Auction Blog

The Palace Hotel, Gstaad, Switzerland, 20 December 2008

Headlining this year’s sale will be two historically important competition Ferraris from the Estate of the late Antoine Midy, a well-known French collector.

The 1955 121 LM Spyder by Scaglietti, chassis no. 0558LM, was raced by the late Phil Hill (the only American to have won the Formula One World Championship), in both the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours and the Venzuela Grand Prix. The six-cylinder Ferrari 121LM was new on the grid and was the fastest car that year, outpacing the world championship-winning Mercedes-Benz 300SLRs and the ‘Longnose’ Jaguar D-Types. Eugenio Castellotti also competed in the car in that year’s Mille Miglia.

In 1957 Carroll Shelby and John Kilborn competed in ‘0558′ at Sebring and the Cuban Grand Prix while the car was in the long-term ownership of Luigi Chinetti in the USA. In 1976, the car joined the Mas du Clos Collection of Pierre Bardinon before passing directly into the hands of Antoine Midy. During this time the car has participated in many historic events such as the Mille Miglia retrospective and the Ferrari Shell Challenge. It is estimated to sell for CHF 4.7 – 6.6 million (£2.3 – 3.3 million).

Also from the same collection is the 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Spyder by Carrozzeria Motto, chassis no. 094E, which won 2nd in class and finished 3rd overall in the 1954 Mille Miglia, driven by Piero Scotti. The car was subsequently raced extensively by Argentinian driver Roberto Bonomi. More recently, ‘094E’ competed in the 1980 Mile Miglia Retrospective while in the ownership of M Bollaert of Buenos Aires. During Midy’s ownership, the car took part in the Tour Auto and raced at Monaco, and is estimated to fetch CHF 2.8 - 3.8 million (£1.35-1.85m).

Other Ferrari highlights include a 1955 250 GT Pinin Farina ‘Europa GT/ Boano’ Coupe, chassis 0435 GT, to be offered at No Reserve (estimate CHF 560,000 - 650,000/£280,000 - 320,000), and an ex-Tour Auto and Tour de Corse 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB Group IV Michelotto, one of only 11 produced, (estimate CHF 900,000 - 1,000,000/£450,000 - 500,000).

For further information relating to Bonhams’ Gstaad Sale, please go to www.bonhams.com/cars

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Gstaad Classic Car Sale Dec 20

Ritchie Bros. has announced that it has completed the purchase of approximately 16 acres of land near Tokyo, Japan, on which it intends to develop a new permanent auction site. This facility will be an important step in the Company’s strategy to expand its presence in the Asian market. With more than 10 years of history in Japan, having a sales office in Tokyo and conducting a number of auctions in Japan over the years, the Company is well positioned for a permanent auction site in this market.

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Ritchie Bros. Announces Japan Expansion

TOKYOBID is a multilanguage delegated bidding system designed for overseas Web users who are interested in Japanese products. Users can use English or Thai to search and bid for over 15 million items listed on major Japanese auctions sites. Winning bid items are opened and their contents checked, temporarily stored in TOKYOBID warehouses, and then shipped internationally according to the user’s instructions. Credit cards and Paypal are supported as payment methods.
Initially, Yahoo! Auctions (Japan) will be supported, and will be expanded to other auction services according to user demand.

Japanese domestic shipping, content checking, warehousing, packing and international shipping will be managed. All of the transactions will be handled by Japanese staff. Package professionals recognized by the Institute of Packaging Professionals Japan will handle packing. Problems commonly encountered when using delegated bidding and export agents are minimized. Also, TOKYOBID PROTECTION will provide a compensation system in case of any problems (*conditions may apply), and thus the system can be enjoyed safely.

Products and content originating in Japan are available worldwide. However, it is difficult to obtain products from Japan not available on a commercial basis. Due to the difficulty in purchasing these types of items from Japan, the fact was that many people could not get the items they wanted. In particular, the big language barrier makes it virtually impossible to sell items on Japanese auctions sites using a foreign language. During service launch, TOKYOBID will provide Thai language services as well as English, which is the main language used by Web users. TOKYOBID will continue to offer more languages and will strive to remove the language barrier.

TOKYOBID will become the infrastructure to connect Japanese “Sellers” and worldwide “Buyers” and will strive to create a system where anybody, anywhere will be able to obtain goods from Japan.

About OCLCOM
Operate “TOKYOBID” service which enables worldwide bidders to participate in Japanese online auctions. Operate “Soryo no Tora”, one of the largest shipping portal sites in Japan with 3 million monthly page views.

http://www.tokyobid.com/

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OCLCOM Launches TOKYOBID for Japanese Online Auctions

‘Rembrandt Of The East’ Offers Beauty And The Potential For Growth In Value At Bonhams
The interesting and diverse group of drawings being offered in Bonhams upcoming auction of Fine Japanese Art on 12 November should whet the appetite of many a passionate collector as well as the astute investor. The group includes an important work […]

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Bonhams Fine Japanese Art Auction

HONG KONG - Sotheby’s sales of 20thCentury Chinese Art (formerly known as “Modern Chinese Art”) have been highly successful over the years. This year, Sotheby’s Hong Kong has officially established the 20thCentury Chinese Art Department, as distinct from the Contemporary Chinese Art Department. The inaugural auction of this auction category is scheduled for this Autumn. […]

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Sotheby?s 20th Century Chinese Art Department Inaugural Auction