The auction company RM Sotheby’s focuses primarily on selling cars and is the world’s largest auction house for classic vehicles.
In 2022, cars were sold for 9 billion kroner, making them the market leader in their segment.
Adapted for the arena
RM Sotheby’s philosophy is that the range in each auction should be inspired by the arena where the cars are sold.
The auction during the F1 weekend in Las Vegas was no exception, and thus there were quite a few motorsport-related cars among the items.
One of these was the first F1 car in which Lewis Hamilton won a Grand Prix for the Mercedes stable – a 2013 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 W04.
The records are hailing
The expectation was that the aforementioned Formula 1 car would break records, and that’s exactly what happened.
The final price was 18,815,000 US dollars, corresponding to 196 million Swedish kronor, which is a record for modern Formula 1 cars.
Lewis Hamilton’s old F1 car went for almost 200 million. Photo: Alex Penfold/RM Sotheby’s
However, the record list does not end there, and second place is also taken by a legendary Mercedes in the form of a CLK GTR Roadster in 2002. It went under the hammer for SEK 107 million, which is a record for the model.
Last but not least – but far from the car track – you can find Tom Brady’s NFL jersey that he wore during his last game. It went for a breathtaking 14.6 million kroner, making it the most expensive American football jersey ever sold at auction.
Money rolls in
In total, RM Sotheby’s auction in Las Vegas brought in a whopping 59.7 million dollars, equivalent to 626 million kroner, with a sales rate of 89.7 percent.
The sales rate is the percentage of the cars in the auction that are actually sold, and it is usually said that a sales rate of over 80 percent is considered good.
The price of this Ferrari 812 Competizione was 18.4 million. Photo: Rasy Ran/RM Sotheby’s
A sales rate of 89.7 percent is partly a sign of a well-executed auction, but it is also a sign of how the market is doing.
When the really rich start holding onto their wallets in connection with auctions of this caliber, there is reason to start worrying, because historically, classic cars in particular have proven to be a good investment.
Many precious things
In addition to the aforementioned record holders, the top list in terms of clubbed price consisted of cars almost worthy of their own museum.
After the F1 car and the CLK GTR in the list, there was a Lexus LFA from 2012 that went for SEK 19.5 million. After this came a brand new car, more precisely a Ferrari 812 Competizione which was sold for 18.4 million.
The oldest car on the top ten list was a Porsche 959 from 1988, which was clubbed for exactly the same money as the Ferrari – SEK 18.4 million.
This Porsche 959 was the oldest car on the top-10 list. Photo: Daniel Kalisz/RM Sotheby’s
Apart from the aforementioned Porsche, all the record cars were manufactured in the 2000s. Auction prices in particular are something that is closely watched by stakeholders in the car industry and in addition to showing which cars are hot at the moment, they also show how the market is doing in general.
Recently, interest has seemed to cool down in the market, and the fact that three records are broken at one and the same auction is therefore a good sign. The 89.7 percent sales rate in Las Vegas, compared to 68 percent at the Monterey Car Week auction in August, is also an indication that things are looking brighter in the classic car market.