Car collectors continue to shell out money at auctions

Collectors continued to shell out huge sums of money for cars Saturday at the Barrett-Jackson and Gooding and Co. auctions in Scottsdale.

The day's top-seller through the early evening was a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet at the Gooding event at Scottsdale Fashion Square.

The Ferrari was one of seven cars at Gooding that exceeded the $1 million threshold. Gooding's sales totaled $35 million in its two-day auction, including the week's top price: $3.74 million for a 1956 Jaguar D-Type Sports Racer.

"We're really happy with the results," said David Gooding, Gooding president. "It's been quite a week with the weather and everything."

Auction sales at Barrett-Jackson, Gooding and RM Auctions are close to $90 million and that does not include Barrett-Jackson's total for Saturday, its biggest day by far. Barrett-Jackson's top-selling car as of early Saturday evening was a 1963 Shelby Cobra Roadster, whose top bid reached $401,500. A 1929 Hamilton Metalplane H47 brought in $671,000.

At Gooding, one of the day's big spenders was Jeff Moore of Houston. Cigar in hand, he was sure he had snagged a deal, paying $1.03 million for a gold 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C with a value estimated as high as $2.5 million.

Moore, a collector with 42 cars, said he already had interested buyers asking about the one-owner Cobra. One of them was Rob Clemens of Kansas City.

"I'm not a rich guy, but I know you stole that car," Clemens said of what he viewed as a bargain.

Clemens paid $632,500 for a black 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 on Friday at the RM Auctions.

Moore is the son of the late Jerry Moore, a legendary collector who bought a 1931 Bugatti Royale for $6.5 million in 1986 and sold it a year later for $8.1 million to Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza.

Auction week continues today with Barrett-Jackson ending its seven-day run at WestWorld. RM Auctions and Gooding have already wrapped.

Russo and Steele is set to resume its auction at 9 a.m. today and Monday with several hundred cars, including a 1948 Tucker 48 Convertible, Russo owner Drew Alcazar said.

The Valley-based auction house sold about 50 cars Thursday before its two exhibit tents were blown away in a powerful storm that damaged many of the vehicles. Russo and Steele spent two days recovering.