Few takers for classic cars at HK auction

Local auctioneers RL Neo Classics sold seven of 26 collectibles at its inaugural sale at The Repulse Bay on June 11. More deals were done after the event, which drew scores of rich to lots of largely 1970s and 1980s cars. The venue was perfect, with primary colour classic Ferraris, and silver and white Mercedes-Benzes and Aston Martins parked alongside a delightfully retro 1992 Porsche 964 RS in purple. A maroon 1974 Jensen Interceptor and a matching 1973 Mark III V12 E-Type Jaguar were also presented behind velvet curtains, under the watch of tough-looking security suits.

But it rained and rained; Repulse Bay seemed greyer than Boxing Day in Bridlington. Long dresses and blazers huddled under dripping umbrellas, and the gleam of rain-globuled classics seemed dulled by the damp. And how sad to see a 1957 Austin Healey 100/6 so expertly restored locally to concours condition, but with its open top wrapped against the rain in plastic, like a whiskered tomato at Wellcome.

Some visitors might have wondered whether the weather dampened the event’s bidding. Or was the wine too strong or too weak? The selection included a gavel-friendly Savart L’Ouverture Champagne, a Coonawarra red, and a Marlborough, New Zealand white. And someone noted the planet Mars was in retrograde until June 29. For whatever reason, rather a lot of classics were passed or refused to meet their minimum prices by the close of sale.

The event started well, however. A yellow 1997 F355 Challenge Race Car by Pininfarina fetched HK$1.6 million in competitive bidding, helped along by British auctioneer Gary Loveridge, a classic car expert and author. He has auctioned cars all over the world, and read The Repulse Bay salesroom like a book.

“Can I ask you to be clear, Sir,” the former chairman of Britain’s Guild of Motoring Writers boomed, as a millionaire fiddled with his bidding paddle. “I can tell you are thinking, Sir, the cogs are going round. What’s another look between friends? No pressure.”

Bidders in checked shirts, casual Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren burst into laughter, and the V8 changed hands, but at the low end of the catalogue’s price estimates, “from HK$1.6 million to HK$2 million”. A 1965 Mercedes-Benz 230 SL “Pagoda” went for HK$650,000, but only after Loveridge dropped the bidding to HK$550,000, and then took “small bids” of HK$50,000 to its eventual sale, HK$20,000 above the low estimate.