LONDON: A 1968 Ford GT40 racer sold last night for $11 million -- a record for any American auto at auction -- at the start of a series of car sales in California with an unprecedented lineup of high-value classics.
The works Gulf/Mirage, finished in trademark powder blue with a marigold stripe, was estimated to fetch more than $8 million on the first day of a 120-lot sale of “investment- quality automobiles” by RM Auctions at Monterey.
The summer sales held by RM, Gooding & Co. and Bonhams on the U.S. west coast are bellwether events for the market. Classic cars, along with wine, art and other alternative asset classes, have been attracting increased attention from new buyers looking to diversify their investment portfolios.
The Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) Top 50 benchmark index of exceptional classic cars has gained 8.2 percent in the year through July. If this continues, it will be up about 14.4 percent over 2012.
“This GT40 was a great demonstration of how the history of a car determines its price,” HAGI founder, Dietrich Hatlapa, said in an interview. “The early life drives the value. This Ford had been part of the original Gulf team and had a good racing record.”
Two bidders in the salesroom took the GT40 price from $9 million up to the record $11 million, which includes auction house fees, Canada-based RM said.
The GT40 was created by Ford in the early 1960s to beat Ferrari at long-distance sports car races, after the U.S. auto giant failed to buy the Italian company in 1963. The car won the Le Mans 24-hour race for four consecutive years from 1966-69.
The version at RM (chassis P/1074) had been raced by Jacky Ickx at Daytona and Le Mans trials in 1968. It was later used as the camera car in Steve McQueen’s 1971 film “Le Mans.”
The first day of the RM sale raised about $46 million with 55 of the 60 offered cars successful, said the auction house. (BLOOMBERG/rar)
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