WALWORTH, Wis., April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mecum blasted into
Houston this past weekend with a
gigantic sale dominated by a $7
million hammer price for the 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype,
GT/104. Overall sales reached $33,633,058 with 765 of the total 1,085 vehicles
offered changing hands, achieving a healthy sell-through rate of
nearly 70 percent.
"Our Houston event is one of the fastest growing auctions on our
calendar," noted Mecum President and Founder Dana Mecum. "The quality of collector cars
continues to rise year after year here in Houston, and the people of this great car town
are what keep us coming back to the great state of Texas. Attendees witnessed so many great cars
sell at this year's auction, and several will go down as some of
the most memorable in our company's history."
On day three of the auction, the highly anticipated offering of
the 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype GT/104 (Lot S147.1) took place in
front of a bidding arena that was filled to capacity. After more
than five minutes of suspenseful bidding, the hammer dropped at an
astounding $7 million, securing the
top sale of the entire four-days of auction at the Reliant Center
and marking itself as what is certain to be one of the top sales of
the year in the collector car market and, perhaps, what will be the
highest price paid for an American race car at auction this year.
GT/104 is one of only two famously prepared and raced by
Shelby American for the 1965 season
and is one of the first race cars of any kind to benefit from
computerized missile aerodynamics technology and the budding field
of telemetry. As the first-ever 1965 Shelby American-specification
GT40, chassis GT/104 is widely regarded as the most original and
correct prototype Shelby American
team car.
In addition to the memorable GT40 sale, the second highest
seller was an emotional one as the now famous "McNamara Corvette,"
an original and unrestored 1967 Coupe (Lot S128) with just 2,996
miles on the odometer, brought $725,000, resulting in another record-setting
Corvette sale by Mecum Auctions as the highest price ever paid at
auction for a 427/390-horsepower example of America's sports car.
Its unique story is one that tickles human intrigue, involving a
private man who hid the car from the world for nearly four decades
in his climate-controlled, single-car garage. The highly documented
Corvette was unveiled and displayed at Bloomington Gold in 2012.
The sale of the car included extensive documentation and photos of
its discovery and history.
The complete top 10 sales list for Mecum's Houston auction includes (all individual sales
reflect hammer prices):
- 1964 Ford GT40 Prototype, GT/104 (Lot S147.1) at $7,000,000
- 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe (Lot S128) at $725,000
- 1968 Chevrolet Yenko Camaro RS/SS (Lot B4) at $450,000
- 2008 Ferrari 430 Scuderia Coupe (Lot S189) at $170,000
- 1934 Cadillac Fleetwood V-12 All-Weather Phaeton (Lot S153) at
$165,000
- 1968 Toyota FJ-44 (Lot S228) at $150,000
- 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Huntington Limousine (Lot F200.1)
at $145,000
- 1960 Porsche 356B Cabriolet (Lot S107) at $145,000
- 1970 Plymouth Superbird (Lot F274) at $135,000
- 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (Lot F215) at $127,500
Immediately following the classic and collector car sale held
Thursday-Saturday, Mecum held a motorcycle-exclusive auction on
Sunday that included an offering of 174 vintage and antique bikes,
125 of which hammered sold for an impressive 72 percent
sell-through rate. With a total of $1,337,965 in sales, the event was another
pronounced success for MidAmerica Motorcycles presented by Mecum
Auctions.
For access to complete auction results and other member
benefits, signup for the free InfoNet service offered at
www.mecum.com. Mecum's next classic and collector car auction will
be held at the Kansas City
Convention Center in Kansas City,
Mo., this April 24-26,
followed by the auction house's inaugural event at the CenturyLink
Field Event Center in Seattle this
June 13-14. For more details on an
upcoming auction, to consign a vehicle or to register as a bidder,
visit www.mecum.com or call (262) 275-5050.
About Mecum Auctions
Nobody sells more than Mecum.
Nobody. The Mecum Auction Company is the world leader of collector
car, vintage and antique motorcycle, and Road Art sales, hosting
auctions throughout the United
States. The company has been specializing in the sale of
collector cars for 27 years, now offering more than 15,000 vehicles
per year and averaging more than one auction each month.
Established by President Dana Mecum
in 1988, Mecum Auctions remains a family-run company headquartered
in Walworth, Wis. For further
information, visit Mecum.com or call (262) 275-5050. Follow along
with Mecum's social media news and join us on Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram.
Video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP07olF_RVY&feature=share&list=PLA98F009611BF782D
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CONTACT:
Mecum Auctions
Presentation Department
(262) 275-5050
SOURCE Mecum Auctions