$65 Million For 25 Cars: The “Pinnacle Portfolio” Sells At Pebble Beach

MarcoR.dellaCavaAutomotiveContributorJuly30,2015

 

$65 Million For 25 Cars: The “Pinnacle Portfolio” Sells At Pebble Beach

You know it’s time for the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance when auction house bosses start talking about setting records as if they’re Olympians training for battle. We’re taking a look at some of the automotive gems that will be offered during that glam Monterey peninsula concours week that culminates with the Best of Show ceremonies Aug. 16. Here’s what’s on offer from RM Sotheby’s:

When you think about Pebble Beach and its wide array of automotive events — concours, historic races, rallies, general schmoozing — it’s easy to crown it the pinnacle of car events.

So no surprise the folks at RM Sotheby’s have dubbed a particularly astounding group of automobiles they’ll be hammering down Aug. 13 at the Portola Hotel and Spa in Monterey, Calif., as the Pinnacle Portfolio.

A car collector who prefers not to be named has decided to slim down and refocus auto-amassing his efforts, and in doing so is letting go of 25 vehicles whose estimated total value is “more than $65 million,” RM Sotheby’s Ian Kelleher says way too calmly. “It’s an enviable collection that bridges the gap between old classics and modern supercars.”

That math again: 25 cars equals $65 million.

Let’s get right down to the highlights: Two Bugatti Veyrons ($1.8 to $3 million), a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider ($9 to $11 million), 1971 Lamborghini Miura ($2.2 to $2.6 million), 2005 Maserati MC12 ($1.5 to $1.9 million), 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing ($5.5 to $6.5 million) and a 1967 Toyota 2000GT ($1 to $1.3 million). 

And that’s potentially the cheap stuff. A number of lots come tagged with the polite equivalent of “if you have to ask you can’t afford it,” better known as “estimate available upon request.”

Those cars include a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM (RM Sotheby’s sold one last year for $11.5 million and estimates this one could go for $15 million) and a 1998 McLaren F1 LM-Specification (reports indicate a likely selling price between $12 and $15 million).

The undisputed king of this delicious crop is a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB (short wheel base) Competizione, expected to sell for in excess of $17 million. One of only 45 such alloy-bodied cars prepared for the now fabled North American Racing Team, or NART, this car took top prize in that year’s Nassau and Bridgehampton races.