Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR - coupe and roadster sold for $1,8 million

Press release

Preeminent international auction house, RM Auctions, concluded its 2009 auction season on a high note in London last night, posting £10.9 million in total sales with a strong 87% of all lots sold at the third-annual ‘Automobiles of London’ event.

Held in association with Sotheby’s, the single-day auction presented some 84 motor cars, consigned from 11 countries around the world, and 40 lots of automobilia, attracting strong international interest from bidders in the room, on the phone and over the internet.

A 1950 Aston Martin DB2 Team Car ‘VMF 64’with Le Mans and Mille Miglia provenance, offered for the first time in 52 years, set a new auction world record for an Aston Martin DB2, achieving £550,000, whilst 13 lots exceeded their original high estimates. Most notably, an original 1969 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet surpassed its pre-sale high estimate of £60,000 to achieve the remarkable sum of £308,000.

"This sale wraps up another fantastic year for RM globally," said Max Girardo, Managing Director, RM Europe.

"We’re proud of our reputation for consistently achieving record prices and offering the finest motor cars available to the market, and today’s results were certainly no exception. With an 87% sell-through rate and numerous lots exceeding their estimates, it’s fair to say that the collector car market is still remarkably strong," added Girardo.

The top sale of the evening was a 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster, the only right-hand drive example built, achieving £616,000, followed closely by a 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Coupe selling for £522,500.

The event also presented a fine selection of memorabilia and coachbuilt motor cars from the private collection of Mr. Edgar Schermerhorn. Headlined by a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio for £440,000, the collection achieved a total £1.5 million.

RM Auctions will kick off 2010 with its return to the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa for the 11th annual ‘Automobiles of Arizona’ event on 21st - 22nd January, including an exclusive, British-flavored evening auction. RM Auctions’ next European event, the recently-announced ‘Sporting Classics of Monaco’, will take place 1st May 2010 at the Grimaldi Forum.