David Letterman collection

Letterman's not a dumb guy by any stretch but I fail to understand his going with Mecum to sell this collection. Best I can come up with is that his are the "star lots" in their auction vs the bigger names like RM and Gooding, and obviously they must've offered him a better deal, but I really don't think some of the cars will fetch top dollar there. Not that it matters much in the grand scheme...

 

Mecum may have offered him minimums on each lot. Even if they fail to meet their reserve and end up costing Mecum money, what value for publicity and dragging the right people to watch them sell live, and bid. Back in the day we had Worldwide on a Thursday, Bonhams Friday day, RM Friday and Saturday night, Gooding Saturday and Sunday night. Now Broad Arrows are running auctions Thursday and Friday evening, Gooding have switched to Friday and Saturday, RM Thursday, Friday and Saturday and Bonhams their usual Friday afternoon slot so the two prime evenings (Friday and Saturday) are getting very crowded. Even if Lettermans Ferraris convinces 10% of the whales who will be at either Gooding or RM Sothebys to attend their auction (either in person or online), they have won. All conjecture but I am guessing I am not too far off the mark.

 

Yeah but the funniest thing is that he isn't allowing them to use his name to sell the cars, which I guess would help a lot with publicity. It seems like a not-quite-there effort...

 

Letterman’s an odd duck. I’m not surprised that this sale isn’t what one might normally expect. He has a reputation for privacy, which is fine…even laudable…but then he sells his cars at public auction…but without using his name….but everybody who matters knows whose cars they are. I would have expected him to have privately sold the cars through a discreet broker.

 

As a point of clarification, the cars should more specifically be referred to as ex-Letterman.

Letterman did sell them privately, through a discreet broker. Mecum bought the cars.

 

KC?

 

Thanks. I guess I missed that. It’s understandable that his name would not be associated with the auction in that case.

 

That makes more sense I guess.

 

There wasn't really anything to miss, as it wasn't announced publicly, which I guess is the objective of discretion. Ooops.

 

It’s okay. We are the keepers of secrets and the sailors of seas over here in Vintage- in the event you needed reminding.

 

Exactly...the Mecum bait and switch.....

Reminds me of a story a few years ago when a buddy of mine in Naples called me to say that Mecum had a 275 GTB/4 coming up for auction in Kissimmee. He said that he thought the car might be bought for a real deal since Mecum's normal offerings and followers are into American iron and such and Ferrari buyers would not be at the auction.

I laughed and said....the 275 won't be sold for a "deal" and probably not sold at all. I went on to explain that he would go to Kissimmee thinking on buying the Ferrari and after failing he would end up buying something else. Sure enough a week after the auction I called him and asked him what he brought home. His answer? Another Corvette. Mecum is no dummy......lol!!!

 

All true (although the 288 GTO went elsewhere).

 

too bad the collection is sold as letterman has a son approaching driving age.

 

Right, though no one was talking about any of the cars other than the ones at Mecum.

My understanding was there were about 7-10(?) cars that didn't go to Mecum, including the GTO, though I was under the impression the remaining cars weren't being sold, with the GTO being singled out as a "favorite". Did he keep anything?

 

My understanding is Letterman kept the Volvo wagon with the V8 (which is just like the one Paul Newman had), because that’s his son’s favorite car.

 

THIS.

Marcel Massini

 

would “previously owned by Letterman” be better?

 

Looks like the 330GTS last had an oil change in mid-2016 - if I'm viewing the marking on the oil filter correctly. One could make the assumption that these cars have been sitting for quite some time...and may be in need of some recommissioning...

 

Mecum moves it from auction to auction through the year. After not selling in Monterey in 2024, it's looping back to yet another try in Kissimmee in on 11 January 2025. (Mecum has a bunch of Ferraris that are kind of "travelling roadshow"...)

 

Mecum has a handful of other Ferraris that have been on their circuit for a number of years without selling. At least a few of them are reputed to be in tough shape...