As in all areas, collector cars suffer from a few exceptions.
In the wake of the Pebble Beach sales results last August, all experts and specialists agreed that the collectible market had taken a turn.
The ancestors, that is to say the vehicles before 1914, and the models from the interwar period no longer attracted the crowds.
Even cars from the 1950s and 1960s are no longer as desirable as they used to be.
The emergence of a new, younger generation of collectors has turned this market upside down.
It is now models from the 1980s and 1990s, or even modern cars produced in limited series, which are now driving up auctions.
Except when the exceptional invites itself into the room.
Gooding & Company
Thus, during its sale in Amelia Island, Florida, Gooding & Company sold for $12,105,000, or more than 11.1 million euros, for a Mercedes Simplex 60 HP from 1903. A record for a car from before 1914. It is no coincidence that this machine, witness to the beginnings of the automobile, exceeded 10 million euros.
Responding to the name “king of the Belgians”, this exceptional machine is one of five survivors of this type in the world.
It has the unique and incredible distinction of having remained in the same English family for 121 years.
Purchased new by Alfred Harmsworth, Viscount Northcliffe, the founder of the Daily Main, it has never been restored and presents the patina of perfectly preserved cars.
A touring car that can be converted into a racing two-seater by removing the rear part, the Mercedes Simplex 60 HP was exhibited for a long time at the Beaulieu museum.
At the wheel, drivers Jim Clark and Stirling Moss had participated in London-Brighton races in the 1960s.
Responsible for the sale of the Mercedes, Gooding & Company exhibited it last February at the Rétromobile show where it won the first Preservation Trophy.
This award aims to raise awareness among collectors of the importance of preserving and passing on to future generations vehicles in a condition as close as possible to their original condition.