They just slit their own throat,” and “It worked for Banksy; it didn’t work for RM,” a reference to the 2018 Sotheby’s sale which saw a piece of artwork by Banksy shredded in a surprise stunt just after it sold.

John Bothwell, the director of Pur Sang Bugattis, called it “a massive f__k-up.” Two RM Sotheby’s representatives were not available for comment after the sale; a third walked away without a word when approached for a statement about the car. In an emailed response to a Bloomberg News request for comment, a spokeswoman said that “despite interest from discerning collectors, we were unable to reach common ground between seller and buyer on the night.”

The auction for the Type 64 was terminated in minutes, after no bids above $17 million appeared in the room.

“As bidding opened on the Type 64, increments were mistakenly overheard and displayed on the screen, causing unfortunate confusion in the room,” the RM Sotheby’s spokeswoman said, without responding to a request for the names of the auctioneers. “The car reached a high bid of $17 million.”

It’s not enough money. The car is listed as “Still for Sale” on the RM Sotheby’s online auction catalogue.

The Type 64 was far from the only rough sale during a weekend where gross totals through Friday were down about 25%, or about $50 million, from 2018, according to Hagerty. Across the board, while there were 16 more cars offered for the first two days of auctions in 2019, almost 30 fewer cars were sold. The average sale price was $75,000 less than last year. Insiders at RM Sotheby’s described the current market as “a bloodbath.”

The top seller on Friday, a McLaren F1 expected to sell for as much as $23 million, took just over $19 million during the RM Sotheby’s auction that night.

But the Type 64 was the most white-hot of the lot, with noted collectors and Porsche bigwigs discussing its veracity in hushed tones for weeks before the sale. Rather than its UFO looks or its astronomical asking price, it was the name of the car that caused all the hubbub.

Some observers, led by the terminology in RM Sotheby’s own auction catalog, called the silver coupe a true Porsche. After all, it was made by Ferdinand Porsche himself; he even added his name to the front of it about a decade after he made it. And with its round headlights and small rounded hood and roofline, it clearly bears signs of early design philosophies that trickled down to the car that is widely accepted to be the first Porsche, the 1948 356 Gmünd Coupe, and later Porsches like the 911 and Cayman.

Others, including the man who inspected the car for RM Sotheby’s before it went to sale, were careful to note that the Type 64 is not technically a “Porsche.” Its engine and most of its parts were supplied by Volkswagen, with components from Fiat and other niche suppliers of the time. Ferdinand Porsche was building cars for just about everyone in Germany at the time anyway, including Daimler and Auto Union. Porsche AG wasn’t even founded until 1948—10 years after this car was built—so it surely isn’t accurate to call it a true Porsche, the line of thinking goes.

Porsche AG and the Porsche Museum were careful to distance themselves from the sale, declining for weeks to comment to Bloomberg on its nomenclature and relative significance to the Porsche company story. What remains to be seen is what happens to the car next—and how RM Sotheby’s will recover from the debacle.



To contact the author of this story:
Hannah Elliott in New York at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Shamim Adam at [email protected]

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Topics Art, Collectible Auctions (AUCTION)
Automobiles (AUT)
Bloomberg Business Website (BBIZ)
Collectibles (COLLECT)
Hannah Elliott Column (ELLIOTT)
Lifestyle (LIFESTYLE)

 

It's happening now with the vintage bamboo fly rod market--prices are down about 20%--but it's not a perfect comparison as the there's a limited pool of angling tackle collectors than, say, watches and cars. But you can sense the the overall uncertainty....is becoming more certain.

 

Prices have been falling in the broader vintage watch market for some time. There are still people willing to pay high prices for the most desirable models, so the downward pressure is not yet as obvious at the top end of the market. However, condition is becoming even more of an issue, as fashionable models with condition issues have become more difficult to sell without further discounting.

 

Not many $multi-million Nazi watches. Like Jimmy Saviles cars, perhaps not good investment.

https://news.sky.com/story/buyer-of-jimmy-saviles-rolls-royce-gutted-10467440

 

Not sure how a unique watch with a highly-controversial history is indicative of anything doing with mass-manufactured vintage watches.

 

Er... shock! Horror!

 

That cars been over valued for years. It was up for sale at 5 million with no takers for almost a decade.

It’s not a Porsche, and not a particularly important car. It’s also not the only one. It’s just the one that Porsche owned for awhile after building it out of VW and some Italian parts.

As for comparison to last year. I need to look at the catalogs and estimated prices. It’s not apples to apples.

 

The car is cursed. Nothing to do with the overall market as cars with history and prestige will sell look at the ferrari 250 gto. That’s just a terrible car. Sotheby also pails in comparison to Christie’s year after year

 

This is never a good time of year for selling collectible anything.

 

Herman Goering’s Compax. Same thing. Calm the F..k down.

 

I’ve noticed in the last few yrs, high end whiskey auctions are way up. Crazy how much some of it goes for, and I don’t see it dipping anytime soon either. High end vintage Scotch in particular.

@Foo2rama
https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/japanese-whiskey-collection-breaks-auction-173610984.html

 

Wasn't talking about the top lot

Was talking about this

Across the board, while there were 16 more cars offered for the first two days of auctions in 2019, almost 30 fewer cars were sold. The average sale price was $75,000 less than last year. Insiders at RM Sotheby’s described the current market as “a bloodbath

 

Auctions are emotionally charged events and a cock up like this will puncture the palpable emotional balloon instantly. I wouldn't read too much into this other than it is an extreme embarrassment to RM Sothebys reputation.

As far as this auction in general, who knows if it means anything long term.

 

Nazi car? Maybe that was the issue.

 

The only asset class that has peaked is the bond market, and maybe some real estate prices in speculative areas. Growth will stagnate and there might be volatility with "corrections" along the way, but we are looking at a 1-2 year market trough for certain luxury goods like watches before seeing another period of price growth.