Mecum’s four-day auction in Monterey included a lot of vehicles from the 1980s—fully 10% of the 241 cars and trucks that sold. As always, I’ll concentrate on the cars that actually sold (remember that this is not a no reserve auction—a green, gold, and white 1989 Porsche 962 Miller High Life race car was a no sale bid up to $2,000,000) and add some of my opinions.
Thursday, August 17th:
- 1984 white GMC 3500 pickup truck with a blue bench seat, a 7.4 liter/454 cubic inch V8, and an automatic —$11,000 hammer price for this truck with 1984 Olympics badging.
- 1989 tungsten blue Jaguar XJS convertible with a blue top, medium blue interior, an HE 262 bhp 5.3 liter/326 cubic inch V12 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 86,000 miles—$6,500
- 1985 gold BMW 528e sedan with a brown interior, an M20B27 121 bhp 2.7 liter/165 cubic inch inline six with Bosch Motronic fuel injection, and a five-speed manual—an ouch! at $1,000
- 1985 black BMW 535i sedan with a black interior, an M30B34 182 bhp 3.4 liter/209 cubic inch inline six with Bosch Motronic fuel injection, and an automatic—$2,000
- 1989 red Cadillac Allanté convertible with beige leather seats, an HT-4500 200 bhp 4.5 liter/273 cubic inch V8 with fuel injection, an automatic, and 47,000 miles—$7,500
- 1985 guards red Porsche 911 Carrera Targa coupe with a black interior, a 207 bhp 3.2 liter/193 cubic inch flat six with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 106,000 miles—$31,000
- 1988 black Porsche 911 Carrera coupe with checkered cloth seats, a 217 bhp 3.2 liter/193 cubic inch flat six with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 197,000 miles—$29,000
- 1987 red Porsche 911 Carrera Targa coupe with black leather seats, a 217 bhp 3.2 liter/193 cubic inch flat six with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 95,000 miles—$28,500
- 1989 black pearl Mercedes-Benz 560SL convertible with a black hard top, palomino leather seats, a 227 bhp 5.5 liter/338 cubic inch V8 with Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection, an automatic, and 65,000 miles—$27,000 for this car once owned by Joe Montana.
- 1987 zermatt silver metallic Porsche 924 S coupe with a black interior, a 150 bhp 2.5 liter/151 cubic inch inline four with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 44,000 miles—$19,000
- 1981 stainless steel DeLorean DMC-12 coupe with a gray interior, a ZMJ-159 130 bhp 2.8 liter/174 cubic inch V6 with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 1,900 miles. $39,000 makes this the first eighties vehicle in this auction to meet my criteria for serious collectability of original cars or trucks: selling for equal to or above its original base list price. I’ll mark these vehicles in bold green.
- 1987 venetian blue metallic Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet convertible with a black top, black leather seats, a 217 bhp 3.2 liter/193 cubic inch flat six with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 41,000 miles—$49,000
Friday, August 18th:
- 1988 alpine white BMW M3 coupe with cardinal red leather seats, an S14 192 bhp 2.3 liter/141 cubic inch inline four with Bosch Motronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 78,000 miles—$60,000
- 1988 black Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet convertible with a black top, black leather seats, a 217 bhp 3.2 liter/193 cubic inch flat six with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 88,000 miles—$31,000
- 1988 black Porsche 911 Turbo coupe with brown leather seats, a 282 bhp 3.3 liter/301 cubic inch flat six with turbocharger and fuel injection, a four-speed manual, and 11,000 miles—$145,000
- 1988 white Porsche 911 Speedster convertible with a black top, black leather seats, a 217 bhp 3.2 liter/193 cubic inch flat six with fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 8,100 miles—$160,000
- 1988 black Alpha Romeo Spider Graduate Edition convertible with a black top, a burgundy interior, a 115 bhp 2.0 liter/120 cubic inch inline four with Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection, and a five-speed manual—$15,000
- 1983 white, orange, and black Chevrolet Camaro Z28 race car with a 310 cubic inch V8—$26,000
Saturday, August 19th:
- 1988 black BMW M6 coupe with gray leather seats, an S38B35 256 bhp 3.5 liter/211 cubic inch inline six with Bosch Motronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 32,000 miles—$42,000
- 1983 silver Ferrari 512 BBi coupe with Zenga striped cloth seats, a 335 bhp 4.9 liter/302 cubic inch flat 12 with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 5,600 miles—$330,000
- 1988 graphite Porsche 959 Komfort coupe with gray leather seats, a 444 bhp 2.8 liter/174 cubic inch flat six with twin turbochargers and Bosch Motronic fuel injection, a six-speed manual, and 14,000 miles—$950,000 is between #2/Excellent and #3/Good condition, according to Hagerty’s valuation tools. I’m happy that this 959 was driven a bit by its four previous owners.
- 1988 nero black Ferrari Testarossa coupe with black leather seats, a 380 bhp 4.9 liter/302 cubic inch V12 with Bosch fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 9,600 miles—$135,000
- 1989 red Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary coupe with ivory leather seats, a 455 bhp 5.2 liter/315 cubic inch V12 with Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection, a five-speed manual, and 6,600 miles—$260,000
BMW, Ferraris, and Porsches were strong at this auction, which makes sense given the timing and location. What do you think of the results?
Eighties Cars 