How can this be?

I was watching the Barrett-Jackson auction last night on the Speed channel, when a 1956 speedster came up, they said it was orginal and had all the matching numbers, excellent condition with a hardtop. It sold for 40,000 dollars. Something had to be wrong with it. Did anybody witness this?

Auctions are funny like that. I've seen used bushhogs go for more than a new one and almost new stuff go for 25% of what it should have.
ed

Did they never really clarify whether it had matching numbers or not? It was debated back-and-forth but I don't believe they ever definitely confirmed. It appeared like a nice car though. I had the impression many of last night's cars were going cheap, possibly because people are waiting for cars later in the weekend. My guess is the prices will go up as the backlog of cars crossing the block goes down.

Yes they did state the car had matching numbers. Hated the color, but i would hve bid as much as 45K for it. I probably would have got outbid, but it would be a nice 356 to have. I love the hard top

What color was it? I watched some of it and saw the last car go thru for about $40,000, it was a very nice low milage Ferrari, silver, a 365GT I think. Thought it should have gotten more. The cars appeared to have no reserve on them. I noticed the audience/bidders looked pretty thin. That is probably why they went cheap. Sorry I missed the Speedster, drats.

I pulled these #'s Of Barrett-Jackson.com

1956 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER SOLD 57,240 2002-BJCCA
1989 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER HIGH BID 42,000 2001-E0322
1989 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER HIGH BID 46,000 2001-E0222
1989 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER CABRIOLET SOLD 55,080 2001-BJCCA
1989 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER HIGH BID 41,000 2000-E1228
1989 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER HIGH BID 35,750 2000-E1116
1955 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER CONVERTIBLE SOLD 50,400 1999-BJCCA
1989 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER CONVERTIBLE SOLD 50,400 1997-BJCCA
1957 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER TITLED AS A 1958 SOLD 30,750 1996-BJCCA
1955 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER ROADSTER HIGH BID 42,000 1996-BJCCA
1956 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER SOLD 35,700 1995-WCCAM
1957 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER HIGH BID 45,000 1995-WCCAL
1958 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER SOLD 27,825 1995-WCCAL
1956 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER CONVERTIBLE HIGH BID 35,000 1995-BJCCA
1954 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER ROADSTER SOLD 46,725 1995-BJCCA
1964 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER 1994-BJCCA
1958 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER RDSTR SOLD 1993-BJCCA
1956 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER RACE CAR HIGH BID 1991-BJCCA
1954 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER CONV SOLD 1990-BJCCA
1954 PORSCHE SPEEDSTER SOLD

I think thier target consumer likes American Iron, a series 1 xke roadster sold cheap too but the super deal last was the Ferrari 365 GTC(which is like a Daytona Coupe with jump seats) sold for 45,000ish!

Holy crap!! Both of those cars should have gotten a lot more than that.

Remember, the next time you have an extra $40K lying around for a car, you know where to go...

Is there a difference between 'High Bid' and 'SOLD'?

Im going next year and bid on one
which is better to have a 40K replica or an actual one?

depends do you want to make an investment in a car to look at......or do you want a car that is a good driver....it really is one or the other as a good driver original doesnt make since.....if it is really nice and you drive it you will decrease the value and when it needs repairs it will cost you a lot more

When I first started with these cars I thought "It would be so much better to have a real one". After a few years though, my thoughts on that subject have changed dramatically.

If I had the choice between an original and a replica at close to the same price, I would have to think very hard about it.

Real Pros:
-Bragging rights, I guess

Real Cons:
-Constant fight against rust
-Worrying about it in a parking lot
-Limiting drive mileage
-Worrying about it in a parking lot
-Cost of engine work
-Worrying about it in a parking lot
-I want to modify it, but it will greatly reduce the value
-I want a crazy stereo, exhaust, brakes, engine, but it will greatly reduce the value
-I want to paint it, but it will greatly reduce the value

Replica Pros:
-No worrys, I can order another one
-No rust problems
-Engine work is dead cheap on a T1
-Drive it daily and slap in another (larger) engine later
-I want to modify it, value goes up!
-I want a crazy stereo, exhaust, brakes, engine, value goes up!
-I want a better non-stock suspension, value goes up!
-I want to paint it, value goes up!

Replica Cons:
-Bragging rights, I guess

-=theron

Paul,

Hopefully I can answer your question. High bid generally means the top bid the car reached in a auction but did not sell because it did not reach the reserve put on by the seller, in other words the minimum he would take the for car. Many cars don't make the reserve, only to surface down the road at another auction. Sometimes the reserve is very high if the guy wants to make a killing or doesn't really want to sell the car. "Sold" is exactly what it means, the car sold for X number of dollars. Some cars have no reserve going thru an auction,ie top bid drives it away. On a reserve car, high bid OVER the reserve price drives it away!

I doubt if I'd ever buy a car at an auction but sometimes you can pull off a coup, as last night.

Bruce

Roland I went back and watched that portion of the auction again (I recorded it) and they did discuss the numbers matching or not and I couldn't see that they new for sure one way or another....one guy did say that he believed it to be a numbers matching car.....in the auction business if they can't answer the question it means they dont want to answer the question......why ......hoping to catch a rich guy who has maybe had a few too many bid on the car without realizing the reason it is going too cheap.....you must be very careful at an auction....remember a non reserve car will not go for less then wholesale at an auction like this because many of the bidders are their just to buy for resell stock or they are bidding on behalf of a person they know. Very little goes too cheap that is truly a good collector for this reason....if its going cheap it has something that is undesirable for resell.......having said all that it might be ok for a person who just wants a driver, but all of the caveats described by Theron are still an absolute.

A Ferrari SOHC 365 GT is the least desirable of the pre-Fiat ownership GT cars; they are heavy and don't make much power. The 330 GT (late version with single headlights) and 330 GTC are the last of the great SOHC V12 coupes.

The later 365 "Daytona" GT coupes and convertibles use an upgraded DOHC 365 engine with six downdraft Weber carburetors.

And then there was the '61, I believe, Cabrio which went for 82K this evening. This is nuts, right? It sounded like from the description that the S-90 engine was non-original. Eighty-two large for this car? The classic car market must be on the upswing, or is it up-schwing? Pretty black car, but give me a break!
Maybe this is a leading indicator for the economic recovery???

Cars went for excess way out of sight dollars this weekend in the Barrret Auction....wonder how the new owners will do at resale time in the coming year(s)

Sounds like a lot of these guys have had their money tied up in Bonds for the past two years, the Bond market is headed down, so they've unloaded into cash or money markets and feel that money burning a hole in their pockets.

OR......I wonder how many of these guys are simply dealers expecting the market to go up still further in the next couple of years??

I sat there in disbelief at what most of those cars were bringing.

At least I'm glad that SOMEBODY out there has money to throw around!!

gn

I figure that a good number of bidders were investors that will send these cars overseas where they will get a high return ....Alan

Dude! The same auction that had a 70 Cuda go for $160K!! The world is a strange place. Of course its also good to see I wasn't the only weirdo spending the day watching other people buy cars.