The results of RM Sotheby’s 10th December ‘Driven by Disruption’ auction were mixed but the Janis Joplin Porsche rocketed through the roof and sold for a staggering sum
In New York on Thursday at the RM Sotheby’s Driven by Disruption auction the money came out to play and the top price was achieved by a 1956 Ferrari 290MM that sold for £17 million (£25.5 million) – short of its £18.5 million to £21.1 million guide ($28 million to $32 million) but still impressive.
Of the thirty-one cars on offer, eight failed to sell on the evening (26%) and amongst the six that The Steeple Times have featured since September that did not find new owners was the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante (estimate: £1.4 million to £1.6 million, $2.2 to $2.5 million; passed at £1.1 million, $1.7 million). Also falling well short from our selection was the 1959 BMW 507 Roadster Series II (estimate: £1.5 million to £1.7 million, $2.3 million to $2.6 million). Plainly the fact that it lacked its original engine was off-putting to bidders and as a result, the car was passed at £1.3 million ($1.9 million). An equally disappointing reaction met the ‘landmark’ 1954 Chrysler Special coupé by Ghia (estimate: £460,000 to £591,000, $700,000 to $900,000; passed at £367,000, $550,000).
Undoubtedly the ‘star lot’ of the night and described as “the most admired car” ever to have graced the New York auction house Sotheby’s, the ex-Janis Joplin 1964 Porsche 356 C 1600 SC cabriolet attracted “a full rack of phones” when Max Girado took to the stage to sell it. Priced with a guide of £264,000 to £396,000 ($400,000 to $600,000), bidders initially were cautious but they eventually threw this to the wind and the car made music and shot on to sell for a million dollars more than its upper reserve for the staggering sum of £1.1 million ($1.6 million).
Plainly the Lord wanted somebody to buy a Porsche, but of the other lots on offer it was the 1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato that attracted the watchers. Tipped to sell for in excess of £10 million at an estimate of £9.9 million to £11.2 million ($15 million to $17 million), this car with “an English pedigree and an Italian soul” needed to top the £8.8 million ($13.4 million, €12.5 million) paid for a 1998 McLaren F1 if it was to become the highest priced British car to be sold at auction. It fell just short and was hammered down at £8.68 million ($13 million).
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