Arizona auctions: Plenty of bidders are willing to buy

Friday's auction results from the four major auction houses continue on a strong streak, with sales reports topping even optimistic pre-event estimates.

RM Auctions completed its second and final day of sales in Phoenix, posting results totaling an estimated $30.6 million, a record-high amount for this event. The Canadian-based company also garnered the most talked about sale of the day, a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL steel-bodied "Gullwing" that sold for $1.375 million. This is a price more often achieved by the much rarer and more desirable aluminum-bodied examples.

Gooding & Co. turned in strong first-day results of more than $14.2 million. Its top seller was the final lot of the day, a 2006 Ferrari FXX Evoluzione that brought $2.09 million. Saturday's results are expected to exceed Friday's totals, as many of the star lots have yet to fall under the hammer.

Note that all results include commissions and that final sales totals often change as some auction houses post cars that sell postblock for one or two days after the sale.

Russo and Steele has sold an estimated $7.59 million as of Friday night. The top seller was a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda 440 Six-Pack convertible that crossed the block at $236,500. Russo has two more days of sales left in Scottsdale.

Barrett-Jackson's five-day total is an estimated $37.6 million. This auction also has two days to go. Friday's top seller was a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L71 427/435 Convertible; it brought $242,000.

The big Barrett-Jackson story so far might be the controversy that erupted following reports that one of the star lots to be auctioned on Saturday was a Pontiac Superior-bodied ambulance that was reportedly used to transfer the body of President John F. Kennedy after it's arrival at Andrews Air Force base from Dallas. According to printed reports, the actual vehicle was transferred to the Kennedy Library; soon afterwards, the vehicle was destroyed at the museum's request. Photographs of a Pontiac ambulance of similar coloration and vintage, shown outside and inside a vehicle crusher, have surfaced, further adding to the controversy.

Barrett-Jackson released a statement that reads, in part, "Despite all our diligence on this issue, we are unable to either confirm or refute with certainty whether the vehicle offered for sale at auction tomorrow was in fact the vehicle that transported President Kennedy's casket and his family members. Based on all research and our conversations with experts around the country, we do not believe there is a person alive who can answer this question with certainty."

At the same time, an older Internet ad surfaced showing a similar Pontiac Superior ambulance for sale in California with an asking price of $41,000. The ad touted that the vehicle was used in two made-for-TV movies about the Kennedys.

In other words, buyer beware.

Arizona auctions daily results compiled by Hagerty

Barrett-Jackson Auction Co.

Cumulative total: $37.6 million

894/894 lots sold: 100 percent sell-through rate

Day Four Total: $17.4 million

238/238 lots sold: 100 percent sell-through rate

Top 5 cumulative sales:

1967 Chevrolet Corvette L71 427/435 Convertible, $242,000

2011 Chevrolet Corvette LeMans Z06 Race Coupe (charity), $220,000

1990 Coors Extra Gold Top Fuel Dragster Replica (charity), $200,000

1958 Chevrolet Impala Convertible, $198,000

1957 De Soto Adventurer Convertible, $187,000

RM Auctions--“The British are coming”

Cumulative total: $30.6 million

173/182 lots sold: 95 percent sell-through rate

Day Two total: $24 million

113/116 lots sold: 97 percent sell-through rate

Top 5 cumulative sales:

1949 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta, $1,870,000

1933 Packard Twelve Sport Phaeton, $1,760,000

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Coupe, $1,375,000

1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton, $1,237,500

1965 Ferrari 500 Superfast SI, $935,000

Russo and Steele

Cumulative total: $7.6 million

225/372 lots sold: 60 percent sell-through rate

Day two total: $4.4 million

99/176 lots sold: 56 percent sell-through rate

Top 5 cumulative sales:

1970 Plymouth 'Cuda 440/6 Convertible, $236,500

1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Convertible, $194,700

1941 Willys Rambler Americar Coupe, $159,500

1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda Coupe, $151,250

2001 Ferrari 360 Spyder, $114,400

Gooding & Co.

Cumulative total: $14.2 million

50/58 lots sold: 86 percent sell-through rate

Top 5 sales:

2006 Ferrari FXX Evoluzione, $2,090,000

1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, $1,045,000

1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV, $990,000

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, $858,000

1995 Ferrari F50, $814,000

Silver Auction

Day One total: $825,000

53/105 lots sold: 50 percent sell-through rate

Top 3 sales:

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu, $51,300

1963 Jaguar E-type, $42,930

1972 Plymouth Barracuda, $39,420

These figures are initial raw results compiled by the team of Hagerty valuation experts as witnessed on the auction block during the live sale. Any postsale deals are not factored into these results. Appropriate buyer's premiums are factored into the above sales figures.

By Dave Kinney