BLUE OVAL BONANZA
PUNDITS STATED THAT THE 2019 Monterey auction atmosphere was “soft” following the record-smashing results a year prior, with a collective drop of some 36 percent according to one report. We beg to differ.
Yes, a percentage could be attributed to a dip in the economy leading into Car Week; however, much of the difference could be attributed to three cars from 2018 — all sold by RM Sotheby’s — that accounted for nearly $80 million of last year’s grand total. Undaunted by the absence of those three standouts, the Blenheim, Ontario-based auction house delivered yet another stellar catalog to bidders who gathered at the Portola Hotel & Spa for the 22nd annual sale, which was expanded from its traditional two-night format to three.
The auction commenced on Thursday, August 15 — a night dedicated solely to the cars of Aston Martin, including the record-setting $6.38-million sale of a 1965 DB5, built to promote the movie Thunderball — before continuing with the wide array of vehicles the auction house is renowned for, including a carefully curated collection of domestic muscle machines. We hope you’re a diehard Dearborn performance enthusiast, as all but two carried racy Blue Oval mechanical DNA.
Unsurprisingly, then, the top-selling domestic performer was a 1965 Ford GT40 roadster prototype — discussed in more detail within this report — that achieved a sale price of
