Breaking News From The RM Auction – Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa In Phoenix.
Today RM Auctions kicked off the 2013 auction season, with its annual sale at the prestigious Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix. Although the RM sale is best known for offering a magnificent roster of investment-quality automobiles, today’s sale also catered to antique boating enthusiasts, lifting the gavel on a rare 1937 Gar Wood 25’ Triple Cockpit Runabout offered by Dave Bortner at Freedom Boat Service in Mound, Minnesota.
The beautiful Gar Wood sells at auction for 280,000.00.
Once again a classic Gar Wood boat comes through to bring solid pricing in today’s challenging market. The bidding started at 150K / 170K and immediately shot up to 250K, eventually ending at 280K plus hammer fees. The presentation by RM Auctions both in the on-line catalogue and on site was exceptional. Nice work RM Auctions and congratulations to Dave Bortner and the crew at Freedom Boat Service! – Texx
RM Arizona catalogue notes – Widely considered the best engineered, best built and most beautiful boats ever produced, Gar Woods remain among the most sought after classic boats in existence and this 25′ Gar Wood “Triple Time” is certainly no exception. Extraordinarily rare, it is one of just nine 25’ runabouts built in 1937 and one of only three equipped with the largest engine option, the Scripps V-12. Only one other 1937 25’ runabout is known to exist, elevating this example’s importance in collector circles.
Luxuriously appointed and capable of comfortably seating eight to ten passengers in its three cockpits, this example has been impeccably restored from stem to stern, including the Scripps V-12 engine and features the correct, original pattern and color leather upholstery. – RM Auctions
Gar Wood photos courtesy of Wayne Davis Photography / RM Auctions.
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Also, this rare 1967 Shelby 427 ‘Semi-Competition’ Cobra (Lot 122) hammered away for 1,825,000.00 a few minutes ago. Wow!
Photo Credit Darin Schnabel 2012 Courtesy of RM Auctions
Lot 164 – A 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta ‘Competizione’ by Carrozzeria Scaglietti just sold for 7,400,000.00! A record price for a short wheel base 250 Berlinetta.
Photo by Pawel Litwinski ©2012 Courtesy of RM Auctions
Photo by Pawel Litwinski ©2012 Courtesy of RM Auctions
Lot 157 – 1992 Jaguar XJ220 sold for 220,000.00 including buyers premium.
Pre-Auction Estimate: $175,000-$225,000 US
542 hp, 3,498 cc 24-valve twin-turbocharged TWR V-6 engine, five-speed manual transmission, front and rear independent wishbone and coil spring suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes. Wheelbase: 103.9 in.
Photo by Jaci Clark ©2012 Courtesy of RM Auctions
• Legendary Jaguar supercar; one of only 281 produced
• Recent, comprehensive service, including new clutch, slave cylinder, and timing belts
• Less than 2,000 miles from new; U.S. EPA/DOT certified
The mid-engine XJ220 concept was first shown as a non-running prototype at England’s Birmingham Motor Show in 1988. The car began life as a cost-no-object one-off by Jaguar’s engineers, and it later became a limited production machine by Tom Walkinshaw’s Jaguarsport racing operation. The prototype, which featured a detuned version of the TWR 48-valve Jaguar racing V-12 with all-wheel drive, was deemed too large, and the project was recast with a fuel-injected, four-cam, 24-valve, twin-turbocharged V-6 producing 542 horsepower. It attracted a lot of attention, and reportedly, Jaguar received 1,200 deposits for an anticipated production run of just 350 cars.
Texx
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WOW! I’m speechless
It’s great to see a few classic wooden boats being properly represented at the Hershey and Arizona RM Auctions. Hopefully this trend will continue.
Pre-auction what was the predicted price, if anyone knows?
As noted in the RM Arizona Auction catalogue, the Gar Wood was estimated to fetch $250,000 – $325,000.
So the pre-auction estimate was fairly accurate which is good to see…
Great price, very strong. I hope that this signals a return to better pricing on some of these boats, and perhaps a wider appreciation of the true collectibility that many of us have have thought was there for some time. I would love to see boats take a place at these well run auctions, in a post-Mecum sort of way. Time to move past that negative experience and see if the auction process and “experience” that works so well in the car hobby can really be applied to ours.
Does anyone know if the Jaguar XJ220 sold and if so, how much?
I will find out and let you know.
Many thanks, Texx….. RM wont tell me until next week, which is odd. Keen to know.
Kindest and best,
Adam
Adam – Amy Christie from RM Auctions confirmed this morning that Lot 157 – 1992 Jaguar XJ220 sold for 220,000.00 including buyers premium. I also added the details to the above story.
We enjoy working with the nice folks at RM Auctions and hope to work with them more in the future.
Texx
This is good news. Big triples have been in a slump the last several years. Wasn’t sure whether it was just the economy or perhaps changing taste, like the move toward the riva aquaramas for the woody boaters higher up the food chain.
I’m happy to see this boat sell at a strong price, it is good for the hobby.
I did some fact checking on what the catalog description says about its rarity and someone did not do their homework. I realize maybe three people on earth actually care, but here goes some corrections on the 25′ Gar Wood info:
Five 25s were built with the Scripps 302 V-12: two in 1937, one in 1939, one in 1940, and one in 1941 (4 of the 5 still exist).
Four 1937 25s are still in existence.
I care Brian, the facts are important ! They should be correct.
Selling for a good price is a good thing but will we ever see the boat again? Does it come with a one year membership in ACBS? A good price doesn’t really do anything for the hobby if the boat goes out of circulation does it?
I can’t speak for the buyer but I think there is a good possibility that this beautiful Gar Wood will be used and seen this year.
Congratulations, Dave Bortner. He’s one of the best, in a community (Twin Cities) of outstanding restorers and brokers.
Hi Folks, Thanks for doing the real homework Brian. Some of us have seen this boat, and its very good beautiful, I suspect the new buyer is not show judge. Scooter