RM Auctions Sells $14 Million in Cars in Just Four Hours; Collector Car Market Shows Strength While Stock Market Falters

    BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 13 The stock market continues
to fall, but the collector car market is stronger than ever.
    RM Auctions sold fourteen million dollars worth of cars in just four hours
at their March 10 auction held at Amelia Island, Florida.
    Three cars broke the magic million-dollar mark, with top sale of the day
being a stunning red 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster, one of just
29 built, that brought $2,970,000.
    "As stocks continue to sink, we're finding that investors and collectors
are shifting their funds into high-quality collector cars," said RM Auctions
CEO David Gooding.  "The very best cars are bringing ever higher prices."
Gooding mentioned that the current economic climate reminded him of 1987, when
a crash in the stock market was followed by a huge increase in collector car
values.
    The auction pavilion at the Ritz Carlton was packed to capacity, filled
with bidders who had traveled from all over the world to vie for the
handpicked selection presented by RM Auctions.  Overall, sixty-eight cars were
sold for a grand total of $14,013,750.
    One of the most unusual cars was a custom-built 1953 Plymouth Belmont
Sports concept car, bought for $253,000 by New Jersey-based collector Ele
Chesney.  "I recently sold my business," Ms. Chesney commented, "and I've been
watching my friends do nothing but lose money with their stock investments
during the past year.  I feel much safer investing in something real, that you
can feel and touch." Ms. Chesney has been aggressively adding to her
collection; last year, at RM's auction at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New
York City, she purchased a complete collection of Lalique automobile mascots
for the record-breaking price of $550,000.
    The Plymouth concept car she bought at the Amelia Island event carried
many aviation styling cues, including bullet-shaped front headlight enclosures
and an aircraft-style dashboard layout.  "It's one of a kind," commented Ms.
Chesney.  "It's really like buying a unique work of art -- that you can drive
down the road in!"
    Aside from the 1935 Mercedes, the two other cars that brought more than
one million dollars were a shiny black 1939 Bugatti Type T57C Sport Roadster
Cabriolet that sold for $1,760,000 and a competition 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C
that was hammered sold for $1,100,000.  The Bugatti was a custom-built car
commissioned by the French government and given as a wedding gift to Prince
Mohammed Reza Pahlevi upon his marriage to the sister of Egypt's King Farouk
in 1939.  After its presentation to Price Pahlevi, the car remained hidden in
Iran for over twenty years.
    The 1966 Ferrari, fully restored in its original and unusual color of
eggplant purple, was raced extensively in the '60s and '70s, driven by Pedro
Rodriguez, Harley Cluxton and others.  The car finished 6th overall at the
1966 Tourist Trophy in the Bahamas and 23rd overall at the 1970 Daytona
Continental.
    But it wasn't just the million dollar cars that attracted high bids.
After spirited bidding, a bright red 1951 Studebaker Commander Convertible
which had been driven by actor Leslie Nielsen in the movie Mr. Magoo sold for
$47,300, which was $10,000 more than had been expected.
    There were E-type Jaguars in every price range, from a
restored-to-better-than-new 1970 model that brought $63,250 to a 1973
convertible with a 12-cylinder engine that, at $25,300, was an extremely
affordable collectible.
    Auction analysts were impressed with RM's results.  "The high end of the
market seems to be nearly immune from the impending recession," remarked Keith
Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market magazine, a trade publication that
specializes in collector car values.  "Selling three cars for over a million
dollars each in one afternoon is highly unusual, and shows that there are
plenty of buyers out there for special cars."  Martin also commented, "While
the dot-com crash has been highly publicized, there are many collectors who
made their fortunes in other segments of the economy, like telecommunications,
who still have a lot of money to spend on collectibles like vintage cars."
    American classic cars did well at the RM event.  A 1935 Duesenberg Model J
Convertible Victoria sold for $800,000, and a supercharged 1933 Duesenberg
Convertible Victoria sold for $687,000.

    Beverly Hills-based RM Auctions is the leading high-end auction company in
the United States, putting on five sales of elite motor cars each year.  In
addition, they auction more than 1,500 cars at a series of mid-priced
collector car auctions each year, and have a restoration shop in Ontario,
Canada.

    RM's next high-end sale will be at Meadow Brook Hall, outside Detroit,
Michigan, on August 4, 2001.
    A complete catalog, with photos and descriptions, of the car at the Amelia
Island auction is available by calling RM Auctions, Inc. at 310-246-9880.
    For additional information, contact David Gooding or Ian Kelleher at
310-246-9880.
    Complete results are posted on their web site at
http://www.rmauctions.com.