This year’s Amelia Island auctions numbered three, as RM Sotheby’s took its sale to Miami. The four auctions together grossed over $186M. Gooding & Company had the highest gross and the top individual sale, a single-family-owned 1903 Mercedes-Simplex selling for $12.1 million. Next-highest were three super-rare Ferraris in the $4M neighborhood, with a 1930 Duesenberg close behind. Some interesting “pairs” or rare cars turned up across the auctions, too.
Can a car crash ever be positive? Just ask collectors who seek the rare Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ, a lightweight racer that could also be road driven. In major European sports car races, the Alfa became known as a giant killer for its winning ways. It all started when a race driver had an older Alfa re-bodied by Zagato after a crash. Alfa Romeo like the result enough to commission 200 copies from the famous coachbuilder. Bonhams is offering one of those at its Amelia Island auction, with a pre-sale estimate of $350K-$400K. Meanwhile, Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island auction also has one of these rarities, also red, with an estimate up to $500K.
What does $400 million buy today? It was enough to take home about 1,200 of the world’s finest collector cars offered at the 2023 Monterey auctions held from August 17-19. That was down from $475M in 2022, and the sell-through rate was lower, too. Just the same, some stellar automobiles traded hands in Monterey at auctions held by Bonhams, Broad Arrow, Gooding & Company, Mecum, and RM Sotheby’s. The top sale was a 1967 Ferrari 412P racecar for $30.2M at Bonhams, while a 1957 Jaguar XKSS, one of just 16 made, was #2 at just over $13M.
Revered by Corvette enthusiasts, the 1963 Sting Ray, especially when equipped with the fuel-injected 327 engine, remains a legend among the car’s 70 years of production so far. The radical new design covered a new, more advanced chassis than the first-generation Corvette had, and both performance and refinement edged closer to the European GTs. Sales soared, and the “fuel-injected Sting Ray” ended up in pop songs. Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance® auction is offering a multiple-award winner with a pre-sale estimate of $250K-$300K.
If you’re heading to Monterey Car Week in August, consider Concorso Italiano a must-see event Saturday, August 19 on the fairways of the Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside, California. This unique show displays nearly 700 cars and motorcycles, covering the gamut of 10 different marques. Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Lamborghini dominate in sheer numbers, while other Italian classics, exotics, and obscure models offer many more compelling treats to see. The atmosphere is casual-festival, with an emphasis on fun.
Forget March Madness, Florida brought the heat to the collector car world with the quartet of Amelia Island auctions booking $186 million in sales, a record for the venue. The top sale, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider, accounted for $18M by itself. Ferraris grabbed 13 slots across the four auctions’ Top-10 lists, and Porsches took four. Modern supercars made some auction Top-10 lists, including $5.3M for a rare Pagani Zonda and $2.4M for a McLaren P1. A 1931 Duesenberg put the spotlight on Pre-war cars with a $4.3M sale.
Major auto auctions held in conjunction with the world-renowned Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance in Florida offer some of the world’s most desirable collector cars, and Premier’s regional sales managers will be there for the action and to meet customers. In the meantime, they have posted their own “Cars to Watch” as picks for cars most likely to sell well. Except for one American supercar making the list, it’s a German and Italian feast.
Here’s the backstory on the Ferrari Superamerica, first introduced in 2005. Ferrari built only 559 Superamericas, with 170 exported to the United States. At its Monterey auction in August, RM Sotheby’s is offering a Superamerica featuring special order paint and interior, with under 12,000 miles.
Premier was honored to be a sponsor of this year’s Colorado Grand, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected charity tour events. Here are highlights of the rally, from the perspective of our Vice President of Sales, Doug Ewing and longtime Premier client Tony Connor, who spent 5 days and 1,000 miles together as co-drivers of Tony’s modified 1956 356A Porsche.
