Reserves not met limit Gooding to $24.1 million in preliminary numbers at Amelia

Even before the final hammer dropped on Gooding & Company’s auction Friday on Amelia Island, one of the cars that didn’t sell on the block — a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS Sport — changed hands in a post-block deal, and others were expected to join it in the sold column.

However, preliminary figures provided by Hagerty, the classic car insurance and price guide publisher, indicate that Gooding’s sale Friday totaled only $24.1 million, or some $6 million less than the same sale a year ago.

Consider that not only did the ’73 Porsche 911’s top bid of $900,000 fell just below the owner’s reserve, but bids of $4.7 million on a 1956 Maserati 200 SI, of $1.275 million on a 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL roadster, and of $1.2 million on a 1953 Fiat 8V coupe also missed the reserve prices — but still could sell in post-block negotiations.

The top sale for the day on the block was $3 million (including buyer’s premium) for a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 coupe. Another Ferrari, a 1961 250 SII cabriolet, brought $2.09 million.

Of 85 lots offered, 74 were hammered sold on the block, a strong 89 percent sell-through, which was expected to grow with post-block deals.

Last year, Goodings’s Amelia sale generated $31 million on an 89 percent sell-through of 88 available vehicles.

Here is the complete top-10 list for the sale as of the last hammer:

1. 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Coupe sold for $3,300,000
2. 1961 Ferrari 250 SII Cabriolet sold for $2,090,000
3. 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster sold for $1,237,500
4. 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Coupe sold for $1,237,500
5. 2011 Ferrari 599 SA Aperta Convertible sold for $1,155,000
6. 1996 Porsche 911 GT2 Coupe sold for $973,500
7.  1967 Ferrari 330 GTC Coupe sold for $935,000
8. 1932 Lincoln KB Dietrich Coupe sold for $836,000
9. 1990 AAR/Toyota Eagle HF90 Coupe sold for $660,000
10. 1975 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 RS Coupe sold for $605,000

The Gooding sale was the second major auction of the Amelia Island weekend. Thursday, Bonhams made its Amelia Island auction debut with a sale dominated by pre-war classics with 78 percent of 83 lots selling, led by a 1930 Cord Model L-29 Town Car and a 1908 American Underslung 50HP Roadster, each selling for more than $1.7 million.

RM Sotheby’s holds its Amelia Island sale Saturday, when Hollywood Wheels completes its two-day auction.