Few are invited into the RM Sotheby’s garage in Southern California. Consider it the auction houses’s holding pen for highly sought after vehicle that will be heading to an auction block soon, or are available via a discreet, private sale. The Peterson Automotive Museum recently hosted a behind-the-scenes look at the garage and its contents via YouTube, where you don’t need to prove your net worth to gaze at the beauties.
Hosted by RM Sotheby’s car specialist Alexander Weaver, the 10-minute video features some extremely rare machinery. The collection at the garage is mostly made up of sports cars.
Weaver kicks off the video by introducing a 1961 Alfa Romeo Zagato, which spent most of its life in Switzerland before sitting in the RM Sotheby’s lobby. It was owned by the gentleman who owned multiple exotic car dealerships in Zurich, Karl Foitek. Before passing away in 2019, Foitek raced the car extensively.
Two unique Shelby Cobras live side-by-side in the garage’s main showroom area. The 4000 and 6000 series vehicles are bodied in copper and polished bronze, respectively. They both give the driver access to about 650 horsepower and have a five-speed manual transmission. Weaver, who has driven many of the cars that are auctioned by the company, says that these two Cobras run and drive “really, really nicely.”
The showroom also features a Mercedes-Benz SL 300 Roadster and a Series 1 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina. The Ferrari cabriolet is owned by a gentleman who drove it for about 20 years and invested some money in making it better to drive on rallies by adding disc brakes on all four corners and upgraded suspension components.
The SL 300 is fitted with the “more desirable” large drum brake which, according to Weaver, makes it stop better than earlier examples of the model. It rides on a reproduction set of wheels and is finished in its original white paint over green interior color scheme.
Across the courtyard, Weaver takes viewers into another part of the facility where vehicles coming up for auction are located including the Mercedes 300 SL’s hard top, which includes the car’s original hard top crate; 1964 Ferrari 250 GTL Lusso; 1995 Porsche 911 (993) Carrera RS; 1960 Alfa Romeo Giulietta; 1965 Jaguar E-type; and a 1951 Porsche 356, among others.
More modern collectibles are also able to be seen, including a BMW that is currently up for auction online.
Watch the full episode below.
INSIDE THE EXCLUSIVE RM CAR COLLECTION | RM SOTHEBYS GARAGE TOUR
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