SFM 5018 Sets New GT350 Street Car World Sales Record At Russo & Steele

[SFM 5025]

Greetings all,

New guy here to the board!

Just saw the results today of the Russo & Steele action from last Saturday that I thought I'd share with all who are interested (there were two '65 GT350's of particular interest).

Quoting directly from the Russo & Steele website:

"We shattered our previous sales record with sales exceeding $10.6 million dollars in one night!

The top sales were Shelby American competition-prepared automobiles, with a 1965 "Type 65" 427 Daytona Super Coupe bringing the top bid of the evening at $1,457,500.00. A pair of significant 289 competition Cobras followed closely behind, with 1963 chassis number CSX2138 selling for $1,292,500.00, and 1962 chassis number CSX2011 bringing a bid of $770,000.00.

Additionally, two Shelby GT350s set new world-records, with a 1965 GT350-R model bringing $473,000.00, and a 1965 GT350 early 2-digit street car (SFM 5018) going for an amazing $324,500.00."

You can check the site out for yourself at: www.russoandsteele.com.

Best regards,

Neil.

[KenG.]

Amazing I wonder how surprised the owner of the street GT350 was?

[BillH]

I wonder if the guy who sold SFM5S484 on Ebay for 150K has any regrets.

[SFM 5025]

Originally Posted by KenG.

Amazing I wonder how surprised the owner of the street GT350 was?

That would be some interesting feedback, indeed. Is SFM 5018 on the board?

[Charley]

I spoke with him before the auction. He was hoping for at least 175K. There were at least 3 real buyers at 250K plus. I think the gavel dropped at about 295K. The higher figure is with the sales comission the buyer has to pay the auction. The car is going to Canada so with the exchange rate he really had to pay up. Very nice car.

[KenG.]

You have to wonder about these values. People are throwing their money at these classic cars. It is kind of like the housing market here in California. At theses levels, can you really say this is a good investment?


Heres a carry-over car at $125+

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1966-...QQcmdZViewItem

[DeLa1Rob]

Originally Posted by KenG.

Heres a carry-over car at $125+

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1966-...QQcmdZViewItem

Does "carry-over" mean this car was only a dealer demo and never titled?

robin

[KenG.]

Carry-over means that theses cars were left over from the 65 model year and retaine some of the same features.

[SFM 5025]

Originally Posted by KenG.

You have to wonder about these values. People are throwing their money at these classic cars. It is kind of like the housing market here in California. At theses levels, can you really say this is a good investment?


Heres a carry-over car at $125+

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1966-...QQcmdZViewItem

I hear ya--$324,500 seems like a stratospheric (and shocking) level to purchase a '65 GT350 at--relative to the $65,000 you could buy one for just three years ago.

But then again, what if they're worth $1,000,000 in 10 years?

Could that happen? Well, at the present pace, it does seems possible. (Granted, they could plummet precipitously, as well.) I guess given the current circumstances, who really knows where a good entry point into a '65 GT350 is anymore?

Is perhaps the marketplace only finally recoginizing their true historical significance--and catching up to the Mopars of the world? Again, who knows.

I guess one side of the puzzle is: does the '65 GT350 deserve to be a $1,000,000 car in 10 years? All I know is the '65 GT350 was first street-legal race car ever available on a showroom floor. They may closely resemble a stripped-down white Mustang fastback with stripes at first glance--but all it takes is one drive in a '65 GT350, to realize they were a race car in disguise--and that automotive genius Carroll Shelby literally invented the modern formula in Venice 41 years ago. I also know there were only 562 of them made--and according to the '65 Shelby SAAC Registrar--about 475 of them have survived (which obviously helps account for their meteoric rise as well).

In the case of SFM 5018, two factors that helped fuel the bidding frenzy were its low digit serial number and its previous celebrity-owned status (Reggie Jackson). Although I speculate (poor choice of words perhaps) that we're seeing different forces at work here--and that celebrity status may have only carried a relatively small premium in 5018's case--what are everyone's thoughts?

Will we see $65,000 again (a repeat of the 80s) before we see half a million? Of course, that outcome is unknowable in advance--but momentum would seem to indicate that prices will be propelled higher from here.

Maybe that Carryover is a "bargain" at $125,000 (but I see the reserve hasn't been met). Should be interesting to watch--so fasten your Ray Browns!

Best regards,

Neil.