The Top 11 Corvette Sales of the Monterey Auctions
After the tsunami of activity surrounding the Woodward Dream Cruise, Corvettes at Carlisle, and Labor Day weekend, we’ve finally had a chance to study up on the sales data from the Monterey auctions last month. Each of the 5 major auction houses realized a healthy bump in sales numbers over 2011. Included in their plump figures are several pricey Corvettes.
According to Hagerty the 5 major auction houses tallied an eye-popping grand total of $262 million in vehicle sales. In all, 754 of the 1,217 total vehicle lots found new home. That equates into an impressive 63% sell-through rate. The average sales price was $343,968. Ouch!
In the world of Corvettes, the top sale of Monterey went to the triple black 1968 L88 convertible at Mecum. Second place went to the 1967 silver/red 427/435 COPO convertible which hammered at $525,000. Mickey Thompson’s personal 1963 Z06 sold for $450,000. It’s interesting to note that the latter 2 cars both hammered sold on the Mecum block, but neither show up as sold on the Mecum Infonet or in the results file we received from Mecum.
The most notable Corvette non-sale went to the 1968 Owens-Corning L88 racer which bid all the way up to $730,000 without reaching reserve. Another L88 racer, the 1969 COPO car was a no-sale at $400,000.
Most of the observations we noted back in January still held true last month in Monterey:
* Values continue to slowly recover from the previous few years.
* Serious buyers are still willing to pay more for desirable, high quality, documented cars as an alternative to traditional investments.
* L88’s remain red hot. You still can’t afford one.
* Racecars remain highly desirable. Especially ones with great provenance and on-track success.
Here are the Top 11 sales from the 2012 Monterey auctions:
| Rank | Corvette | Auction | Sales Price |
| 1 | 1968 L88 Convertible |
Mecum | $575,000 |
| 2 | 1967 427/435 COPO Convertible |
Mecum * | $525,000 |
| 3 | 1963 Z06 Coupe |
Mecum * | $450,000 |
| 4 | 1960 Big Brake Fuelie Prototype |
Mecum | $185,000 |
| 5 | 1953 VIN 199 |
Russo and Steele | $170,500 |
| 6 | 1967 Green 427/435 Coupe |
Gooding and Co. | $165,000 |
| 7 | 1967 Red/Red 427/435 Convertible |
Mecum | $148,000 |
| 8 | 1967 Yellow 427/435 Coupe |
Mecum | $130,000 |
| 9 | 1962 Silver Fuelie |
Mecum | $117,000 |
| 10 | 1963 Red Fuelie Coupe |
Mecum | $102,500 |
| 11 | 1962 Black Fuelie |
Mecum | $85,000 |
| Total Top 11 Sales: | $2,653,000 | ||
| Average Price: | $241,182 | ||
*Hammered sold on the block, but doesn’t show as sold in Mecum documents
The top 11 Corvettes sales totaled $2.6 million, about half of what the top 11 Corvettes of the January auctions generated. (Note that the January sales had considerably more Corvettes in inventory than Monterey) The average price of each top 11 car was just over $240,000. Since Mecum had the majority of the Corvettes available in Monterey, it makes since their results occupy the majority of the top 11 list.
So with most of the major 2012 auctions now completed it looks like the market’s upward momentum carries on. Both buyers and sellers continue to find opportunity in the collector car marketplace.
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