RM Auctions of Bleinhem, Ontario may have held the most stylish event of auction week but prices were down from last year, dropping the total sales figure slightly. Still, a total of nearly $30 million is not to be sneezed at. 106 out of 114 cars offered were sold, a high average for an auction where, in contrast to Barrett-Jackson, seller's reserves are allowed.
Writing in the New York Times Keith Martin quotes an e-mail from RM's president, Rob Myers, who said, "we see sports-racing cars as the strongest growth segment of the market and also keep an eye on the great antiques and classics that will continue to be strong." $2.8 million was paid for an unrestored Deusenberg, the last one ever built.
Magnificent though it is, my eye was drawn to this beautiful 1931 Cord L-29 front drive LaGrande Speedster. I make no apology for the fact that it's a 2005 recreation (10 years in the making), accurate to the last curve and mechanical detail, for no examples of the original still exist. It sold for $418,000, undoubtedly far less than what the car cost to build.