A fully restored 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS with coachwork by Pininfarina posted the highest results in RM Auctions' sale of The Don Davis Collection, held on April 27 in Fort Worth, Texas.
 The car's appeal lies in its completeness, according to RM Auctions' Ian Kelleher |
The 330 GTS is now the most valuable example of its kind ever sold at auction, after reaching a final price of $1.9m. It easily surpassed its $1.5m high estimate, spurred by the fact that it is one of only 99 ever built, as well being a particularly rare matching numbers example.
"It's easy to drive, whereas a lot of Ferraris aren't," explained Davis, the owner of several Texas car dealerships, to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram newspaper. "It drives like a million dollars."
The Ferrari is a perfect specimen of mid-1960s Italian GT styling, and won the Best of Show award at the 2011 Concorso Italiano in Monterey.
"It's a very correct car, and people pay for correctness," added RM Auctions' Ian Kelleher.
Following closely behind was a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider by Scaglietti, which sold for $1.6m to bring the second highest bids of the sale.
Also starring was an immaculate example of the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, which has undergone an fantastic restoration at the hands of Kevin Kay Restorations and is now one of the finest examples of the legendary road car.
Featuring Rudge wheels, belly pans, fitted luggage, a sport camshaft and other highly desirable features, it brought $1.2m.
The results of the Don Davis sale are highly reflective of the current collector car market, with Ferrari firmly cementing its place as the market leader with an 11.1% increase in value in 2012, according to the HAGI classic car index. Classic Mercedes-Benz models are also faring particularly well, with a 3.5% growth in January 2013 alone.
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