Vroom Vroom!
RM Auctions
1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Speciale Teardrop Coupe
estimate: $3-4 million
realized: $3.69 million
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance….the annual vintage car beauty pageant….just the name conjures up suntanned swells in blue blazers and expensive loafers (no socks, of course), swilling spirits and kicking tires. This is where the sweetest vintage restorations strut their stuff each year for the vintage car world’s most prestigious prizes….at least in this country.
It’s also become one of the swankiest venues for collector car auctions. This year, the belle of the ball was, without a doubt, a bodacious 1938 Talbot-Lago T150-C Lago Teardrop Coupe, sold through RM Auctions. This sexy beast is one of only 16 believed built with coachwork by the legendary Figoni et Falaschi, complete with swooping pontoon fenders and exuberant streamlined forms, and the only one with the long wheelbase.
It was bought after a spirited auction battle between last year’s PB Best in Show winner Joseph Cassini III, a New Jersey judge, and John O’Quinn, a Texas lawyer known for making billions on the Texas tobacco settlements–and for his extensive collection of vintage cars, which includes hot rods, a Batmobile, and a limo from JFK’s motorcade. Quinn, who has reportedly spent more than $100 million on more than 600 cars in the last three years alone, prevailed after bids jumped at the end in $50,000 increments.
