Russo and Steele Tackles Florida

At a press conference on Thursday Drew and Josephine Alcazar of Russo and Steele announced the company's first East Coast auction.

Pretty much everyone has recognized the attractiveness of the Florida market in the late Winter (or early Spring) and Barrett-Jackson, RM, Mecum Auctions and Kruse have all demonstrated that it works. Russo and Steele will now make its foray East with a sale at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casion in Hollywood, Florida.

Russo and Steele picked a coveted slice of the schedule, choosing to run as they do in Scottsdale head-to-head with Barrett-Jackson from Thursday March 27 through Saturday March 29, overlapping all but the opening and closing days of B-J's established West Palm Beach sale.

They're saying there will be only 200 cars, which is a modest effort for Russo and Steele and easily and comfortably accommodated in a three-day schedule.

The Seminole Hard Rock is about 50 miles south of the South Florida Expo Center in West Palm Beach.

It does raise the question, "How many auctions can there be?" But so far the answer has always been, "At least one more."

Rick Carey

What Is Going to Change?

With Rupert Banner, Philip Kantor and Gordon McCall joining Bonhams at least one auction anomaly will be cleared up: the incongruous presence of Bonhams auction at Quail Lodge supporting (or being supported by, depending upon your point of view) a high profile event organized by Christie’s consultant Gordon McCall.

It’s had everyone dancing very carefully to avoid trodding on toes for years. At least now the lines of communication will be rationalized.

Gordon’s Wednesday Airport Party at the Jet Center can focus on good times and cross-promotion, perhaps augmented by a caravan of Bonhams auction cars across the Laureles Grade between the Carmel Valley auction venue and the Airport to spice up both events.

Kruse’s commitment to presenting an auction at Concorso Italiano ended this year and – no surprise – that eminently unsuccessful venture is being thankfully discontinued. That and Christie’s withdrawal leaves Monterey down two venues and selling sessions from 2007’s exhausting schedule.

As 2007 demonstrated, there is plenty of inventory crowding onto the Monterey Peninsula during the Pebble Beach week. Christie’s Thursday afternoon slot meshes neatly with Bonhams already-established Friday afternoon time. And Bonhams has been aggressively adding non-automobile inventory to an entirely separate jewelry and watches session before the cars on Friday. It’s no stretch of the imagination to see Bonhams adding a Thursday session in Christie’s absence, maybe cross-selling off the Airport Party’s existing cross-selling promotions to auction non-automotive trinkets there? It would free up The Quail location to focus on cars and automobilia.

Philip Kantor gives Bonhams an advantage in adding Christie’s annual Rétromobile sale and semi-annual Le Mans Classic auction to Bonhams’ schedule. However RM Auctions, which is pushing aggressively into Europe after great success at Maranello this May and in anticipation of a very high profile auction in London coming up on October 31, 2007, is unlikely to let either of these established and successful venues slip away without making a strong pitch for them. We’ll have to wait to see how these sales turn out.

Rupert Banner (who began his collector car auction career with Bonhams’ Malcolm Barber at Sotheby’s) is moving to New York (or its environs) to head up East Coast business development, leaving no place in Bonhams roster for Christie’s hard-working and industrious East Coast rep, Christopher Sanger. Bonhams, too, has invested in establishing a successful sale venue at the Museum of Transportation in Brookline, Massachusetts in late April. It competes directly with the Christie’s sale which Christopher Sanger organizes at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance in early June.

Bonhams has added two days to the Brookline auction with estate items, maritime antiques and collectibles and other non-automotive consignments (as they are doing also at The Quail). There is no reasonable likelihood they’d be foolish enough to throw that investment away to take up the Greenwich venue and two Northeast sales within two months is commercial suicide.

The Greenwich Concours venue is inherently limited by area to no more than forty cars, making it ideal for an auction company that wants to establish a Northeast US bridgehead. That could be RM Auctions. It also could be Gooding & Company.

It’s all really quite intriguing and should keep the announcements flowing for several months to come.

Rick Carey

Christie's Et seq

In the wake of yesterday's announcement of Christie's decision to close its International Motor Cars Department Bonhams (& Brooks (& Butterfields)) seized the day and the respected expertise of the Christie's team with the following announcement:

Christie's Car Team Joins Bonhams

Bonhams announced today that Christie's two most senior motoring directors and one of its most respected motoring consultants will join the Bonhams' Global Motor Car Department on November 1^st 2007.

Having just held their sale at Monterey during California's Pebble Beach Concours last month, the Head of Christie's International Car Dept Rupert Banner and Philip Kantor, Head of Christie's European Car Department, will join the Bonhams team on both sides of the Atlantic.

Rupert Banner will join Malcolm Barber, Bonhams' CEO, and Mark Osborne, Vice President of the US Car Department, in the United States. Based in New York, Rupert will take on the new role of Vice President of Business Development, US.

Philip Kantor will become Bonhams' International Director of Business Development. He will continue to be based in mainland Europe.

A third member of Christie's motoring team - California-based Consultant Gordon McCall - will also join Bonhams' US motoring department on November 1^st. He will continue in a similar role, as a senior consultant to the Bonhams worldwide motoring network. He will remain based in Carmel, California.

James Knight, Managing Director of Bonhams' Motoring Department, said, "We are delighted to welcome Rupert, Philip and Gordon, who have been respected rivals for many years. Their expertise and professionalism will add significant strengths to our global car team, with specific focus in the US and Europe where they will respectively be based."

Malcolm Barber added, "It gives me particular pleasure to have Rupert and Gordon join me here in the US. Their expertise will substantially add to our ability to grow and develop the various services we offer our motoring clients."

Philip Kantor made the following statement: "Joining Bonhams in this capacity represents an irresistible opportunity to focus on our main passion of auctioning cars and winning business, and further developing the growth of a company that uniquely understands our product with cars at its core."

Rupert Banner:

Rupert Banner has had an active interest in the car auction market from an early age, attending his first motorcar auction at the age of six, leading him to move into the business in 1994, when he joined Bonhams' CEO Malcolm Barber, who was then heading up the Sotheby's Motor Car Department. Four years later he moved to Christie's, where he rose from Specialist to Regional Head. Since the end of 2003, he has been the International Head of the Motor Car Department and a Director of the company. In this role, and as auctioneer, he has been instrumental in the success of the department, making key consignments to all international sales. In recent years he has been actively involved in all of Christie's US auctions.

With a broad knowledge and interest in many eras of cars Rupert has handled notable sales over the course of the last decade including cars from the collections of Sir Elton John, the late Alfred Heineken, and US West Coast collector Harris Laskey, the 'M' collection of Ferraris, as well as the Sharpe Collection, which comprised more than 200 cars.

Individual highlights have ranged from the sale of the 1908 Isle of Man T. T. - winning Hutton to Prince Michael of Kent's Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, from an Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar C Type to a 'Tear-Drop' Talbot-Lago, and projects as diverse as caches of 'barn discoveries' and the sale of concours-winning Ferraris; the pinnacle of this being the recording of the world record price for any Bentley motor car, with the Works No. 2 Speed Six at £2.8-million.

Rupert is a member of the Bugatti Owners Club, Bentley Drivers Club, Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts and Owners Clubs, Vintage Sports Car Club, Veteran Car Club, and the Society of Automotive Historians, while being a regular competitor in the Tour Auto and annual entrant on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run.

Philip Kantor:

Philip Kantor has had a lifelong passion for cars, developing this from his car collecting enthusiast father.

A British national, who has lived in Belgium for several years, Philip, as European Director, has pioneered Christie's development in Europe and specifically France, using his multi-linguistic skills and contacts to secure top quality consignments and sale venues on the Continent. He ensured the success of Christie's first sale in the newly opened French market with the sale of the Lüscher Collection in 2002 and has since been responsible for the sale of many highlight lots in Europe, the U.K. and America. These include the first customer delivered Ferrari, a highly original Mille Miglia winning Tour de France Ferrari, Dan Gurney's Eagle Westlake Single Seater, a 'one owner from new' Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet, and within the last few months, Philip has fought off strong competition to secure the privately owned museum collection, which led his Monterey sale this year.

A well-known and formidable presence with a keen eye for quality and detail, Philip is a regular competitor in numerous rallies annually, including the Tour Auto. He attends events ranging from Le Mans Classic and Goodwood to modern Le Mans and Formula One Grand Prix. He has supervised preparation of his own cars to concours winning, but practical standards.

Gordon McCall:

Gordon McCall is a popular and well-known personality on the Monterey Peninsula who has been at the centre of the Monterey week for more that 30 years. A true enthusiast of cars, motorcycles, and cycles, he actively competes on road and track.

Formerly serving as a field director and class judge at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance for several decades, his current involvement in the world's largest annual collector car event has been as host of his own exclusive welcome 'Motorworks' party at the Monterey Jet Center and as co-founder of the extremely popular 'The Quail - A Motorsports Gathering' which he developed with The Honorable Sir Michael Kadoorie and the Peninsula Hotels Group.

Gordon McCall had been with Christie's since 1999 during which time he had been invaluable in the development of the company's sales, winning key consignments, including, just days ago, the sale of the Steve McQueen Ferrari Lusso for a world record price.

He also has three decades of automotive experience as a restorer and car historian, as well as being a keen motorsport photographer and writer, and is an active supporter of his interests as a member of the Sports Car Club of America, US Cycling Federation and Lifetime Member of the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation.

Gordon's contribution to Monterey week has been tremendous and he looks forward to developing the natural synergies with the Bonhams team in his car and motorcycle interests, specifically with Bonhams' annual US auction at 'The Quail' during the Pebble Beach Concours.

That's the end of Bonham's announcement.

Encouraging for all of us who love the cars and their thoughtful and informed presentation is the continued presence of Christie's enthusiastic, informed, reputable participants in the collector car auction market.

Rick Carey

Christie's Folds Its International Motor Cars Department

In a terse announcement released late this afternoon (September 5), Christie's announced the demise of its International Motor Cars Department as follows:

"As the world’s leading art business, Christie’s periodically carries out strategic reviews of its various operations. Most recently, we have undertaken a review of our global strategy for Christie’s International Motor Cars. As a result Christie’s will close this department this month and will redirect departmental resources to other parts of our business."

Speculation on the Jack Welch effect (if you're not #1 or #2 in your business you should get out of it) and other reasons for and factors in Christie's decision should wait for tomorrow when inquiries can be made directly with the affected Christie's people, but the demise of Christie's International Motor Cars is an important, if sad, milestone for the collector car auction market.

Christie's International Motor Cars has helped shape the collector car market, being a participant since the late 60's and the starting point for many of the market's influential players including Robert Brooks, David Gooding, Miles Morris, Malcolm Welford and Ian Kelleher. Some of the most historic transactions in collector car auction history have taken place behind the Christie's podium, including the sale (under the gavel of Robert Brooks) of the ex-Briggs Cunningham Bugatti Royale which is still the standard by which all collector car auction transactions are measured.

It is quite a history, and it is with regret that we see it come to an end.

Rick Carey