Money tight at Ferrari soiree

Not even a world record price could inspire buyers to forget the global-economic crisis at the Leggione e Passione auction at the home of Ferrari, Maranello in Italy yesterday.

While an anonymous telephone bidder waited until the last of the 35 cars in the auction before paying $US11,240,625* for a 250 Testa Rossa racing car, 11 other high-profile cars failed to reach their reserve prices.

With the effects of the global-economic crisis still clearly in evidence, the €8.2 million racing car from 1957 made up more than half the total sales of the third annual auction alongside the Fiorano test track.

The Testa Rossa smashed the record set at the same auction last year, when UK disc jockey, Chris Evans, paid $US10.894m for the 250 California Spyder once owned by actor, James Coburn.

But other high-profile machines were passed in at the exclusive Ferrari and Maserati auction, including the 1967 330 P4 racer that had been touted as the star of the show and a Monaco Grand Prix-winning Maserati 250F.

The €5 million bid for the P4, which Ferrari had turned into its Can-Am racer in the late 1960s (and our motorsport writer Geoff Harris profiled here), was at least €2 million short of the reserve, while the €1.35 offered for the ex-Stirling Moss 250F was also well below expectations.

At one point, five consecutive cars were passed in at the auction -- including a €4 million bid for a 1962 250GT short-wheelbase California -- while two other Ferraris were withdrawn from sale at the last minute.

Besides the 11 cars passed in, only nine of the 35 cars reached their pre-auction estimates. The lacklustre bidding held the auction's takings down to €16,260, even though all the cars at the auction had passed through Ferrari's own strict certification checks.

One of the bargains of the sale was an ex-Alain Prost 641/2 Formula One car which sold for €320,000, an alloy-bodied 1966 275 GTB for €725,000 and a 1985 288 GTO for €350,000.

A 2008 Maserati Corsa with one owner, which had never left the Modena factory, was sold for €700,000, while a 1959 Ferrari 250GT long wheelbase California sold for €1.95m

But the auction was as curious for what didn't sell as what did.

A stunning Maserati 250S from 1957 failed to sell for €1.35m, a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Competizione, shipped across from Australia, failed to sell at €1.25m, a pristine 1956 250 GT Berlinetta racecar failed to sell at €2.1m and even a €750,000 bid for an original 265 GTB 4 Daytona Spyder wasn't enough.

"They'll be disappointed with this. It's a disastrous auction," one collector who declined to be named told the writer after the auction.

"Everybody's still expecting prices from before the crisis, but this showed they're down 30 or 40 per cent," he said.

"It also shows that practical cars are selling, but not the other stuff."

*Note: the official bid at the auction was this price. Ferrari's press releases are quoting a bid that includes a 10 per cent buyer's fee from RM Auctions and Sothebys, the agents.

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