Why Neil Peart’s Silver Surfers are the stars at Pebble Beach this year
One of the most glamorous classic car events in the world, the Pebble Beach Competition, returns next month for a 70th anniversary edition. One of its highlights will be a sale by Gooding & Company auctioneers, which will include nearly 100 top-notch classic cars, including a 1995 McLaren F1 that is expected to gross over $ 15 million.
Neil Peart in his 1964 Aston Martin DB5 © Courtesy Gooding & Company. Photograph by Mike Maez
Music fans might be more drawn to a seven-car collection created by the late Neil Peart who, with the exception of a five-year hiatus in the late 1990s, was the band’s drummer and lyricist. Canadian rock Rush for almost 40 years. With some of the wealth accumulated from sales of the group’s 19 studio albums (including 10 platinum records), Peart, who died last year at the age of 67, began buying copies of classic cars. that he had always coveted. It started in 2009 with a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in the same Silver Birch paintwork as the DB5 made famous by Sean Connery’s James Bond. One of roughly 1,000 units built, the car is offered in mint condition with a presale estimate of $ 650,000 to $ 725,000.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split-Window Coupe © Courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photograph by Mike Maez
1964 Aston Martin DB5 © Courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photograph by Mike Maez
1964 Shelby Cobra 289 © Courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photograph by Mike Maez
1970 Lamborghini Miura P400 S © Courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photograph by Brian Henniker
The DB5 turned out to be the first in a series of same-colored cars purchased by Peart, leading it to nickname the collection the Silver Surfers, a name inspired by many trips made along the Pacific Rim. from his Los Angeles home to Malibu and Ventura County. The most valuable of the Silver Surfers is a 1970 Lamborghini Miura P400, a rare S model. It could fetch as much as $ 1.5 million, while a 1965 Maserati Mistral Spider, one of 125 made, is expected to fetch between $ 575,000 and $ 650,000. Peart bought the car in poor condition and meticulously restored it inside and out, specifying a metallic silver paint with oxblood leather trim on the interior.
1965 Maserati Mistral Spider © Courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photograph by Mike Maez
The four remaining cars in the collection are a 1973 Maserati Ghibli, which Peart imported from Europe in 2013 ($ 250,000 to $ 300,000); a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette known as the split-window model because of its two-piece rear screen ($ 150,000- $ 180,000); a 1964 Jaguar Type E Series One with subtle upgrades for modern driving ($ 140,000 to $ 160,000) and, finally, a 1964 Shelby Cobra 289 – the only car in the collection that is not painted silver . This all-black 4.7-liter Cobra was one of 520 MKII variants made and would have been the pride of the Peart collection.
Full details of Silver Surfers and other cars sold by Gooding & Company at Pebble Beach Parc du Concours, Calif. On August 13-14 is located at goodingco.com