Sotheby’s – not RM Sotheby’s mind you – held an auction of luxury items in Las Vegas on October 24. Although this wasn’t an RM Sotheby’s sale, there were some cars on offer and there was one particularly strong sale that’s worth discussing.
Before we get to that sale, let’s look at a couple others. Sotheby’s sold a 1970 Husqvarna 400 Moto-Cross for $95,200 – within the estimate of $90,000 to $120,000. That may sound like a lot for a dirt bike from 1970, but this particular Husqvarna was owned by Steve McQueen’s Solar Productions and there’s documentation to back that up, including a note on the invoice that specifically mentions McQueen.
The bike underwent a twelve month, frame-off restoration that was completed in 2014 so it’s not something you should expect to see out on any trails, but it should make a nice addition to someone’s collection.
Next up, Sotheby’s sold a 1960 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible for $50,400. That’s a major step up from the median value of $17,000, but the median Beetle Convertible isn’t as nice as this one. And very few can claim a two-owner history, both of which were based in Southern California.
The Beetle Convertible was restored in 2001 and featured in VW Trends magazine that same year. According to Sotheby’s a little over 5,800 Beetle Convertibles were delivered in the US for the 1960 model year, so while it isn’t as rare as many other cars, it’s still comparatively rare for what it is. It also includes an original manual along with an accessory tool kit.
While both of those sold for more than one might expect, the really impressive lot was a 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition. The auction company’s estimate was $450,000 – $550,000 which is already above the median value of $434,500 and at the end of the bidding this GT sold for $522,000.
It has a lot going for it – it’s a four-option example, one of only 343 built for 2006, and has single ownership from new. The odometer read 1,024 miles when it was catalogued for the auction and it includes its owners manuals and a framed window sticker.
Of course, compared to some of the low mileage Ford GTs we’ve seen over the years – think single digit mileage – we wouldn’t exactly describe it as a low mileage example, but it does appear well-maintained and if the new owner wants to drive it, you can be fairly certain it will drive just fine.
Here’s the catch with the Sotheby’s auction. It wasn’t just cars, there were watches, various pieces of jewelry, and there were sneakers. That’s right, sneakers. And one of the pairs available was from 1984 and were worn by Michael Jordan during a regular-season game. They’re also autographed and their history has been verified by Sotheby’s.
Interestingly they were a gift to a ball boy in 1984. What’s even more interesting is that these sneakers sold for $1,472,000. Talk about return on investment! Although the investment was just the ball boy’s time, but that’s quite a payday for him. But consider this – if you bought three 2006 Ford GT Heritage Editions for their median value, you’d have enough left to buy the Beetle and the Husqvarna without spending as much as those sneakers cost.
