As the pandemic's effects on automotive manufacturing continue to persist, the booming enthusiast community appears even more excited at the prospect of a return to normalcy thanks to increasing vaccination rates. From cars and coffee meetups to in-person attendance at motorsport events and even calendar mainstays like the forthcoming Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, a whole world of car-related fun awaits just around the corner.
The pandemic's effects on car culture have become so pronounced that even The New York Times recently featured a piece on the booming collector marketplace. The trend's grown large enough that Hagerty also revealed the significant increases in collectible insurance quotes and customer demand over the past year-plus as entry-level classics get snatched up by eager gearheads, even though the higher tiers of the market apparently became somewhat stagnant during the slowdowns and shutdowns.
But as the world moves toward reopening, perhaps big names and big cars will soon begin moving again—or at least, that's what Bonhams hopes to spark with a new auction set for this weekend in Los Angeles called "Supercars on Sunset" featuring highlights like a Jerry Seinfeld-owned Porsche GT3 RS, a Saleen S7 LM, more than a few limited-edition McLarens, a Ford GT, and more.
Ahead of the big lineup's public debut, I spoke with Bonhams Head of US Motoring Department and Vice President Jakob Greisen about the re-emergence of the high-end collector car market and what it took to pull together this eye-popping slate of cars set to cross the auction block on Saturday.
Bonhams Head of US Motoring Department and VP Jakob Greisen
Greisen has been in the collector car auction business for about 15 years, including eight years at Bonhams, and personally owns a 1959 MG MGA that he bought with his father at age 14 and restored (though he dailies a BMW C600 Sport scooter that can hit 110 miles per hour). Both he and I couldn't help but marvel at the sheer variety of cars that make up the Supercars on Sunset lineup.
"We coined the phrase 'Contemporary Collector Cars,'" Greisen explained. "Many cars from the 80s and 90s until today, we felt that more and more of those cars are becoming quite collectible. Basically, as a rule of thumb it’s anything from the 80s onwards which is collectible. It’s not just supercars; we also have a Land Rover Defender and we have some cars that are enthusiast-owned but might not be high-performance cars."
On display on the top floor of the Petersen Automotive Museum's garage, the Defender is joined by a Hummer H1, a slew of Ferraris, plenty of Porsches, and even less expected entrants like a 1975 Datsun, a Tesla, and a Nissan GT-R (wearing Martini livery, no less).
Sure, the term "supercar" might not really apply to a Hummer or a classic Datsun, but there's no doubt as to the appeal for collectors—especially here in Los Angeles, where six and seven-figure cars have become so prevalent that the lineup of Rosso Corsa Ferraris on display almost seems quaint.
McLaren's Best And Brightest For Sale
The offerings from McLaren definitely stand out, since most fit into the firm's most exclusive niches. The so-sleek-it-doesn't-need-a-windshield 2020 Elva is Number 45 out of only 149 examples ever built, all of which boast an 804-horsepower twin-turbo V8 within the lightest road car ever to leave Woking. Bonhams expects the Elva to gavel somewhere around $1.7-2.1 million.
Flanking the Elva, two (count 'em, two) McLaren Sennas also look set to easily vault well into the seven-figure range, especially the track-only GTR, which Greisen told me is, "The first one of those offered at public auction, I know there have been some regular Sennas, but no GTRs for sure."
The Senna GTR caught my eye because I recently got the chance to watch one of these hardcore factory racers shake down at Sonoma Raceway, with a wild Marlboro wrap and McLaren techs on hand to supervise—for those wondering, McLaren isn't officially involved with this auction, despite the additional inclusion of a 600LT Coupe, a 600LT Spider, and a 720S.
Oh yes, and don't worry about the Ford GT—it's past the two-year no-flip period instituted by Ford, having been bought new by NHL star Ryan Getzlaf with over $120,000 in options and yet, somehow, driven less than 1,000 miles since. Expect the GT to close right around the million-dollar mark.
A Former Seinfeld Porsche (Among Others)
This being a collector car auction in Los Angeles, the docket wouldn't be complete without a lineup of Porsches. The highlight of the P-Cars comes in the form of a stunning 2016 911 GT3 RS originally ordered from the factory by comedian and Porsche connoisseur Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld configured the car with over $250,000 worth of options, including a paint-to-sample Liquid Chrome Blue Metallic hue, front-axle lift, and more.
"I really like the spoiler, that’s really quite unusual," Greisen told me. "They had this special spoiler put on it that’s kind of reminiscent of the G-Series Porsches, the late-70s and early-80s 911s."
In my mind, I pictured Seinfeld just buying Porsches willy-nilly, figuring they'll always go up in value just because his name graces the paperwork. Greisen disagreed with that kind of conjecture, however.
"I think he is a genuine enthusiast who buys what he likes and buys it because he likes it. I wouldn’t call him a speculator in any way. I mean, he’s a collector, not someone who invests in cars and flips them. I know he’s sold cars in the past because he had duplicates or something like it."
An Incredibly Original Datsun 280Z
Personally, I couldn't help but stroll over to the Datsun as I perused this incredible collection. Sitting next to a 42-years-younger Aston Martin V12 Vantage Roadster, it's a 1975 model year 280Z 2+2 exempt from California's stringent smog testing, has fewer than 8,700 miles on the clock, and was recently brought back to life after years of storage.
"It is so, so original, sitting in a garage for many, many years," Greisen remarked. "It’s hard to believe that car is that old. It’s a 45-year-old car and I think they’ve probably done some clear coat on the paint but other than that, it’s original. It’s gone through servicing where they did the brakes and hoses and everything that can go wrong when a car’s sitting and now it runs really well. It’s a lovely car. I drove it from Orange County to LA a couple weeks back and I can certainly attest to how well it operates."
Even in this kind of immaculate condition, whether a 2+2 can reach the levels of the green 240Z that famously hammered on Bring a Trailer for $310,000 last year still remains dubious, Greisen admitted, "I wouldn’t gamble on that car selling for that kind of money."
Not Just Cars You Might See On Sunset
While the Datsun definitely doesn't qualify as a supercar—even if it is, without a doubt, super awesome—the auction also includes several cars that won't ever be seen on Sunset Boulevard (at least, not legally). The racecar-lookalike sliding window and steering wheel above belong to a 2018 Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo that's been upgraded with the 2020 Evo package and definitely doesn't qualify as street-legal (just like the Senna GTR).
Luckily, Bonhams has grouped together more than a few other road-going Ferraris, including two Testarossas, a GTC4 Lusso 70th Anniversary Edition, and a 2020 F8 Tributo (among others). Meanwhile, for those who want a track toy a fraction of the price of the Italians, the Cayman GT4 would probably best fit the bill.
Saleen Stuck In The Basement
I had been hanging around snapping photos and checking out all the stunning pieces of road art on display in the bright parking lot for about 20 minutes before I realized a major star of the show was missing. Where was the Saleen S7?
Turns out, the Saleen's battery had drained so it got schlepped downstairs next to the Petersen's vaunted vault, into the mechanic's facility, and connected to a trickle charger. And so it came to pass that I got a chance to head down myself to put eyes on yet another piece of automotive history.
One of only seven built, this S7 sports a twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter V8 producing 1,000 horsepower at 6,250 RPM. It's a one-owner example with only 300 miles on the odometer, so there's a good chance it could get close to the $1.2 million another 158-mile example fetched on BaT only just over five months ago. I asked Greisen if that BaT auction had inspired the owner to sell after all these years and he demured.
"It’s really sort of seasoned into becoming more and more collectible," he explained. "It’s a one-owner car and he felt we were the right place to sell it and to market it. So we came to him with this idea and he liked it."
Supercars On Sunset As A Sign Of The Re-Emerging Market
The Saleen's seller may have liked the idea of the Supercars on Sunset auction much more given that re-openings seemed on the horizon only days ago. However, despite Greisen's hope of holding an in-person auction at the Bonhams location on Sunset Blvd, current coronavirus mandates in LA mean potential buyers will have to bid online and via telephone once again. Greisen hopes this auction will mark a return to pre-pandemic values, though he seemed to harbor an open mind about what the market might bear.
"Cars are not really going down, they’re not really going up," he told me. "There are always old cars that come to market and will do a massive number because they’re so special in terms of originality or collectibility or things like that. Many cars have been sold during the pandemic and there really haven’t been any 'Corona bargains.' A lot of people were hoping but there hasn’t really been anything like that. I think there’s such a big group of collectors out there that really hold onto this market and they’re not selling things like that because they genuinely enjoy them."
Bonhams held an online and by-phone auction in Scottsdale only this past January and there's no doubt the new reality of Bring a Trailer (and all its copycats) changed the collector car marketplace forever, even before the pandemic. This new Supercars on Sunset collection, meanwhile, will serve as a bellwether for an industry that could sit on the cusp of a huge re-emergence. Meanwhile, for those who need to experience the magical anxiety of live auction action, there's also no doubt that May's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in Florida will once again allow live crowds to congregate among copious quantities of collectible cars.
Sources: nytimes.com, bonhams.com, petersen.org, and bringatrailer.com.