Mercedes Gullwing auctioned for for $1.15 million

A Mercedes Gullwing coupe has sold for $1.15 million at the start of auctions that test demand for what has been a booming market for classic cars, Bloomberg reported.

Two private collections are up for sale in London, with a combined minimum estimate of about 30 million pounds ($46 million). The 54 Mercedes models put on auction by a Portuguese collector yesterday will be followed by a Scottish businessman’s cars, a James Bond “submarine” and other lots today.

The silver 1956 Gullwing formerly owned by U.S. West Coast collector Don Ricardo was sold by RM Auctions without reserve and a hammer price estimate of 700,000 pounds ($1.1 million) to 900,000 pounds. Its formal price was 739,000 pounds with fees, paid by an unidentified bidder in the room at Battersea Park.

“There’s less hype in the market for Mercedes than Ferrari,” Dietrich Hatlapa, founder and managing director of HAGI, said in an interview before the sale. “It’s also less volatile. The company produced more cars and there’s greater model diversity. The quality of the build is high and they’re more robust.” The HAGI index for Mercedes had increased 19.5 percent over the last 12 months, Hatlapa said.

A streamlined silver 1938 540 K Cabriolet A, the most highly valued of Sunday’s lots, was less successful in the public auction. The bidding stopped at 1.4 million pounds, just missing the low estimate of 1.5 million pounds. Negotiations on a private sale were taking place later.