At last weekend’s trio of collector car auctions in conjunction with the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, 27 cars fetched more that $1 million, led by the highest-priced car ever sold at Amelia, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider that Gooding & Co. sold for $17,160,000. Second place in the high-dollar sweepstakes went to a 1937 Bugatti 57SC Sports Tourer by Vanden Plas that Bonhams hammered for $9,735,000, which made it the most valuable Bugatti ever sold at auction. The third highest sale price was the $5,335,000 paid at the Gooding sale for a 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder Roadster from the collection of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, while fourth-highest honors went to RM Sotheby’s top seller, a 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica LWB Coupe Aerodinamico (pictured above) that brought in $4,400,000, and the top five was filled out by a 1966 Ford GT40 Mk I Road Coupe that Gooding sold for $3,300,000.
Also noteworthy on a somewhat lower plane was the $121,000 paid for a Volkswagen Beetle from the Seinfeld Collection that set a world auction record for a Beetle. Overall, the 15 Porsches and VWs from the funnyman’s collection netted a total of $22.2 million.
On overall sales, Gooding & Co. hit $60.1 million with an 87 percent sell-through rate, while RM Sotheby’s collected $38.7 million from an 89 percent sell-through rate and Bonhams realized $27.5 million with a 68 percent sell-through. The top 10 sellers for each auction house follow:
RM Sotheby’s Top 10 – $38.7 million total sales, 89% sell-through
- 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica LWB Coupe Aerodinamico – $4,400,000
- 1984 Ferrari 288 GTO – $2,585,000
- 1968 Ferrari 330 GTS – $2,200,000
- 2014 Pagani Huayra – $2,035,000
- 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback Sports Saloon – $1,815,000
- 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing – $1,265,000
- 1932 Packard Twin Six Coupe Roadster – $1,210,000
- 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra – $1,155,000
- 1931 Stutz DV-32 Convertible Victoria – $1,100,000
- 1968 Chevrolet Sunoco Trans Am Camaro – $990,000
Bonhams Top 10 – $27.5 million total sales, 68% sell-through
- 1937 Bugatti 57SC Sports Tourer by Vanden Plas – $9,735,000*
- 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet – $2,970,000
- 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 – $2,750,000
- 1933 Maserati 8C 3000 Biposto – $1,001,000
- 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing – $902,000
- 1935 Riley MPH Two Seater Sports – $880,000**
- 1960 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder Vignale – $880,000
- 1910 Thomas Flyer Model K 6-70 Flyabout – $825,000
- 1896 Armstrong Phaeton Gasoline Electric Hybrid – $483,400
- 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupe – $458,700
Gooding & Co. Top 10 – $60.1 million total sales, 87% sell-through
- 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California SWB Spider – $17,160,000+
- 1955 Porsche 550 Spyder Roadster – $5,335,000
- 1966 Ford GT40 Mk I Road Coupe – $3,300,000
- 1973 Porsche 917/30 Can-Am Spyder – $3,000,000
- 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Roadster – $2,860,000
- 1931 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible Coupe – $2,640,000
- 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 IROC RSR Coupe – $2,310,000
- 1995 Ferrari F50 Coupe – $2,310,000
- 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Coupe – $1,875,000
- 1990 Porsche 962C Coupe – $1,650,000
+ Amelia Island Auction record
* most valuable Bugatti ever sold at auction
** new world record for the marque
