The Gooding & Company Amelia Island 2014 auction will take place on Friday, March 7 at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort in Florida. Gooding’s auction has more than doubled in size since their first sale at Amelia Island in 2010, and 2014 will see almost 90 cars cross the block beginning at 11:00 am.
Among the cars at the Gooding & Company Amelia Island sale, a dozen are estimated to bring prices in seven-figure territory.According to founder David Gooding, “Originality was the driving force behind our Amelia Island Auction. We also chose vehicles that benefited from precise care and restoration that has preserved rather than masked the beautiful patina these cars have earned with age.” Indeed, many of their consignments this year are not only rare and highly collectible cars but also well-kept original examples as well.
Gooding will bring a handful of historic racing cars at Amelia, and their top offering is a 1968 Porsche 907 Longtail. A significant example of a very significant model, car 907-005 was the leader of a picture perfect 1-2-3 finish for Porsche at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1968, giving Porsche its first overall victory in a major 24-hour endurance race. Over a five-year competitive career, 907-005’s other important successes included class victories at Monza, the Nürburgring and Le Mans. The car was even used to test a fire suppression system for the company, which it came out of successfully. After being converted to short-tail bodywork and fitted with a different engine, 907-005 has been brought back to its 1968 Daytona configurations, including the rare but correct Type 771 eight-cylinder unit. (Est. $3,500,000 – $5,000,000)
The first of three Dinos crossing the block at the 2014 Gooding Amelia Island sale and the only one that isn’t red, chassis 08070, a 1974 example, is one of the last Dinos built and is actually finished in rarely seen Viola Metallizzato. This very 1970s shade is a factory color not chosen by many, but did appear on the cars of both George Harrison and Mario Andretti. More impressive are its claimed 26,000 miles and its high degree of preservation (Est. $325,000 – $375,000)
Of 1,580 Porsche 911 Carrera RS models built, only 240 were M471 Lightweights. Gooding’s matching numbers 1973 example, chassis 9113600883, is the 119th of those 240 cars and is finished in the appropriate Grand Prix White with blue livery and wheels. Mechanically sorted by Canepa Design, the car was spared a harsh life of competition and has been well kept. It is a prime example of one of the most collectible Porsches of them all. (Est. $900,000 – $1,100,000)
One of a heavy contingent of BMWs is a 1980 BMW M1, chassis WBS59910004301385, one of 163 cars finished in white. Part of a large BMW collection for many years, it has been meticulously maintained and only shows 25,000 miles. Like the Carrera RS, it’s a nice specimen of a rare homologation special, the kind of thing that bidders go nuts for. (Est. $325,000 – $375,000)
Another of Gooding’s solid BMW offerings is the 1972 3.0 CSL, chassis 2212279, a rare first-series carbureted version that originally sold new in Italy. It was restored in the 1990s, when it was fitted with a 3.5-liter motor and five-speed gearbox. Much of the rest of the car is represented as original, and the original engine block is included in the sale. (Est. $125,000 – $175,000)
The one car that most represents the current emphasis on originality and the “barn find” mystique at Gooding this year is the 1964 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, chassis 198.042.10.003207. One of the very last 300 SLs delivered and one of just three examples invoiced in 1964, it shows the right amount of dings and dust that gets people’s attention these days. Other than a repaint in the 1970s, the Bosch driving lamps and air horns and the Nardi steering wheel (modifications likely made in period), the Mercedes is almost completely original. It has the desirable European headlights with rare headlight stone guards as well as a black factory hardtop. It’s described by Gooding as “Made all the more enticing by the decades of dust and dirt”, and while that may be a bit of a stretch, this car is an exceptional car. (Est. $1,600,000 – $2,000,000)
The fastest of the road-going Porsche 356s was the 2000 GS, or Carrera 2, and just 436 examples were built. Gooding’s example, chassis 123210, was sold new in Stuttgart with rare options like an electric sunroof and 70-liter fuel tank. Having been gone through mechanically with a rebuilt engine, shocks, alternator, fuel system and transmission it is a prime, and fast, example of a late 356. (Est. $550,000 – $650,000)
One does not ordinarily think of Belgium when the topic of fine classic luxury cars comes up, but in the 1920s and 1930s a company called Minerva was building some of Europe’s finest automobiles. The AL is said to be their finest product, and only 50 are thought to have been built with eight remaining today. Gooding’s example is a Three-Position Cabriolet, the only known Minerva AL Cabriolet, and was bodied by Belgian coachbuilder Van den Plas. Now twice restored and featured in the definitive book on Minerva, it has won its class in Pebble Beach and Best of Show at several other Concours events. This is not a car that is often, or ever, seen at auction. (Est. $1,250,000 – $1,750,000)
Built as a privateer-sped 1500 RSK, Gooding’s 1959 Porsche 718 RSK, chassis 718-023, had a limited racing history that has left it with the original chassis, engine and aluminum Wendler coachwork. A Concours-level restoration was undertaken in 2006 and the car has been expertly maintained since. 718-023 is one of 35 718 RSKs built. (Est. $3,250,000 – $3,750,000)
The Iso Grifo famously combined faultless Italian style and comfort with bulletproof Chevy V-8 power, but the example consigned by Gooding for their 2014 Amelia sale, chassis 350410, is one of just 34 cars to come with Ford’s 351 Cleveland V-8. A Series II car, it has revised styling by Bertone with pop-up eyelids over the headlights. From new, it only had two Italian owners until 2012 and only shows 30,000 miles today. (Est. $300,000 – $400,000)
B24S Spider Americas account for less than one percent of the Lancia Aurelias produced and have become some of the most sought after Italian sports cars of the 1950s. Gooding’s example, chassis B24S 1155, sat in Connecticut for several decades before a Concours-quality restoration was commissioned in 2012. A clean, straight 41,000 mile example, it was able to keep many of its original parts. It is one of only 181 left-hand drive Spider Americas built. (Est. $1,250,000 – $1,550,000)
Any 250 Ferrari is a serious car, and the 250 Europa GT is no exception. Chassis 0409 GT is one of just 43 examples built, and though it had a string of short-term owners in the 1950s and 1960s, it remained in one Italian family for 45 years and shows just 14,000 km. An unrestored example like this is a real gem. Originality can’t be created. It can only be found. And this is quite a find. Gooding & Company has not provided an estimate for this car, but two specially bodied Europas went for around $2.5 million last year and one standard car sold at RM’s Arizona sale last year for $1,017,500. This example’s preservation, though, will get plenty of attention at a sale that is centered around originality.
In 2013, Gooding & Company offered 72 cars, with 69 of them selling for a sell-through rate of 97% and the overall numbers totaling $28,163,500. The average sale numbered $408,167, while the top lot of them all was the 1928 Bentley 4 1/2 Liter Semi-Le Mans Tourer that went for $2,750,000, including commission. The Bentley was followed by a 1966 Long Nose Alloy Ferrari 275 GTB at $2,365,000 and a 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Derby Speedster for $1,980,000. (See 2013 Gooding & Company Amelia Island Report).
Gooding & Company comes to the Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort at 6800 First Coast Hwy in Amelia Island, Florida on Friday, March 7, 2014. A preview will be held during March 6 from 9:00am – 6:00pm and March 7 from 9:00 am – 11:00am. Admission to the preview and general admission to view the auction are open to the public, while bidder registration costs $200 and includes a catalogue and two reserved seats during the auction.
For more information, contact Gooding & Company at 310-899-1960 or visit goodingco.com.
[Source: Gooding & Company]
