The wheel deal
If you're planning a round of golf at California's Pebble Beach links next Sunday, my advice is not to bother. I hear there's likely to be a bit of a hold-up at the 18th, and it won't just be the usual duffer refusing to give up on a lost ball. Instead, the verdant turf will be obscured by a phalanx of 15,000 classic car nuts, all drooling over the 175 examples of rolling art that will be parked up along the length of the fairway.
This is the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the most prestigious event in the classic car calendar that, since its inception in 1950 as an aside to the Pebble Beach Road Race, has grown into a multimillion dollar occasion that attracts thousands of enthusiasts to the Monterey peninsula.
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Showing a car at "Pebble", as it is affectionately known, is not merely a matter of filling in a form and sending off an entry fee - this is a strictly invitationonly event and, in order to get invited, your old car needs to be at least as good as new, if not better. The 70 or so judges, each one an expert in individual marques or models, can spot an incorrect paint shade, a wrongmake spark plug or a misstitched dickey-seat at 50 yards, and nothing is overlooked. Cars like this cost money, big money, and that means that they generally belong to the world's wealthiest and most "serious" collectors - last year, for example, Ralph Lauren was a class winner with his 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C Touring Spyder, a car valued at more than $1m.
Given such a captive audience fired with automotive enthusiasm, the leading classic and collectors' car auction houses regard Pebble Beach as a good time to make a killing. Where there was once just a single "official" auction held at the golf club on judging day, there are now five spread throughout the preceding four days around an 18-mile radius.
Individual Monterey auctions routinely top $20m and this year's combined total is likely to approach a staggering $100m, largely thanks to a two-day event being held by RM at the Portolo Plaza hotel on Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf, in which no fewer than 225 cars will cross the block with an overall pre-sale estimate of $60m.
Although not the designated Pebble Beach auctioneer (that privilege is enjoyed by Gooding and Co), RM's sale is the one everyone will be watching because it includes what could become the most expensive car ever sold in north America, a unique Ferrari 412S that the house is boldly predicting to fetch up to $8m.
It is not just its astonishing value that has caused this car to attract so much attention - a considerable part of its appeal lies in its infamous past. Although officially a 1958 car, certainly its phenomenally powerful V12 engine and possibly a large part of its chassis were salvaged by Ferrari from the wreck of a 335S crashed by Count Alfonso de Portago during the 1957 Mille Miglia road race. He killed himself, his co-driver and 10 spectators.
Sotheby's tried to sell the 412S last year at a special auction held in Italy dedicated to the Ferrari and Maserati marques. Back then the car had an even more ambitious estimate of ?7m-?10m but failed to find a buyer, yet RM remains confident of pulling off a sale in America, thanks to a buoyant market and the weak dollar.
Among the other 224 cars to be offered by the house will be a 1964 Lincoln Continental stretch limousine that was specially built for Pope Paul VI's 1965 tour of the US. It is expected to make up to $500,000, complete with "bubble" roof, fluorescent interior lighting, PA system and side steps for carrying secret service agents.
Bonhams & Butterfields, meanwhile, will stage a 68- car sale at the nearby Quail Lodge resort and golf club where it held its first Monterey auction in 1998. This year's event kicks off with a small selection of jewellery and watches (possibly to pacify the ladies) before the petrolheads can bid in earnest for a range of automobilia, motoring art and mascots as an entr?e to the sale proper. Highlights include a 1956 "short nose" Jaguar D-Type, which is tipped to fetch around $2m, a 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza two-seat racer estimated at $1m and a 1938 Delahaye at $1.3m. In normal circumstances these would all be considered exceptionally valuable cars - during Pebble week, they seem almost run-of-the-mill.
"The Pebble Beach Concours is peculiar in the automotive calendar because it creates an incredible influx of people coming from all around the world to show, look and buy, and this has caused numerous other events to spring up around it, including historic racing, the Retro Auto show for unrestored cars and, most notably, several auctions," says Mark Osborne of Bonhams & Butterfields. "Vendors save the best cars for the week because they know that there isn't a serious collector or buyer in the entire world who won't either attend in person or have a representative there.
There seems no doubt that this year the favourable dollar exchange rate is attracting a larger than usual number of buyers from outside America as we have had inquiries from all around the world, and particularly from Europe." Osborne believes the classic car market is currently at a three-year high but says buyers are far more discerning than they were during the boom of the late 1980s, which was followed by a sudden and ignominious crash.
"In the late 1980s people would pay big money for almost any classic car but now they want either the very best restored cars or those that are completely unrestored and totally original.
Both ends of the spectrum attract strong prices, but those in the middle - poor restorations or cars lacking in provenance - are now extremely ha
最负盛名的老爷车大展
卵
石滩老爷车展
你要是计划最近到加州卵石滩高尔夫球场打一局球，我建议你就别费心了。听说第18号球道可能会有点堵，而且不是因为技艺欠佳的高球爱好者拒绝放弃“遗失球”之类的稀松平常的原因。相反，这条高尔夫球道上，将停满175辆汽车艺术的典范，这些展品将令1.5万名老爷车迷垂涎不已，翠绿的草坪也会因此相形失色。
这就是卵石滩老牌汽车及概念车展览会(Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance)，老爷车日程中最负盛名的大事。自1950年开办以来，它已经从卵石滩公路赛(Pebble Beach Road Race)的一个点缀，茁壮成长为价值数百万美元的盛事，吸引着成千上万的老爷车爱好者前来蒙特里半岛。
身价尊贵的老爷车
在昵称为“卵石”的车展上展出一辆车，不仅仅是填个表格、寄笔入场费就可以了事的。它的入场资格很严格，只有收到邀请函才可参加，为了得到邀请，旧车必须至少像新车一样棒，如果不是更出色的话。评审就有70位左右，人人都是某个品牌或车型的行家里手，他们隔着50码，就能辨别出不对头的车漆颜色、不配套的火花塞，或者针脚不匀的驾驶座椅，而且什么都逃不过他们的眼睛。
这样的汽车很花钱，花大钱，而且这意味着它们通常属于全球最富有、最“认真”的收藏家――例如去年，拉尔夫?劳伦(Ralph Lauren)凭借他1938年的阿尔法罗密欧(Alfa Romeo)8C Touring Spyder成了所属类别的优胜者，这部汽车估价超过100万美元。
热闹的老爷车拍卖市场
鉴于有这么一批对汽车充满热情的痴迷拥趸，顶尖老爷车与收藏家汽车拍卖行，将卵石滩视为大赚一票的好机会。以前，只有评审日这天在高尔夫俱乐部举行一场“官方”拍卖，而今年，在评审日前连续4天，18英里半径范围内分散着5场拍卖。
按照惯例，单场蒙特里拍卖会的封顶金额为2000万美元，今年，拍卖总金额很可能接近令人咋舌的1亿美元。这在很大程度上要归功于RM，它将在坐落于蒙特里渔人码头的波托拉广场酒店(Portola Plaza hotel)举办为期两天的拍卖会。在这场拍卖会上，将有至少225辆车拍卖，售前总估价为6000万美元。
尽管RM不是卵石滩的指定拍卖行（这一特权归Gooding and Co所有），它的拍卖令所有人瞩目，因为其中包含了可能成为北美有史以来售价最高汽车拍品――独一无二的法拉利(Ferrari)412S老爷车。这家拍卖公司大胆预测，它的售价将高达800万美元。
如此受关注的原因不光是它令人咋舌的价格，相当一部分的吸引力在于它声名狼藉的历史。尽管根据官方资料，该车于1958年制造，但它强劲无比的V12引擎，或许还有底盘的大部分，都是法拉利从一部335S的残骸中抢救而来，这部335S被阿方索?德?普塔戈伯爵(Count Alfonso de Portago)于1957年一千英里(Mille Miglia)公路赛期间撞毁。这起事故导致他自己、导航员和10名观众丧生。
在去年意大利举行的一场法拉利与马莎拉蒂(Maserati)汽车专场拍卖会上，苏富比拍卖行(Sotheby)试图售出这辆412S。当时，这辆车的估价更大胆，高达700万至1000万欧元，但没能找到买主。然而，由于市场火爆，美元疲软，RM对在美国卖出这辆车仍然很有信心。
在这家拍卖行拿出的另外224部汽车中，还有一部1964年的林肯大陆(Lincoln Continental)加长豪华轿车，这部车专为教皇保罗六世1965年的访美之旅制造。据预计，该车能拍出50万美元，它有拱起的半球状顶蓬、荧光内部照明，驾驶辅助系统以及供特工搭乘的侧踏板。
同时，博汉斯&伯得富拍卖行(Bonhams & Butterfields)将在附近的加州鹑园渡假酒店及高尔夫俱乐部(Quail Lodge resort and golf club)举办一场68辆车的拍卖会，它于1998年在此举办了首次蒙特利拍卖会。今年的拍会将以少量珠宝与手表精品作为开端（可能是为了抚慰女士），之后狂热的车迷们可以真正出价购买一系列汽车纪念品、汽车艺术品和吉祥物，以此作为参加这场拍卖会的入场券。
拍品中的亮点包括一部1956年的“短车头”美洲豹D型(Jaguar D-Type)运动赛车，拍卖方暗示该车的拍价在200万美元左右；一部1955年的法拉利750 Monza两座赛车，估价100万美元；此外还有一部1938年的Delahaye，估价130万美元。正常情况下，这些都会被视为特别贵重的汽车，但在卵石滩拍卖周期间，它们似乎并不出挑。
“卵石滩车展在汽车界的日程上非同一般，因为它创造了一个盛况，就是世界各地的人们会蜂拥至此，展示、观赏或购买汽车，导致大量其它活动围绕它出现，包括历史赛车比赛、未修复汽车回顾展(Retro Auto)，而最为引人注目的是多起拍卖会，”博汉斯&伯得富的马克?奥斯本(Mark Osborne)说。
“经销商都把最好的车留给了本周，因为他们知道，全世界真正的收藏者或买家要么会亲自出席，要么会派代表参加。毫无疑问，今年美元汇率的走低吸引了比以往更多的美国以外地区的买家，因为我们已经接到了来自世界各地的咨询，尤其是欧洲。”
奥斯本认为，老爷车市场目前正处于3年来的搞，但同时表示，现在的买家要比上世?0年代末的时候更识货。在当时的老爷车购车热潮之后，市场突然遭受了毁灭性的打击。
“上世纪80年代末，人们几乎愿意为任何一辆老爷车花大价钱，但现在他们只会买那些经过最佳修复，或者完全没有修复过、完全原装的汽车。这两个类别的车型都能卖上高价，但那些居于二者之间的车――修复效果差或缺乏原汁原味的车――则很难卖掉，”奥斯本提醒道。
卵石滩拍卖周回顾
8月17日：佳士得拍卖行(Christie’s)在蒙特里喷气机中心(Monterey Jet Centre)为期四天的疯狂拍卖，其中包括由一位收藏者收藏的8部保时捷(Porsche)，总价逾300万美元。最早的一辆是一款1959年的356 Carrera GT Speedster，最近的一款为1997年的Turbo S。电话：+1 310 385 2698
www.christies.com。
8月18日：博汉斯&伯得富拍卖行将拍卖20世纪60年代末和70年代初的加拿大－美国优胜杯名贵跑车，其中包括相当前卫的Shadow-Chevrolet Lowline，估价在10万至14万美元之间，及两辆20世纪30年代的未经修复的印第安那波利斯跑车(Indianapolis)。电话：+1 415 391 4000，
www.bonhams.com/us。
8月18日至19日：Russo and Steele推出了一系列令人震撼的美国“肌肉型”老爷车，包括一辆1971年的庞蒂克(Pontiac)GTO“Judge”敞蓬跑车、一辆1971年的普利茅斯(Plymouth)Roadrunner和一辆原厂调试的雪佛兰(Chevrolet)Camaro。随着富有的中年买家揣着大把现金购买少年时代曾梦想拥有的汽车，这些类型的汽车市场近来大幅升温。电话：+1 602 252 2697，
www.russoandsteele.com。
8月18日至19日：RM充分利用每一分钟的时间，完成225了辆老爷车的拍卖。此次为期两天的拍卖会可能是有史以来总金额最大的老爷车拍卖会，从估价为1万美元的马力增强版斜背式菲亚特500 SS，到高达800万美元的独款法拉力412S，此次拍卖会的价格区间非常大。电话：+1 519 352 4575，
www.rmauctions.com。
8月20日：Gooding and Co曾被指定为2004年卵石滩拍卖会的“官方”拍卖行，意味着它将在展览评审当晚6点，把拍卖展台设在俱乐部会所旁边。该行之前成功的拍卖记录包括在2004年以445万美元的价格卖出了一辆1935产的丢森堡(Duesenberg)，以及去年以390万美元的价格卖出了一辆曾在电影《天罗地网》(Thomas Crown Affair)中露面的1967年法拉力275 GTS/4。今年的顶级拍品包括一辆原味十足的1927年布加蒂(Bugatti)35C型格兰披士(Grand Prix)车，以及一辆1935年的奥伯恩(Auburn)851“舰尾型”Speedster。电话：+1 310 899 1960，
www.goodingco.com。
卵石滩车展：
www.pebblebeachconcours.net展览评审已于8月20日星期日举行，展出当天入场费为175美元。
