During a year of collector car auction records and superlatives, Mecum Auctions achieved an unprecedented feat, one that none of the world’s auction companies had ever done before.
In 2021, Mecum scored two auctions that had total results exceeding $100 million, the first time a collector car auction company has had two separate sales reaching beyond nine figures in one calendar year.
Mecum also reported that its total results for 2021 topped $578 million, the highest annual total ever achieved by a US collector car auction company.
The first auction to roar past the magic $100M mark was Mecum’s monumental 10-day sale in Kissimmee, Florida, which reached $122.8 million (including auction fees), a record high for the company, along with an 89 percent sales rate, a remarkable sell-through for a reserve-based auction. More than 3,500 collector cars, trucks and motorcycles were offered; Mecum calls its annual Florida auction the world’s largest.
Less than a week later, Mecum staged the Motor City Museum auction in Punta Garden, Florida, which added $18.4 million to the total, which then reached $141.2 million.
Mecum doubled down on its nine-figure sales in May when its Indianapolis auction hit $107.8 million, a towering amount for the 1,715 vehicles sold at a fast clip for an 83 percent sales rate, and cementing Mecum’s place in the record books for two auctions in one year hitting above the $100 million mark.
Another thing the two auctions had in common were that both were led by Shelby 427 Cobras, the Kissimmee sale boasting the high sale of the year for Mecum when Carroll Shelby’s own 1965 427 Cobra sold for $5.94 million. In Indy, a 1967 Cobra 427 S/C was the top seller at $3.3 million.
Consignment director Frank Mecum expressed the excitement of setting the sales record following the lofty total for the Indy sale.
“While this certainly isn’t the first time Mecum has broken the $100 million mark with a singular auction event, it is the first time we’ve done it with our flagship auction in Indianapolis and the first time any collector car auction company has done it twice in one year, which makes it an accomplishment that we are especially proud of,” Mecum said.
Mecum’s next Kissimmee, Florida, auction takes place January 6-16 at Osceola Heritage Park, where as usual, about 3,500 collector vehicles are expected to cross the block, as well as daily Road Art automobilia offerings. For information, visit Mecum’s website.
