Trump Tariffs Aren’t Scaring Car Collectors Away From Big Purchases
Unfazed by talk of trade wars, buyers at a Miami car show paid record prices.
Sholto Gilbertson has a rapt audience at the RM Sotheby’s auction in Coral Gables.
Photographer: Source: ModaEventsTo watch Sholto Gilbertson working a crowd is to see a man seducing the world’s wealthiest car collectors so completely that they will gladly raise a finger to bid another $50,000, or $100,000, to win whatever gilded machine he’s offering on the auction block.
On Feb. 27, 80 miles south of Mar-a-Lago — and seemingly a world away from the chaos of a new Trump administration — the chain-smoking Welshman was cajoling, imploring, flattering, scolding and charming his way to $35 million in sales on just nine lots during RM Sotheby’s auction at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. It was one of two sales planned for the weekend’s second annual ModaMiami celebration of all things automotive.