I only got the single one on sale for half price. By the time I was in the "market" the deal for the stainless one was gone.

It would be interesting to know the cat and mouse going on with that car, if any. Although only a few exist, there may be even fewer potential buyers. As there was apparently at least one other bidder qualified at $10 million it seems that when / whether you bid is as important as how much. It could be that the bidders were probing the market as much as the seller. And a reserve auction made that possible. Personally I find this to be more interesting than some dude just backing up a truckload of money.

I guess I missed the comments in this thread that would be insulting to the owner of 2601, but I assure you he knew what he was getting into and could care less what we have to say here. Long before the auction weekend arrived, people were throwing around a $10 million/ "Eight" figure number, with absolutely no basis. But if you owned this car and wanted to sell it for a premium, what better way to do it than at one of these Barnum & Bailey auctions. This was a win-win for the owner and Dana Mecum. Mecum paid to have the car transported to the auction and likely handled all the travel expenses for the owner. to come to town. The owner then took a chance to sell his car for a stupid price, and Dana Mecum used the car to draw people to his auction. The owner didn't get lucky enough to lure a $10 million buyer, but Dana Mecum milked it for all it was worth.

I sorta figured some anonymous phone buyer would buy it and then it would show up in Mr. Leno's Garage in 60 days.

I was told yesterday by an extremely reliable source that the seller had a whole lot more than that into the original purchase. I'm trying to sell my house too but I won't sell it for less than it cost me to built it. Especially if I don't have to sell right now. That might change tomorrow but today I'm at least going to break even.

You can't blame the owner for testing the water and if it is too cold wait.
I doubt if he "needs" the money so a few more years won't make no
difference. JMHO of course.:)

Hi Guys,

Watched beginning to end and there was a lot of Shelby hardware for sale and some did sell for high numbers. no Carrol to be seen but, Pete Brock and Bob Bondurant were there to help support the event. Bob even threw in lessons for the new owner to personally train him on how to drive it fast on his track in Arizona, Bob drove the car into the arena when the sale started.

The Coupe stalled at $6.8 Million and did not sell. Mecum said on screen that there was a buyer in the audience prequalified for a $10M line but never lifted his paddle to bid.

I agree with the concensus above that it was a test of the water and a magnet car for the event.....as the old song goes "Time is On His Side"

One man's opinion,

TR

Reportedly, there are 4 owners of the coupe :

the Daytona was bought back in January by Mershon (www.mershons.com) and 3 other investors...with the obvious intent to flip it.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/...rss_local-news

The tv announcer said they thought a deal might be made off the block, but apparently not so . Dana Mecum was interviewed on tv and said 'someone interested in the car and registered with a $10 mil line of credit was here and did not raise his hand' as he shrugged his shoulders .

Too much for my blood ..........some nice cars seemed to sell for some fair prices too - Mopars included . Bill.

The rumor was the car had a $10M reserve. The car has been paraded around the U.S. in anticipation of last Friday's auction. This was the car in Sebring in March:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...CobraCoupe.jpg


A friend tried to buy the Alan Mann GT 40. This was the second car in the stable and had the most wins of any privateer GT 40. It was a no-sale at $2M (rumor was the reserve was $2.5M). The other Alan Mann car is being restored.

A lot of cars went back to their original home. The guy that restored/auctioned the "last Sting Ray" brought 10-12 Corvettes and none of them sold.

It was probably pretty weird to watch on TV, but actually being on the floor as the bidding on 2601 took place was quite an experience. First of all, the car was surrounded by a mob scene and after Pete B. and Bob B. addressed the room, the crowd remained on the block. Somewhat of a distraction as the bidding began. Clearing the block, letting the car regain everyone's focus and then starting the bidding may have helped create more anticipation. The energy in the room definitely dropped when the bidding crashed to a halt at 6.8 mil. People didn't know exactly what they had just seen. It was an awkward moment.

This wasn't just one of the Daytona Coupes--this was THE Daytona Coupe to own and that was the general consensus of everyone from Pete Brock all the way down. It would be easy to explain it off as a case of the economic downturn making collectors gun-shy but we've been in this economic funk since last fall and big ticket cars are being bought and sold every week at auctions all over the place. The extremely well-heeled collectors have the money and will spend it on that certain car or cars they desire. That has always been the case. When the stock market crashed in 1987, it was the beginning of the hysteric surge in collector car interest and values that we saw back then as the big players pulled out of their paper investments and threw their money down on collector-grade automobiles--and anyone who had a special interest car with even a scintilla of value pulled it out of mothballs and tried to cash in.

From the many conversations I had after the auction with a fair number of high-end collectors who were there and took time to evaluate the no-sale, overall, they agreed that the market has spoken. 2601 hasn't reached the 10 Million Dollar Club just yet, mainly because there's some skepticism about its real value. It's not a question of provenance, originality, desirability, or documentation. It's more a question of whether this or any American car has reached 10-million dollar status yet. Had it sold for 6.8 million, that would still have set the record for the highest price paid at public auction for an American car, and had there not been so much pre-auction pubilcity that it would sell for 10-15 million, 6.8 wouldn't be looking so low rent.

Interesting that you say that because my first thought was how poorly choreographed the whole thing was. It was over before it started. Whoever was shouting out the intro could have at least rehearsed a little bit, and the stage full of people looked chaotic. Even if the car wasn't going to sell, they could have at least made the event look as well-prepared as the lead-up seemed to be.

You've nailed it on the head. There are only certain collectors whose portfolio this car would fit. I'm quite surprised Ron Pratte wasn't there (or was he?) This car would have looked so cool next to the Super Snake he bought a few years ago. Maybe he feels an appropriate, non-auction-hyped deal can be struck privately.

I do want to see this car go somewhere where people can see and appreciate it.

FYI, I got some more good shots of 2299 (Coupe #13, Larry H Miller's car) last week. The Shelby American Collection has re-centered the car into a really nice layout. I'll post up a picture later but have to go to a meeting now.

Indeed. I'm not sure who the older gentleman was who introduced the car, Brock, and Bondurant but I think his frenetic, unpolished delivery was a bit too hucksterish for that moment. I've seen very expensive cars cross the auction block, particularly in Monterey, and I can't ever recall the scene resembling a pep rally. I think if the Mecum people had it to do all over again, it would be much more dramatic in an understated way.

Hi Guys,

I agree all the finesse of a ball park huckster " PEANUTS HERE !!! PEANUTS HERE !!!!!

If you see the high class auctions the auctioneer with an English accent, gavel of round hard wood and controlled environment make it the event they build it up to be.

The people with the $10 M looked at it and knew there were better ways to buy the car if they really want it.

Tony R.

And on TV Bondurant's tongue exchange was very distracting... Amusing, but distracting :) My wife insisted I back it up to verify what she saw. [We met him at the Shelby American Collection Christmas Party.]

I noticed that too. Kind of like watching your dad make out:CRY:
Linda Vaughn sure has changed. She could have been the hottest woman in the 60's.

Our guys in the Discovery HD production truck nearly wretched when Bondo and Linda played tongue hockey. I love Linda to death and we should all have lived the kind of life she has. She's seen it all. And yes, 40 years ago, she was a total babe-o-licious fox.

Nail hit. Well said.

-Dean

Aside from that "uncomfortable" moment with Bondurant and Linda, you guys put on a great show! :3DSMILE: Always excellent coverage, interviews, and extras you don't always get to see or hear about.

The guy with the $10 mil probably thought "Oh ****, if I buy this car, I'm gonna get French-kissed by Linda on national TV and my wife'll kill me." :eek:

And the down side would be?

No, if I dropped 10M+ on a car being frenched by Linda would only be the minor part of the problem. I told co-pilot that if I won Powerball on Wednesday I was going to Indianapolis. She's seen #2299 and didn't disagree (but I had to win - no more on the household budget). She's seen #2299 and agrees that they are cool cars.