RM Sotheby’s Realizes $24m in Sales at The Gene Ponder Collection Auction

RM Sotheby’s set up shop in Marshall, TX to offer more than 1,100 lots from the Gene Ponder Collection. The lots on offer included cars, motorcycles, automobilia, tools and other shop equipment. In the end, every lot was sold for a 100% sell-through rate and a final sales total of $24,315,417.

Image: Forest Casey, courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The top sale at $1,595,000 was a Dark Red over Cognac leather 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster. Delivered new to Ethiopia, the roadster was fitted with Rudge wheels, factory-type lap belts, matching luggage and Europa Mexico radio. Over $14k was spent on maintenance in 2019. Mr. Ponder toured with the car regularly.

The other lot to sell for over $1m was the 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic Re-creation, sold at $1,155,000. Originally a Type 57 chassis with a Gangloff saloon body, Erik Koux transformed the car into its current configuration from 1991 to ’96.

Three Italian autos landed behind the Bugatti, each selling for over $700k. They included a Rosso Rubino 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC at $797,500, an aluminum-bodied 1952 Ferrari 212 Barchetta finished in the style of Touring at $792,000 and a one-of-250 1960 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder at $770k.

Additional top sales include a 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupe by Graber, 1974 Ferrari 246 GTS “Chairs and Flares,” and 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Corto Spider Re-creation by Pur Sang. They sold for $687,500, $632,500 and $627,000, respectively.

“The Gene Ponder Collection was a unique and incredible opportunity for a buyer to come experience the passion of Mr. Ponder firsthand at his estate. Bidders onsite could see that every aspect of this property revolves around the vehicles, the memorabilia, and Mr. Ponder’s love for all things automotive. We are thrilled that Mr. Ponder chose RM Sotheby’s to execute a sale of this magnitude and as a team, RM Sotheby’s knew we would deliver the best possible results for him. The sale was extraordinary, and we are extremely happy with the results we achieved for Mr. Ponder,” said RM Sotheby’s Auction Coordinator Thatcher Keast.

Check out complete results from The Gene Ponder Collection Auction here