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Race Cars Galore at the 2025 Amelia Island Auctions
The annual auctions at Amelia Island, along with the concours, always bring together loads and loads of mouthwatering automobiles. Most have a great story behind them, and many of those stories were made in competition, on the prestigious race circuits of Europe, North America, and beyond. Between the two sales happening in Amelia this year, there are plenty of historic racers to choose from, and below are the most significant ones.
1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS
The first of the so-called “plastic Porsches,” thanks to its fiberglass shell, the 904 was a big development for Porsche’s sports-car racing efforts, after the brand departed from F1 in 1962. Porsche built just over 100 examples, powered by a four-cam Carrera four-cylinder or a version of the new 911’s 2.0-liter flat-six. A handful even got a 2.0-liter flat-eight.
This six-cylinder 904 sold new to Germany for accomplished racer Gerhard Koch. With it, he won the Rheinland-Pfalz Trophy at the Nürburgring and finished second overall at the Grand Prix de Paris. The car also raced at Spa and in the Angola Grand Prix, where it took first in class and third overall behind a pair of Ferrari 250 LMs. Its next owner had further success with a win at Zolder, third at Trier, and then first in class and third overall at the punishing 82-hour Marathon de la Route at the Nürburgring. After selling to the U.S., it raced in the SCCA until 1969. Consistently maintained and serviced but never fully taken apart and restored, it has a $1.5M–$1.8M estimate for Amelia.
1952 Frazer Nash Le Mans “Replica”
English carmaker Frazer Nash was the official BMW importer in the 1930s and after World War II built and improved designs based on the old BMW 328. In the late ’40s, Frazer Nash introduced its “High Speed” or “Competition Model,” but after one finished an impressive third at Le Mans in 1949, the company renamed it “Le Mans Replica.” This was long before the days of Superformance Cobras and Proteus D-Types, so in this case “replica” doesn’t mean “fake.” It means the car is built to the same specs as the one that wowed at Le Mans. These cars are valuable enough, however, that people have also built up copies over the years, so there are a few “Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica Replicas” out there.
Frazer Nash’s cigar-shaped, cycle-fendered sports car was popular in early postwar racing, and this one won the very first 12-hour race at Sebring in 1952. “Permit me to say this—it was the most astounding performance of any automobile I have ever owned,” said team owner Stuart Donaldson of the car. “The car is fantastic and handles as though it were alive.” Sadly, the car didn’t have an astounding performance at Sebring the following year, when it failed to finish, though it did do some additional racing in the eastern U.S. before fading into obscurity. Rediscovered in 2018, it has since been restored, and the Sebring winner is estimated to sell for $700,000–$900,000.
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup
After considerable success and thrilling wheel-to-wheel racing with the Canadian Rothmans Porsche Challenge and its field of naturally aspirated 944s, the series switched to the more powerful 944 Turbo for the 1988 season. This car is represented as one of 38 Canadian-market factory-built 944 Turbo Cups that competed in the series from 1988 to 1990. Piloted by Canadian driver Jacques Bienvenue, it finished 12th in the 1989 standings, with a fourth-place finish at Mont Tremblant and a podium at Mosport being the highlights. Its presale estimate is $150,000–$170,000.
2007 Ferrari F430 GTC
The F430 GTC, developed for GT2-class endurance racing in collaboration with Michelotto Automobili, won class titles in the American Le Mans Series and FIA GT, and won its class multiple times at Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. Its destroked 4.0-liter engine (down from 4.3 in the road car) makes 449 hp at 7500 rpm, and the whole package weighs about 2500 pounds (the road car weighs well over 3000). One of 24 GTCs built from 2006 to 2010, this one raced with BMS Scuderia Italia in the 2008 and 2009 FIA GT Championships, to mostly mediocre results, its highest finish being 10th.
It sold to Jim Glickenhaus in 2010 to serve as a test bed for the development of one of his potential SCG race cars, but wound up not getting used. Its presale estimate is $700,000–$800,000.
1960 Chevrolet Corvette
Campaigned by Lloyd “Lucky” Casner’s Camoradi U.S.A. (short for “Casner Motor Racing Division”), this C1 Corvette Fuelie finished second in its class at Sebring and at Le Mans. It also raced in Cuba, at the Nürburgring, and in Sweden. But while on the road in Sweden, with engineer and future Lamborghini test driver Bob Wallace at the wheel, the Corvette had an unfortunate encounter with a ditch and was essentially abandoned. Thirty years later, a Corvette devotee tracked it down, brought it back to America and had it restored to its former glory. After failing to sell at a $1.1M high bid at Mecum Indy two years ago, it’s back and has a $1M–$1.3M estimate, which could make it one of the world’s most expensive Corvettes.
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Tubolare Zagato (tubular spaceframe chassis, Zagato body) was a highly competitive sports car in its class all over Europe. Autodelta, Alfa Romeo’s in-house competition outfit, built the TZ and 112 cars were completed. This one has period hill climb history in its native Italy with multiple class podiums. Its presale estimate is $1.3M–$1.6M, but further down the price ladder there are a couple of other historic Alfas to watch. A Giulietta Sprint Veloce Alleggerita (lightweight) that raced at the 1956 Tour de France and Tour de Corse (Corsica) has a $250,000–$300,000 estimate, and a 1962 Giulietta SZ Coda Tronca (short tail) that raced at the Nürburgring and Le Mans has a $550,000–$750,000 estimate.
1954 Jaguar D-Type
Stirling Moss and Peter Walker drove this D-Type, given registration number OKV 2, for Jaguar at Le Mans in 1954. The car set fastest time in practice and hit 173 mph on the Mulsanne straight, but retired from the race with brake issues. The 1954 race was the D-Type’s first time at Le Mans and victory was not to be, although OKV 2’s sister car finished second behind the winning Ferrari. Other D-Types would go on to win Le Mans in 1955, ’56, and ’57.
OKV 2 then went into private ownership, was restored in the 1970s, and has been an event car and historic racer ever since. It has a $6.5M–$8.5M estimate.
1989 Nissan 300ZX Turbo IMSA GTO
A factory-supported car campaigned in IMSA racing by the Clayton Cunningham Racing team and driven by John Morton, Steve Millen and Jeremy Dale, this 300ZX has a solid resume. It won its class at Mosport, Road America, and Mid-Ohio, and won overall at Mosport as well. Over its 45-race competitive career, it had 16 top three finishes. Currently set up for historic racing, it boasts 860 hp from its 3.0-liter twin turbo V-6 and has a $400,000–$600,000 estimate.
1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione
A top contender for most expensive car in Amelia Island this year is this one-of-eight aluminum-bodied long wheelbase (LWB) 250 GT California Spider Competizione. Equipped from new with a 3.55 final drive, external oil cooler, 35-gallon fuel tank with external filler, and stiffer suspension, as well as an outside-plug engine with high-lift cams and triple Weber carburetors, it sold new to American Bob Grossman, who intended to use it at Le Mans. Ferrari finished the car just five days before the race, but Grossman still co-drove it to a fifth overall finish and third in class behind a pair of Ferraris. After he brought it back to the U.S., the Cal Spider raced successfully in the Northeast and at Speed Week in the Bahamas. Now restored to its Le Mans configuration, it has a $10M–$14M estimate for Amelia.
I’ll take the 1989 Nissan 300ZX Turbo IMSA GTO followed by the 1954 Jaguar D-Type.
I like the Alfa TZ. What’s with the cookie choice banner every time I open an article?