by Mike Gulett –
There was some kind of a slip up at the RM Sotheby’s auction of the 1939 Porsche Type 64 in Monterey this past Saturday (August 17, 2019).
The auctioneer started the bidding at $30 million! And it went up from there to $70 million in $10 million increments. The screen displayed these amazing numbers yet it was a mistake. In simple terms it seems the person in charge of the numbers on the screen misheard the auctioneer and typed 30 instead of 13, 70 instead of 17 and other similar interim mistakes.
This unique car was a no sale at a high bid of $17 million and is listed as Still For Sale on the RM Sotheby’s web site.
I did not attend the auction but I did visit RM Sotheby’s during the preview period and took these photos.
In the video below posted on YouTube by Sean Winograd you can hear how the mistake was made – start at 1:30. The auctioneer corrected the screen mistake at 2:58 on this video. The noise in the room certainly made it difficult to understand the auctioneer but this seems like an honest mistake and did not influence the outcome of the auction.
RM Sotheby’s released a statement statement which included this:
As bidding opened on the Type 64, increments were mistakenly overheard and displayed on the screen, causing unfortunate confusion in the room. This was in no way a joke or prank on behalf of anyone at RM Sotheby’s, rather an unfortunate misunderstanding amplified by excitement in the room. The auction was not canceled. The car reached a high bid of $17 million.
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
Photos by Mike Gulett.
Boos in the crowd well deserved for such a poor performance by the auctioneer. The man can’t enunciate. My guess is Sothby’s will ship the car to Europe let it sit for a while and try to use the 17 mill as a starting point on the next go. I wonder if they practiced/ rehearsed at all? The other auction houses do.