During this year’s Classic Car Week in Monterey, 53 cars were sold at auction for prices above $1 million. Incredibly, 22 of those were cars built specifically for racing, and this group was led by a Gulf/Mirage Lightweight version of a 1968 Ford GT40 (P/1074) that set a world record for an American car sold at auction when it crossed the block at RM’s sale for $11,000,000. Apart from its natural heritage, some of the car’s record-shattering appeal may be that it served as a Solar Productions’ camera car during the filming of Steve McQueen’s epic 1971 film, Le Mans.
Bringing in the second-highest bid, also at RM’s auction, was a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT long wheelbase Berlinetta Tour de France model that sold for $6,710,000. This car, chassis 0585, is the first of only nine examples of the “14 louver” version of the 250 GT, and was originally purchased by American Tony Parravano then subsequently used by Disney Studios in its 1966 film The Love Bug. After a period of disuse, it was restored by David Cottingham’s DK Engineering in 1962 before being purchased at auction by a California collector who had kept it until this sale.
Third place in the high-dollar sweepstakes went to another Ferrari, this one a 1955 857 Sport that brought in $6,270,000 at the Gooding sale to establish a world record for the model at auction, while the fourth-highest price was also from Gooding with $6,050,000 paid for a 1928 Bentley 4.5-Litre Le Mans Sports “Bobtail” that had finished 3rd at Le Mans in 1929 and which set a world record for a Bentley 4.5-Litre sold at auction.
The final member of the Top Five was the 1972 Porsche 917/10 that George Follmer used to win that year’s Canadian-American Challenge Cup. Freshly restored and wearing its original Penske Racing L&M livery, the big Porsche brought in $5,830,000 at the Mecum auction.
Other notable members of the Million-Plus Club were: a 1964 Ford GT40 prototype that went for $4,950,000 at the Gooding & Co. auction; a 1997 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail that brought in an estimated post-sale $3,850,000 at Bonhams’ Quail sale; a 1955 Aston Martin DB3S that fetched $3,685,000 at the RM sale; and an ex-works Porsche 904/6 Carrera GTS that sold for $1,575,000, also at RM’s sale.
Million-plus racecars at this year’s Monterey Classic Car week Auctions
1968 Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight – $11,000,000 [R]
1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta TdF (0585) – $6,710,000 [R]
1955 Ferrari 857 Sport; $6,270,000 [G]
1928 Bentley 4.5 Litre Le Mans Sports “Bobtail;” $6,050,000 [G]
1972 Porsche 917/10 Spyder – $5,830,000 [M]
1964 Ford GT40 Prototype; $4,950,000 [G]
1953 Ferrari 340 MM Spider; $4,730,000 [G]
1957 Ferrari 500 TRC; $4,510,000 [G]
1997 McLaren F1 GTR Longtail ex-GTC Gulf Team Davidoff – $3,850,000 [B]
1955 Aston Martin DB3S – $3,685,000 [R]
1959 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage; $3,520,000 [G]
1960 Porsche RS60; $3,465,000 [G]
1967 Ford GT MkI – $2,860,000 [R]
2001 Bentley Speed 8 LM Prototype – $2,530,000 [R]
1966 Ford GT40 Coupe (P/1033) ex-Fillipinetti – $2,205,000 [B]
1963 Porsche 904/6 Carrera GTS works – $1,575,000 [R]
1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra – $1,485,000 [R]
1964 Shelby 289 Competition Cobra – $1,320,000 [R]
1919 Miller TNT; $1,210,000 [G]
1981 Porsche 935 JLP-3 – $1,125,000 [R]
1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR – $1,100,000 [R]
2001 Audi R8 Le Mans Prototype – $1,034,000 [R]
Key: [G] – Gooding; [B] – Bonhams; [M] – Mecum; [R] – RM.
