He was not on the rostrum, nor did he hold the gavel. Yet, his
appearance was the highlight of the auctions held during the Monterey
week and he contributed to achieve a figure that would probably
not have been reached without him. Indeed, a bid of US$ 500,000
for a new car with a list price of 135,000 is quite an achievement,
isn't it? The venue was the Christie's tent on the Pebble Beach
grounds, and the car, the first production Ford GT. His name?
Leno, Jay Leno.
Jay Leno drove the car up on the ramp, jumped out of it, grabbed
a microphone and, with a perfect timing, whilst the regular auctioneer
scrutinized the audience to spot raised hands, interjected a few
fitting words as he does so well. Suddenly, everyone in the room
was in the right mood and the bidding went up. When it was about
to close, he grabbed a few flowers from a vase on the floor and
rushed them to the buyer's wife. Perfect, and worth a significant
amount of money to the beneficiary!
Whilst I was a consultant with Christie's (from 1989 until the
end of 2002), I asked several times: "Is there any good reason
why we should not develop the 'show' aspect of our business?".
The rise of the internet also challenges the established way of
doing things and there is no doubt in my mind that the way live
auctions are conducted will need to be reviewed, with the entertainment
value and the socializing aspect gaining more importance.
With an entry price of up to US$ 90 (the cost of a catalogue),
a vendor's commission of 10% and a buyer's premium of up to 17,5%,
the auction houses cannot simply 'knock down' lots. Not only does
the attendance expect more, but the clients are owed more. Christie's
did it right, at least for that one lot.
Flavio Briatore is reputedly repeating that Formula One is a
show business. I am convinced that such is the auction scene and
Jay Leno's performance underlines it.
September 2003
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