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.
The Acura NSX, a Japanese supercar introduced in 1990, reached a higher peak with its 1999 Zanardi Edition. Commemorating Alex Zanardi’s Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) IndyCar championships in 1997 and 1998 in Reynard-Hondas, only 51 cars were built. At its Quail Lodge auction this month, Bonhams will offer the #3 car, which has had three owners, and shows only 17,300 miles. The pre-sale estimate is $240,000-$280,000
The new McLaren 765LT Spider is built for insanely fast speeds. With obsessive attention to reducing mass, the car’s pricing starts at $382,500, without a stereo system or air conditioning, which are no-cost options that add 25 pounds to its weight. This venomous Spider will run from 0-60 in just 2.7 seconds, obliterate the quarter-mile in 10 seconds and top out at 205 mph if you have enough track.
Premier reported that 2021 was the most successful year in the company’s 25-year history, with a 20% increase in the number of cars financed, and a 40% improvement in the total dollars financed, compared with 2020. All 5 of the company’s nationwide sales regions reported strong growth.
If you paid $1.32 million for a 2018 Ford GT Heritage Edition with only 7 miles on the odometer, would you drive that car? That was just one of the very low-mileage dream cars that sold at Mecum’s live auction in Kissimmee, Florida. Mecum’s total sales of $217 million (with a 90% sell-through rate) marks the first collector car auction to surpass $200 million for a single event. Read about the top selling cars.
A review of Premier Financial Services’ leasing activity during 2021, shows most of the same marques and models repeating their appearances in our annual Top-10 Leased Exotics list, although with different positions. Which is your favorite?
Numerous multi-million-dollar sales were recorded at Monterey this year, highlighted by a record-breaking sale at Gooding & Company’s auction of an extremely rare 1995 McLaren F1 for $20.465 million.
The Longtail name is an homage to the 1997 McLaren F1 GTR racecar, which used a longer body for enhanced aerodynamic performance. The combination of reduced weight, increased power and greater aerodynamic downforce make the 600LT a formidable lap machine that does not require trailering to the track.
The 2022 McLaren Artura is an all-new and ultralight plug-in hybrid production model, weighing in less than a Toyota Prius.
