Monterey auction thread (the '24 edition)

A lot of these collectors have kids. We'll just have to see which ones will want to keep buying/driving/enjoying the car life, and which ones will want to sell. The amount of money their parents have amassed will likely only grow, even if not as fast. For these people, cash will not be an issue for generations.

 

The consignor was AIG, it was a theft recovery.

 

if the estimate was extremely high(AIG estimate?), what was the insurance payout?

 

These cars aren't cars. They are commodities. No one needs a 1996 911 with 19 miles on it. Its value is that it only has 19 miles on it.

As long as people think they can make a buck on the investment, I really don't think it matters to them what they buy no matter what their age. As long as they keep believing that of course....

To me in general I think the sellers were expecting much higher prices than they got. The stock market fumble a week ago may have led to some pre-auction jitters.

 

Insurance payout was $23.0 million.

 

I think @JAM1 was bang on, in that much like great artists, certain cars by certain manufacturers will always be iconic. Sure, the market will inevitably ebb and flow, but I simply cannot envision a world where an W196, Cal Spyder, Miura etc will ever be neglected and forgotten.

To your point about wealth and demographics... we do live in a different world today. In the late nineties, there were about 200 billionaires and the wealthiest person had a networth of approximately 30B. Today, there are another 3,000 billionaires and the top net worth is 7-8X that. Sure, the cost to newly-acquire a world class collection may be $250-500mm, but that is attainable for any one of those 3,200+ billionaires, if they so choose (may not be responsible for all of them, but the point stands). Meanwhile, the number of iconic, classic cars has remained - and will remain - essentially static. In another thread, the point was made that the market is being flooded with shiny new toys and buyers are spoilt for choice - I'd argue that, for one, the two market segments (classic and contemporary 'collectibles') aren't perfectly overlapped so the ever-increasing supply of the likes of SP3s and Tourbillons doesn't have a direct impact on a purchase decision for, say, a SWB Comp and secondly, even if it did, the scale of wealth today means that for many, it simply doesn't matter, they can buy both and not be bothered.

To be clear, I'm currently bearish on the overall vintage segment of the market, and feel we're in an 'ebb' of the market, but I think any prognostications (hopes & dreams?) of worthless Miuras and 250-series cars are simply foolish... The vintage cars' values may (will? / have) pull(/ed) back, but I think it's undeniable that they'll remain desirable - even if just as kinetic sculptures

 

winners and losers

 

To a point though. When it was being shipped up to Maine from Florida for repaint just a mere few months after being purchased, the truck and enclosed trailer were stolen when the driver parked to spend the night at a hotel. Many people assumed/feared the thieves would have not really understood the significance of the enclosed trailer contents and perhaps just instead dropped it into a lake, never to be found . . .but alas it was found parked in a building together with many other stolen modern cars.

So had it actually been tossed in a lake never to be found, AIG would’ve lost $23 million. But at least with it actually being found, AIG was able to somewhat mitigate their loss/payout . . .

 

Were there any arrests in the case?

 

It should be added in the discussion on the explosion on billionaires that back when the quantity was not only far smaller but far more regionally confined. Now these people are from all over the globe.

 

True, and when the whole thing falls it falls hard. See article in the NY Times last week about contemporary artists seeing 90% reduction in prices for their paintings…

 

any reason why the owner didnt reject the payout and waited for a possible recovery?
how was the payout amount determined?

 

Were there any 365GTC/4's in the auctions and if so what quality and price(s)?

Thanks in advance.

 

Perhaps it was insured for substantially more than was paid for it?

 

Perhaps he came to his senses and realized you want the Corto Touring spider, not the Lungo. That would be a reason.

 

Marc: An average (just a used car) C/4 brought in the 190s.

 

Il Lungo Oof!

 

Contemporary art is an entirely different scene. There is rampant speculation on new artists each season whereby some investors and gallerists try to artificially inflate values to get a few to take off. It happens every single year and the redux the Times wrote about isn’t a new (2024) thing. I do think some cars, particularly modern ones, are effected to a lesser extent by these same market makers but not many guys are buying 50s and 60s Ferraris out of speculation anymore then Rothkos.

 

Yes

 

Thanks, can you provide any links to articles or police reports?

 

Unfortunately for the owners of these historically significant cars who have a view towards resale, most of the world’s billionaires don’t have the stomach nor desire for these collectible objects. Billionaires who purchase art are FAR FAR more plentiful, etc.

 

The insured received the exact same amount from AIG as he paid for it just a few months prior. Once it was eventually recovered, AIG offered him the option of buying it back. However, the price he offered wasn’t high enough for AIG to say Yes back then.

As it turns out, the insured very recently purchased a different 8C 2.9 Lungo which was more original and still retained its original engine. I’m fairly certain the insured paid far far more for this one than his former black theft recovery one just fetched at Gooding Pebble.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkwanten/2024/07/19/famously-stolen-alfa-romeo-8c-2900b-spider-could-fetch-20m-at-auction/#

https://www.sportscarmarket.com/news/breaking-news-stolen-23m-alfa-romeo-8c-recovered

https://autos.yahoo.com/23-million-classic-alfa-romeo-200000643.html