The final numbers are coming in from the top three auto auctions that took place in Scottsdale last week and despite a wave of storms that included winds of more than 60 miles per hour, nearly 4 inches of rain, flash flooding and reports of a tornado...sales dollars were up from last year!



Barrett-Jackson finished with an auction total of $68 million, up from last year's $63 million, with the help of a 1929 Hamilton Metalplane bringing in $671,000, a 1964 Shelby Cobra Roadster at $478,500, and a 1963 Shelby Cobra Roadster at $401,500 being their top sellers.



Gooding & Company hammered out a total of $33.9 million, up from last year's $32.4 million. Its auction broke two price records for specific models, with the sale of the 1959 Costin Lister Jaguar Sports Racer for $1.1 million and the 1932 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Series V Gran Sport for $1.54 million. But their top seller was a 1956 Jaguar D-Type Sports Racer that went for an amazing bid of $3.74 million.



RM Auctions announced that their sale at Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa netted $19.6 million with an 89% sell-through rate which was up compared to 2009 sales of 18 million. Their top sellers included a 1963 Aston Martin DB4 GT at $1,001,000, a 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra at $632,500 and a 1932 Duesenberg Model J Tourster for $550,000.00



Russo and Steele was hit hardest by the Thursday nights storms which blew one of the main tents covering the cars off its moorings and made a second tent collapse. It has been estimated that out of the six hundred cars consigned to Russo and Steele, up to 50% of them have some type of damage. So far their highest selling car appears to be $797,500 for a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Series II with the highest bid of $1.4 million coming in for the controversial 1948 Convertible Tucker, not reaching its reserve.

-By Tony and Michele Hamer, About.com Guides to Classic Cars



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