Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- A 1950 Aston Martin that raced twice at Le Mans sold for 550,000 pounds ($900,000) at an auction in London last night as demand contracted for other high-value classic cars.

The dark blue DB2 Team Car came fifth and third in the French 24-hour race in 1950 and 1951 respectively. It was offered with a low estimate of 250,000 pounds by RM Auctions, in association with Sotheby’s, at its annual “Automobiles of London” sale in Battersea Park.

The classic British racer had been owned by Aston Martin’s chairman David Brown, who coined the “DB” marque, and had been kept unrestored in the same private collection for the last 52 years.

“It was a strong price,” said Simon Kidston, a Geneva- based classic car adviser. “The purchase will give the buyer instant access to exclusive racing events like the Le Mans Classic,” Kidston said in an interview.

The sale raised a total of 10.9 million pounds with fees, with 81 percent of the cars successful, RM said. These figures include lots that were sold after the auction, such as a 1925 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS that found a buyer later in the evening at 522,500 pounds, said RM. No figures were available for the number of lots left unsold at the end of the auction. The presale estimate for the event, which included 84 cars and 37 lots of memorabilia, was 10 million pounds.

McLaren Sale

No car sold for more than 1 million pounds. Last year the equivalent event, containing 100 cars, raised 14.7 million pounds against a low estimate of 20 million pounds. A silver 1997 McLaren F1 sports car topped the sale with a price of 2.75 million pounds, followed by a 1965 Ferrari 250 LM Berlinetta at 2.5 million pounds. All prices include a 10 percent buyer’s fee.

“Compared with other auction markets, classic cars have held up reasonably well,” Neil Dickens, director of the Wiltshire-based dealership the Hairpin Company, said in an interview. “Cars priced at more than a million pounds have suffered, though. The guys who buy them have lost money. The slightly second-rate has either flatlined or dropped off,” said Dickens.

A French blue 1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Torpedo that had been formerly owned by Maharaja Hari Singh Bahadur, ruler of Jammu and Kashmir, sold for 429,000 pounds against an estimate of 500,000 pounds to 800,000 pounds.

Buyers are more hesitant at car auctions than they were last year because of the economic slump. Prices on collectible cars had gained 60 percent since 2006, according to an index created by David Kinney, publisher of “Hagerty’s Cars That Matter,” a pricing guide and Web site.

Muscle Cars

“Prices have gone down on average 20 percent since the end of 2007,” said Kidston. “Specialized areas like American muscle cars have gone down as much as 50 percent. But the market is a lot more resilient than it was in the recession of 1990. Then the classic car market collapsed.”

While many historic cars struggled to achieve their estimates, exclusive space-age 21st century sports cars -- termed “modern exotics” by dealers -- attracted bidding.

Two silver Mercedes-Benz 612 BHP CLK sports cars, dating from 2005 and 2006 -- of just 25 produced by the German manufacturer -- sold more than their high estimates for 525,000 pounds and 616,000 pounds, the top price of the sale.

“The depreciation on these cars is pretty horrendous,” said Kidston. The cars originally cost 1 million euros ($1.48 million) and 1.3 million euros respectively, said RM in its catalog.

Subdued Bidding

Fewer people attended RM’s London sale than last year and bidding was more subdued, said dealers.

Though a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa fetched a record 9 million euros ($12.2 million) with fees at the annual sale held by RM Auctions in May at the home of Ferrari in Maranello, Italy, several lots valued at more than $1 million were left unsold. Bonhams failed to achieve a low estimate of 1.8 million euros for a 1912 Bugatti “Type 18” Le Mans racer offered last month at the annual “Weekend de l’Excellence Automobile” auction in Reims, France. Thirty-six percent of the lots were left unsold at that Bonhams auction.

(Scott Reyburn writes about the art market for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Scott Reyburn in London at sreyburn@hotmail.com.

Last Updated: October 29, 2009 16:21 EDT