Total sales across three days of auctions in Florida reached $183.8 million.
After the annual January auction season at Scottsdale, Arizona ended this year with mixed results that largely depended on each auction house, the automotive industry began eyeing The Amelia Concours d’Elegance hoping to glean additional insight into the state of high-end collectibles. Last year, auctions at The Amelia set a new record with $178 million worth of cars sold, but amid economic and political uncertainty, recent value tracking seemed to suggest a slight cooling of the market.
The Amelia arrives to Florida each year as arguably the East Coast’s premier Concours event, delivering classics à la Pebble Beach but with a modern twist to help attract this year’s attendance of more than 27,000 guests. Judging ranges all the way from the expected pre-war cars and iconic Ferraris to the inclusion of a “Japanese Performance Cars of the 90’s” and even a Ruf-specific class that marked a first for the 85-year-old company.
This CTR3 Clubsport took home Best in Class in Ruf's first dedicated Concours category.
Among 285 Concours d’Elegance entries that spanned a total of 32 classes, a 1947 Delahaye 135MS Narval Cabriolet took home Best in Show honors, while a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that won the 1964 Tour de France and finished fourth overall at the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans won Best in Show, Concours de Sport. Out of the 12 Rufs judged, a CTR3 Clubsport earned the class win, as a 1998 Subaru 22B won the Japanese category.
A rare 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution stands out among The Amelia's progressive Concours classes.
Auction Results at The Amelia
This year’s Florida auctions set a new record, notching $183.8 million in total including RM Sotheby’s new Concours and auction further south at ModaMiami. That number spanned 468 vehicles and 121 years of automotive history, though the sell-through rate of 81% fell far short of 2023’s 86% and 2022’s record-setting 91% mark.
The single highest bid went to that 121-year-old vehicle, a 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP Roi des Belges sold at Gooding and Company’s Friday auction for $12,105,000—easily eclipsing the pre-auction estimates of over $10 million. Gooding and Company finished the weekend with the highest sales figure, totaling $66.2 million.
This restored 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO won Best in Show, Concours de Sport, parked next to the overall ... [+]
Broad Arrow more than doubled its 2023 auction total, with an average sell-through rate of 91% and an average price of $460,394. Other notable finishes include a 1967 Ford GT40 Mk I Road Coupe that almost perfectly split the estimate window at $4,405,000 and a 2022 Chiron Pur Sport Coupe that continued to prove Bugatti’s impeccable secondhand values with a final bid of $4,047,500.
Ferraris rounded out three of the next four high slots at The Amelia, including a 1954 500 Mondial Spider that reached a $3,995,000 bid and a 1972 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider for $3,635,000 (both at Gooding & Company, the latter well above Hagerty’s condition 1 value of $2.6 million), as well as a 1973 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider from Broad Arrow that reached $3,305,000. Also in the mix, a 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach Roadster sold for $3,525,000 (at Gooding & Company).
Popular names continued to attract bids, too, including a 2022 Hennessey Venom F5 that sold for $2,205,000 at Broad Arrow, plus a raft of Rufs that ranged from a 1994 RCT that failed to meet reserve at $1.5 million to a 1998 BTR that sold for $950,000 and a 1990 BTR III that sold for $750,000.
A ModaMiami, a 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa Coupe sold for $4,295,000 and a 1930 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe sold for $3,855,000. But moving south to Miami to start a new Concours may have somewhat contributed to slower action, as RM Sotheby’s finished with a 78% sell-through rate and an average high bid of $542,625 (down from 90% and $805,203 last year, respectively).
As usual, enthusiasts flocked to Porsches on the Concours lawn, if less so at the auction block.
Keeping Tabs on Trends at The Amelia
After the Amelia wrapped up, Hagerty VP of Automotive Intelligence Brian Rabold commented that despite the high record total, the auctions seemed to continue recent cooling trends.
“Overall, the results were in line with what we saw in January, which is to say more like a return to normal than what we were seeing in the feverish days of 2021 and 2022,” Rabold said. “The overall numbers exceeded Hagerty's forecast for what we expected to happen, which is a positive in terms of the market. It wasn't wild, though… I think overall that stability is probably a good thing for the market as it just makes it a little bit more accessible and understandable for the average enthusiast.”
Rabold in particular pointed out the 1903 Mercedes Simplex, which he noted had lived with single-family ownership for its entire existence. That final bid also marked the highest-ever known sale of a 1930 model year or older car, which may signal a sea change in the traditional calculus for collectors looking to acquire a potential future Concours winner. But The Amelia’s more progressive classes also indicate shifting tides within the collectible car arena as a whole.
Unusual sightings for a Concours d'Elegance include this Gullwing homage.
“I think that concours, in general, are opening up,” Rabold posited. “As demographics change and as people become aware of different models, that's bound to happen. And I think it's great for the organizers, both at The Amelia and elsewhere, that are doing this to recognize that there's an automotive story to tell that goes beyond the traditional Concours car. And that, in turn, just brings a lot more people out and exposes those older cars to newer audiences.”
The differences between last year’s record and this year’s statistics probably indicates only slightly more hesitancy at the upper reaches of the market, especially when considering that nearly two inches of rain fell at Amelia Island over the course of the weekend. For collectors, even keeping track of the weather’s impact on values might help guide bids and private sales over the next few months as the entire industry begins ramping up for Monterey Car Week.
