Auctions, Hagerty Insider, Market Trends

We’re Live at The 2024 Amelia Auctions

Hagerty Insider

29 February 2024

This story is being updated throughout the week.

Posts and analysis: From Thursday, our first full day of coverage, click here. For Friday’s coverage, click here.

Spring has nearly arrived, and it can’t come too soon for collectors and enthusiasts who want to get back on the road. This coming week’s Amelia auctions and concours offer attendees the chance to enjoy the hobby with some warmth and (hopefully) blue skies while providing those watching from afar with some anticipation of things to come. The Hagerty Insider team will be on the ground tracking the sales results and sharing the latest stories and information. Stay tuned—we’ll be providing regular updates below throughout the week.

This year, three auction houses will motor just under 350 cars across their blocks at Amelia. While significantly smaller than the January auctions where 390 cars were sold per day on average for seven days straight, Amelia sports a wide variety—everything from a 1903 Mercedes-Simplex to a 2024 Porsche 911 GT3 RS—of interesting and historically significant cars. The spread between the oldest and newest car, an astonishing 121 years, is one of the widest ever at an auction.

In the middle of that impressive span is no denying the bread and butter of the collector car world. The 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s comprise of the most popular cars across all ages of enthusiasts. 26 percent of the number of vehicles offered and 35 percent of the value of all vehicles at auction this week comes from just the years 1954-1967.

2024’s auctions have so far demonstrated a return to stability in the collector market. Big sales of remarkable cars continue to wow enthusiasts, but buyers have gotten more deliberate with their choices. Sellers, for their part, have begun to meet buyers on their turf. Amelia’s sales offer plenty of opportunity to observe these trends and check in on where the market is headed. We look forward to sharing our coverage with you below.

Saturday, March 2nd

Saturday’s auction summary

The March Classic Auctions of 2024 have finished with $174.9 million trading hands across 468 vehicles spanning 121 years of automotive history. The 81 percent sell-through rate for all auctions lags the 86 percent sell-through rate from last year, but results from individual auction companies vary.

Broad Arrow was the only auction in Amelia today, with 89 vehicles crossing the block. Further south, RM Sotheby’s finished their Miami auction with 57.

The big sales of the day at Broad Arrow were a 1967 Ford GT40 Mk I road car at $4,405,000 and a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider at $3,305,000. A 1988 Porsche 959 SC Reimagined by Canepa set the record for a 959 road car at $3,085,000.

We’ll continue to check the auction companies for aftersales—look for our full recap on Monday morning.

Overall through Saturday from all auction companies

Listed below are the raw results Hagerty Valuation Team members witnessed during live auctions. They may not factor in post-sale deals that have occurred. These numbers include the appropriate buyer’s premiums.

2023 Cumulative Results through Saturday

Cumulative Total: $177.7M
389/453 lots sold: 85.9% sell-through rate
Average Sale Price: $456,792

Overall Top 10 Sales from all auctions through Saturday:

* Miami

1960 Porsche Diesel 217 Standard Tractor Broad Arrow Amelia 2024 — Greg Ingold

4:35 PM: Broad Arrow finished its day with a Porsche made for carving rows rather than corners. This 1960 Porsche Diesel 217 Standard Tractor found a home for $42k, wrapping up the 2024 Amelia auctions.

4:25 PM: Not a price anyone would expect for a classic Volvo, but one well deserved, this early Jensen-built 1962 P1800 sporting an attractive set of wire wheels sold for a staggering $95,200. These early cars are exceptionally rare and caused quite a stir amongst auction goers prior to and during the sale. The price paid is proper recognition of how special the car was.—Greg Ingold, Hagerty Price Guide editor

2:37 PM: Well, it’s official, Daytona Spyders are a hot commodity at Amelia. Following the sale of a mostly original example at Gooding & Company on Thursday, Broad Arrow follows up with a nearly identical result of $3.305 million for an exquisitely restored example. While it’s easy to dismiss one strong sale of a car with originality as an outlier, two solid results are harder to ignore.—Greg Ingold, Hagerty Price Guide editor

2:06 PM: Modern hypercars are still garnering plenty of attention at the Ritz, with a 2020 McLaren Speedtail bringing $2,067,500 including fees. This ultra-rare and ultra-exclusive performance segment have been a guaranteed crowd pleaser at Amelia with an above average sell through rate.—Greg Ingold, Hagerty Price Guide editor

1982 Lancia Rallye 037 "Stradale" Broad Arrow Amelia 2024 — Andrew Newton

1:15 PM: Lot 236, the 1982 Lancia 037, sold for $588,000 after several bidders showed interest. Expertly restored by the Baldi Brothers of Turin, the rarer junior Ferrari F40 is a great bargain at 1/4 the price.—John Wiley, manager of valuation analytics

1967 Mk I Ford GT40 Broad Arrow Amelia 2024 — Eddy Eckart

12:41 PM: Broad Arrow’s star car is a 1967 Ford GT40 Mk I, one of the 31 constructed to road specifications. Although it has been repainted several times and raced in historic events, it was more recently restored to its original street car configuration and the Opalescent Silver Blue color with which it left Ford Advanced Vehicles. It’s in #3+ condition.

It got more people standing up to pull their phones out than any car here, and bidding opened at $3M before ending with a $4,405,000 final price with fees.

Genuine GT40s rarely come up for sale and the road cars are no different, but Mecum did just sell another blue Mk I road car this January for $6.93M. The difference is down to minute details, but in the GT40 world minutiae counts for a lot.—Andrew Newton, senior auction editor

12:35 PM: Condition and restorer come together for a huge result. A Minter-restored 1957 F-Code Thunderbird saw a drawn out bidding war result in a staggering price of $263,200. Put in context, that’s about $100,000 above Hagerty Price Guide’s condition #1 value for one of these cars. It’s clear the Minter name still commands big money for Thunderbird buyers.—Greg Ingold, Hagerty Price Guide editor

1965 Citroen DS19 Majesty by Chapron Amelia 2024 Broad Arrow — Andrew Newton

1963-bentley-s3-continental-h-j-mulliner-flying-spur-saloon Amelia Broad Arrow — Andrew Newton

12:14 PM: Tea or café? Broad Arrow’s lot 221, a 1963 Bentley S3 Continental HJ Mulliner, sold for $173,600 today. Yesterday, Gooding sold lot 160, a 1965 Citroen DS19 Majesty by Chapron, for $207,200. If you were posted to Rome by your respective government, and it was the mid 1960s, which would you choose?—John Wiley, manager of valuation analytics

1988 Porsche 959 SC Reimagined by Canepa Broad Arrow Amelia 2024 — Eddy Eckart

11:59 AM: A 1988 Porsche 959 SC Komfort that received a restoration and upgrades from Canepa sold for $3,085,000. That’s well above the #1 (Concours) Hagerty Price Guide value of $2.6M, but the price accounts for its recent top-flight work. It’s also the second-highest price paid at public auction for a 959.—Eddy Eckart, senior editor

11:00 AM: Broad Arrow’s auction is now live and can be viewed here:

10:05 AM: Though there’s moisture in the air, the sun is slowly beginning to come through on this, the final day of the Amelia auctions. 89 lots remain from Broad Arrow, kicking off at 11am EST.—Eddy Eckart, senior editor

. . .

Friday, March 1st

Friday’s auction summary:

Strong results on Friday at the Amelia auctions suggest the rainy weather didn’t soak bidders’ enthusiasm. Gooding concluded their auction, Broad Arrow began their two-day event, and both sold their top offerings.

Gooding set the world record price for a pre-1930 vehicle with its $12,105,000 sale of a 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP. The 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial that fell just short on the block on Thursday also found a new home in a post-sale for $3,995,000. After an introduction by John Hennessey, Broad Arrow sold a 2022 Hennessey Venom F5 after enthusiastic bidding for $2,205,000. The 2022 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport that crossed the block three lots later set a record for the variant at $4,047,500, underlining the model’s consistency as a top seller in the post-pandemic market.

Only Broad Arrow will be auctioning vehicles on Saturday in Amelia—look for the 1967 Ford GT40 Mk I road car (estimate $4 million to $5 million) and the 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder “Lucybelle III” (estimate $3.5 million to $4.5 million) to get the most attention.

Overall through Friday from all auction companies

Cumulative Total: $114.6M
255/322 lots sold: 79% sell-through rate
Average Sale Price: $449,229

2023 Cumulative Results through Friday + The single-day sales of Broad Arrow & RM Sotheby’s

Cumulative Total: $177.7M
389/453 lots sold: 85.9% sell-through rate
Average Sale Price: $456,792

Overall Top 10 Sales from all auctions through Friday:

* Miami sales

8:32 PM: We’ve observed how newer Porsche GT cars have done better at commanding a premium than other modern collector cars. That still holds true for the GT4, but those premiums appear to have become less consistent in the last six months.—James Hewitt, senior information analyst

1959 Mercedes-Benz U411 Unimog Broad Arrow Amelia 2024 — Eddy Eckart

7:10 PM: Broad Arrow closed out its first day with a 1959 Mercedes-Benz U411 Unimog. Bidding churned right through its estimate and clawed its way to a $106,400 sale price. That’s a record for the series 411 model, and for pre-1976 Unimogs.—Adam Wilcox and James Hewitt in unison (they’re our resident Unimog enthusiasts).

2022 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport Broad Arrow Amelia 2024 — Eddy Eckart

6:35 PM: This 2022 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport set a new record for the handling-focused variation of the Chiron at $4,047,500, besting the prior Pur Sport best of $3,805,000 set on Bring a Trailer last November. MSRP on the car? About $4M. —Eddy Eckart, senior editor

2022 Hennessy Venom F5 Broad Arrow Amelia 2024 — Eddy Eckart

6:06 PM: The first Hennessy Venom F5 to come to public auction was introduced by John Hennessy himself. Offered without reserve, it sold for $2,205,000.—Eddy Eckart, senior editor

4:53 PM: $692,500 bought this no-reserve, 1238-mile 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition. That’s well above its $575k #2 condition value. Not to be outdone, the next lot, a second-gen 2019 Ford GT in the same livery fetched $1,215,000.—Eddy Eckart, senior editor

4:00 PM: Broad Arrow’s Amelia auction is underway. Watch live here:

2:56 PM: At $467k, Gooding’s Ferrari 612 set a record for the model, besting the previous record set by the same car at RM Monterey 2020 by 44%. That was against a high estimate of $325K and a condition 1 value of $279K.—Adam Wilcox, senior information analyst

2:31 PM: Gooding Lot 153, the 1946 Delage D6 Grand Prix car with Le Mans history, sold just above high estimate ($500k). Two bidders who appeared to be younger than the usual 1940s French car enthusiast pursued the car. It may have gone higher still, but its competition record and ownership history from new were held back by the replica original look body.—John Wiley, manager of valuation analytics

1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP Gooding Amelia 2024 — Greg Ingold

12:50 PM: Gooding’s spectacular, extremely rare and very well preserved 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP is the oldest car for sale this week, and pretty much guaranteed to be the most expensive. Bidding opened at $5M, then bids came in half a million at a time until stalling at $10M. A new bidder came in at $10.5M, then the competition slowly moved to the $11M winning bid and $12,105,000 final price. It is now the most expensive car built before 1930 to ever sell at auction.

1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Gooding Amelia 2024 — Eddy Eckart

12:21 PM: 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, bought new by racing driver Jo Siffert, currently in barn find condition with a red repaint covering the original and rare Blu Chiaro, sold for $2,920,000 after a brief spat of bidding. Despite the car’s scruffy condition, the sale price is slightly above the GTB/4’s condition #2 value of $2.85M.—Andrew Newton, senior auction editor

1964 Shelby Cobra Gooding Amelia 2024 — Andrew Newton

12:03 PM: A very original later-model 289 Cobra featuring several desirable options and used as a Shelby demonstrator car took to the block, and after some back and forth stalled out at $1,050,000. Compare that to the first 289 Cobra that sold a month ago in Arizona for $1.2M.—Greg Ingold, Hagerty Price Guide editor

11:20 AM: Rain has come to the island in heavy spurts to start Friday. Gooding’s tent is nonetheless about as busy as yesterday. After 50 lots crossed the block yesterday, another 70 or so will be presented today.—Eddy Eckart, senior editor

. . .

Thursday, February 29th

Thursday’s auction summary:

Cumulative Total: $32.6M
95/129 lots sold: 74% sell-through rate
Average Sale Price: $343,060

2023 Cumulative Results through Thursday

Cumulative Total: $32.2M
135/157 lots sold: 86% sell-through rate
Average Sale Price: $238,761

Overall Top 10 sales from all auctions through Thursday:

5:56 PM: Ten years ago $100k for Gooding’s 997 911 GT3 RS would have been a high price. In 2020 it sold for $170k on Bring a Trailer. What is it worth today? According to the bidders it is $362,500, more than doubling its price in 3.5 years. — James Hewitt, senior information analyst

5:39 PM: Bonhams’ final car sold is lots of fun per dollar. Built by the Detroit-based Saxon Motor Car Company way back in 1915, it’s fully restored and clean yet it sold for just $10,080. One of the best deals today. — Andrew Newton, senior auction editor

5:11 PM: At $368k, Bonhams’ Spoon 2007 Honda NSX-R GT set the record for a NA2-generation NSX. — Adam Wilcox, senior information analyst

5:04 PM: This 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS, one of just 17 homologation examples, sold for $1.985M. Opening strongly at $1.5 million, the bids crept up slowly from there. The price goes to show that exceptional condition and provenance is good as money in the bank. — Greg Ingold, Hagerty Price Guide editor

4:37 PM: By far Bonhams’ biggest car and the second oldest car for sale this week, the 1904 Gordon Bennett Napier L48, is largely a reconstruction around the original 15-liter, 240hp straight-six engine. One of the first cars to exceed 100 mph, it was bid to well short of its $900,000 low estimate, but the seller still let it go at a $670k top bid for a final price of $742k with fees. — Andrew Newton, senior auction editor

4:16 PM: Gooding Lot 20, a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante, is the first seven-figure car to sell this weekend. The $2,260,000 final price is right in line with its appropriate Hagerty Price Guide #3- condition value, but below the low estimate set by the auction house. — Adam Wilcox, senior information analyst

3:35 PM: Lot 61, the 1929/33 Stutz DV-32 Le Mans race replica brought out two determined bidders. Drowning out the high estimate of $150K, it sold for $224,000. With one of the best sounding exhaust notes at the auction, the car is perhaps the best deal for the decibels. It might even be a cheap entry into Le Mans Classic to show those Bentleys the way ’round. — John Wiley, manager of valuation analytics

2:09 PM: Sometimes low miles don’t equate to high sales. Despite this 2005 Ford GT logging only 213 miles in the last 20 years, and receiving a #1- condition rating from our staff, the $409,250 final price was below our #2 value when accounting for options. Since it was recently on long-term static display, recommissioning is required. Bidders were likely accounting for the work needed to get this GT roadworthy. — John Wiley, manager of valuation analytics

1:21 PM: After some slow bidding, the 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 CSX 4000 previously owned by three-time Indy 500 Winner Dario Franchitti, sold for $257,600. — John Wiley, manager of valuation analytics

1:05 PM: Gooding is underway, selling their first lot, a 1963 Ford Thunderbird, for $49,280—nearly double its condition appropriate value. — Adam Wilcox, senior information analyst

1:05 PM: A couple of early steals at Bonhams. A nice example of a 1951 Mercedes-Benz 170D drop-top sold for $34,720, less than half its low estimate. $28k was enough to win this electric conversion MGA despite a low estimate of $50k. — Adam Wilcox, senior information analyst

12:20 PM: The Amelia Island auctions have begun, with Bonhams’ first lot, a 1966 Vespa selling for $16,240. — Adam Wilcox, senior information analyst

11:48 AM: A very early car to wear the Mercedes name, this 1903 Mercedes-Simplex has the potential to be the most expensive car of the week with an estimate exceeding $10,000,000. This is eligible for London to Brighton and potentially the fastest way to make the trip. — Eddy Eckart, senior editor & John Wiley, manager of valuation analytics

11:10 AM: The Bonhams tent features a broad swath of the collector hobby, with everything from a 1905 Napier to a JDM Honda NSX. — Eddy Eckart, senior editor

10:15 AM: The Amelia Island auctions start today with 80 vehicles crossing the block at Bonhams one-day auction starting at noon. Shortly after, Gooding will offer 53 vehicles on the first day of their two-day auction starting at 3pm. — Adam Wilcox, senior information analyst

Wednesday, February 28th

9:32 PM: While the tents in Amelia are filling up, RM Sotheby’s is in Miami doing things a little differently this year. Keep an eye on their 1976 Lamborghini LP 400 Countach Periscopio as a gauge for the early Countach market. Surpassing its high estimate will make it the highest Countach sale since 2014 and third overall. The car it knocked out of third? Itself… It sold for $1.32M in 2015, the third highest sale ever to this date. In August 2017 it then sold for $1.037M—the sixth highest sale at the time. There’s no denying how pretty it looks. — James Hewitt, senior information analyst

3:30 PM: He who has the most information wins? 123 vehicles for sale at Amelia this week have sold at auction before.

Gooding’s 2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS: Estimate of $325k-$375k, bought on Bring a Trailer in Oct. 2020 for $170k (with fees). The 997 Porsche GT3 RS market has increased astronomically in the last four years.

Bonhams’ 1968 Jaguar E-type Series 1.5: Estimate of $140k-$180k, bought on Bring a Trailer September 2021 for $68,513. The listing is a great resource for photos prior to the restoration.

Broad Arrow’s 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder: Estimate of $3.5M to $4.5M. This car previously came to auction in 2018 and 2022 selling for $3.74M and a no sale at a high bid of $3.9M respectively. The 2018 sale was before the repaint, removal of roll bar and interior work and right in line with the six-years-later estimate this week.

During the peak COVID gold rush we saw dealers pushing quick flips at all the auctions. The volume of these has slowed down in the last year, but there are a number of them at Amelia. Fun fact: 32 of the 123 repeat sales were offered on Bring a Trailer in the last year. Let’s take a look at some of the notable repeat appearances.

2004 Ferrari 575M: Estimate of $250k-$275k. Bought on Bring a Trailer five months ago for $164k.

2000 Ferrari 550M: Estimate $330k-$350k. Bought on Bring a Trailer 11 months ago for $215k.

2015 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT Final Edition: Estimate $350k-$425k. High bid of $263k on Bring a Trailer six months ago.

2017 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta 70th Anniversary: Estimate $400k-$450k. Sold on Bring a Trailer four months ago for $406k. It also sold in August 2019 for $456k.

2012 Lexus LFA: Estimate $750k-$850k. Bought on Bring a Trailer for $730k Dec 2023

1991 Mercedes-Benz 300TE 3.4 AMG: Estimate $75k-$100k. Bought on Bring a Trailer for $65k Nov. 2023.

— James Hewitt, senior information analyst

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