RM Auctions – An International Auction House
A paramount passion for cars, exotic, antique or collectable is what drives Rob Myers. The original founder of RM Restoration and RM Classic Cars –the leader in the investment grade collector car market in North America – Myers has taken his professional restoration and auction businesses and transformed them into a world renowned group of companies. Rob Myers’ passion for classic cars stretches back to his childhood where he was surrounded by his father’s various antique automobiles.
After years of working on his father’s cars, Myers inaugurated his own single-car garage restoration business in 1976, and by 1979 the company was officially incorporated. Initially the shop focused on repairs, engine and performance upgrades, and eventually graduated to bodywork modifications and custom paint. By 1980, the company’s success allowed for the construction of a large, dedicated restoration and sales facility.
Throughout the 1980s, Myers was also actively buying and selling collector cars, and was soon joined by fellow collector car experts Dan Warrener and Mike Fairbairn, who became partners in 1988. With this team of knowledgeable specialists in place, brisk sales continued, and they were soon consigning dozens of vehicles to collector car auctions. They were doing such a large volume of business with other auction companies (in the neighborhood of several million dollars a year) that they decided to open their own auction house. In 1991, RM Auctions was formed, located in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada.
From its inception, the auction division has experienced consistent and impressive growth, establishing an enviable roster of collector car auction events located in a variety of prestigious settings. Such notable auctions span the continent and include Monterey, California, Amelia Island, Florida, Toronto, Canada, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona. 2007 saw RM expand into Europe and the United Kingdom through an alliance with international auction house, Sotheby’s, hosting record-breaking auctions in Maranello, Italy and London, England.
Three years after their European debut, RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, is still enjoying great success, recently continuing their recordbreaking sales run in Maranello, Italy when a legendary 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for $12,402,500 USD at the third annual Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event to set a new world record as the most expensive motor car ever sold at auction. The $12.4 million sale price is $1.5 million more than the previous world record that was set at the same sale in 2008.
Today, responsible for the sale of five of the top ten most valuable motor cars at auction, RM Auctions has established itself at the highest echelon of the collector car market. In addition to these annual events, RM has also had the privilege of representing the sale of many noted private collections. A major highlight of these collections are the unique and interesting automotive and related memorabilia that are often included as part of large vintage automobile offerings. Thanks to the impressive and comprehensive collecting practices of its diverse client base, RM Auctions also continues to offer a limited but diverse selection of fine memorabilia at its auctions throughout the year.
The restoration business continues to thrive over thirty years after its inception. It has grown to be a highly regarded firm selected to undertake comprehensive restorations on some of the world’s rarest and most important automobiles. Year after year, RM Auto Restoration’s work garners international awards and accolades including the world famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance “Best in Show” trophy in 2001, again in 2004 and an unprecedented Best in Show and “triple crown” win in 2006 at the Pebble Beach, Amelia Island and Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance events. Celebrating 30 years of excellence in 2009 and today employing over 100 staff in both North America and Europe, RM Auctions has become the world’s largest collector car auction house.
