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“It appears that the Amelia Island auctions are reaching an equilibrium for the current market,” the Hagerty Insider report said in summarizing the collector car auctions leading up to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance at the northeastern Florida resort community.
Total sales reached $80.1 million, nearly equaling the 2018 total, while the sell-through rate and average sales price both improved compared with year-ago figures.
As in Arizona in January, the highest-priced cars posted only a 64 percent sell-through rate and prices paid tended to be lower than anticipated based on vehicle valuation in the Hagerty Price Guide. On the other hand, cars valued at $250,000 or less tended to sell for strong numbers.
The reason, the Hagerty Insider suggested, “likely in part reflects the generational shift occurring in the market as younger — but not as wealthy — collectors enter the hobby in increasing numbers.”
RM Sotheby’s concluded its two-day auction Saturday and posted the two highest-dollar sales of the weekend, a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB coupe bringing more than $2.2 million and a 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 roadster going for nearly $1.8 million (prices include buyer’s fee).
For the weekend, RM Sotheby’s had seven of the top-10 sales. However, neither of the auction’s two Saturday star cars — a 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Tourer by Corscia nor a 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra (CSX 3006) — were hammered sold despite multi-million-dollar bids. The Bugatti, estimated to sell for $6 million to $7 million, was bid to $5.7 million. The Cobra, expected to go for $3 million to $4 million, reached $2.8 in bidding.
“With the market for million dollar cars slowing, buyers appear to be getting more particular about what they add to their collections,” Hagerty suggested.
During its auction, RM Sotheby’s had five other cars bid to $1 million or more without being sold, and that auction house wasn’t alone. Gooding consignors rejected bids as high as $2 million. Even at Russo and Steele, which sold only 34 cars during its two-day sale, a bid of $1.8 million — a figure that represented nearly half of the auction’s total for the weekend — was rejected by the consignor of a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso.
In its debut at Amelia Island, Russo and Steele posted only a 30 percent sell-through rate.
Amelia Island auctions 2019
2019 results
Total sales: $79.6 million
321/452 lots sold, 71 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $247,906
2018 results through Friday
Total sales: $80.7 million
335/487 lots sold, 69 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $240,822
Overall top-10 sales
- 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB coupe, $2,205,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
- 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 roadster, $1,7923,500 (RM Sotheby’s)
- 1930 Packard Speedster Series 734 boattail roadster, $1,765,000 (Gooding & Co.)
- 1930 Duesenberg Model J LeBaron dual-cowl phaeton, $1,650,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
- 2010 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Sang Noir coupe, $1,500,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
- 2015 McLaren P1 coupe, $1,490,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
- 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach roadster, $1,490,000 (Gooding & Co.)
- 1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Chapron cabriolet Le Dandy, $1,352,500 (RM Sotheby’s)
- 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS Spider, $1,325,000 (Gooding & Co.)
- 1934 Packard Twelve-Series 1108 Dietrich convertible sedan, $1,325,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
Results by auction company
Bonhams
Total sales: $15.8 million
92/108 lots sold, 85 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $171,626
- 1930 Cadillac Series 452 Fleetwood roadster, $1,187,500
- 1968 Repco Brabham-Cosworth BT26 BT26A, $1,105,000
- 1913 Mercer Type 35J Raceabout roadster, $898,000
- 1914 Simplex 50HP Speedcar roadster, $885,000
- 1904 Peerless Type 8 Style K JM Quinby Co. Runabout, $698,000
- 1998 Ruf 911 Turbo R coupe, $626,500
- 1904 Thomas Model 22 3-cylinder tonneau, $489,000
- 1929 Bentley 4 1/2-liter sport tourer Vanden Plas roadster, $472,500
- 1908 Welch Model 4-L 50HP touring, $456,000
- 1907 Tincher Model H 60HP touring, $423,000
2018 results
Total sales: $13.2 million
88/101 lots sold, 87 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $149,919
Gooding & Company
Totals sales: $22.0 million
78/89 lots sold, 85 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $282,666
- 1930 Packard Speedster Series 734 boattail roadster, $1,765,000
- 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach roadster, $1,490,000
- 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS Spider, $1,325,000
- 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso coupe, $1,225,000
- 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8 coupe, $1,132,500
- 1987 Porsche 962C Kremer race car, $1,022,500
- 1964 Shelby Cobra 289 R&P roadster, $714,500
- 1984 Porsche 911 race car, $687,000
- 2004 Porsche Carrera GT coupe, $687,000
- 2011 Porsche 911 GTS RS 4.0 coupe, $582,500
2018 results
Total sales: $35,8 million
82/96 lots sold, 95 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $436,515
RM Sotheby’s
Totals sales : $38.1 million
117/141 lots sold, 83 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $325,219
- 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB coupe, $2,205,000
- 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 roadster, $1,7923,500
- 1930 Duesenberg Model J LeBaron dual-cowl phaeton, $1,650,000
- 2010 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Sang Noir coupe, $1,500,000
- 2015 McLaren P1 coupe, $1,490,000
- 1926 Hispano-Suiza H6B Chapron cabriolet Le Dandy, $1,352,500
- 1934 Packard Twelve-Series 1108 Dietrich convertible sedan, $1,325,000
- 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder roadster, $1,187,500
- 1992 Ferrari F40 coupe, $1,017,000
- 2017 Ferrari F12tdf coupe, $967,500
2018 results (one-day sale)
Total sales: $27.6 million
87/102 lots sold, 85 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $316,824
Russo and Steele
Total sales: $3.7 million
34/114 lots sold, 30 percent sell-through rate
Average sale price: $108,515
- 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing coupe, $990,000
- 1960 Ferrari 250 GT coupe, $665,500
- 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429, $231,000
- 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera Speedster, $181,500
- 2001 BMW Z8 roadster, $140,250
- 2012 Ferrari 458 race car, $134,750
- 1997 Porsche 911 Andial coupe, $129,250
- 2017 Mercedes-Benz G550, $126,500
- 2014 Jaguar XKR-S GT coupe, $115,500
- 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C roadster, $104,500
2018 results
None (new event for 2019)
Correction: It was reported that the $53,200 paid at Amelia Island was an auction record for a 1996 Nissan 300ZX twin turbo. The record is $90,100, set in 2017.
Update: This report was updated March 11.
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