In photos: Rare Ferraris lead hit parade at upcoming Pebble Beach auction
Recognizing that investment-quality Ferraris have been a better bet than gold bullion for some time now - a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for an auction record $38,115,000 last year - every major sale during Pebble Beach concours week features the Italian thoroughbreds. And a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 from Georgetown, Ont., ranks among the most desirable at seven auctions in the Monterey area - although no Ferrari is likely to equal last year's GTO. Gooding and Company named the GTB/4 its star car while promoting 11 cars labelled the Peter Klutt Collection, capitalizing on the Canadian's international stature as host of the television show Dream Car Garage. A 1967 Ferrari Dino 206 SP, for which Gooding anticipates bidding between $2.6-$3 million, is another Klutt collectible, as is a 1966 Ford Shelby Cobra 427, $1.2-$1.4 million. Gooding gilds the GTB/4 story with mystery. "After being held by one family for more than 40 years, the four-cam was rediscovered and displayed at the 2013 Pebble Beach concours," the Gooding catalogue says, "where it won a second in class award in the postwar preservation judging," In fact, the 'rediscovery' was the happy result of Klutt's vintage racing acquainting him with Bill Gagliano, a fellow 'Vette driver at Elkhart Lake, Wis. After selling his Corvette, Gagliano told Klutt that one car he could never part with was his late father's GTB/4. "Seven years later, after hounding him every six months, he agreed to sell," Klutt says of the early 2013 magic moment. Absent the sentimentality of the Gagliano family's four-and-half decades with the car, Klutt opted to surf the rising tide of Ferrari values by auctioning the GTB/4 with no reserve. "How much premium do you put on a car this original - original paint, tires, muffler, probably one of the best if not the best four-cams? I hope it goes for more than any before it." Asked if he anticipates more than the $10,175,000 (all figures U.S., including auction premium) at last year's RM sale for the GTB/4 that Steve McQueen bought new, Klutt said, "Nothing can top a Steve McQueen car." We'll find out soon enough. The Goodings auction runs Aug. 15-16 while RM Sotheby's is Aug. 13-15 and Bonhams is Aug. 13-14. As for celebrity ownership, what of His Holiness's Ferrari Enzo, included in RM Sotheby's Pinnacle Portfolio? Used cars are often said to be only driven on Sundays, but far from that, Pope John Paul II never drove the final Enzo, presented to the Vatican by Ferrari and sold to a Florida dealership. Some Ferraris go for chump change, relatively speaking. Bidding between $75,000-$100,000 is anticipated for a low-mileage 1978 328 GTS on offer at the Bonhams - Quail Lodge Auction. These are the Honda Civics of the Ferrari world, the 328s, practically mass-produced with 7,400 sold. Blue-chip Ferraris commanded the 10 highest prices paid at auctions worldwide in 2014, according to the Classic Cars Auction website. A Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale exchanged hands for $26.4 million at the RM sale, second only to the GTO auctioned by Bonhams. Bidding for a Ferrari 265 P reached $22 million at Gooding and Company - no sale, being short of the reserve price. Of approximately 200 cars sold last year for $1 million or more, 70 were Ferraris. Editor's note: A caption on one of the photos in this gallery incorrectly said that Ian Stewart was the older brother of world champion racer Jackie Stewart. The two are not related. This version has been changed. Here's what is going under the gavel at Pebble Beach and what the estimated price is for each vehicle:
<b>1960 FERRARI 250 SWB BERLINETTA COMPETITZIONE</b> RM Sotheby’s, Aug. 13 Estimate: more than $17 million, no reserve Rarity, racing wins and perfectly proportioned alloy sculpting make the SWB second only to the even rarer GTO among Ferrari investments. In this car, chassis number GT1773, Bob Grossman finished second at Nassau to Stirling Moss in another SWB; Grossman later won at Mosport in GT2731.Patrick Ernzen
<b>1967 FERRARI 275 GTB/4</b> Gooding and Company, Aug. 15-16 Estimate: not announced, to be sold without reserve In 1967, Edward Skae of Lake Forest, Ill. inois , paid $5,000 and a Lamborghini and a Maserati in trade to Ferrari distributor Luigi Chinetti, and an enthusiast was recruited to drive the GTB/4 from Connecticut to Illinois, passing through Ontario. Little has changed since, other than price. A touch-up was required when second owner, Carl Gagliano of Milwaukee, scraped the front with a lawn mower, otherwise the paint is original, as is almost everything with the odometer indicating only 10,000 miles.Brian Henniker
<b>1951 FERRARI 212 INTER CABRIOLET</b> Bonhams – Quail Lodge Auction, Aug. 14 Estimate: $2.4 million to $2.8 million At last year’s Pebble Beach concours, this car was class runner-up to the Ferrari 375MM that won best-in-show. Only four of 78 Inters were Cabriolets – bodied by Vignale in aluminum, distinguished by their chrome-plated front fender strakes and recessed taillamps. Its V-12 generates 170 hp.Pawel Litwinski
<b>1886 BENZ PATENT-MOTORWAGEN REPLICA</b> Gooding and Company, Aug. 15-16 Estimate: $90,000-$120,000, no reserve Every worthwhile collection needs the first car propelled by an internal combustion engine, Gooding posits, but with the original 1886 Benz Patent-Wagen housed at Munich’s Deutsches Museum, a replica must do. John Bentley Engineering in Yorkshire, England, reportedly made 300 such three-wheelers, shipping this one to renowned Japanese collector Yoshiho Matsuda in 1990. Another sold for $40,950 in 2009.Brian Henniker
<b>1953 JAGUAR C-TYPE WORKS LIGHTWEIGHT</b> RM Sotheby’s, Aug. 14 Estimate: $9 million to $12 million Ian Stewart co-drove this car to fourth in the Le Mans 24-hour classic in 1953, while sister cars finished one-two. Jaguar first won Le Mans with the C-Type in 1951, but made its cars lighter and more powerful to top Mercedes-Benz in 1953.Patrick Ernzen
<b>1960 PORSCHE RS60</b> Gooding and Company, Aug. 15-16 Estimate: $5.5 million to $7 million Stirling Moss declared this “the ideal car” for Sicily’s Targa Florio road race – until a seized differential cost the win in the last lap. Chassis 718-044 also failed to finish at Le Mans, Sebring and Nurburgring, before Jo Bonnier placed second to Moss’s Lotus 19 at Mosport’s first major race. As one of four RS60 Porsche team cars, its value is compounded.Mathieu Heurtault
<b>1968 CORVETTE RACE CAR</b> RM Sotheby’s, Aug. 14 Estimate: $1.4 million to $2 million This Corvette raced as a Ferrari at Le Mans, complete with the Prancing Horse painted on the door, as a result of Goodyear tires arranging its entry as a spare with the American Ferrari racing team, NART. Canadian enthusiast Jack Boxstrom later commissioned its restoration to full faux-Italian glory.
<b>1956 AUSTIN-HEALEY 100 M LE MANS ROADSTER</b> RM Sotheby’s, Aug. 14 Estimate: $250,000-$275,000 As a factory-built and certified 100 LM, this Healey should carry bidding twice as high as a lookalike ’53 in the RM offering. Only 640 Ms came off the Austin assembly line with higher compression, larger carburetors and louvered and belted bonnet. Adding M components to an ordinary 100 does not create a 100 M.Robin Adams
<b>1953 FIAT 8V Supersonic</b> Bonhams – Quail Lodge Auction, Aug. 15 Estimate: $1.8 million to $2.4 million A tiny V-8 is the jewel within the tailored Ghia body. Chrysler chairman K.T. Keller ordered this Supersonic, one of 15 made, in 1953; the most recent owner accumulated $600,000 in invoices in an eight-year restoration employing the finest materials.Pawel Litwinski
<b>1950 HUDSON CUSTOM COMMODORE SIX CONVERTIBLE</b> Bonhams – Quail Lodge Auction, Aug. 14 Estimate: $40,000-$50,000, no reserve Any Porsche or Ferrari once owned by Steve McQueen commands six, seven, even eight figures. Not so the Hudson the actor used as his daily driver. He loved Hudsons. And although this big boat lacks the cachet of the prancing horse set, it boasts the original registration in McQueen’s name and the Twin H-Power engine that ruled NASCAR in 1951-52.Patrick Ernzen