The Ford Mustang II doesn’t get a lot of respect. They were born during an oil crisis and when they debuted as 1974 models, they did so without a V-8 engine option. Still, their styling, size, and fuel economy made them a sales success. While their ‘70s engines and suspensions don’t do them any favors when compared to more modern Mustangs, the underlying design is worth celebrating.

Brett Behrens used a fastback from the final year of Mustang II production, 1978, to show what could be done with a lot of vision and even more talented fabrication. Now in its second iteration, this custom street machine is up for sale at Mecum’s Tulsa Auction set for June 8.

The custom build, handled by A-Team Racing in Bend, Oregon, used a C6 Chevrolet Corvette suspension front and rear, a totally custom interior, a host of body modifications, and a custom chassis. A 12-inch stretch to the wheelbase is the most striking change. It made a massive difference to the Mustang II’s troubled proportions, righting one of the most egregious wrongs in the car’s original design. The rear wheel opening was enlarged and looks like it was shifted back a bit, but most of the change came by coaxing the front wheel opening forward. The increased wheelbase drastically shortened the front overhang and had a huge impact on the car’s balance, as the engine is well behind the front spindles.

Despite plenty of custom bodywork, including new wheel openings and flares inspired by the fifth-gen Mustang, this ambitious custom still has the best bits of ‘70s style that the original Mustang II offered. The result is a purposeful stance that looks appropriate for a sporty car and it still works well 10 years after it was completed, not an easy task for a custom car this ambitious.

When this car was first built, it was painted Kona Blue and powered by a 6.8-liter Ford V-10, the kind you’d find in a Super Duty truck. The iron-block engine made a statement and although we never got to hear it driven in anger, it had to make a unique sound as it produced just shy of 400 horsepower. This version of the car is a more iconic Mustang color, Grabber Blue. We think it suits it nicely and better highlights all of the custom bodywork. The other welcome change is the switch to Coyote V-8 power. Yeah, the V-10 was interesting, but the Coyote is shorter, lighter, and more powerful. That’s tough to argue against.

We hope this car finds a new owner who will appreciate its interesting melding of Mustang styling trends and can inspire others to put some effort into rehabilitating some unloved classics, Mustang II or otherwise. It’s already got us thinking about how this sort of treatment could transform a Chevy Monza Spyder or even an AMC Gremlin. What other Malaise-era coupes would you consider?

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Kevin Sergent, who assembled one of the country’s premier collections of Chrysler muscle cars, really had no choice.

“Mopar is all I ever knew from the time I could walk,” the Pennsylvania resident says. “And even as a teenager I wanted a Mopar product.”

Well, he sort of got his wish. “Unfortunately, my first car was a Dodge Omni, which I bought for 800 bucks. I wasn’t in a position to buy high-end anything back then.”

Mopar, of course, refers to Chrysler products. The name was coined in 1937 for the company’s brand of antifreeze.

Though Sergent’s relatives raced Mopars, he couldn’t afford to buy a real race car. “But I could come up with a few hundred bucks to buy myself a Chrysler Newport or Imperial and run it in a demolition derby. It was a hobby I kept at until I was in my early 40s, and I finally quit after breaking a couple of bones and catching on fire a few times. I got pretty good—I actually retired as the track champion.”

Fortunes have changed for Sergent, who grew up riding in the back seat of his father’s 1968 Plymouth Road Runner. He began working in the automotive industry as a car salesman when he was 21, and 18 years later, “I cashed in my retirement account, the kids’ college fund and I triple-mortgaged my house to buy a car dealership.” Now he owns 11 dealerships in Western Pennsylvania that operate under the Tri-Star banner.

Today, 25 of his best Mopars will cross the stage at the Mecum 2024 Kissimmee auction in Florida. Though the collection includes some mint Plymouth Road Runners and Hemi Cudas, it’s the 11 “wing” cars that are getting the most attention.

The wing cars, shorthand for Plymouth Superbirds and Dodge Daytonas that were built in 1969 and 1970, had a purpose: Chrysler had to manufacture some street cars with the pointed, wind-cheating nose and huge rear wing in order to race with the same features in NASCAR, where the cars dominated.

The design was so radical that the cars did not sell well when new. “I had a friend who was a dealer and he had one on the lot, and he said that after two years, ‘I had to take the damn wing off it and the nose off it and put the Road Runner front back on it so I could sell it.’” They sell for a lot now: The 20 wing cars that were offered at Mecum Kissimmee in 2023 ranged from a low of $308,000 to a high of $1.43 million.

Sergent’s wing cars are 10 Plymouth Superbirds, and one Dodge Daytona, which is rarer than the Plymouths. His Mopar collection is being offered at no reserve, so he won’t be taking any of them back home.

“After the kids got through school, I finally had some extra money and, rather than invest it back into stocks or something else I didn’t understand, I started buying classic cars. And the Superbirds—I think if you are a Mopar collector, you should have at least one. I was very fortunate to find that many of them. That’s where all my extra money went—into the wing cars, Hemi cars, Road Runners—it was fun collecting them but it’s time to change course.”

A central reason for that was some life-changing news Sergent got last year. “I was diagnosed with cancer, and I knew my kids didn’t want these cars, and dropping these on them is something I didn’t want to do—honestly, it changed my attitude towards the cars a little bit.

“I went through successful cancer surgery, went through all my radiation treatments, and my first follow-up is February 1, so I’m hoping to get good news there. I’m not looking for sympathy selling these cars—they’ll take care of themselves. But it’s just something I didn’t want my family to deal with in case something happens.

“This is the cream of the crop. When this is done I will have no wing cars, no original Hemi cars. I still have a 90-car collection, but I’m probably going to start paring that down soon.”

As a Chrysler and Dodge dealer, Sergent says he’ll miss the Hemi-powered Dodge Challengers and Chargers, and the Chrysler 300C, all of which went out of production at the end of last year.

“Everybody’s pushing the electric stuff,” he says. “I’m fortunate that Dodge came around with the Demon 170 one more time.” He has one of those 1025-horsepower Challengers coming, possibly replacing his daily driver, which is a Challenger Hellcat convertible. “It should be waiting for me when I get home from Kissimmee. I’m sure one of my kids will love to have that car—they like the modern stuff. But it is sad to see them going away.”

Does he expect to get a little emotional as the auctioneer’s gavel starts falling today? “I hope not. I’ve been preparing for this a long time. It’s time for them to go where they’re really appreciated, hopefully to fulfill a dream that some of the buyers have. I’ve been doing this for 41 years, and these are the best cars I’ve ever had.”

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Mecum’s annual sale in Kissimmee, Florida, is both the world’s largest collector-car auction and typically the very first sale on the calendar. In addition to moving a lot of metal, this two-week extravaganza helps set market moods for the rest of the year. It’s more than 60 acres of automotive spectacle, with multiple buildings and tent after tent protecting the thousands of auction vehicles from the Florida sunshine and occasional rain. Even if you didn’t bring your checkbook, Kissimmee is worth the trip for the car-spotting alone.

Mecum is celebrating the auction’s 25th anniversary in 2024. In both 2022 and 2023, the sale topped $200M. Though it remains to be seen whether that will happen again this year, the consignment list is certainly full (Mecum is claiming nearly 4000 cars) and full of good stuff, too. Below are the most significant cars we’ll be keeping an eye on.

1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible

Rarity is a relative term in the classic car world, especially in American muscle cars. A couple hundred units might be a pretty good run for a 1960s Maserati, but for a particular pony-car configuration, “a couple hundred” is supremely scarce. A Hemi Cuda convertible, though, is rare by anybody’s definition. Plymouth sold just 14 of the soft-top Hemis in 1970, and just a dozen in ’71. There aren’t many American muscle cars worth seven figures, but a Hemi Cuda convertible is one of them.

Values have had their ups and downs, and this Lemon Twist car sold at Mecum Indy in 2019 for $1.98M before heading to Kissimmee in 2022, where it remained unsold at a $2.1M high bid. Even so, Mecum has a higher $2.5M–$3.0M estimate this time around.

1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider

As a short wheelbase (SWB) California Spider with covered headlights, this car is widely considered the most attractive version in a universally attractive series of cars (there are long-wheelbase and open-headlight cars—all are gorgeous) and finished in the classic combo of red over tan.

It’s represented as the very last of the 106 total 250 GT California Spiders built from 1957 to ’63, and according to online Ferrari resource barchetta, it was delivered in red over black. The car stayed with its original Minnesota owner until 1972 before selling to a Californian who paid $4500 (!) for the used, nine-year-old convertible. Eventually restored from 1999 to 2001 and shown extensively since at prestigious concours like Pebble Beach and Amelia Island, it doesn’t have a presale estimate, but an eight-figure high bid is pretty much a guarantee. Our current values range from $12.95M to $17.1M.

1967 Ferrari 275 GTS/4 NART Spider

An even rarer open-air classic than that Holy Grail Hemi Cuda is this NART Spider. While 25 NART Spiders were planned, just ten genuine cars were ever built. One raced successfully at Sebring and one co-starred with Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair. This particular NART is the ninth one made.

Sort of a spiritual successor to the California Spider above, this drop-top version of the 275 GTB/4 was made possible by New York Ferrari dealer and owner of the North American Racing Team (NART) Luigi Chinetti, who commissioned the cars with his wealthy clients in mind. Road & Track called it “the most satisfying sports car in the world” and featured it on the cover, but when a hardtop 275 GTB cost less than 10 grand, the Spider’s $14,400 price was steep even for the bigwigs in Chinetti’s Rolodex.

NART Spiders have only gotten more expensive, however. The last NART to sell at auction was in 2013, when chassis 10709 sold for $27.5M. This Kissimmee car, chassis 10749, reportedly sold to the consignor on the private market in 2014 for $28M.

Harley Earl (1963) and Bill Mitchell (1964) Chevrolet Corvette “Styling Cars”

Other than Zora Arkus-Duntov, the two biggest names in the history of the Corvette are designers Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell. These two “Styling Cars” not only had famous designers as owners, they also came packed with unique features.

GM gave Earl the 1963 car as a retirement present, and he reportedly drove it regularly around Palm Beach in his golden years, even lapping Daytona in it in 1965 when he served as Grand Marshal of that year’s 500. Its metallic blue paint wasn’t available in the showrooms in ’63, and neither were the dual-circuit four-wheel disc brakes—those didn’t arrive until 1964. The passenger’s side gauge cluster with altimeter, accelerometer, and two thermometers is a neat touch, as are the four-branch, polished stainless-steel side pipes. The only thing ordinary about the car is the mid-range 327-cubic inch/300-horse small-block, but at least it’s backed by a four-speed manual. Barrett-Jackson sold it in 1999 for $152,300, then Mecum sold it in 2010 for $980,500 and again in 2013 for $1.65M. Mecum paired it as a single lot with the Bill Mitchell car in 2019, though the pair failed to sell with a high bid of $1.7M. The Earl car has a $750,000–$1,000,000 estimate this time around.

Speaking of Bill Mitchell, he was GM’s design boss when the C2 Corvette came to life in 1963, and since being the boss has its perks, he had a 1964 Corvette specially built to his liking for personal use. The special flourishes are a little more subtle than Earl’s car, but the 327/365 V-8 is more potent, and Corvette spotters will notice the eggcrate grille, unique chromed centerlock wheels, chromed side vents, and six taillights. Blue leather covers not just the seats but also the dash, glovebox, and door panels. For Kissimmee, it has a $500,000–$600,000 estimate.

First (1967) and last (1969) Chevrolet Corvette L88

Selling auction cars as a pair is an unusual and somewhat risky move. The entry point is significantly higher, which naturally shrinks the pool of potential bidders. And it takes a very specific kind of buyer who really wants both cars. Auction companies have pulled this off before, however, and Mecum is trying it with this offering of the first and last L88 Corvettes built.

The L88 hardly needs an introduction, but this special-order race-ready package offered from 1967 to ’69 resulted in the fastest and most collectible of all classic production Corvettes. Not that there was much production: Chevrolet built just 20 in 1967, 80 in 1968, and 116 in 1969.

The Tuxedo Black 1967 car is represented as the first production L88, and it was an SCCA race car in 1967–68, finishing second to a 427 Cobra in the 1967 Runoffs. We’ve seen it at auction before—a $1.55M no-sale in 2007, a $1.325M sale in 2010, a $1.7M no-sale in 2019, and a $1.8M no-sale in 2020.

The Fathom Green 1969 car, meanwhile, is comparatively unremarkable other than its build date, but being the bookend for such a famous part of Corvette history counts for a lot. We’ve seen this one before, too. It sold for $242,000 in 2006, was a $235K no-sale in 2012, sold again for $280,500 in 2013, and was a $430,000 no-sale later that year.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe

For someone who needs just one L88 in their garage, this one-of-20 Rally Red 1967 coupe is still plenty exciting. Maybe more exciting, even. It currently holds the title of most expensive Corvette of any kind ever sold at auction, a status it’s held for nearly a decade. Barrett-Jackson sold it in Scottsdale in 2014 for $3.85M. Setting a new benchmark in 2024 seems unlikely, though. Mecum’s estimate for the car this time around is $3.4M–$3.8M.

1948 Tucker 48

Preston Tucker’s ill-fated automotive venture caused a tsunami of publicity in postwar America, but construction of the actual car—the Tucker 48—amounted to a trickle. Just 51 examples were completed in the former B-29 bomber plant Tucker used for a factory. But thanks to the Hollywood-worthy story and innovative features like a rear-engine layout, directional headlamp, and forward-thinking safety-oriented construction, the Tucker 48 is a well-known and highly valued car.

Only one or two Tuckers pop up for sale per year, if that, and this one has never crossed an auction block. Represented as largely original and as having appeared in the 1988 film about the company, it has a $1.7M–$1.9M estimate.

1990 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe by Singer

Singer Vehicle Design might be the most well-known and sought-after company when it comes to “reimagining” (read: restomodding) air-cooled 911s. As such, the wait list for one of its bespoke creations is a long one. The only real way to skip the line is to buy one of the few Singers that pop up on the second-hand market. It seems a little odd to open up your wallet for somebody else’s bespoke interpretation of a 911, but other people have paid over $1M at auction for the opportunity, and this 7700-mile car has a $1.2M–$1.3M estimate.

1966 Ford GT40

Known for its exploits on track, we usually see the GT40 in multi-colored racing liveries with numbers slapped on its doors. Even rarer than the race cars that got the glory, though, are the 30 GT40 MK Is built for street use. Slightly tamed for normal driving, they came with wire wheels, a nicer interior, and softer suspension.

This one sold new to a buyer in Rome who ordered his Le-Mans-winner-for-the-road with race exhaust and race-spec oil pump. Racing driver Umberto Maglioli bought it in 1968 but it was never raced, and it soon sold on to Germany. RUF, of Porsche modifying fame, eventually treated it to a concours-quality restoration. Though Mecum did not provide an estimate, a Mk I sold at Amelia in 2016 for $3.3M.

1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/LM Competizione Speciale

If it sells, this will be the most expensive car in Kissimmee and one of the most expensive cars sold all year. One of three specially built competition versions of the then-new 275 GTB and essentially the successor to the 250 GTO, this is the sister car to the Ferrari that finished third at Le Mans in 1965. This chassis, however, lived its life as a road car, first in Italy and then in France, where it stayed for 25 years. At some point early in its life, it also had three GTO-style nose vents cut into the bodywork. Eventually, the temptation to take it to the track became too strong, and subsequent owners actively vintage-raced it. It has since been restored and last sold at the Monterey auctions in 2014 for $26.4M.

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The post The Best Cars up for Grabs at Mecum Kissimmee 2024 appeared first on Hagerty Media.

It’s Corvette Jeopardy! Here are your answers: Riverside Red. Ermine White. Silver Blue. Tuxedo Black. Sebring Silver. Saddle Tan. Daytona Blue.

The question: What are the seven colors Chevrolet painted its 1963 Corvette Split-Window coupes?

We mention this because, at the Corvette-heavy Mecum Kissimmee auction to be held January 2–14 in Florida, one of the most coveted groups of cars among the 4000 to be sold features seven Split-Window coupes, one in each available color. Mecum is calling it the Colorama Spilt-Window Collection, but we hesitate to call it a collection because it’s basically a group of Corvettes assembled by a dealer, ProTeam Corvette Sales, to sell through Mecum as individual lots. But the cars are getting a lot of traction in the Corvette-centric media, and with good reason.

Bill Mitchell’s design team, which included talented designers such as a very young Peter Brock and Larry Shinoda, designed a fastback Corvette that looked—well, marvelous. For the rear window, they decided to use two pieces of glass, split by a few inches of body-colored fiberglass and framed by aluminum strips. That was in 1963. For 1964, the split window was replaced by a solid piece of curved glass, thus making the 1963 Split-Window an immediate collectors’ item. They dubbed it the Sting Ray (two words; it wasn’t one word until 1969).

Some 10,594 Split-Window Corvettes were built, as well as roughly the same number of convertibles. There have been plenty of collectible Corvettes built in the car’s 70-year history, and the Split-Windows are near the top of the list.

So what kind of money are we talking about here?

The most expensive of the seven Split-Windows is likely to be the Daytona Blue one. It has the coveted Z06 performance package, as well as an interesting backstory: It was exported new to Australia, where it was converted to right-hand drive. All the Colorama Corvettes have some version of the 327-cubic-inch V-8 and four-speed manual transmissions; this one has 360 horsepower. (The 327 also came in 300- and 340-horsepower versions, and all are represented in this group.) Mecum is valuing the Australian Z06 at $450,000–$500,000.

The Riverside Red Split-Window carries Mecum’s lowest estimate at $225,000–$275,000. It’s a lovely numbers-matching car, with low-mileage (47,844), and was the subject of a body-on restoration and an engine rebuild. However, it doesn’t have fuel injection (four of the seven cars do), and it doesn’t have the provenance the rest have, such as a Bloomington Gold certification.

The remainder of the cars are valued slightly higher than the Riverside Red representative, and less than the Z06. Perhaps the most interesting of that lot is the Ermine White model ($250,000–$275,000). It was a present from Jesse James (West Coast Choppers, Monster Garage) to actress Sandra Bullock, presumably during their marriage, which lasted from 2005 to 2010. Bullock subsequently donated the Corvette to charity (sigh). As for James, he is currently married to adult film star Bonnie Rotten. Bullock never remarried.

Click here for the Mecum listing of the Colorama Split-Window Collection. You can also click here to look at the spilt-window Corvettes that ProTeam Corvette Sales has in stock, starting at $149,000 for a Riverside Red model.

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This story is being updated throughout the week.

Posts and analysis: From Thursday, the beginning of the auctions, click here. To start with Friday’s posts, click here. For Saturday’s coverage, click here.

Results overview: For Thursday’s results overview, click here. Our quick take on the Ferrari 412P sale is here. Friday’s results overview is here. Saturday’s results overview is here.

The car world is set to descend on the Monterey peninsula in its annual pilgrimage to celebrate the automobile. Not just any automobiles, but some of the rarest, most story-laden, and unique pieces of machinery around. And those are just the ones on the street—the cars filling the consignment lists for this year’s auctions at Monterey Car Week have genuinely gotten the car community excited after a year in which the collector market has seen a steady, if gradual, retreat.

Monterey is often considered a heat check for the collector market as a whole, and it’s no wonder why: nearly every other year for the past 35 years, the annual sales record takes place here. On top of that, it’s more than just the top cars drawing attention, though several find themselves on the cusp of eight-figure paydays—including a Ferrari 412 P that stands a good chance to be the top sale of the year. The wide array of cars consigned—a new record number of well over 1000—includes significant cars from all corners of the market, from Ferraris to the growing Japanese segment, to American standard-bearers. The sales over the course of Car Week should help define whether certain market segments will remain flat, how buyer and seller sentiments are trending, and what cars are poised to be the next big movers.

Early projections suggest this year’s auctions will approach a healthy $400M showing, placing 2023 between 2022’s record and the previous high water mark of 2015. Our own John Wiley dives into his predictions at length here, including how Monterey’s seller demographics have evolved dramatically, the impact of the strong share of $1M+ cars coming to sale, and how these sales are poised to contribute to auction sales as a whole in 2023.

Stay tuned here for additional analysis ahead of the auctions, as well as detailed coverage throughout the course of the week.

Saturday, August 11th

Keep an eye on the classic Ferraris. Many enthusiasts are descending on Monterey to get an eye on some of the most valuable cars in the world, and that’s not just on the Pebble Beach lawn. Two of the most valuable Ferraris in the world, a Ferrari 412 P being sold by Bonhams and a Ferrari 250 LM being sold by RM Sotheby’s, will be on public display before hammer time. Just how valuable are they? If they sell for their auction house estimates they will become the second and seventh most valuable Ferraris ever sold at auction. Not bad for a side show to the main show on the lawn. – James Hewitt

Monday, August 14th

How will the Japanese segment stars shake out?

The headline cars and million-plus-dollar Ferraris grab all the attention, but it’s the data behind some of the Japanese Domestic Market cars that intrigues me the most. Take a look at the demographics behind two JDM “youngtimer” cars: the Acura NSX and Acura Integra Type R. Based on insurance quotes sought by buyers, the Integra Type R has a far younger buyer pool than the NSX (an Integra Type R buyer is twice as likely to be a Millennial or younger than an NSX buyer is likely to be).

That preference to younger buyers steers where the cars come up for auction: all but two Integra Type Rs that have come up for auction have been sold at online auctions yet the world record price was set at Broad Arrow’s Amelia 2023 live auction. Quite the risk to take it there, but it clearly paid off.

The Acura NSX is a different story. They’re split between live and online auctions, as expected for a car with an older demographic, yet the world record price was set at a Bring a Trailer auction.

So for those of you wondering if you should sell a “youngtimer” car online or at live auction, it’s increasingly a gamble!—James Hewitt

What is originality worth?

The collecting car world has come to embrace the phrase “It’s only original once.” It wasn’t always that way. Concours in the 1980s, including Pebble Beach, featured cars that had become over-restored gems rather than representative examples of what they were as new. Gradually, restoration goals shifted away from better-than-new to preservation and originality.

The originality movement received official recognition by the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2001 when it featured its first preservation class. In the two decades since, the market for unrestored cars has slowly improved to the point that original cars often sell for much more than a concours-condition restored car. This year 11 pre-1970, running, original vehicles are on offer at the Monterey auctions.

An original car’s rarity and the historical information it contains helps explain why these cars can be worth so much. One such example of originality is coming up for auction in Pebble Beach is a very early example of a 1956 Citroen DS19 crossing the block at Gooding without reserve. It’s estimated a $120K to $150K. For comparison, the Hagerty Price Guide for the DS19 starts with the 1957 model year, and the condition 1 value is value $75,400.

Why so much more? The DS19 offered by Gooding is chassis 004086, and it is likely one of 50 surviving first-year cars. It is also one of the initial batch of 180 cars Citroen exported to the US, and those are a story unto themselves, but this one sat in a Sacramento garage for 50 years after it was sidelined in 1960 with 52,000 miles. Will this car sell for $120K or more? There aren’t a lot of unrestored cars sold at Monterey, but when they do, they sell for an average of 147 percent more than the price guide condition-appropriate value.

Will this early Citroen DS19 do better? We’ll be watching on Friday to see.

—John Wiley

Wednesday, August 16th

10:05 AM: A lot of Porsches are on offer this year: 120 total, 17 more than 2022 and accounting for 10% of the 1205 total lots. Let’s dig into some numbers behind two of the most valuable, a 2015 Porsche 918 on offer at Broad Arrow and a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT on offer at RM Sotheby’s.

Values of Porsche Carrera GTs peaked around 2022.

Which is clear when looking at sales prices at auction:

Oh yeah, the buyer of that Porsche 918? There’s a nearly 1 in 2 chance they also own a Carrera GT. Or maybe that buyer will get both cars this weekend to keep that stat going… — James Hewitt

12:32 PM: Saturday could be a big day for Datsun 240Zs. Mecum is selling two from the Mike and Debbie Rogers Datsun Collection, and the high estimates place them in world record territory. The record is currently held by this 21k-mile 1971 Datsun 240Z sold for $315k (with fees), a staggering $145k over second place. The 1969 Datsun 240Z at Mecum has an estimate of $200k-$300k and the 1972 Datsun 240Z from Nissan’s 1990s Vintage Z restoration program has an estimate of $150k-$250k. That same car was bought for $106,240 in 2019. — James Hewitt

1:25 PM: Shift your price expectations higher when these 6-speed Ferraris sell. The manual transmission was cheaper when new but it doubles the value of the 575 now.

• 2005 Ferrari Superamerica Low estimate 147% higher than the F1 transmission #1 Hagerty Price Guide value
• 2005 Ferrari Superamerica Low estimate 114% higher than the F1 transmission #1 Hagerty Price Guide value
• 2005 Ferrari 575M Maranello Low estimate 121% higher than the F1 transmission #1 Hagerty Price Guide value
• 2002 Ferrari 575M Maranello Low estimate 106% higher than the F1 transmission #1 Hagerty Price Guide value

— James Hewitt

4:05 PM:

Weighing 2310 pounds and putting down 600 horsepower, I bet Mecum’s Ultima GTR is the fastest car per dollar all week. Fastest vehicle per dollar at the auctions? That might be the Ducati 1199 Panigale at a 2.12 pounds per horsepower power to weight ratio all for $10k-$15k. — Andrew Newton

6:41 PM:

Consensus among a few JDM fans I talked to today is that the variety of JDM cars at auction here this year is excellent. Standouts include the Subaru Impreza 22B-STI and the Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R “Tommykaira” at Bonhams, and the Honda NSX Type R at Broad Arrow. Significance of the cars aside, there is also a question about whether the Monterey clientele fully understand and appreciate these JDM heroes. Perhaps these models are now widely recognized as stars and will sell for all the money, or perhaps they will go unnoticed and sell for a steal. — Greg Ingold

Thursday, August 17th

10:16 AM: The first car sold in Monterey is not a Porsche, nor a Ferrari, but a Plymouth. It’s a 1965 Satellite convertible, upgraded with a 426 Street Wedge, that brought $33,000 at Mecum. —Andrew Newton

10:47 AM: Showing that Monterey can be a place for both extremes of the market, the 1985 Ferrari Mondial 2+2 Cabriolet that just sold for $24,200 at Mecum set the record for the lowest price paid for a Ferrari at a public auction in 2023. The highest sale of a Ferrari this year will likely also take place this weekend. —Adam Wilcox

11:43 AM: Not all cars are up a staggering amount in value over the last several years. For example, this 1973 Volkswagen Thing just sold by Mecum for $30,800 today was a repeat seller from their 2021 Monterey sale, when it transacted for $31,900. Showing only 135 more miles, that’s quite the horizontal move. So far only two of twelve vehicles that have a prior auction in their history, no matter how long ago, have hammered above their previous hammer price. The best performer? The 1965 Plymouth Satellite pictured above sold for 43% more than its 2018 Scottsdale sale price. — James Hewitt

2:43 PM: You never know what you’re going to see in Monterey. This, um, enthusiastically modified 1971 Jaguar E-Type sold for $55,000, about its condition #4 (Fair) value.

— Andrew Newton

4:19 PM: Broad Arrow’s auction is underway. Can’t make it to the event? Follow the livestream here. —Brian Rabold

4:53 PM: At $632,000, Broad Arrow’s NSX R sale takes the model’s record to new heights, smashing the prior record of $305,993 by an NSX R sold on Bring a Trailer:

5:44 PM: The third auction in today’s triple-header, RM Sotheby’s 26th Monterey auction, is underway. Livestream is here for those who want to follow along at home. The event started with a cameo of 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO s/n 3765 and an announcement that it will be part of Sotheby’s November 13 Modern and Contemporary Art auction in New York. Here we go… —Brian Rabold

6:21 PM: Just throwing this out there: people spend too much time talking about AMG engines, and not nearly enough time talking about AMG radios. (Also, the 1984 500SEL AMG in which said radio resides sold at RM Sotheby’s for $84,000.) —Brian Rabold

6:33 PM: Broad Arrow sells a Series IIA Land Rover for the second highest price ever. $151,200 might be light to set a record compared to prices paid for exotica crossing the block this weekend, but Series Land Rovers represent massive value for money. Here’s a look at prices paid for all Land Rover model years since 2015.

—James Hewitt

7:04 PM: At $1,039,000, this 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO at RM set a record for the model and is the first 599 GTO to sell for seven figures. —Adam Wilcox

7:21 PM: Keith Richard’s Ferrari 246 Dino GT sells in a long 27-Ferrari run at RM but didn’t get a celebrity premium, achieving only the #3 Hagerty Price Guide value. That’s surprising given his #4 spot on the Power List—James Hewitt

7:29 PM: Here’s a lesson for many of the enthusiasts watching an auction: prices are never stable, and a high bid that didn’t meet reserve doesn’t set the value. This 1996 Nissan R33 GT-R sold for $57,200 at Mecum today yet was only bid to $35,000 41 days ago. —James Hewitt

7:50 PM: Not everything is up during COVID. In the case of a 1965 Citroën DS 21 Chapron Concorde sold by Broad Arrow today for $78,400 (against a low estimate of $125,000), it’s actually down 50%. The same car sold for $159,500 in August 2020 at the start of the collector car boom. —James Hewitt

8:10 PM: This 6.8-mile 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition sold for $764,000, placing it fourth in all-time public sales of ’05-’06 Ford GTs. 17 of the top 20 sales are Heritage Edition cars.

9:20 PM: RM’s “Lost & Found Collection”, consisting of 20 rare Ferraris left untouched for decades in barn-find condition, sold for some surprising results. All offered without reserve, the sales totaled $16,756,160 with an average premium of 22.6% over low estimates. Eight of the 20 sold below low estimate. On the other end of the spectrum, the top sale of the group was a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy at $3,305,000, which was 32% over the high estimate and within 12% of condition #1 value. Another strong sale was a 1968 Ferrari Dino 206 GT at $456,000, 30% above high estimate. The roughest car of the group, a 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider which has been preserved as just a mangled body and chassis after it was crashed in a race almost 60 years ago, managed to still sell for 17% above high estimate at $1,875,000. —Adam Wilcox

9:22 PM:

The 500 Mondial was one of the more intriguing lots from the “Lost and Found” collection. Crashed, burned, and battered, then left to the salty sea air for ages, $1.875M all-in bought one commendable collector an opportunity to begin a lengthy, extensive, and expensive restoration. Cheers to them for the journey they are about to undertake; we’re all looking forward to seeing this car in motion at a concours in the future. —Brian Rabold

10:01 PM: The first-gen Ford GT Heritage sale at Broad Arrow was the fourth-highest sale ever for the model. These top sales are getting very close to the lowest second-gen Ford GTs. Will they reach and then pass them?

—James Hewitt

Thursday auction results overview

Auctions kicked off Thursday with Broad Arrow, Mecum, and RM Sotheby’s beginning their sales. The day lagged 2022, with total results down to $59.8M from $99.8M last year, although the difference is not as dramatic as it may appear. Despite attempts to make comparisons as direct as possible, the cars still vary from year to year, and fewer cars were listed in the $1M+ range on this year’s opening day compared to last year (24 compared to 31 in 2022). Last year, four cars sold for $5M+ on day one, while none did this year, and more than one-third fewer $1M+ cars sold on Thursday, yielding the $40M delta. We expect this gap to close in the following days.

Thursday’s top sale was a 1995 Ferrari F50 sold by Broad Arrow for $4.24M, demonstrating that the market for analog supercars is still rolling despite recent indications of a slow-down. A record-setting Honda NSX R sold at Broad Arrow for $632,000, highlighting the ever-stronger Japanese segment. All of RM Sotheby’s top five lots came from the “Lost and Found” collection of barn-find condition Ferraris, including an incomplete 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial in rough shape that sold for $1.875M, including buyer’s premium. Clearly collectors are still drawn to the prospect of bringing a car back to life.

All houses will be active on Friday, with Gooding & Company beginning its two-day sale and Bonhams holding its single-day sale, headlined by the 1967 Ferrari 412P.

Listed below are the results Hagerty observed during the live auctions as well as any post-sale deals that were reported by the auction companies to Hagerty. Numbers include buyer’s premiums.

Overall Top 10 Sales from all auctions through Thursday: 

1. 1995 Ferrari F50 Coupe sold for $4,240,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)
2. 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO Coupe sold for $3,910,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)
3. 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy Coupe sold for $3,305,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
4. 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Coupe sold for $2,810,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)
5. 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Coupe sold for $2,810,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
6. 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder sold for $1,985,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)
7. 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe sold for $1,930,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)
8. 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider sold for $1,875,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
9. 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Berlinetta sold for $1,655,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
10. 1978 Ferrari 512 BB Competizione Coupe sold for $1,490,000 (RM Sotheby’s)

Friday, August 18th

7:38 AM: Following their announcement last night that they were bringing to a November sale the only factory-owned Series I Ferrari GTO to have been raced by the Scuderia, RM Sotheby’s brought the car out for viewing:

10:11 AM: Mecum is first off the line this Friday. Livestream here. —Brian Rabold

11:14 AM: The Bonhams auction is underway with livestreaming here. It will take a few hours for the week’s star lot (number 67), the 1967 Ferrari 412 P, to cross the block, but it should be a good show when it goes. —Brian Rabold

11:45 AM: The 1996 Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R Tommykiara found a new home for $134,400, 24 percent over the vehicle’s #1 condition value. Though this might be a bit of a niche car for Monterey buyers, given how special this car is, the price is on the money. —Greg Ingold

11:57 AM: Bonhams has set a new record for a Panoz, known by many Millennials from Gran Turismo video game fame, at $428,500 for a 1999 Panoz LMP1 Roadster that finished 11th at the 1999 Le Mans 24 Hours. This bested the previous Panoz record of $235,200 for a 2007 DP01-Cosworth. Compare this to the 2007 Porsche RS Spyder Evo LMP2 car offered at Broad Arrow that failed to sell and is now asking $5.1M. That Porsche will run a couple seconds per lap faster at Road Atlanta, Panoz’s home track, for a $4.6M premium. That’s the difference between buying to race and buying to collect. —James Hewitt

12:25 PM: Another example of one price not setting a market. This 1972 Pontiac GTO was bid to $28,500 on AutoHunter 100 days ago and hammered at $70,000 today. Still, that wasn’t enough to get it sold against an estimate of $90k-$110k… Next time could be higher, lower, or the same, and I wouldn’t place bets on it. —James Hewitt

12:35 PM: It’s a wash when it comes to profits and losses for cars bought during the last two years. So far today we have seen 24 cars cross the auction block that we previously saw offered at auction within the last two years. 12 of those hammered for more than they did previously, 12 hammered for less. Guaranteed flips appear to have cooled off. —James Hewitt

12:44 PM: Proving that pre-Great War cars aren’t dead, a 1909 Lorraine-Dietrich Grand Prix Two-Seater with a massive 16.4-liter 4-cylinder just sold for $1,270,000, more than doubling the previous record for the marque. This sale was also a surprise for the auction house, as it sold for 59% over the high estimate of $800k and beating the healthy $1,127,000 sale of the more well-known ’32 Duesenberg Model J that followed it.—Adam Wilcox

1:00 PM: Broad Arrow auction kicks off its second (and final) day Monterey of sales now. Stream it here.—Eddy Eckart

1:13 PM: Mecum’s alloy six-carb longnose 275 sells for $3.41M all-in, just topping yesterday’s $3.305M example from RM Sotheby’s.—Brian Rabold

1:30 PM: A double martini at the auctions: Bonhams lot 37, a Lancia Delta HF Integrale Martini 5 sold for $159,040, flying past RM Sotheby’s Delta Integrale Martini 6 edition that sold yesterday for $117,600.—John Wiley

2:29 PM: Sometimes the venue makes all the difference. The 1948 Divco Twin Coach Half Ton that just sold for $184,800 at Broad Arrow, sold for only $76,680 at a GAA auction in February earlier this year. That’s a 141-perent increase in only 6 months. By the way, this sale broke the record for a Divco. —Adam Wilcox

3:09 PM: The 1937 Terraplane 72 Super Convertible Brougham at Broad Arrow just set the record for a Terraplane at $117,600.—Adam Wilcox

3:19 PM: A strong showing at Mecum for this 1954 Sunbeam Alpine Mk I Roadster: its $176,000 sale is 60 percent over high estimate.—James Hewitt

3:20 PM: $7k over high estimate for this 1907 Cadillac Model M Coupe at Broad Arrow. There have been a number of surprising results for these early cars in the last year or two. Brass era cars would logically be a slowing market considering they have limited use and less appeal to younger generations, but auction results continue to exceed auction estimates as these cars prove to be timeless. The record for a Model M was set in 2012, and this 2023 sale is now the second highest. Third place sold in 2018 and fourth in 2004. That’s a near 20-year spread in the top four sales. I can’t think of any other era car that would have that kind of high-sale distribution. —James Hewitt

3:31 PM: This Zagato-bodied 1957 Lancia Appia GT Berlinetta just captured a record with its $280,000 sale at Bonhams.—Eddy Eckart

3:35 PM: While we are waiting for action on the Ferrari 412P, the 1954 Olds F-88 GM Concept just sold for a less-than-expected $1,765,000. While that sounds like a lot, the last time it sold in 2005 at Barrett-Jackson, it brought $3,240,000 and set a record for Oldsmobiles.—Adam Wilcox

3:48 PM: Entering the room at $27M and selling at $27.5M ($30,255,000 with premium), the 412P did not see intense bidding. It was well bought and well sold at this number. I’d hate to say this is going to sound cheap in the next ten years, but it’s a really good buy over the next five. More importantly, Bonhams had one job to do and they got it done, which bodes well for the weekend, the week, and the year.—Dave Kinney

3:50 PM: The Bonhams 412P is now the fifth most expensive car to sell at auction. Check out the company it keeps in the top 30 list here.—Eddy Eckart

4:25 PM: Not nearly as stratospheric, but a strong sale nonetheless was this $3,410,000 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy Berlinetta at Mecum. It fetched a full $460k over #1 condition value.—Eddy Eckart

4:30 PM: A number of cars have sold stunningly well above the #1 Hagerty Price Guide value. Here’s a look at where the top 10 stand up to this point. The listed Ferrari 250, 275, and Porsche 356 are notable for being cars that all have been said to have “peaked” or be cooling off. —James Hewitt

5:01 PM: Enthusiasm for the Japanese segment has been strong this weekend, but not quite strong enough to take home the 1997 Subaru Impreza 22B-STI Prototype at Bonhams. Bidding stalled out at $365,000. For context, that would’ve put it among the strongest Subaru sales at auction:

5:02 PM: Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction begins shortly, streaming here.—Eddy Eckart

5:14 PM:

Gooding’s first lot of Pebble Beach is a 4489-mile, original 1974 Jaguar E-Type Roadster with the good options (4-speed, wire wheels, air conditioning). Ambitiously estimated at $175-$225K, it still brought a healthy premium for its originality at $156,800.—Andrew Newton

5:30 PM: RM Sotheby’s is beginning their second day of sales shortly. You can stream it here.

5:57 PM: Feeling Frisky? This little car sure is. Sold at RM Sotheby’s for $84,000, this 1959 Frisky Convertible Special is a record for the little brand. The bar is low, though, as there’s only one other public sale prior to this one.—Eddy Eckart

6:30 PM: Earlier this week, we used this 1956 Citroën DC19 Berline to discuss the increasing value of originality. It sold at Gooding for $100,800, $25k over #1 condition value, further confirming that the market appreciates an all-original car as much as, and sometimes more than, a fully-restored example.—Eddy Eckart

6:41 PM: RM’s $87,000 sale of an F40 Junior is higher than the sales of five actual Ferraris that sold so far this weekend—Adam Wilcox

6:49 PM: Another pre-great-war car sets a record! The 1913 Lozier Type 72 Meadowbrook Runabout at Gooding just set a record for the marque at $1,765,000 – beating the previous record of  $1.1M by 60%.—Adam Wilcox

6:54 PM: I’m starting to sound like a broken record (pun intended), but the next lot at Gooding, a 1914 Mercer Type 35-J Raceabout just broke the record for a Mercer at $4,790,000 – this time beating the previous record by 89%.—Adam Wilcox

7:21 PM: Group B cars continue to be popular and push the valuation envelope. RM’s sale is a record for a Ford RS200 at $615,500.—Adam Wilcox

7:26 PM: Unlike Group B, 1950s American cars are not a segment setting the world alight in terms of dramatic increases. Someone forgot to tell this 1958 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham, though, as it just set the record for Cadillac Eldorado sedans.—Adam Wilcox

8:43 PM: This week has so far proven cars from every decade can surpass expectations and smash auction estimates. The cars that have been bid to at least 25 percent over their high estimate cover every decade since 1900 except the 1910s, 1940s, and the 2000s. The oldest comes in at 1909, median at 1965, and newest at 2015—James Hewitt

8:56 PM: Maseratis are still an attainable way to get into ’60s Gran Turismos. This 1961 Maserati 3500 GT Coupe sold for $106,400, less than #4 condition value and less than half the low estimate. It’s a solid #3/3+ car so I think safe to call it a steal. Think of what ANY Ferrari of that vintage sells for.—Andrew Newton

9:15 PM: Dinos have been capturing a lot of attention over the last few years, but this is the other Dino—the 308 GT4. Gooding’s record-setting 1973 example—the first production 308 GT4, shown at the 1973 Paris Motor show—suggests an emerging acceptance and enthusiasm for the Gandini-designed successor to the 246. It sold for $450,500, trouncing the prior $225,000 record from a 2022 Bring a Trailer sale.—Eddy Eckart

Friday auction results overview:

With day two of three complete, Friday’s Monterey auctions featured the week’s headlining car: the 1967 Ferrari 412P at Bonhams’ single-day event. It sold for $30.2M, making it the fifth-most valuable car to ever sell at auction. Gooding also began their auction, and Broad Arrow concluded their two-day sale. Total sales continued to lag last year but the gap narrowed from $40M yesterday to $16.2M today, with several high-dollar sales across all the auctions contributing. The 68% sell-through rate is still down from last year although the average sale price of $435,171 has begun to approach 2022 levels.

Despite a cooler market than 2022, buyers have still demonstrated that they will ante up for the best vehicles regardless of type or era, as witnessed by these sales above HPG #1 value:

Rare marques and models—especially those with interesting condition, provenance and event eligibility—are selling well. A 1909 Lorriane-Dietrich Grand Prix car with a 16.4-liter 4-cylinder engine sold for $1,270,000 at Bonhams, well above the high estimate of $800K. Gooding sold a 1914 Mercer Type 35-J Raceabout for a record $4.8M. RM Sotheby’s sold a 1959 Frisky Convertible Special for a record $84,000 and a Lancia Hyena Zagato for $246,400. Broad Arrow sold a 1937 Terraplane Series 72 Super Convertible Brougham for $117,600, which was a record for the marque. A vehicle that really stands out appears to command attention—and a premium.

Three of the five companies continue Saturday, with Gooding, Mecum, and RM Sotheby’s concluding their auctions. High-profile cars we’ll be watching include the 1933 Bugatti Type 55 Roadster at Gooding, Mecum’s 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, and RM Sotheby’s presentation of a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM.

Listed below are the results Hagerty observed during the live auctions as well as any post-sale deals that were reported by the auction companies to Hagerty. Numbers include buyer’s premiums.

2023 Cumulative results through Friday’s sales

Cumulative total: $258.5M

594/876 lots sold: 68% sell-through rate

Average Sale Price: $435,171

2022 Cumulative results through Friday’s sales

Cumulative total: $274.7M

580/726 lots sold: 80% sell-through rate

Average Sale Price: $473,665

Overall Top 10 Sales from all auctions through Friday: 

1. 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta sold for $30,255,000 (Bonhams)
2. 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Coupe sold for $9,465,000 (Gooding & Company)
3. 1914 Mercer Type 35-J Raceabout sold for $4,735,000 (Gooding & Company)
4. 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Cabriolet sold for $4,515,000 (Gooding & Company)
5. 1995 Ferrari F50 Coupe sold for $4,240,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)
6. 2003 Ferrari Enzo Coupe sold for $4,075,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
7. 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO Coupe sold for $3,910,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)
8. 1972 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV Coupe sold for $3,580,000 (Gooding & Company)
9. 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/2 Longnose Alloy Coupe sold for $3,410,000 (Mecum Auctions)
10. 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy Coupe sold for $3,305,000 (RM Sotheby’s)

Saturday, August 19th

10:00 AM: The final day of Mecum’s auctions has begun and can be live streamed here.

11:05 AM: Gooding’s Saturday auction can now be live-streamed here.

11:49 AM: The first car raced by the great Phil Hill, this 1948 MG TC sold at Gooding for $179,200. While a substantial premium for a TC, this still represents a great value for the provenance considering Carroll Shelby’s first race car was also a TC and sold for $539,000 in 2015 out of the Ron Pratte collection at Barrett-Jackson.—Greg Ingold

12:19 PM: Here’s a look at the largest annualized returns for cars we have seen at auction before. The 1948 Divco delivery van of all things tops out as #1 after being bought for $77K six months ago and sold for $185K this weekend, showing the right venue at the right time can make or break your auction success story.

Next up I’ll share a look at the largest dollar gains so far. This one shows the value of timing—getting in before a car pops—and the long hold.

—James Hewitt

12:35 PM: Pre-Great War is still doing well over at the Gooding tent—this 1912 Simplex 50 hp Toy Tonneau comes from 111 years of single family ownership, selling for a hefty $4,075,000 to huge applause from the room.—Greg Ingold

That’s not far from the $4.85M Simplex that was the star of Scottsdale 2023. Looks like the success of the Scottsdale car brought good Simplexes out of the woodwork because there are three in Monterey this year. Which, in Simplex terms, is quite a buffet.

1:01 PM: The Z-cars that crossed the block at Mecum yielded a mixed bag. This Nissan-restored 1972 Datsun 240Z at Mecum was bought for $106,240 with fees on Bring a Trailer in September 2019. Since then the Hagerty Price Guide value has increased 63%. Yet today’s sale was only $66,000, a decrease of 38%, showing that an increase in Price Guide value since the original purchase it doesn’t always mean a vehicle will sell for higher this go-round. On the other hand, the 1977 Datsun 280Z ZZZap edition, bought for $42,900 at Mecum’s 2021 Orlando auction, fetched $71,500 today. Even more noteworthy, the $231,000 sale of this 28-mile 1980 Datsun 280ZX 10th Anniversary and $297,000 sale of this 1969 Datsun Fairlady Z432 were both near the upper end of Nissan/Datsun all-time sales highs.—James Hewitt

1:20 PM: Mecum just hosted two motorcycle records in a row. The first, lot S104, a 1915 Indian 8-Valve Board Track Racer, claimed the new top spot for Indians at $313,500. Lot S105, a 1918 Henderson Model H Four, took home the top Henderson honors with a sale price of $302,500.—Eddy Eckart

2:01 PM:

The 1980 Datsun 280ZX 10th Anniversary became the 27th highest Datsun/Nissan sale at auction and crushed any previous Datsun 280 sales. The last low-mile 10th Anniversary car we saw sell was on Bring a Trailer two years ago for $47,250 with 3000 miles. Today it appears 2972 fewer miles are worth an extra $183,750.—James Hewitt

2:30 PM: One expensive ticket to Pebble Beach. This 1936 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet by Saoutchik was invited to be shown on the lawn tomorrow, and the buyer paid $2.04M to take it there.—Andrew Newton

3:32 PM: This 1952 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta went unsold at Mecum Monterey during the pandemic boom in 2021 for $3.1M… Today it sold at Gooding with a hammer price of $2.8M ($3,085,000).—Adam Wilcox

4:33 PM: Second-generation Corvettes are still going strong. At $263,200, this well-documented and award-winning 1963 Chevrolet Corvette 327/360 Fuel-Injected Coupe at Gooding sold for $50k above #1 condition before taking options into account.—Eddy Eckart

4:35 PM: One of the weird and wonderful cars we flagged ahead of Car Week, Bonhams sold the one-off 1969 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 Coupe by Pininfarina after the auction for $350K.—John Wiley

4:53 PM: Seen cruising around Pebble Beach today, the Creighton Brown chassis number 029 McLaren F1 was sold by Gooding here in 2021 for $20,465,000—John Wiley

5:03 PM: It appears McLaren Speedtail expectations aren’t what they used to be. RM’s Speedtail was offered on Bring a Trailer in Dec 2022, reaching a high bid of $2.75M but not selling. The same car sold for a final price of $2.32M today. That’s nearly dead on its $2.29M MSRP and the lowest price paid publicly at auction for a Speedtail.

Mecum’s Speedtail was offered at their Glendale auction (which has since been removed from their website) where it didn’t sell for a high bid of $2.4M. Friday it reached a high bid of $2.2M and didn’t sell. That is the second-lowest high bid on a Speedtail. Second to… you guessed it, the Speedtail at RM from this weekend. —James Hewitt

5:34 PM: RM Sotheby’s has begun the final auction of the week. You can stream it here.

6:03 PM: Max Balchowsky and his creations are well known among aficionados of Postwar American sports car racing. His “Ol’ Yaller” specials, of which he built nine, took on Ferraris, Aston Martins, and Porsches and defeated them regularly. RM sold Ol’ Yaller VII tonight for $307,500, $75k over high estimate. It’s often hard to price unique cars, much less unique race cars, but this one did fare better than its younger sibling, Ol’ Yaller IX, which Bonhams sold two years ago for $162,400, and seems a good price for a rare piece of American racing history.—Eddy Eckart

6:30 PM: This 2019 Porsche 911 Speedster went 25% over high estimate to sell at $582,500 and set a new record for the model. It was well-spec’ed, but for context, there are 13 991 Speedsters on cars.com for a median price of $388k and a range from $349k to $490k. Every Bring a Trailer sale in 2023 has been between $330k-$394k. The right car found the right room. —James Hewitt

7:04 PM: Very disappointing weekend for Citroen. Several rare examples from the French automaker’s mid-century peak were offered this weekend, and only one managed to sell above its low estimate—the 1972 Citroen ID20 wagon, which brought $42,000 at Bonhams. The other six sold for an average of 21% below low estimate. The 1965 Citroen DS21 Chapron Concorde sold for 37% less than low estimate and less than half of what it transacted for at Monterey in 2020. The 1972 Citroen SM sold for 43% below low estimate.—Adam Wilcox

7:15 PM: At $2,260,000, this 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic, first owned by Briggs Cunningham, just set the record for a Fiat. That might not last long, however, as a Zagato-bodied 1953 Fiat 8V Berlinetta rolls across the block 20 lots from now.—Adam Wilcox

7:46 PM: These two cars will have people “remastering” auction estimates and “reimagining” future sale prices. The 1997 Porsche 911 Remastered by Gunther Werks sold for $1,501,000, well above its $1.3M high estimate. What’s more, a Gunther Werks hasn’t sold publicly before, so this sale sets the reference going forward. The second car, a 1991 Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic Study, sold for $1,407,500, setting a public sale record for Singer. —James Hewitt

8:15 PM:

The 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic designed by Ghia and originally owned by Briggs Cunningham did well at $2,260,000, but it was beaten by 1953 Fiat 8V Berlinetta bodied by rival Zagato, which sold for $2,900,000.—John Wiley

8:21 PM: The 250 LM is popular this year, although not selling particularly well. There have been 3 at public auctions in the last 7 months. A 1964 Ferrari 250 LM that failed to meet its reserve with a €20M high bid in February, sold five months later for €14M ($17.12M). Now at RM, another 250 LM just left the block unsold with a $17M high bid. Will we see it again in with-in the year? Who knows. But prior to this cluster of 250 LM’s, the most recent public sale was back in 2015.—Adam Wilcox

8:33 PM: That’s a new record set by the 1957 Jaguar XKSS at RM: $13,205,000 with premium. The prior record hammered at $11.9M in 2017.—Adam Wilcox

9:17 PM: Beating its estimate by $205,000, this 47-mile 2012 Lexus LFA sold for $1,105,000. It’s the first base LFA to crack into seven figures.—Eddy Eckart

9:20 PM: RM reports that it has sold the 1960 Ferrari California Spider after initially crossing the block as a no-sale at $8,250,000.—Eddy Eckart

Saturday auction results overview:

The Monterey car week auctions concluded Saturday with the second highest total in car week history. As always, we’ll check for aftersales over the next 24 hours. Look for a report of each auction company’s results in our final recap on Monday morning.

The 1,200+ vehicles and 150+ $1 million vehicles offered across five auctions resulted in total sales of $396.7 million and a sell-through rate of 68 percent. That falls short of the nearly $473 million in sales from 2022 and a sell-through rate of 78 percent.

The cooling market we’ve observed for the past 15 months finally reached the Monterey auctions after having little impact last year. Hagerty Automotive Intelligence is observing and hearing about several factors stemming from the first season of Monterey auctions in a full inflationary environment: increased discipline at the higher end of the market, weakening demand from new collectors, and higher prices that have given pause to buyers at the upper end of the market.

The top of the market has proven resilient until recently, as demonstrated by slowing prices for Ferrari prototype racecars from the 1960s. Bonhams sold the 1967 Ferrari 412P for $30.2 million after a sale that left observers wondering why it didn’t get more bids. The following day, RM Sotheby’s offered a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM which didn’t sell on a high bid of $17 million.

Listed below are the results Hagerty observed during the live auctions as well as any post-sale deals that were reported by the auction companies to Hagerty. Numbers include buyer’s premiums.

2023 Cumulative results through Saturday’s sales

Cumulative total: $396.7M

836/1,225 lots sold: 68% sell-through rate

Average Sale Price: $474,519

2022 Cumulative results through Saturday’s sales

Cumulative Total: $472.8 million

799/1023 lots sold: 78% sell-through rate

Average Sale Price: $591,768

Overall Top 10 Sales from all auctions through Saturday: 

1. 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta sold for $30,255,000 (Bonhams)
2. 1957 Jaguar XKSS Roadster sold for $13,205,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
3. 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Coupe sold for $9,465,000 (Gooding & Company)
4. 1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica SIII Coupe sold for $6,605,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
5. 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Tourer sold for $5,395,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
6. 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Coupe sold for $5,395,000 (RM Sotheby’s)
7. 1914 Mercer Type 35-J Raceabout sold for $4,735,000 (Gooding & Company)
8. 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Cabriolet sold for $4,515,000 (Gooding & Company)
9. 1995 Ferrari F50 Coupe sold for $4,240,000 (Broad Arrow Auctions)
10. 1912 Simplex 50 HP Toy Tonneau sold for $4,075,000 (Gooding & Company)

Repeat sales can be profitable but it may require a longer hold.
 

***

 

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On the afternoon of May 19, 2023, a legendary 1970 Dodge Challenger RT/SE rolled onto Mecum’s auction block in Indianapolis. 8 minutes and 14 seconds later, the hammer fell on the high bid of $975,000, just shy of the oft-predicted $1 million the car would go for. With Mecum’s 10 percent buyer’s premium, the final figure amounts to at least $1,072,500.

Why was it legendary? Because the car, equipped with a 426-cubic-inch V-8, a four-barrel carburetor and a four-speed manual transmission, would appear at night on Detroit’s Woodward Avenue, a strip famous for impromptu (and illegal) drag races. The Challenger took on all comers, rarely losing. Then the car would disappear.

The owner and his car never stopped by the local hamburger stand or any other street-racing gathering spots. Days could pass, and the car wouldn’t show. It was a ghost—a black ghost with an alligator vinyl roof and unassuming little hubcaps. Read the definitive history here.

In the late ’70s, the Black Ghost disappeared seemingly for good. However, it was sitting in the garage of the house owned by Godfrey Qualls, a Detroit police officer who likely would have lost his job had his bosses known he was the pilot of the treacherous Black Ghost. Hence the disappearing act.

Godfrey Qualls died in 2015. He left the Ghost to son Greg, who had no idea of car’s one-time notoriety as a Woodward Avenue terror. Greg—and the rest of the world—definitely know now. Thanks in part to the Hagerty Drivers Foundation, the Black Ghost’s story was circulated widely in 2020, culminating with its induction into the National Historic Vehicle Register in the Library of Congress.

Greg got the car running, making a point of leaving it absolutely stock, complete with nicks and parking-lot dents. “It’s an original, unrestored survivor, and it’s in driving condition,” he told Hagerty.com in January. “All I did was work on it in my dad’s garage to make it drivable and safe, because I wanted to drive my dad’s car.”

When Greg, a cinematographer by trade, began to take the car to shows, he heard stories and more stories about his dad’s exploits. Until then, “I had no idea,” he said.

The Mecum auction announcers were counting down the cars to the Ghost—30 cars away, 10 cars away, “we are five cars away from the Black Ghost!” Though it was the hero of the afternoon, the Black Ghost kept good company amidst a lot of very collectible muscle cars. The car preceding it, a Craig Breedlove–prepared 1968 AMC Javelin, hammered for $68,000.

Then the lights dimmed, and blue spotlights—perhaps a tribute to Godfrey’s profession—panned the coliseum. Greg and his family appeared, and he spoke briefly about the car’s history. His son would be the one to drop the gavel, assuming the reserve was met—which, apparently, was $950,000. When the reserve came off, the bidding continued, ending at $975,000.

Many, including Greg himself, thought he would keep the Black Ghost forever. “The main reason is it’s a chance to help my family, to give them opportunities they may not have otherwise,” he told Hagerty. “And the timing is right, as it seems like we’re transitioning out of gas cars.

“Family, that’s the key to all this. And it’s something I think my Dad would be OK with. But I think it’s shocking a lot of people. It was a hard decision to make. My dad didn’t say don’t sell the car, he said just don’t give it away.”

Godfrey Qualls paid $5272.40, including the destination charge of $17. The car arrived on December 5, 1969; experts believe it is the only 1970 Challenger to exist with all of the options the car has.

Regardless of the final figure it sold for, it’s safe to say that Greg Qualls and his family didn’t take this step lightly. Their hope is that they will be much better off thanks to Godfrey’s comparatively modest investment in a new Dodge, more than fifty years ago.

“I’ll be sad to see it go,” Greg says. “But it’s time.”

***

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“Dana Mecum’s Spring Classic” auction—aka Mecum Indianapolis—is one of the largest auctions of the year, and there is always something for everybody. Last year’s sale featured over 2000 vehicles, and prices ranged from $1100 to $2.2M. Quite the spread.

Given the venue and the timing of this 36th annual event (May 12–20, the week before the Indy 500), rare muscle and significant racers always fill the docket. These include a group of Ram Air IV Pontiacs, Bruce Springsteen’s Chevelle, and a bunch of Shelby Mustangs, but below are the cars we’ll be keeping a close eye on.

1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16

The Z16 is a significant step in the Chevelle story. Marking the first time a big-block made its way into showroom Chevelles, the Z16 arrived in mid-1965 as a two-door hardtop that was hot on the heels of Pontiac’s GTO. With its 375-hp 396-cubic-inch V-8, it was potent but expensive and not actively promoted, so Z16 production only amounted to 200 units. In addition to the big-block engine, Z16s came with a Muncie M20 wide-ratio four-speed, a 12-bolt rear, heavy-duty suspension, a front sway bar, a rear stabilizer bar, 11-inch drum brakes, and stiffer frame rails. This Z16 is represented as one of just three in Crocus Yellow over white and has been body-off restored. It has sold before, first for $89,100 at Mecum Kissimmee two years ago, then for $165,000 in Scottsdale the year after. For Indy, the estimate is even more ambitious, at $250,000–$275,000.

1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88/ZL1

Built by GM as an L88 coupe, prepared by legendary Corvette racer John Greenwood, and decked out in stars and stripes by his brother Bert, this big-block bruiser is a race-winner and record-breaker. One of three built by Greenwood and sponsored by BFGoodrich to promote its new line of T/A radial tires, it was initially meant for promo duty, but the crash of another one of Greenwood’s Corvettes meant that it was pulled off the bench and prepped for racing.

Part of that prep involved swapping the already-potent L88 engine for a race-spec aluminum ZL1 mill. Driven over the course of its career by John Greenwood, Bob Johnson, Dick Smothers, and Don Yenko, it won its class at the 1972 Watkins Glen 6 Hour race. It also ran at Sebring and Daytona. At Le Mans in 1973, it set the GT class speed record of 215 mph on the Mulsanne straight, before engine trouble took it out of the running at the four-hour mark. Given a concours restoration more recently, it’s one of the most in-your-face American cars to ever lap Le Mans, which celebrates its centenary this year.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

While that Greenwood Corvette was lapping road courses, other ZL1s like this Camaro were burning up the quarter-mile. Ordering the ZL1 in your Chevrolet pony car, COPO 9560 in GM-speak, got you a race-derived aluminum 427 that the factory rated at 430 hp, but in reality it likely made quite a bit more.

Just 69 ZL1 Camaros were sold, and this Fathom Green car is one of the 50 that went through Fred Gibb Chevrolet in Illinois. It has a mostly unknown early history but was restored with correctly dated and numbered parts and sold at auction in 2007 for $603,750. At Indy, Mecum estimates it will bring between $700,000 and $900,000.

1969 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham “CadMad”

Named for promoter Don Ridler in 1963, the Ridler Award is essentially best-in-show for the annual Detroit Autorama, and it’s something that every hot rod builder dreams of winning. This Cadillac, built by the team at Super Rides by Jordan in Escondido, California, and known as “CadMad,” won the Ridler in 2019.

A 16-year project that reportedly cost $2M, it started life as a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham but now has a tube frame chassis, no rear doors, and a Chevy Nomad roof. It has go to match its show, too, with a 632-cubic-inch twin-turbo big-block V-8 that makes a reported 1025 hp. Auctioned off in 2020 for $302,500 (and profiled by us here), it has a $350,000–$450,000 estimate at Mecum Indy.

1971 Chevrolet Corvette ZR2 Coupe

To the uninitiated, classic Corvettes all look pretty similar, but the right combination of letters and numbers can really peg the price meter. “ZR2” is certainly one of those combos. In 1970, the Corvette got an optional “LT1,” a saucy small-block with solid lifters and 370 hp. A “ZR1” package combined that engine with beefed-up suspension and brakes, an aluminum radiator, and an M22 “Rock Crusher” four-speed, while deleting air conditioning, the radio, and power steering/windows. For 1971 only, Corvette added the “ZR2,” which was essentially a big-block LS6-powered version of the ZR1. The solid-lifter 454 was rated at 425 hp, and just a dozen ZR2s were produced.

Built at the St. Louis plant and delivered new in Toronto, this car is reportedly the last of that dozen. The coupe, in Brands Hatch Green over a dark green interior, last sold in Scottsdale nine years ago for $495,000, and at Mecum Indy it has an estimate of $475,000–$600,000.

1970 Dodge Challenger “Black Ghost”

Although it’s primarily “legendary” if you were part of the Detroit street racing scene 50 years ago, this Hemi Challenger is nevertheless famous enough to be in the National Historic Vehicle Register, and for Dodge to name one of its “Last Call” Hemi models this year. That it is being sold from the same family that bought it new has also caused quite a buzz in the car media world.

The “Black Ghost,” as this triple-black Challenger R/T SE Hemi is known, haunted Woodward Avenue in the first half of the 1970s, beating lesser cars between the lights and then disappearing into the night. The disappearing act was partly because the owner was a police officer who wanted to keep his street racing hobby on the down low and avoid a super-awkward traffic stop. He stopped racing it in 1975, and in 2015, just before his passing, he signed the title over to his son. The current condition #1 (Concours) value in the Hagerty Price Guide for a ’70 Hemi Challenger R/T four-speed is $414,000, but an unrestored and very famous example like this could bring a hefty premium.

1960 Chevrolet Corvette

Casner Motor Racing Division, given the Italianate name “Camoradi,” was the outfit of American airline pilot Lloyd “Lucky” Casner. Camoradi’s best achievements were with its Maserati Birdcage, which won at the Nürburgring twice, but the team also campaigned with America’s sports car, the Corvette. Camoradi was allocated two factory-prepared Vettes for 1960, which supplemented the three given to fellow American sportsman Briggs Cunningham’s team. On its maiden outing in Cuba, this car won the GT-only race in Havana and three days later won its class at the Cuban Grand Prix (Stirling Moss won overall in Camoradi’s Maserati).

At Le Mans, it finished second in class behind Cunningham’s Corvette and 10th overall, but it didn’t actually cover enough distance to be officially classified. At the Swedish Grand Prix GT race, this Camoradi Corvette took the checkered flag but, while in Sweden, it got into a nasty wreck that smashed up the front end, hardtop, and windshield. The engine somehow wound up powering a speedboat in New Zealand, but the rest of the car remained in Scandinavia until the 1990s, when it was brought back to the U.S. and restored. Another piece of Le Mans history up for grabs during the race’s centenary, it has an oddly specific presale estimate of $2.0M–$2.1M.

1970 Plymouth Cuda 440 Rapid Transit show car

In 1970, Plymouth launched its “Rapid Transit System Caravan” promotion and toured the country with “Supercar Clinics” in partnership with the Sox & Martin drag racing team. A big part of the party were the four customized Plymouths given wild paint jobs and body modifications. Three of them wound up in the collection of Steven Juliano, whose estate sold them via Mecum in 2019 for $236,500, $264,000, and $341,000. Juliano tried to buy the fourth one, this wild Cuda 440, but its owner would never budge, and it has only recently seen the light of day after almost 50 years in a garage.

Designed by Harry Bradley and built by Chuck Miller at Styline Customs, the Rapid Transit Cuda has a custom steel grille and lower fascia, as well as a custom rear and a little electric motor that rattles the shaker hood for car shows. Originally finished in red, it was painted green, blue, and white for the 1970 Rapid Transit System program and got its current red, orange, and white job with that lovely fade in 1971.

It was then purchased by a private owner who drove it around for a bit, didn’t like all the attention he got (what did he expect?), and stuffed it in the garage. The odometer shows just 976 miles. This marvelous Mopar has a $500,000–$750,000 estimate for Mecum Indy.

***

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Kissimmee, which may or may not mean “where the mulberries grow,” as named by some lost-to-time Native American tribe, represents something entirely different to classic car enthusiasts: the annual Mecum Kissimmee auction, located in this suburb southwest of Orlando, Florida.

It’s the world’s largest classic car auction by number of vehicles offered, and often by total sales volume in U.S. dollars. By number of consignments, it’s roughly double the size of the second largest—which also happens to be a Mecum production. It started with a tent and a couple hundred vehicles. This year, there are 4000. The size of the production is sobering.

Mecum CEO Dave Magers took a walk around the auction grounds on Tuesday, January 3, the day before the 12-day auction opened. “As I always do, I said to myself at 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon, ‘We’re not going to make it. We’re not going to be ready to go.’ I went back to the hotel, came back this morning—and everything’s perfect.”

Magers added, “We’re almost 50 percent bigger this year than last, with the opening of the new lot,” where a lake used to be. The lake was moved and filled in to accommodate this auction, and now 1100 more cars can park where the lake was. There’s more than a million square feet under cover in buildings and tents, and at least that much land packed bumper-to-bumper with classic cars.

Most are classic cars, anyway. Some are just used, while some aren’t even cars at all. On the event’s 2023 opening day, the first time it started on a Wednesday, there was a lovely black 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, a 1933 Ford hot rod replica, a BMW X5 SUV, and a six-wheel Jeep Gladiator. The auction ended after dark with a Polaris Scrambler (gavel price $8800), a quarter-midget race car ($3300), and a John Deere Gator ($14,700). “Those things are hard to find,” the auctioneer said helpfully.

Like any huge auction, you never know what’s going to turn up. This year, much of the publicity was for a well-worn Lockheed jet that Elvis Presley had owned for a year. It was still sitting at a New Mexico airport, neglected for decades and missing all four engines and most of the avionics, but the obligatory red velvet upholstery remained mostly intact. It went for “just” $260,000, despite the unexpected appearance of Priscilla Presley. No vehicle is too large or too small to auction off, and that runs from private jets to pedal cars. It’s all part of the spectacle.

And it’s a spectacle that has us wondering, how exactly did this Kissimmee thing get so big? So, we asked some of the people who know.

Harold Gerdes, vice president of operations: “I’ve been at Mecum for 22 years. There were 12 people in the company then. One little trailer and a motorhome. Everybody did everything.” There are 450 people at the Kissimmee auction now working for Mecum, which is based in Walworth, Wisconsin, population 2300.

Gerdes was in the event planning business when he met Dana Mecum and was impressed by his ambition to grow the company. “He comes up with ideas and we implement them,” Gerdes says.

Gerdes was there 23 years ago when the auction started out in Old Town, a Kissimmee tourist attraction near Disney. It was mostly a Corvette auction then.

“After one of the auctions, I was driving by this location on the way to the airport. I saw all this land. I pulled in and we started talking,” Gerdes says.

The first year, they were on the corner of the property, which turned out to be the county-owned Osceola Heritage Park. One tent, then two, then they moved into the Events Center. Then the crowd got so big the fire marshal spoke up, and they moved to the Arena, where they normally have concerts and rodeos. That’s where the auction floor is now. Drive in one end, out the other: “It’s perfect.”

Osceola Heritage Park has over 200 acres to park cars before and after they sell. Plus, sold cars get trucked out, new cars trucked in. Twenty semi-trailers are required to get it all done.

Mecum Kissimmee is the first major auction of the year, and as such benefits from pent-up demand, as well as sellers looking to pay off their Christmas. It’s an annual perfect storm of an auction, Gerdes says.

Dave Magers, CEO since 2012: Magers, a longtime car buff, was hired by family patriarch Dana Mecum—the company is still Mecum-owned—to leave his career in finance and insurance and come run the business end. While Magers keeps the business’ engine running in the background, Dana runs the auctions.

“Last year,” Magers recalls, “we had 3300 vehicles. And I was standing behind Dana when he announced we were going to have 4000 cars this year. And I thought, ‘No way in hell.’ Well, 45 days ago we knew we were going to have more than 4000 cars. We ended up with over 4200 and basically added two days to the event. I’m going to be really disappointed if we don’t set another record.

“Is 5000 possible? That’s the big question everybody’s asking. I think it is.

“The first Kissimmee I was involved in, which would have been 2012, I said, ‘Boy, if we could ever get this up to 1500 cars it would really be something.’ Took two years to get to 1500, then 2000 was the goal. And then 2500 was the goal.

“We scratch our heads, just like everybody else, thinking ‘How big can it become?’ We were taken aback by the $220 million last year; we were thinking 175, maybe 180. With the motorcycle auction in Las Vegas, we ended up doing about $240 million for the month.” Four months later, in Indianapolis, they did $100 million with about 2600 cars.

Mecum sells cars for well into six figures. In 2022, more than 30 vehicles transacted above the million-dollar mark, and Mecum boasted multiple world-record prices for individual vehicles throughout the year. Still, Magers considers Mecum the “blue collar” auction company.

“The high-end cars we attract are just part of the evolution of the company. We want the guys buying a $3000 car, and the guy buying a $3 million car.”

In 2014, Mecum was already the largest collector car auction company by number of events held and vehicles consigned, “but we weren’t the most recognizable. Barrett-Jackson was,” says Magers. “So we set out to change that.” He came up with a package of initiatives that took over five years to implement, but Magers says it worked. A large part of the success, and part of what made Barrett-Jackson a household name, was TV time. Airing the auctions on NBC Sports and MotorTrend TV brings live auction excitement out from the event and into living rooms, bars, and restaurants. Along with the outward-facing effort, they streamlined their customer service and paperwork operations.

After five years of implementing Magers’ initiatives, the pandemic hit. Kissimmee 2020, held in January, went off normally, but “we were at our auction in Glendale, Arizona, in March of 2020 that Wednesday night when the world melted down. We spent the last three days of the auction in Glendale selling cars to crickets.”

There was a scramble to change direction from in-person bidding to internet bidding, but Mecum came back to live audiences, and fast. “In July, we were the only live event company doing anything.” Yet the internet bidding stayed strong even with the stands full. “At Indianapolis, we used to average 50 online bidders. We had 1700 our first time back.”

At the same time, with professional sports on hold, the TV opportunity exploded. Mecum got 980 hours of television rather than the 250 expected for 2020. The circumstances that came out of the pandemic highlighted that the collector car auctions are about more than the cars that cross the block. “We are in the entertainment business,” Magers says. “We just happen to entertain by having auctions.”

Jimmy Landis, head auctioneer: “From that first year in Kissimmee in Old Town, and now we’ve got this. I never imagined it would evolve this way.”

Landis is a second-generation classic car auctioneer. He has been with Mecum since 2000. “It’s the greatest ride I could have ever hoped for.” He does all the Mecum auctions, including tractors and motorcycles. “You ever been to a tractor auction? You’d get a kick out of it if you like tractors,” he says.

“They’re talking about 5000 cars here next year—it’s hard to wrap your head around. I mean, 2000 was hard to wrap your head around.

“We’ve got something for everyone here, and that’s what helped this auction grow. You buy one car and you’re in the hobby. People I’ve met in the 1980s and ’90s are still in the hobby, still close friends, though I may only see them once or twice a year.

“The experience of just coming here and walking the grounds, looking at all the beautiful cars lined up—it’s just cool. And when you finally decide to jump into the hobby, it’s even more fun.

“When we go to other auctions, people always talk about having to come down to Kissimmee. It’s become elevated in people’s minds.”

Robb Larson, general manager, Osceola Heritage Park: “It’s turned into almost a festival. We have the Dodge thrill rides, food and beverage, music on the stage … it’s become quite a tradition for a lot of people who look forward to it every January. It didn’t happen by accident—there was a lot of hard work involved, but there is a little magic taking place here, too.”

A county-wide economic study showed a positive economic impact of over $56 million a year. “It’s been significant for our community. It pretty much checks off every box for why I come to work every day.”

In the end, Mecum did set another record. In 2022, Kissimmee became the first single collector car auction to exceed $200M, and in 2023 it exceeded that yet again with a reported $234M in total sales. A record 3180 vehicles sold, record numbers of both registered bidders and spectators attended, and a total of 13 vehicles brought seven-figure sale prices.

Will they do it again next year, with 5000 cars? We’ll see.

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January 2023 is over, but it lives on in the Hagerty valuation team’s spreadsheets. Something like 6400 vehicles crossed auction blocks in Kissimmee, Florida, and Scottsdale, Arizona—a huge dataset that gives us a sense of how the market is performing. We’ll be diving into specific sales in the days and weeks to come, but here are key takeaways.

Another world-record January, this one driven by Mecum’s growth

Let’s not bury the lede: Despite all the talk about a cooling market, January was bigger than ever, with nearly $500M in sales. That’s the second straight year of record sales, which is quite remarkable when you remember that two years ago at this time (early 2021), people were wondering if the big in-person sales would ever return to their previous heights.

Zoom in, and you get a sense of how the in-person auction scene has changed. Back in 2008, Barrett-Jackson held the lion’s share of January’s $170M+ sales. That tiny yellow streak from the same time period represents Mecum Auctions’ upstart event in Kissimmee, Florida. Today, that small Kissimmee auction has leveraged the pandemic boom to become a towering event—$224M from the sales of some 4000 vehicles. Not to be outdone, Arizona auction week finished with $263M in sales, although that was from all auction companies.

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/bpUgH/3/

There were big winners … but also some serious losers

Buying and reselling quickly—”flipping“—is always a risky game. Add to that game the volatility of pandemic-era appreciation and the inherent weirdness of a multi-day big-tent auction—where you never know exactly who is in the room when—and the risks only grow.

The chart below shows the top five gains and losses for vehicles sold this January that were bought at auction since 2019. Many of the biggest losses (and there were a lot of losses) came from vehicles bought since August 2020, the approximate start of the pandemic collector car boom, but surprisingly, two of the biggest gains also came from cars that were purchased at the height of the market. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird sold for $495K after being bought for $71,500 only ten months ago. A 1962 Chevrolet Corvette with 9000 miles sold for $572,000 after being bought for $160,000 on Bring a Trailer 5 months prior. If you’re willing to play, you need to be prepared for anything to happen.

Profits trumped loses, but that doesn’t mean everyone went home happy

That said, the huge price gains during the pandemic have not suddenly slipped away. Not by a long shot. Looking at all the repeat sales we tracked, the average time between a car being bought and then sold at the January auctions was 4.3 years. Most of those cars won, and some won big. For instance, a Lamborghini Miura bought for $990K in 2011 sold at RM Sotheby’s Arizona for $3.58M. Sales like these helped cumulatively benefit sellers to the tune of $17.69M gained. That said, there were also $6.02M in losses. Imagine buying a car for $1.5M in 2016 and selling it for $500K at Barrett-Jackson’s auction this year.

Average sale price at Barrett-Jackson mirrored 2022

The average sale price at Arizona this year came in at $117,534, just $5K under 2022’s average of $122,733. That’s pretty close when you consider the sheer amount of metal Barrett-Jackson moves, and at no-reserve to boot. Given that inherent volatility, it’s amazing to see how consistently prices creep up over the week from one year to another (see chart below). B-J has made a science out of sprinkling just enough high-interest cars early in the week to maintain energy, while keeping its powder dry for the final Saturday afternoon and evening.

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Can there ever be too much of a good thing? It’s a well-worn question, but one we ask quite a bit at Hagerty Insider, particularly when applied to supply, demand, and old cars. Sifting through the intricacies of this hobby all day will do that to you. It’s surely a question that auction companies ask themselves, too. I even overheard passersby utter it a few times last week at Mecum Kissimmee, the world’s largest collector car auction. They could have been referencing anything—from the over 4000 vehicles that crossed the block to the abundance of certain models. Indeed, we noticed several instances of high-spec, perfect cars selling strongly while lesser cars experienced more no-sales and mixed results relative to their estimates.

In this context, couldn’t help but think of the 20(!) Mopar aero cars (the Dodge Charger Daytona and Plymouth Road Runner Superbird that briefly dominated NASCAR in 1969-70), most of them from a single collection. Some were perfect. Others weren’t. Some had desirable colors, which can make a surprisingly big difference in the Mopar muscle world. Others didn’t. Over three percent of all the Hemi-powered wing cars ever built were available to the highest bidder. So, can there be too much of a winged thing?

There are all sorts of factors that go into how we price cars for the Hagerty Price Guide, but there are even more variables when you throw vehicles into an auction setting. Timing, marketing, makeup of consignments, even the weather can affect who’s bidding. What auction companies have the most control over is what goes across the block and when, so they put a lot of time and energy into this bit of car choreography.

Which brings us back to our age-old question and group of pointy-nosed muscle machines. On the one hand, bringing 20 of these rare cars (comprised of 503 Daytonas and about 2000 Superbirds) certainly grabs the attention of those shopping for a wing car. And, theoretically, it sets a bidders against each other, pushing prices up and up. On the other hand, so many of the same car in one spot also means bidders can choose to be picky. With all choices of color, options, transmission and engine, lesser cars might get passed over.

It appears that some of the latter happened in Kissimmee. Of the 11 Dodge Daytonas, two stood fairly clearly above the rest. Both cracked the world-record price and tied each other at $1.43M each. One was an ex-Bobby Allison NASCAR racer, and the other was a pristine, super low-mile Hemi four-speed car, the same one that comedian David Spade bought in 2015 for $990K. Only three Daytonas have brought over $1M at auction before. Meanwhile, seven of the Daytonas sold for well under their presale estimates, including one for $308K against a $375K estimate. It was a 440/375-hp car with an automatic (the least desirable drivetrain), and although its color combination of Yellow over Saddle is apparently one-of-one, it’s not the kind of loud shade that Mopar fans typically pay a premium for.

Most of the Superbirds sold under their estimates as well, including some of the Hemis. But to show just how much details matter, let’s point out that a Limelight Green Hemi four-speed with its original drivetrain sold for $852,000, while a Lemon Twist Hemi with an automatic and a replacement engine brought $517,000. That Lemon Twist Superbird might have been the star attraction at another auction. Here, it faded into the background.

Granted, none of the 20 brought bargain-basement numbers, and all the prices were well above what they would have been a couple of years ago. But after 2022’s nearly nonstop growth, the more nuanced results for this group made for a compelling spectacle. Will top-shelf cars still fly high and lower spec rides start to soften? It’s something we’ll be keeping an eye out for as we pick apart the numbers from Kissimmee and Scottsdale in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Check out the Hagerty Media homepage so you don’t miss a single story, or better yet, bookmark it. 

Via Hagerty Insider

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Audi’s latest concept goes from crossover to truck with the push of a button

Intake: What a bizarre and intriguing concept to come from such an unexpected source. This is the fourth concept in a series of four from Audi, and it’s called the Activesphere. A “four-door crossover coupé with an astonishingly versatile body design is now making its debut.” The “highly elegant car is more than a mere luxury-class sports car,” as the Sportback rear of the Activesphere “can turn into an open cargo bed  at the touch of a button, perfect for carrying recreational equipment such as e-bikes or water and winter sports gear.” In other words, press a button and it’s a pickup truck.  It’s a U.S. creation, conceived at the Audi Design Studio in Malibu, California. Studio manager Gael Buzyn and his team are the creative minds behind the project. The idea: “The Activesphere is unique. It is a new type of crossover that cleverly combines the elegance of an Audi Sportback, the practicality of a SUV and true offroad capabilities,” if he does say so himself.

Exhaust: It’s electric, of course, and we’ll never see such a vehicle from Audi, but Subaru could maybe pull it off. Still, says Oliver Hoffmann, Member of the Audi Board of Management for Technical Development: “As a perfect all-rounder, the Audi Activesphere concept is ideally suited for the high demands of a future-oriented generation of Audi customers – people for whom individual mobility and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. “ —Steven Cole Smith

Colin Chapman’s own Lotus Elan could be yours

Intake: A 1972 Elan +2 owned by Lotus founder Colin Chapman will go to auction in the U.K. in February. The car is finished in its original Tawny paintwork with a contrasting silver roof and an oatmeal vinyl interior, while the dashboard is a single piece of walnut veneer. When the Elan +2 was launched in 1967 its job was to move Lotus upmarket and perhaps even tempt buyers away from the likes of Jaguar. For that reason, it was the first Lotus not also offered in kit form for DIY mechanics to assemble. Although it was larger in every dimension than the original Elan, the +2 stuck to its founder’s lightweight principles and remained an agile, entertaining drive, just with a dash of luxury never previously available. Chapman drove the car for its first 6,600 miles and it then spent many years at the Lotus museum before being sold into private hands. Less than 400 miles have been added since and the car still wears its original Dunlop SP tires. For sale at Silverstone Auctions on February 25 it is estimated to fetch £60,000–£70,000 ($74,000–$86,500) and joins seven other celebrity Elans on the block whose previous owners include Peter Sellers, Jochen Rindt, and Rob Walker, as well as the car driven by Diana Rigg as Emma Peel in The Avengers.

Exhaust: Despite its importance in repositioning the Lotus brand the Elan +2 has never quite had the same appeal to collectors as the two-seater S1. The Hagerty valuation guide shows that a #1 Concours S1 would be worth $54,600 while a +2 in equivalent condition would fetch $10,000 less. Being owned by Chapman himself this car will, no doubt, buck the trend. — Nik Berg

Ford recalls 462,000 SUVs for rearview camera issues

Intake: Ford is recalling more than 462,000 SUVs globally for rearview cameras that may be defective. The recall involves Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs from the 2020–23 model years and Lincoln Corsairs from 2020–22, all of them equipped with a 360-degree camera. The recall covers almost 383,000 vehicles in the U.S. Ford said it is aware of 17 minor accidents that may have resulted from the defect. The video output of the cameras may fail, preventing the rearview camera image from displaying and increasing the risk of a crash while in reverse, according to a recall report submitted Monday to NHTSA.

Exhaust: Ford really doesn’t need any more recalls, but fortunately this is a minor one, and apparently can be fixed with a software update. — SCS

Public Citizen is still mad at Toyota

Intake: Ralph Nader’s Public Citizen advocacy group has been openly protesting Toyota and its chairman, Akio Toyoda, since Toyoda said we should pump the brakes a bit before we push everyone into electric vehicles prematurely. They picketed the Washington, D.C. auto show where Toyota was showing the new Prius, claiming that Toyota, almost criminally, should have made it all-electric, calling the new car “a monument to pollution and stagnation.” Now that Toyoda has said he will step aside from the CEO job in April, Public Citizen is still at it. Says Deanna Noel, climate campaign project manager, about Toyoda’s replacement, Koji Sato: “This change of leadership appears to signal Toyota knows it’s far behind on EVs and must rush to remake itself… Along with committing to a 100 percent ZEV future, Mr. Sato must reverse Toyota’s anti-climate lobbying and commit the company to clean up its supply chain and protect human rights. Without a clean, fossil free, and equitable supply chain, ZEVs will fall far short of meeting climate imperatives.”

Exhaust: No comment, aside from: Give it a rest.  — SCS

First days of Mecum Vegas motorcycle auction bring shocking prices

Intake: The Mecum Las Vegas motorcycle auction is the largest motorcycle-specific auction and was primed to sell over 2000 bikes this year. The sales reports are just starting to cross our desk, and there are a few sales of note already: a 1973 Kawasaki Z1 900 sold for $55,000 (plus buyer’s premium), and a 1972 Honda CL350 equipped with the “Flying Dragon” dealer-installed gas tank and side panels netted $72,000. If sales like this are any indication, it is shaping up to be a wild year.

Exhaust: “Prices that were shocking last year are being eclipsed by double or more in some cases this year. And that’s only Thursday of the auction week,” says Hagerty senior information analyst James Hewitt. That Z1 sale is $20,000 over the current #1-condition pricing, so the seller is likely quite happy to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Z1 model with a payday like that. The CL350 Flying Dragon is a truly odd instance as a #1 (Concours) Condition CL350 is $10,000 and the dealer-installed Flying Dragon parts can still be sourced NOS for prices in the $3000–5000 range. Since these were not factory parts, there is no way to tell the bike was originally sold with these wild-painted parts so it rarely bumps value in this significant way. — Kyle Smith

Integra Type S prototype will bow at Daytona

Intake: Acura will debut a camouflaged version of the forthcoming Integra Type S at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona this weekend. The car will be wearing a special camouflage wrap and will be in the paddock the entire weekend, also serving as the lead car for the start of the race. The Integra Type S will be powered by a larger four-cylinder engine than the standard car (2.0-liters vs. 1.5-liters) that Acura says will produce north of 300 horsepower. Expect a lot of the mechanical bits on the Type S to come from the new 2023 Honda Civic Type R. More details about the car will arrive closer to launch later this year.

Exhaust: If our time with the new Civic Type R is any indication, the Integra Type S should be an absolute riot to drive. We’re a little worried about pricing, however; The Civic Type R already clears $40,000, and there’s a real chance we might be looking at a $50,000 front-wheel-drive compact here. Still, it will be neat to see the car out in front of the packed field for this weekend’s endurance race. Let’s go racing! — Nathan Petroelje

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It’s always nice to have choice when you’re shopping, and Mecum’s 2023 Kissimmee sale, the world’s largest collector car auction, certainly delivered this year.

Take a look at these numbers: 211 Camaros, 119 Chevelles, 60 Pontiac GTOs, 43 Porsche 911s, 23 Hemi Mopars, 16 Boss Mustangs, and five genuine Shelby Cobras, all among the 4000 vehicles to cross the auction block over the past 12 days. Consignments ranged from bad (like this 1987 Renault Alliance) to badass (like this Ford GT40) and from weird (like Elvis’s rickety old airplane) to wonderful (like this handsome Chrysler Ghia ST Special).

We’ll be crunching numbers and sorting out trends from Mecum’s Kissimmee mega-sale and the Scottsdale auctions in the coming weeks, but Kissimmee’s immediate aftermath does offer one clear theme: Despite the market’s recent cooling, demand for top-tier American muscle, even from long-defunct brands like Pontiac and Plymouth, is still high and records are still breaking.

One such record was the $1.43M price for a Hemi-powered, four-speed Dodge Charger Daytona, the same car David Spade bought for $900K in 2015. One of 19 Mopar Wing cars (Plymouth Superbirds and Dodge Daytonas) offered in Kissimmee this year, it broke a record for the model set just last May when the market was still accelerating.

Even more remarkable, though, was this 1970 GTO convertible. At $1.1M, it’s one of the most expensive muscle cars ever sold at auction and the most expensive GTO, period. Well, Pontiac GTO, anyway.

This Orbit Orange droptop was the star of a nine-car collection that consisted of nothing but Ram Air IV “Goats.” And for Pontiac folks, IV is a magic number. “Ram Air” designated the hot 400-cubic-inch V-8s in Pontiac’s GTO and Firebird starting in ’67, followed by an improved Ram Air II in ’68, and then a Ram Air III in ’69–70. Then, the IV took things furthest in 1969 with redesigned intake ports and special aluminum intake. The 1970 Ram Air IV engine nominally posted just four ponies more than the Ram Air III (370 hp vs. 366), but it was almost certainly underrated on purpose.

A Ram Air IV was the fastest GTO you could buy in 1970 as well as the most expensive, so few were built. The orange record-setter is one of just seven convertibles fitted with an automatic (another ten cars got a four-speed manual).

It’s also a Judge, which. If you’re not old enough to have been watching TV half a century ago, know that this was a package named after a skit on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. GTO Judges came with a Ram Air 400 engine, Rally II wheels, Hurst T-handle shifter, a rear spoiler, and of course, those graphics. Other options on this car include a Formula steering wheel, hood tach and tinted glass.

But what truly got the muscle car maniacs—and bidders—oohing and aahing is this car’s triple threat: Ram Air IV engine, Judge package, and convertible body style.

In addition to its gotta-have-it specs, Mecum’s was reportedly used as a factory exhibition car, and eventually received a restoration good enough to win several concours awards in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The condition #1 (Concours) value for a 1970 Ram Air IV GTO Convertible in the Hagerty Price Guide is $562,000, and others have sold in the past for big money, including one for $682,000 back in 2010. But $1.1M is nearly twice that #1 value.

The eight other Ram Air IVs out of this collection (all coupes) had estimates near or under $300K, but Mecum perhaps wisely didn’t put an estimate on this convertible. Only one Pontiac has sold for seven figures before, and that was the 1954 Bonneville Special, a one-off Motorama concept car, that brought $3.3M in 2015. In the world of muscle cars, meanwhile, seven-figure price tags are usually reserved for Hemi ’Cuda convertibles, ZL1 Camaros, or movie star Mustangs. Not anymore.

We’ll be taking a closer look at more of the most interesting cars from Mecum Kissimmee 2023 later in the week, so keep an eye on this space.

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Elvis’ jet sells, finally, at Mecum

Intake: The 1962 Lockheed JetStar once owned by Elvis Presley, which had been stripped of its four engines and some avionics and has languished on the ramp at the Roswell, New Mexico, airport for 35 years, sold Sunday at Mecum’s Kissimmee auto auction for a gavel price of just $260,000, despite an in-person pep talk from Priscilla Presley, 77, Elvis’s former wife, who asked the crowd to honor her ex on Elvis’ 88th birthday with some high bids. The faded plane still has the plush red velvet seats Elvis ordered, and such luxuries as a microwave oven and a small theater. According to AINonline.com, this was at least the third time the jet had come up for auction. Kruse International tried to auction the plane in 2008, but despite estimates of $700,000 to $2 million, reserve was not met. There was another auction in 2018, with GSW Auctions estimating the value at between $2 million and $3.5 million. Wisely, Mecum Kissimmee did not include an estimate of the value, but the auctioneers, and likely the unknown owner, were clearly disappointed in the price, especially since Elvis’ Stutz Bearcat brought almost $300,000 in a Las Vegas auction.

Exhaust: Afterwards, Mecum auctioned off a 15-minute meet-and-greet with the stunningly well-preserved Priscilla — possibly due to her use of Cilla, her commercially-available skin serum ($75), with the proceeds of the meeting going to a cancer charity. The clearly surprised and slightly confused crowd came up with a bid of $8500. —Steven Cole Smith

Shelby Centennial Celebration to include a new model introduction

Intake: In honor of the man’s 100th birthday, a Carroll Shelby Centennial Celebration will be hosted by Carroll Shelby International on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at Shelby’s Gardena, California, headquarters. The event will feature the debut of a new Shelby anniversary vehicle and will include a car show for Ford-powered performance vehicles sponsored by the Shelby American Automobile Club.

Exhaust: Shelby American produces pickups, Cobras, vintage Mustangs, and new Mustangs, so we’re not sure what to expect as far as the new product goes, but we’d bet on a special set of badges that feature Carroll himself on a particularly exciting version of a 2023 Mustang. That just seems the most fitting and the timing may be a bit too early to expect a look at a Shelby Mustang based on a 2024 model. —Brandan Gillogly 

Finally, the rotary returns

Intake: After countless delays, and well over a year since registering assorted new e-SKYACTIV-R trademarks, Mazda will finally reveal a new rotary engine at the Brussels Motor Show on January 13. The spinning dorito motor is set to power a plug-in hybrid version of the MX-30 compact crossover, thereby significantly extending the car’s paltry 100-odd mile range. The small single-rotor engine will be mounted up front and acts only as a generator, with an electric motor providing drive to the front wheels as in the MX-30 BEV. The car will be available in Europe from the spring.

Exhaust: You’ve got to admire Mazda’s determination to do things differently, even if it’s taken far more time than planned. The MX-30 was designed to have the rotary range extender right from the start, but getting it to run efficiently and cleanly obviously wasn’t a simple task. Now that they’ve finally got it functioning dare we hope that more exciting developments will follow? —Nik Berg

GridLife announces 2023 schedule

Intake: GridLife, a club racing sanctioning body notorious for epic festivals and excellent competition, recently unveiled its 2023 season schedule. Unlike past years, the 12-race slate is divided into two six-date sub-schedules — GridLife Festival Tour and GridLife Club Weekends. According to the group, the Festival Tour will feature “an elevated fan and spectator experience,” as well as GridLife Touring Cup points races and a live broadcast. Club Weekends, on the other hand, are more of your typical club racing dates, with a focus on track time and paddock experience for drivers. The first-ever GridLife was held at Michigan’s Gingerman Raceway in 2014. Since then, the schedule has ballooned to its current form. Gridlifers will, once again, return to the track that started it all. This year, though, the group will blow into western Michigan twice, with a Club Weekend date and a Festival Tour date a couple weeks later. West Coast fans of the festival-style events, which feature full-track exhibition drifting, will enjoy the new addition of Laguna Seca to the calendar. The entire schedule is here.

Exhaust: Corkscrew? Drift cars? The Laguna Seca date promises to be raucous. Last year, I attended my first GridLife festival at Gingerman and was blown away by the enthusiasm and authenticity. Anyone who has ever doubted automotive enthusiasm’s future should attend any of these events. When we interviewed founder Chris Stewart last year, he touched on the group’s ability to scale up while maintaining the authentic, inclusive environment that they set out to create with their shows. This year’s increased festival presence and expansion to new venues will require more of this care. No doubt, the GridLife crew is up to the task. After successfully spooling a Midwest meet of angle-parked Hondas into a schedule of multi-day festivals and race weekends, a few new changes in 2023 should be another day in the ’Life. —Cameron Neveu

Chip shortage still cutting into 2023 auto production

Intake: It may feel like life is normal again, but the microchip shortage remains, with AutoForecast Solutions estimating that 2.7 million vehicles globally should be cut from production estimates due to the chip shortage, with over 900,000 of those vehicles being North American products. Automotive News says 2022 finished with nearly 4.4 million production cuts related to the chip shortage. In 2021, more than 10.5 million vehicles were lost.

Exhaust: That number doesn’t count the already-built vehicles that are waiting for chips, and expect to get them by the end of 2023. —SCS

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If you were a part of the Detroit street racing scene in the ’70s, or if you’ve been a muscle car fan at any point since then, there’s a good chance you’ve heard tales of the Black Ghost, a street-racing 1970 Dodge Challenger that would prowl Woodward Avenue, show its opponents its taillights, and then disappear. The triple-black Hemi-powered Challenger R/T SE was stealthy and, at the same time, distinct thanks to its black “Gator Grain” alligator-print vinyl top.

Now, after more than 50 years with the same family, the Black Ghost will be offered for sale as part of Dana Mecum’s 36th Original Spring Classic event held May 12–20 in Indianapolis. Mecum made the announcement at its Kissimmee, Florida event going on right now.

Godfrey Qualls, a United States Army veteran and Detroit police officer, was the driver behind the mysterious 426 Hemi racer. The fact that he was a cop explains why he kept his after-hours street racing shenanigans quiet. Qualls retired the car from racing in 1975 and didn’t brag about his exploits. In 2015, just before he passed away, he signed the title over to his son, Gregory. The story of Quall’s racing prowess received national attention thanks to the Hagerty Drivers Foundation, which helped the Black Ghost enter into the National Historic Vehicle Register. Gregory shared his father’s story with Hagerty:

How big of a deal is this car? Aside from its place on the National Historic Vehicle Register, Dodge chose to pay tribute to the Black Ghost as one of its seven “Last Call” models that honor the brand’s Hemi muscle cars. The Black Ghost is the only individual car to earn such a distinction thus far (there’s still one more Last Call car announcement coming).

A Hemi-powered 1970 Challenger R/T SE four-speed in #2 (Excellent) condition is currently valued at more than $350,000, although this car’s near-mythical status and history will certainly elevate it above its brethren.

How high, you may wonder? Hagerty valuation specialist John Wiley explains how the car’s unique history will come to play when the Black Ghost hits the auction block.

“Unrestored, culturally iconic muscle cars such as the 1968 Bullitt Mustang sell for well over seven figures, and it’s not unreasonable to expect the Black Ghost might do the same,” Wiley said.

Mecum hasn’t published any other consignments for its Indy sale besides the Black Ghost, but we can’t imagine any that will eclipse this legendary muscle car. We’ll certainly be watching to see where this car lands, hopefully in a collection that will put it on display and share its fascinating story.

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Ram’s Revolution electric truck will offer a gas-powered range extender

Intake: At a round table event during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares confirmed that the forthcoming Ram Revolution electric pickup will offer a gas-powered range extender, according to Car and Driver. Rumors of the range extender surfaced as early as last February, when EVPulse sat down with Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. and first heard about such a plan. Not every Ram Revolution will come with the extender, but it looks like it will be an option for those who may be concerned about their truck’s overall range or what will happen to that range if they try to tow anything of substance, which substantially reduces an electric truck’s range. Information on the range extender itself was scant, but don’t expect some big Hemi V-8 to be pressed into service here; we might be talking about an engine smaller than that used in any other Stellantis product so as not to impede the available space of the Revolution EV, like the trick pass-through that extends from the frunk all the way through the cabin out the back of the bed.

Exhaust: Ram hasn’t made available any details on torque, power, or range for its new EV, but the mere fact that it’s choosing to ponder a range extender lends credence to Ram’s claim that the Revolution will be “the leader in a combination of areas customers care about the most: range, towing, payload and charge time.” The Chevy Silverado EV, the GMC Hummer, Ford’s F-150 Lightning, and Rivian’s R1T all go without a range extender, so perhaps this is Ram’s idea of a unique selling proposition. — Nathan Petroelje

Mercedes to bankroll 10,000 chargers

Intake: Mercedes-Benz announced Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that it plans to roll out a global network of 10,000 high-speed battery chargers powered by green energy. The rollout will begin this year in the U.S. and Canada and expand to Europe, China, and other major markets by the decade’s end, says Automotive News. Unlike Tesla’s network of more than 40,000 Superchargers, the Mercedes chargers will be open to other automakers’ vehicles “from the outset.” Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said, “This is about adoption. “We want to give Mercedes customers around the world yet another reason to join us on the journey towards electrification.”

Exhaust: Mercedes plans to go all-electric by 2030 and investing in chargers seems like a smart way to spend money. Mercedes and MN8 Energy will invest about $1 billion in the North American network over the next six to seven years. “We believe this is a bankable asset,” Källenius said. “This is something that you will be able to monetize when you come out of the investment phase.” — Steven Cole Smith

Dodge “Last Call” performance festival will celebrate the end of the Hemi era

Intake: A “Last Call” event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 20, 2023, will usher in the seventh and final of the brand’s “Last Call” commemorative models that signal an end of Hemi-powered muscle cars from Dodge. The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept will be on hand to symbolize the passing of the torch from Hemi to EV power. “The Dodge ‘Last Call’ event will be a celebration of Dodge performance,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand’s chief executive officer. “While the ‘Last Call’ special-edition model we will reveal at Las Vegas and the electrified Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept represent different performance eras for our brand, both are linked by a commitment to delivering the Brotherhood of Muscle a vehicle that drives like a Dodge, looks like a Dodge and sounds like a Dodge. No matter the era, Dodge will always be about muscle, attitude, and performance, and that’s what this event will celebrate.”

Exhaust: The previous six “Last Call” models—the Dodge Challenger Shakedown, Dodge Charger Super Bee, Dodge Challenger and Charger Scat Pack Swinger, Dodge Charger King Daytona, and Dodge Challenger Black Ghost—have all been noteworthy and instant collectibles. The final car is bound to be something truly special, as Mopar has not let its muscle car fans down lately. We can’t even venture a guess as to what might be in store, as Mopar has resurrected most of the greatest muscle car trims and options this side of mod tops. — Brandan Gillogly

Heat belts could be the hottest in-car tech of 2023

Intake: Auto parts supplier ZF, which makes everything from transmissions to autonomous valet parking systems, has a new way to warm drivers and passengers of electric vehicles without sapping precious range. The Heat Belt, as the name suggests, is a heated seat belt with built-in conductive wires that can warm up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s been designed to be compatible with existing restraint systems, and, when used in combination with a heated seat and steering wheel, ZF claims it could improve EV winter range by up to 15 percent. Directly warming the body instead of the cabin air is more energy efficient and it would also encourage drivers to shed bulky winter coats, making for a better and safer seatbelt fit.

Exhaust: It’s not the first time the idea has been floated, with Mercedes-Benz showing a version in 2019, but the exponential rise in EVs now makes it all the more appealing. ZF doesn’t have any confirmed customers for the Heat Belt yet but says it would cost the same as adding heat to a steering wheel. For EV drivers in cold climes, it could be a game changer. — Nik Berg

More than 2000 motorcycles up for auction at Mecum’s upcoming Las Vegas sale

Intake: Even as Mecum Auctions’ Kissimmee event is underway in Florida with over 4000 vehicles, the Wisconsin-based company announced that it’s also hard at work readying a Las Vegas auction January 24–28 with more than 2000 motorcycles consigned. The auction will take place at South Point Hotel and Casino, and will feature a number of collections, perhaps most notably one from Mike Wolfe’s “As Found” inventory. Wolfe, of the TV show American Pickers, will be selling 70 barn-find cycles at Mecum’s 32nd annual Vintage & Antique Motorcycle Auction.

Exhaust: Also up for grabs: The BMW Centennial Selection from the Black Forest Collection, and Jim’s Forever Collection from Ohio-based Harley-Davidson dealer Jim Godwin. More information is available at Mecum.com. — SCS
 

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Pontiac established itself as a performance brand in the early 1960s, kicked off the muscle car era with the 1964 GTO, and fed the pony car frenzy when it offered the Firebird’s “Trans Am performance and appearance package” starting in 1969. Fewer than 700 1969 Trans Ams were built, and this sterling WS4 example, one of just a handful known to exist with its original and desirable drivetrain, is set to cross the stage at Mecum’s Kissimmee sale this month.

The WS4 option code for the Trans Am included unique fender trim that mimicked heat extractors, a decklid wing, a front spoiler, a dual-scoop ram air hood, and Cameo Ivory paint highlighted with Tyrol Blue stripes and tail panel. Those cosmetic and aerodynamic upgrades were met with a limited-slip differential, a heavy-duty suspension with a 1-inch diameter sway bar, and front disc brakes, just to name a few of the standard performance bits.

Pontiac buyers had several performance engine options to choose from in 1969, including several V-8s and a spicy version of the 250 overhead-cam inline-six, the latter good for 230 hp.

The Trans Am, however, brought the heat. It came standard with a 400-cubic-inch Ram Air III V-8 that produced 335 hp. The only engine option was an upgrade to the Ram Air IV V-8, with an identical displacement.

While the Ram Air III V-8 was nothing to sneeze at, the Ram Air IV V-8 took the power to the next level with improved intake ports matched to a four-barrel aluminum intake manifold. It used round exhaust ports like the Ram Air II heads, while the standard 335-hp engine employed the more common D-ports that crowded the exhaust routing a bit. The Ram Air III and IV used the same performance camshaft, but the Ram Air IV took better advantage of it thanks to an increase in rocker arm ratio—1.65:1 compared to 1.5:1—that netted higher valve lift. Pontiac claimed those improvements in airflow were good for 345 hp in the Trans Am and 370 hp in the GTO, but it seems that those numbers were sandbagged a bit.

Just fifty-five Trans Ams were produced with Ram Air IV power in 1969, forty-six of which were equipped with a four-speed manual, as is the case with this recently restored beauty that retains its original interior.

Low production numbers mean that it’s rare to have one come up for sale. Mecum has noted an estimated sale price of $375,000 – $450,000. That closely follows the current #2 (Excellent) to #1 (Concours) value for a Ram Air IV 1969 Trans Am, which saw a big increase in the summer of 2022.

We’ve noted some ho-hum results for muscle cars in the last few months, perhaps this rare and beautiful piece of Poncho power will wake bidders up at what has become one of the top locations for big muscle car sales. We’re not going to place too much import on just one Trans Am transaction, but it could be an interesting barometer for the muscle market going into 2023.

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This red, 427-powered, Gurney-bubble-fitted Le Mans stormer is a real-deal Ford GT40 Mk IV. The paint and bodywork are purely emulative, though; this Ford never saw France at night. No, its history is a bit unique, and some lucky bidder at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction will have the chance to own this car and thus a portion of the lore surrounding America’s most prominent Le Mans endurance racer.

Even though the Ford GT40 Mk II swept Le Man’s podium in 1966, the Blue Oval remained committed to improving upon its venerable mid-engine machine for their next go at the French 24-hour race. Ford engineered its new entry, dubbed the “J-Car,” to be lighter, more powerful, and slipperier through the air. The chassis was formed from lightweight honeycomb-aluminum panels and wore novel, more aerodynamic bodywork.

Testing the new J-Car was critical—and deadly. In August of 1966, two months after he was snubbed Le Mans glory, Ken Miles was killed while shaking down a J-Car at a private test in Riverside.

Ford pushed forward with development of the next-gen racer, eventually maturing into the Ford GT40 Mark IV. In total, 12 chassis were built. Four test mules wore the J-Car bodywork. Four more were fitted with refined bodywork and sent overseas to fight for Le Mans glory. Of the four chassis, J-5 was at the head of its class after 24 hours, with A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney winning first overall. An American team, and American car, with two American badasses behind the wheel—the number-one-sporting red and white livery would be immortalized forever in the annals of sports car racing.

Then, the FIA, Le Mans’ sanctioning body rewrote the rulebook in 1967, after the American’s dominance. The Mk IV was deemed illegal and the final four (J-9 through J-12) were left unfinished.

This is where things get looney. Kar Kraft—the same Michigan-based in-house firm that Ford used for development of the Mk IV—transformed two of the unused J chassis cars into open-cockpit racers. The cars were tested but never saw competition; that is, until they were sold to Agapiou Racing.

Devout Shelby fanatics will recognize this name. Charlie Agapiou was an English-born mechanic who moved to L.A. without prospects and began working for Ken Miles in 1962 while the fellow expatriate was driving a Sunbeam Alpine for Rootes Group. Not long after Miles moved to Shelby American, he recruited to Agapiou to come work for the Texan.

Agapiou worked at Shelby American through the glory years, until he was drafted during the Vietnam era. After a stint in the Army, Charlie and his older brother Kerry started their own road racing team in 1969. They ran pretty successfully with a Lola T70. Then, Ford sold them the Mark IV scraps to the brothers for $1. With the pile, the brothers went off to compete in Can-Am against the likes of Chevy-powered white Chapparals and orange McLarens.

The J-10 chassis was fitted with new bodywork and Boss 429 power. In two years, the open-cockpit racer hosted a hall of fame roster. Peter Revson, Jack Brabham, George Follmer, David Hobbs, and Vic Elford all spent time in the seat, but it was Canadian John Cannon who did most of the driving. After a crash during the 1970 season, J-10 was sent to England where it remained under the Agapiou brother’s ownership until 1989. It was then that the new owners began returning the car to Mark IV spec.

In 1996, the unfinished car traded hands once again. After a four year restoration (see: owner Jim Holden describing his quest for an original spec Boeing 707 wiper motor on a GT40 forum) J-10 finally saw the restoration finish line. Its Mark IV bodywork, which it never wore in period, was even formed by Holman-Moody fabricator Ken Thompson using molds from an original Mk IV. Since J-10 never sported the long tail curves back in the day, it never had a proper livery. Instead, its owners opted for the most recognizable among the 12 Mark IVs: the 1967 Le Mans-winning red and white paint. It debuted to the public at Amelia Island in 2018.

So what can we expect in Kissimmee for this unique GT40 Mark IV? Well, for one, Mecum’s estimate indicates it expects $2M–$2.2M. Large as those numbers are, the average value of a GT40 Mark IV ranges from $3.9M in Fair (#4) condition to $8.1M in Concours (#1) condition. “Even though the estimate is lower than the Hagerty Price Guide value, I think it is appropriate for a GT40 that is lacking so many original parts,” says Hagerty automotive intelligence editor Greg Ingold. “The Can-Am GT40s were highly unsuccessful and the fact that this car has been rebodied back to a coupe isn’t great for its value.”

Sure, J-10 may never have graced the Mulsanne or been doused by Gurney’s champagne spray. But what it lacks in Le Mans provenance it makes up in other history. As with any race car, parts, tires, and bodywork were swapped race-to-race, which means the concept of “originality” is more nebulous than with a road car. When purchasing a desirable vintage racer in the present day, you’re buying a serial number and a story. This car has both.

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Full-size pickups have been a popular choice as a do-everything vehicle, with crew cabs serving as work trucks during the week and Jet Ski–hauling family vehicles on the weekend. It hasn’t always been that way, though.

Decades ago, truck cabs weren’t the most comfortable places to be, and it was rare to find a four-door with enough room in the cab to fit four passengers without provoking arguments. This fantastic restomod, which is heading to Mecum’s Kissimmee sale in January 2023, has melded the power and comfort of a late-model pickup with the classic lines of a Dodge Sweptline.

In its previous life, this 1965 D200 crew cab saw duty with the Air Force, when it was likely powered by a 318-cubic-inch V-8. Now it’s a civilian that has been transformed with the help of a Dodge Ram 2500 donor, which lent its burly chassis, brakes, and suspension along with a powerful 6.7-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine and a six-speed automatic transmission.

To make room for the powerful mill’s large radiator and charge cooler, the fenders of the D200 were extended and the lower grille from a 500-series truck was added, giving the 3/4-ton truck an extra brawny look.

The original gasoline engine, which made 200 hp, at best, is now far outclassed by the 350-hp Cummins, which also produces 650 lb-ft of torque. Its 68RFE automatic transmission was rebuilt by Jasper Engines and Transmissions. The new engine looks right at home in its new surroundings.

There are even more surprises inside the cab, as the 2010 Ram donor lent more than its powertrain to its 1965 cousin. In fact, the bulk of the interior for this ’60s workhorse was also sourced from the more modern Ram, including the hardware and computers to run the dual-zone climate control and heated steering wheel.

The Dodge Ram HD made big changes in 2010, as it adopted the cab design that debuted in the Dodge Ram 1500 the year prior. That also meant a new, more luxurious interior, making it a great choice for a donor to this project. The cab looks inviting: Four bucket seats and dual center-consoles mean that there’s no bad seat in the house, and the warm brown interior is a nice contrast to the cool, industrial gray exterior. The truck even has Apple CarPlay thanks to an Alpine head unit that’s also part of a 5000-watt audio system.

Despite its modern underpinnings and interior, the truck looks like a classic. Plenty of original details were maintained on the exterior, including the big polished door handles and original bumpers, which were re-chromed. The wheels even look the ’60s part, although those are much newer. A set of Black Rhino aluminum rims were selected but were refinished in white and given hubcaps with a Dodge Fratzog. They fit the retro look perfectly.

Overall, the build looks top-notch. The results blend classic looks with a lot of modern conveniences, a combination that has done well in the past with buyers of cars and trucks alike. We’re not going to venture a guess as to how much this truck will bring at its Kissimmee sale, but its seamless transformation from spartan workhorse to custom hauler could get a lot of bidders interested.

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Mazda bankrolls electrification—including the Miata?

Intake: Mazda has always preferred to take its own path, but now looks set to follow the herd into electrification. The Japanese carmaker which continues to persevere with the rotary engine, and pushed ahead with spark-free ignition in its Skyactiv-X motors is investing almost $11 billion in electrifying its line-up. The cash comes alongside an updated mid-term business plan which includes partnering with battery maker Envision AESC Group. Mazda now estimates that up to 40 percent of its sales will come from battery electric vehicles in 2030 and some of those could well be built in the USA to benefit from tax credits. “Given the importance of the market, we hope to manufacture EVs in North America at some point,” said CEO Akira Marumoto. “But at the moment, we are thinking of the possibility in the second half of phase two.” Even more exciting is the concept car that came with Marumoto’s announcement. The Vision Study Model hints at what an electric Mazda sports car could look like, and while it’s tricky to judge the size from the images, it appears to have the compact proportions of a Miata successor.

Exhaust: Mazda’s only electric offering so far is the quirky MX-30 which hasn’t exactly stormed the sales charts, thanks to its very limited driving range. This huge investment will mean that the company’s future EVs will be much more competitive, but we hope Mazda doesn’t lose sight of the things that make the Japanese brand stand out from the pack. The Vision Study suggests that lightweight, fun-to-drive Mazdas are here to stay, even if they are electric. —Nik Berg

Logo no-go: people are confused by the new Kia badge

Intake: Kia’s incredible re-invention has seen the South Korean brand go from a maker of budget runabouts to some of the best SUVs and EVs out there, including the 2020 World Car of the Year-winning Telluride and the 2022 Car of the Year EV6. In 2021 Kia refreshed its logo from a bland oval with its name clearly visible inside to a more stylized silver badge with the three letters conjoined, but it appears to be baffling people. Google search data reveals that 30,000 people each month are now searching for “KN” instead of Kia, with many seeming to believe that it’s a completely new car maker. Which, in a way, it is.

Exhaust: This could be seen as a catastrophic graphic design fail, if the brand can’t even be recognized by the public. However, the very fact that so many people have been inspired to search for “KN” shows that Kia’s cars are really attracting attention. —NB

Formula 1 viewership way up

Intake: If we need another example of the burgeoning popularity of F1, we present the TV ratings from ESPN. Not long ago it was unheard of for an F1 race to top a million viewers, and this year that happened 17 times. The season averaged 1.21 million viewers per race across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, a 28 percent increase over the previous U.S. television record of 949,000 average viewers that was set in 2021. The 2022 season also became the first in U.S. television history to average 1 million or more viewers per race. In addition, more female and younger viewers watched F1 races on U.S. television than ever before. The season included a record 2.583 million average viewers for the new Miami Grand Prix, setting the mark for the most-viewed live F1 telecast ever in the U.S.

Exhaust: The presence next year of American Logan Sargeant in a Williams car will only help the ratings; we expect another record year in 2023. —Steven Cole Smith

Goodwood Members’ Meeting to host GT1 machines

Intake: “Goodwood is delighted to announce that the 80th Members’ Meeting presented by Audrain Motorsport will for the first time host a collection of top-flight GT1 cars from the early 21st Century in a spectacular on-track demonstration set to be one of the loudest and most exhilarating ever held at a Members’ Meeting,” says a press release from the British track. “Taking to the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2023, will be Le Mans Class and GT1 race winners, including the likes of the Aston Martin DBR9, Ferrari 550 GT1, Maserati MC12, Chrysler Viper GTS-R, Lister Storm and many more.” We indeed expect many more, since these cars were so recently raced. The event is scheduled for April 15-16. Tickets are available now for Fellows of the Goodwood Road Racing Club: You can join here.

Exhaust: It’s a good way to visit a Goodwood event if you don’t want to fight the massive crowds that should be present at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2023, which will feature cars of 24 Hours of Le Mans in the year of its 100th anniversary. It will be, Goodwood says, the largest collection of cars it has ever hosted. It will be held July 13-16. It’s also the 30th anniversary of the Festival of Speed. Said Tom Kristensen, nine-time Le Mans winner: “It’s amazing that Le Mans has been holding this great race for 100 years. Goodwood and Le Mans are so much fun, I always enjoy visiting and have had the privilege of driving fantastic cars there. I’m already looking forward to the reunion next year. I’m sure it will be a remarkable celebration.” —SCS

eBay becomes latest place to tighten policy and stop sales on tuning devices

Intake: In a change to its policy regarding the sales of vehicles, parts and accessories, eBay has now begun removing and restricting sales of tuning devices that can be used to defeat or remove government-required emissions equipment, citing an EPA enforcement alert from December 2020. This includes everything from block-off plates to the computers and connectors needed to re-tune ignition and fuel curves. To read the whole list of restrictions on eBay’s site here.

Exhaust: eBay likely saw the EPA’s widespread crackdown on independent shops which were selling these devices under the guise of “off-road or race use only.” While it is not clear if the EPA would ever come down on eBay for hosting the selling of these items, it appears it has chosen to be proactive in limiting access for both sellers and buyers. The policy is wide-ranging though, and includes items like fuel injection conversion kits and standalone ECU modules that actually serve to improve emissions of vintage cars. Balance was always going to be tough to find in limiting access to ways to de-regulate modern cars while enabling DIY enthusiasts to still enjoy the hobby, and this is one step that makes life just a little tougher. —Kyle Smith

Scout website finally has something worth looking at

Intake: And this is it: A teaser profile of the new SUV. It looks pretty interesting, and certainly takes the Volkswagen-owned brand back to the glory days. We await more than this smidgen of copy: “To honor where we’ve come from. To unlock the potential of what lies ahead. To show our land the respect it deserves. To lift up our communities and haul their heaviest burdens. To lead the charge into the great unknown. Scouts go first. Scouts go farther. Scouts always come back to lead the way.” Wow, heady stuff.

Exhaust: The “rugged” theme keeps coming up. But then, we’re currently driving a “rugged” version of the Kia Sportage. “We’re making the next generation of all-electric trucks and rugged SUVs for American drivers,” the site says. OK, we’re holding you to that. —SCS

Mecum Kissimmee closes in on 4000 vehicles

Intake: With the recent addition of 50 investment-grade vehicles from the main attraction Rick Grant III Estate Collection, along with several other private collection offerings, the tally board of consignments for Mecum Kissimmee 2023 continues its climb to 4000 vehicles for the world’s largest collector car auction this  January 4-15 at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida, just south of Orlando. If you can’t go, the event will be featured on MotorTrendTV and MotorTrend+. At last count, the number was 3156 vehicles consigned.

Exhaust: If you’ve never been, it’s worth the trip, especially if you’re looking for warm weather in January. During the early days of the auction, there are bargains to be had. Not so much on the featured weekends, though, when TV bidding frenzy takes over. —SCS

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Mecum’s 2023 sale in Kissimmee, Florida, will feature plenty of rare muscle cars, but there’s at least one Shelby in particular that we’ll be watching closely come January. An automatic-equipped, 1969 Shelby GT500 that was owned by actor and director Jackie Cooper as well as Carroll Shelby himself is crossing the auction block, and the Candy Apple Red machine has almost every option the Shelby collector could want.

Aside from its automatic transmission, which may cause some purists to look elsewhere, this fastback stunner is equipped with power steering, power front disc brakes, deluxe belts, a tachometer, and the folding Sports Deck rear seat. That automatic transmission shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, as Shelby’s own Cobra Super Snake that was in his collection used a three-speed auto—and that wasn’t his only auto, either. The 428 Cobra Jet in this GT500 certainly is no high-strung small-block that needs to rev to make its power. It should be perfectly happy with three tire-shredding speeds.

Unlike earlier Shelby creations that relied on spoilers, air dams, and other aesthetic and aerodynamic additions to visually set themselves apart from their Mustang counterparts, the 1969 GT500 had an entirely unique front end. The hood, fender, and bumper stampings were no where to be found on the run-of-the-mill pony cars. Shelby’s unique fascia abandoned Mustang’s wraparound front bumper in favor of a more integrated piece that was coming into fashion in the late ’60s.

Take a look at a contemporary Camaro and you’ll see a similar change for ’69. Challenger followed suit when it debuted for 1970 and regular production Mustangs did as well for 1971. Indeed, plenty of 1971 Mustang styling was on display in the ’69 GT500, including a wide grille and NACA ducts in the hood. The 1969 GT500’s styling was quite literally ahead of its time.

We’ve seen some of Shelby’s other personal cars sell at normal prices, while others have seen bids rise to more than double the pre-auction estimates. Both situations occurred within the same 2018 sale. With a current #3 (Good, or daily driver) condition value of $75,000 (down 20 percent because of this car’s automatic), we certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see a beautiful car with such an impressive pedigree bring far more.

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David Spade lost his crown last week. The funnyman claimed the record for highest price paid for a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona back in 2015, a $990,000 laurel wreath he wore until a Mopar ultra-fan plunked $1.32 million down for a Daytona at Mecum’s Indianapolis sale.

The collector market continues to burn white-hot, with record prices routinely hitting headlines and watering eyes. Muscle car prices have been particularly wild, hitting and exceeding highs set in 2008, a peak that hasn’t been seen since the global economy threw a rod that same year.

Zoom in closer, as we did just last month, and it’s clear that big-block Chargers have experienced one of the largest bumps—a 30 to 40 percent rise in values since late 2021. Yet at the time, we also noted that the most valuable Mopars of them all—those with Hemis—saw only gradual, incremental growth outside of the Charger’s overall run-up.

Enter Mecum’s F8 Green Daytona. Out of 503 Daytonas produced during the single model year, just 70 came with the explosive 426 Hemi; just 22 of them also had a desirable four-speed manual.

That drivetrain combo alone is enough to coax a blood sacrifice and an average of around $920,000 (Condition #1, Concours) according to the Hagerty Price Guide. But, as you might’ve guessed from all the hubbub, VIN #XX29J9B383276 is a step above the already superlative four-speed Hemi gaggle. This Daytona was special-ordered new by high-school English teacher Pat Harper of Phoenix, AZ in 1969, with Madame Harper checking essentially every box and build code on the order form. When both the check and the pencil dust cleared, she came into possession of the most well-optioned Hemi Daytona ever built.

In other words, this car has no problems justifying a seven-figure price tag. However, it does have a few stories attached to it. Frustrated and overheated from the unavailability of factory air-conditioning, Harper had a dealership add a white applique to the roof to stave off some of the desert heat. A short time later, a minor accident knocked the front nosecone clean off. A standard Charger grille was installed, and the car changed hands to a local politician in 1977, living much of its life adorned with the incorrect trio of a white wing, white roof, and white decals. Yuck.

The car was passed among no less than eight owners (extensive research done by Hot Rod magazine indicates there may have been even more). Its recent history is less than savory: It was mistakenly seized by the IRS instead of the target’s Hemi-Orange Daytona Hemi. The car was released back to the rightful owner following a court battle and as you can see from the pictures, now wears its glorious original getup. At Mecum, it was well-presented, well-documented, and legally sold. But the complex history and gaggle of previous owners might have dinged the car’s final winning bid this past week.

Yes, we’re saying we think it could have potentially sold for more. Perhaps, though, we’ve become as spoiled as everyone else has in this record-breaking market. Indeed, much of the scuttlebutt, both on the floor at Mecum and elsewhere, has been that sellers may be taking the post-pandemic frenzy for granted. Sales that rip our price guide to shreds, the likes of which we saw in January, are not normal and won’t go on forever.

Yet $1.32M is, at the end of the day, a lot of money, and it bought a killer car—the highest spec of what is ostensibly one of the most desirable muscle cars in existence, carrying its original engine and transmission.

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The spending frenzy at Scottsdale’s January auto auctions may have garnered the headlines, but just a short road trip away in Las Vegas, Mecum’s motorcycle auction put on a similarly spectacular show for the two-wheeled crowd. As in the collector car market, values have skyrocketed of late in the motorcycle world: look no further than the 1972 Honda CL 450 that sold for nearly $60,000 and its younger sibling, a 1980 CBX that changed hands for $49,500. Amidst all the fanfare, though, there were still deals to be had. Several British bikes sold at good values relative to pre-pandemic auctions, and a wealth of desirable vintage and modern models changed hands in the four-figure range.

Honda’s CBX blows past previous records

Having bought and sold a half-dozen Honda CBXs myself, I have observed the steady climb in values as well as what was once a clear hierarchy of traits that made for a valuable CBX.  The record-breaking sale of this modified black 1980 model for $49,500 suggests the CBX is in a changing world, however. Original, untouched examples of ’79 and ’80 models without fairings once topped the market.

At Mecum, it appears buyers expanded their horizons. Later bikes, even if modified, commanded just as much and sometimes more than earlier CBXs. The record breaker was especially surprising, extensively modified as it was with a bubble fairing, aftermarket seat, and exhaust (the original exhaust was included in the sale). Similarly, a Fair-condition 1980 CBX with aftermarket exhaust, seat, suspension, and grips sold for $17,600—a price that would have landed a perfectly-restored original example only four years ago.

That’s not to say original examples of Honda’s venerable six-cylinder superbike aren’t seeing new heights of their own. Just 19 lots prior to the 1980 record-breaker, a beautiful #2-condition 1979 CBX found a new home for $38,500. The market for Japanese bikes has shifted upwards, and the CBX is riding the wave as well as any.

Harley-Davidson’s Knucklehead punches toward six figures

A Knucklehead is no longer a $50,000 bike. It’s now a $100,000+ bike.

The sale of this 1936 example for an eye-watering $203,500 exemplifies the trends that put Knuckleheads on our “9 bikes we’re watching in 2021″ list. That sale was not the only one, either: on average, Knuckleheads at Mecum’s Las Vegas auction sold for 15% over the Hagerty Price Guide #2 or “excellent” value.

At first glance, it may be easy to suggest that the Knucklehead market has merely followed the broader pricing trends of the collector market, but the data point to other factors in the rise of this particular hog.  Last year we reported that millennials prefer Harleys over Indians and in 2020 Hagerty data demonstrated that millennials will pay as much or more than boomers for Harleys. Knuckleheads are benefitting from broader, multi-generational appeal, and demand is increasing because younger buyers continue to move into the market while older ones aren’t leaving.

British bikes are a stronger value than ever

Despite headlines of record-breaking sales seemingly every week, not all trend lines shoot high and right. The line traced by British motorcycles has coursed laterally (and sometimes even a little bit down) more than most over the last seven years, and that represents an opportunity to get onto some great machinery at reasonable prices.

The 1959 Triumph T120R Bonneville got people excited about motorcycles and the British motorcycle industry in the same way the first Mustang sent Boomers to Ford dealerships in droves. As such, the Bonneville sits high in the pantheon of the most collectible British motorcycles. Despite that, trends have not treated the model well. In 2007, Bonhams sold a 1959 Triumph T120R Bonneville for $28,080. In 2016, one at Mecum crept higher, selling for $30,800 after fees. This January at Mecum Las Vegas, two examples of that same model in similar restored condition slid downward, selling for $17,600 and $26,400.

Similarly, At Mecum’s auction a 1963 BSA Rocket Gold Star Spitfire sold for $23,650, barely inching up from one that sold for $19,750 over a decade ago at the 2011 Vegas auctions.

As Bonneville and other British bike prices languished, mass-produced Japanese bikes began to soar. A restored 1971 Honda CB750 sold for $9,000 at Mecum Las Vegas in 2016 while this year, a CB750 in perfect restored condition sold for $28,000. This dramatic shift in demand has occurred despite the massive supply differential—one year of CB750 production totals more than five times all motorcycles Triumph produced in 1959. The upside is that this represents a significant value proposition for fans of British marques.

Deals are out there, even at the auction block

Despite high-dollar sales and unexpected darlings setting records, Mecum Las Vegas proved that the humble collector motorcycle hobby is alive and well, even at auction. Motorcycles have long been the attainable way to get into collector gearhead tinkering: bikes could often be had for $500-$1000, even in running condition.  Now, with the momentum of the collector bike market approaching full steam, it is no small thing to see that a sub-$1000 motorcycle in good condition can still be bought at auction if you play the room well.

At a time when Japanese bikes from the ’70s are some of the hottest machines around, this 1972 Honda CL175 sold for $990. Now, a decade ago complete, running bikes could be had for that price all day long. But at least they still exist.

Only slightly more expensive were this 1972 Suzuki B 100 and this 1956 Peugeot TC4, each of which sold for $1650. For an around-town bike and fun garage piece you simply can’t go wrong with either.  These bikes may not be fast, but they’re simple, easy to work on, and will spark conversations on your weekend coffee runs. What’s more, at this price, these bikes are at the bottom of their depreciation curve.

“Limited edition BMW” is synonymous with desirable, but for only $5500 this 2004 BMW Boxer Cup Replika could have been yours. Auctions frequently outperform the private-sale market, but sometimes with a more niche-audience bike like this a seller is better off in the private market where they can wait for the right buyer to come along.  At auction, the seller must hope that two interested parties are ready to duke it out right there.

This Boxer Cup Replika hits a sweet spot in the collector bike market: somewhat rare but still usable and reliable for everyday riding.  At $5500, it is not likely to depreciate much, and buying at what is the bottom end of the private market sets the next rider up well for the future.

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We all know the 1965 Mustang. It’s an indisputable icon of both the classic car world and America as a whole; after all, Ford sold over 680,000 copies of its pioneering pony car for the extended ’65 model year after being introduced midway through 1964. These cars are treasured the world over, and as a result, many of these ’65 Mustangs are proudly still on the road, carrying a median condition #2 (Excellent) value of $46,800 in the Hagerty Price Guide. Though, owing to its prolific nature, it isn’t hard to find one for much less than that.

It sure isn’t difficult to find one more valuable either, as proved by the $3.75M winning bid paid for a white 1965 fastback at Mecum’s Kissimmee auction this past week. Of course, this ’65 Mustang sold in Kissimmee this past weekend was no ordinary fastback; it’s a rather legendary prototype Shelby GT350R competition car. You might also know this blue-striped stunner as the “Flying Mustang,” thanks to a famous race photo of this coupe with race hero Ken Miles lifting all four wheels off the ground in a mid-race jump.

It sold for a $3,750,000 final price during the monstrous 11-day, $217M auction extravaganza that was Mecum Kissimmee ’22. Unsurprisingly, of the nearly 3000 vehicles that changed hands under the bright Florida sun, the Flying Mustang was the most expensive—but not the most shocking. Although Kissimmee was chock-full of head-scratchingly expensive and price-guide-breaking sales this year, the winning bid for the GT350R doesn’t seem at all unreasonable. In fact, it technically sold for more back in 2020, when it claimed a record-busting $3.85M at Mecum’s Indianapolis sale that year. That purse still stands as the most anybody’s ever paid for a Mustang at auction; this most recent sale almost broke its own record, but not quite. The Mustang from Bullitt, by the way, brought $3.74M in 2020.

This Shelby is Chassis SFM5R002, the first R-Model GT350 and father of the three-dozen other GT350R Mustangs built up by Carroll Shelby to tackle the SCCA’s B-Production division. Introduced to the public at California’s Riverside International Raceway, SFM5R002 made its racing debut at Green Valley Raceway near Dallas. Driven by none other than Shelby engineer/hot shoe Ken Miles, it won during its first time on the grid. On their way to victory, Miles and the Mustang had their picture snapped mid-air. The photo, with the natural caption “See, our Mustangs really fly!”, was soon all over Shelby promo materials, and in its first model year, the Mustang had already cemented its reputation as a serious, heavy-hitting performance car with on-track bona fides.

GT350Rs went on to dominate B-Production racing, and SFM5R002 contributed to those winning ways with 10 victories in 1965. It kept on racing in from 1966 through 1968, before heading south of the border for two years competing in the Mexican Trans Am series that saw three more wins and six podium finishes. After that, it ignominiously sat in a yard resting on a trailer for nearly 20 years in Monterrey, before Mark Gillette of Dallas uncovered it in 1989. It was remarkably intact, but didn’t get fully restored until 2010–14 under the ownership of John Atzbach. It still wears that thorough but sympathetic and correct restoration today.

When the Shelby popped up for auction in 2020, Dana Mecum said that “this is the exact car [that] put performance in the Mustang” and that “nobody ever [expected] that this car would ever be offered for sale.” Equally unexpected was that it would come to auction again less than two years after its record-breaking $3.85M in Indy, although it’s still a thrill to see it in public at all.

In Kissimmee, bidding for SFM5R002 in Kissimmee quickly worked its way up to $3.4M, stalled, then closed at $3.7M. That’s higher than the $3.5M hammer bid that bought the car in 2020, but Mecum reported the final price in 2022 as $3.75M, which likely means there were some fees waived and negotiated between parties behind the scenes. That means the seller just about broke even.

In simpler times, “just about breaking even” on a car was was pretty darn good in this hobby. In 2022, though, many of people who bought a collector car just a couple of years ago have a very real chance of making a few bucks. It didn’t happen with the Flying Mustang, but we’ve noted before what can happen when historically significant cars are “fresh to market” versus when they aren’t. Essentially, there’s often more excitement the first time a car crosses an auction block the first time compared to the second. Either way, this GT350R is still the priciest Mustang ever sold at auction. And, technically, the second.

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Mecum Auctions, based in Walworth, Wisconsin, has long been known as sort of the blue-collar auction house, where the auctioneers still sound like they’re speaking in tongues; where the auction block is long and as brightly-lit as Las Vegas; where a Ford F-150 pickup may be followed by a Ferrari; where the auction begins each day with a live rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, and where the Green Hats end their morning meeting with a prayer.

Who are the Green Hats? If you’ve ever seen a Mecum auction on television, now airing on MotorTrend TV with the demise of the NBC Sports Network, you’ve seen the Green Hats, but you probably never noticed them. Noticed us, I should say, because I was a Green Hat. For a day.

We’re the people wearing the neon green ball caps that say “Mecum Driver” across the front. We’re the people who pick up an unsold car, drive it across the block in front of the TV cameras, then drive it back to a sold lot to await the new owner.

And while the meeting-ending prayer is a conventional one, many of the Green Hats, including me, silently added, “And please don’t let me drive a Ferrari into the back of a Ford F-150 on live TV.” That sort of thing has happened. Being a Green Hat is considerably more difficult than you’d imagine.

Blue-collar or not, Mecum just began its season with an 11-day auction in Kissimmee, Florida—near Orlando—that featured more than 3500 vehicles, as well as more than 1200 pieces of memorabilia-type “Road Art,” for a record total of $217 million in sales. Kissimmee is, by far, the largest collector car auction in the world. The last Saturday, January 17, was the company’s largest one-day total with $72 million in sales, including nine vehicles that sold for over $1 million each, topped by a 1965 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R Prototype, probably the most valuable Mustang in the world. It went for $3.75 million, just head of a 2020 McLaren Speedtail that sold for $3.3 million.

And somebody has to drive those cars. That would be the mostly-volunteer, mostly-retired Green Hat crew. The good news: I drove almost 20 collector vehicles on the Thursday I worked. The bad news: I never got to go faster than 10 mph in any of them.

The Green Hats, about 37 of us, took 370 vehicles across the auction block. The day started at 8 a.m., and ended at 7:30 p.m., with no scheduled break. It’s a long day, but it goes fast, even if you couldn’t go fast in the cars.

This was not my first time as a Green Hat. That was back in 2010 at Kissimmee, when the auction had only 1000 vehicles. Now, Green Hats are shuffling cars from one lot to another constantly. In 2010, you were assigned a car and sat in it all the way through the process, which could take 90 minutes. So I had time to become attached to a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS restomod, which means it had been rebuilt with lots of new parts including a 5.7-liter V-8 crate motor, a five-speed Tremec manual transmission, and period-correct Bahama Blue paint. Then, the path across the block involved a 90-degree right-hand turn with the engine off, meaning no power steering; cross the block as you start the engine and drive maybe 20 feet to show that it runs, and then the Pushers—that’s what they’re called—push you off the block after the car was sold ($41,000) for a 90-degree left-hand turn.

It was midway through that turn that I felt something lurch in the steering. A power steering hose had blown off, dousing the engine and the floor with power steering fluid. I cranked the engine and drove back to the “sold” lot and parked it, glad the new owner hadn’t found me and asked me about the car. I would have had to tell him the car he bought had working power steering, but 15 seconds after the gavel fell, it didn’t.

This year, nothing that dramatic happened, at least to me. My mentor in the process, Ed, had a car catch on fire as he drove it the day before, fortunately not in front of the TV cameras. I did have two embarrassing, on-screen moments: The first was trying to find a gear, any gear, in the incredibly flexy four-speed manual transmission in a 1965 Chevrolet Nova SS ($34,100) to drive that 20 feet to show the engine ran (which it did, quite well).

The second was in a 2014 Chevy Silverado with a 600-horsepower LT4 engine installed, looking like it came from the factory that way. As I moved slowly through the line outside, turning the engine on and off each time to help cut down on carbon monoxide under the tent (we were told to do that), the Silverado was probed and prodded by more potential buyers than any vehicle I drove, sort of the automotive equivalent of a proctology exam. Some buyers are equipped with pocket flashlights and small mirrors for looking into crevices.

Each time the engine started perfectly. Until I was told by the lane manager, Carol Duckworth, to crank it up and move forward. Nothing. Nothing again. I raised my hands in the classic “It won’t start!” manner with two palms up and shoulders hunched. She summoned the Pushers and none of the bidders heard in run. It still went for $95,700. Once I was outside, workers rolled up a dolly with two yellow-top Optima batteries and a set of jumper cables. The Silverado started immediately. Mecum has those battery carts all over the place, with good reason. Even so, we had to tow at least a dozen cars to the block that day.

Duckworth has been working for Mecum for 23 years and is in charge of the Green Hats as well as the white-gloved Pushers. She says that for most auctions, which average about 1000 cars, the auction house reaches out to local car clubs for help. Kissimmee used to use the members of the Mid-Florida Corvette Club, but when the auction went to 11 days (one day is for memorabilia—they sold $2.66 million in Road Art) it became too much, and a private company was hired to help coordinate.

“As the auction grew, we set up a different procedure for making sure the cars go across the auction block in the proper order,” Duckworth says.

She admits though, “From time to time there are … situations. It can be very tense. You don’t know anything about the car, whether it’s going to start or not. Sometimes with the older cars you don’t know if the gauges are correct. You have to become familiar with the cars very quickly.

“Paddle shifters on a Ferrari are very different from making a Model T move. And a lot of the younger people don’t know how to drive a stick shift. We have a lot of retired people who work as Green Hats because they know the cars,” Duckworth says.

“Driving at Mecum is an adventure,” said Green Hat Tom Beaman, a semi-retired General Motors executive who managed public relations for Pontiac, Saab, and other brands. “You never know what you’re going to drive until you’re assigned to it.”

Boy, that’s true. I jumped from a 1994 Nissan Skyline, right-hand-drive and caged, with a modified RB26 engine rated at 500 horsepower ($90,750), into a 1962 Triumph TR4 ($82,500), and in that car, I had to find the headlight switch in the dark. Took a moment.

“Sometimes the battery is dead or the clutch is really stiff but it’s all great fun, especially when you drive up on the block and are bombarded by the lights and sounds of the bidding,” Beaman says.

“This year I drove a 1963 Porsche 356C Super Coupe, a Corvair convertible, and a bright red Viper that sold for $90,000. I get pangs of nostalgia when I drive a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu like the one I had in college,” Beaman says.

As far as being a Green Hat goes: “It’s so much fun to hang out with men and women who ‘get’ cars.”

The post Ye shall know us by our hats: Driving for Mecum on TV appeared first on Hagerty Media.

The calendar of in-person auctions took quite a hit over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Mecum’s 2022 sale in Kissimmee, Florida, brought many enthusiastic buyers to gobble up a bevy of collectibles. Records were set and the sell-through rate shot sky-high as the rush of bidding took over. Our valuation specialists were abuzz when they returned from The Sunshine State. From lowest to highest, here are seven of the biggest sales that had us talking around the proverbial watercooler—in our digital age, the designated Slack channels.

1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS convertible

Lot S159

Sold for: $220,000

Short of a COPO car like a Yenko or a ZL-1 or an early Z/28, a big-block 1969 RS/SS is pretty much the peak of Camaro collectibility, and if you’re a fan of droptops then it really doesn’t get much better. This hockey-striped convertible proved irresistible to bidders as it climbed far beyond the model’s $150,000 #1 (Concours) condition value thanks to its unrestored status. With just 36,430 miles on the odometer and a numbers-matching powertrain, it must be among the most highly optioned 1969 Camaros in this kind of condition. For some collectors, even the best restoration is no match for a survivor. As the saying goes, “It’s only original once.”

1919 Dodge Model 30 from It’s A Wonderful Life

Lot U167

Sold for: $522,500

George Bailey contemplated suicide when Uncle Billy lost an $8000 bank deposit in It’s A Wonderful Life. Fortunately, George’s wife, Mary, and the grateful citizens of Bedford Falls, New York, pooled their money and bailed the local hero out of trouble, and that 1946 Frank Capra film eventually became one of the most beloved movies of all time. Little did George know that the answer to his prayers was right under his nose. The dilapidated 1919 Dodge Brothers Model 30 Touring car that a distraught and inebriated George crashed into his neighbors’ tree fetched a whopping $522,500 last weekend. How crazy is that price? A similar 1919 Dodge sold for $8125 at auction in 2020.

The owner of the George Bailey car, Keith Smith, tells us that he and his wife are going to use the proceeds to fund his grandchildren’s college educations. “It’s one of the biggest investments we’ve ever made, but it has also been the most inspiring thing we’ve ever done, besides getting married.”

The dash of the “George Bailey car” still wears a small, circular brass tag with the number 789, which identifies it as a Twentieth Century-Fox movie prop. The Smiths have used the Dodge to raise money for military veterans in need, and they hope that the new owner will continue to share it with the public.

1967 Shelby Mustang GT500

Lot S150

Sold for: $374,000

A full restoration in 2007 has this 428-powered pony shining brightly, as it has garnered several show awards, including division wins at the Shelby American Automobile Club in 2014 and 2015. Its sale at Kissimmee was still remarkable, however, because the hammer price rose nearly 40 percent over a ’67 GT500’s top, #1-condition value of $296,000. This one does have a great color combo, with a Nightmist Bue exterior featuring Wimbledon White stripes and a Parchment interior, and it’s got all of the must-have performance options as well, including a four-speed gearbox, power steering, power brakes, and an upgraded cooling system. Time will tell whether this Kissimmee sale was an anomaly or a harbinger of rising values.

2017 McLaren 570S Spider

Lot S250

Sold for: $440,000

When the 570S appeared, it marked a new page for McLaren. The model, which debuted in 2016, ushered in the brand’s Sports Series and brought the opportunity to add volume and target a wider audience that still craved exotic, mid-engine performance. With swoopy lines, a carbon-fiber chassis, and a twin-turbo V-8 that packed 562 hp, the 570S was everything that you’d expect from a Woking supercar. A folding-top Spider came in 2017. This nicely equipped example wears McLaren Orange paint and trickles some of that color into the interior, where the bright hue spices up the black Alcantara upholstery.

Despite its low mileage and fabulous color combo, this result had some collectors scratching their heads, since a 570S frequently changes hands for significantly less—and stickered for $184,900 when new. A 2018 Spider, also from Kissimmee, with fewer than 1400 miles on the odometer, sold for $275,000.

1936 White Model 706

Lot S132

Sold for: $1,430,000

Around 500 examples of this open-top 17-seater were built for use in U.S. National Parks, and this one, #363, originally saw service at Yellowstone before making its way west to shuttle tourists around Glacier. That’s where it received a striking red paint job to match the local Mountain ash berry. Restored to its Glacier National Park glory in the “Reds” livery with tan interior and tan canvas rollback top, the combo is fetching. However, when this very same shuttle sold for $450,500 at RM Sotheby’s Elkhart auction just 15 months ago, many in attendance thought it was well sold, so it was quite a shock when the price more than tripled less than 15 months later. Still, it’s a rare piece of Americana that’s literally a piece of Glacier National Park history. Don’t tell Yellowstone, but we prefer this version to the school-bus-yellow original.

1992 Ferrari F40

Lot S150

Sold for: $2,750,000

While F40s have seen a stratospheric rise in value over the last four months, this sale was still significantly above the model’s #1-condition value of $2.6M. Hagerty valuation specialist Colin Comer notes that sales in Monterey in the fall of 2021 rewrote the book on the F40 market, but this Euro-spec example might spur yet another correction. With 8732 miles (actually 14,053 kilometers) shown, mileage is not as shockingly low as you might expect for such a high purchase point. On top of that, Euro-spec versions tend to bring much less than a U.S.-spec model. In this car’s favor, however, is a meticulous record of its previous owners and all of its original documents, tool kit, and factory exhaust, which has since been upgraded to a Tubi Style system.

1965 Shelby GT350R Prototype

Lot S160

Sold for: $3,750,000

When it comes to Shelby Mustangs, it’s tough to beat the illustrious list of drivers and accomplishments trailed by this single car. This GT350R prototype, serial number SFM5R002, was not only the original GT350R prototype, but it was piloted by legendary racers Ken Miles, Bob Bondurant, Jerry Titus, Chuck Cantwell, and Peter Brock. It also lays claim to the title of first Shelby Mustang to capture a win in a sanctioned race, when Ken Miles entered it into competition at Green Valley Raceway in Smithfield, Texas, on Valentine’s Day, 1965. A photo of Miles whipping the pony car over a rise during a race, all four wheels in the air, became a Shelby advertising goldmine. The car would go on to rack up B-Production wins in SCCA and helped Jerry Titus take the driver championship (he went on to race a different car later in the season).

After a meticulous restoration by John Brown of Thoroughbred Restorations in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, s/n SFM5R002 has taken numerous show wins including a Best in Class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2015. Back in 2020 it, sold for $3.85M.

The post 7 eye-popping auction results from Mecum’s 2022 Kissimmee sale appeared first on Hagerty Media.

We do not bring you this ensemble of soon-to-be-auctioned Corvettes simply because they’re red, white, and awesome. (Though they are.) True, this January’s run lists include trackside veterans that have represented Chevrolet on the world stage, not to mention an L89 convertible that belonged to a famous astronaut, but Corvettes taken together are a force to be reckoned with in the collector market. Corvettes, and in particular the 1963 through ’67 years, account for more dollars sold at car auctions than any other model. For context: A single Ferrari 250 GTO might sell for $48.4M, but sales of all ’63 through ’67 Vettes would together surpass that.

There are many interesting and genuinely special Vettes up for auction this January, split between auctions in Kissimmee, Florida, and the greater Scottsdale area in Arizona. These include Benchmark-certified split-window Z06s and an experimental C4 suspension prototype, plus a slew of other fascinating race cars. We focused, however, on the specific cars that you aren’t likely to see again any time soon. Without further ado, here are eight extraordinary Corvettes to whet your appetite for historic fiberglass.

1990 Chevrolet Corvette SCCA Escort World Challenge Race Car

Mecum, Lot T266

Estimate: $60,000–$70,000

John Henricy did more than preside over the Corvette Development Group at GM’s proving grounds, or merely serve as Corvette assistant chief engineer. He got behind the wheel, too, helping to build Corvettes’ motorsports prowess nearly a decade before the Pratt & Miller factory-backed team emerged in 1999. Henricy campaigned this C4 in the 1990 SCCA Escort World Challenge Series for the Mobil 1-sponsored Morrison Motorsports. That name is likely a familiar one to Vette aficionados: The same year that Henricy was campaigning this C4 in World Challenge’s first sprint-race season, Tommy Morrison and his team set the 24-hour world speed endurance record in a stock ZR-1 with an average of 175.885 mph, breaking the 160.18-mph figure that had stood for nearly 50 years.

Henricy and Morrison have both since been entered into the Corvette Hall of Fame, and this C4 has received equally prestigious honors: It participated in the 2013 Monterey Historics and sat on the lawn at The Quail that same year. Today, its 370-cubic-inch V-8—based on a Dart block and boasting 227-cc CNC cylinder heads and a four-barrel 850-cfm carb—is fresh from a disassembly service at Predator Performance, which included new pistons, rings, rod bearings, valve springs, gaskets, and seals. This C4 boasts a lot of pedigree for a relatively modern car and, judging from the spec sheet, is raring to go once more.

1960 Chevrolet Corvette “Race Rat” Tanker

Mecum, Lot F158

Estimate: $600,000–$700,000

1960 was a big year for the Corvette. Carroll Shelby’s Cobras had yet to arrive on the scene, and America’s sports car was establishing its reputation as a performance car on the global stage, AMA racing ban be damned. Nine years after a painful foray into the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Briggs Cunningham’s privateer team returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe—and successfully finished in the top ten. Americans were watching, and production finally surpassed 10,000 units. Stateside, a Corvette dominated its class at Sebring—this very car, whose order sheet bears witness to GM’s under-the-table factory support of these trackside shenanigans.

Armed with a specially prepped and fuel-injected 283-cubic-inch small-block with a solid-lifter cam, it’s one of only 10 cars for 1960 to boast the 24-gallon fuel tank (LPO 1625A). Its race kit is complemented by heavy-duty brakes (RPO 687), and race-intended 5.5-inch-wide wheels (RPO 276). (All perfectly normal options to appear on the order form of a road car.) Dubbed the “Race Rat,” this beastie was (sneakily) prepped by Zora Arkus-Duntov himself ahead of its 1960 class victory at Sebring, where it was campaigned by Bill Fritts and Chuck Hall. It’s since taken multiple honors at the Amelia Island Concours, plus the Greenwich Concours, and will cross the block resplendent in its Sebring-win configuration, down to its proper “Race Rat” decals.

1957 Chevrolet Corvette “Big Brake” Airbox

Mecum, Lot F164

Estimate: $550,000–$650,000

Even before the golden year of 1960, the Corvette was gaining momentum as a hairy-chested bruiser, and this highly optioned 1957 car shows just how potent of a race machine the average Joe could get. This ’57, which raced in the SCCA at Sebring, Daytona International, and Lime Rock, boasts both the highly desired “big brake” package and the coveted Airbox intake system (RPO 579E), the latter of which was unique to the 283/283 small-block with its solid-lifter cam and Rochester fuel injection.

That’s not all for this Polo White convertible, either: Heavy-duty racing suspension (RPO 684), a Positraction rear end, the 5.5-inch-wide wheels, and both a radio and a heater delete make this one rare, mean street machine. It’s received care worthy of its exceptional spec, too, restored in 2017 with a boatload of original GM parts ranging from exhaust to shocks and a “Black Widow” tachometer. With a litany of NCRS Top Flight Awards (earned both before and after its 2017 restoration), plus an appearance at the ’87 Monterey Historics, this car would be a serious get for any Corvette collector.

1957 Chevrolet Corvette Super Sport show car

Mecum, Lot S145

Estimate: $1,750,000–$2,000,000

There’s rare … and there’s one-of-a-kind. This is the very show car that toured the auto show circuit beginning 1957 to introduce the continuous-flow Ramjet fuel injection system developed by GM’s Rochester carburetor division. Its cut-down Plexiglas windscreen is the most obvious clue to its pedigree, and a closer look reveals a custom tachometer, a unique wood-rimmed steering wheel, and custom gas, brake, and clutch pedals. Even the tires—the original U.S. Royal XP-140 whitewalls—are remarkable, ostensibly the only set of five still in existence. Resplendent in the same spec in which it appeared at GM Motorama, this Corvette will cross the auction block for the first time ever come Saturday, January 15—and we’ll be watching closely.

1968 Chevrolet Corvette convertible

Barrett-Jackson, Lot 1420

Estimate: Upon request

Does it get any more all-American than a big-block droptop owned by the first American in outer space? The Apollo astronauts loved Corvettes, and Alan Shepard, though he was originally on the Mercury team, was no exception, ordering this white-over-brown C3 optioned with the Tri-Power-equipped, aluminum-head 427 (L89) engine mated to a four-speed manual. It’s lived a life in the spotlight since it left Shepard’s ownership, spending time at the Corvette Museum of America and the NASA U.S. Space Walk of Fame Museum. A ’68 L89 convertible in #2 (Excellent) condition is valued in the six figures ($126,000), but Barrett-Jackson’s site doesn’t provide an estimate. You have to ask—and, let’s be real—this is the sort of car that justifies busting any budget.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 “Gulf One”

Mecum, Lot F157

Estimate: $3,000,000–$3,500,000

Even casual Corvette fans know that the “Z06” moniker means something special, and the reputation of that alphanumeric was forged in large part by this car, the winningest factory-backed racing Corvette of the C2 generation. Zora Arkus-Duntov designed RPO Z06 as an Easter basket of race-going equipment: heavy-duty power drum brakes complemented by a dual-circuit master cylinder, stiffer springs and specially tuned shocks, and a beefier front stabilizer bar. He then oversaw the production of 14 late-1962 Z06-equipped Vettes and organized their distribution to customers whom he knew would take the cars racing.

This particular one is the first of two designated for Yenko Chevrolet and was delivered to Gulf Oil’s executive vice president, Grady Davis, who decked it out in Gulf livery and put Dick Thompson behind the wheel. “The Flying Dentist,” as he was called, lived up to his name and proved what a potent machine Duntov had created. The car dubbed “Gulf One” won its class at Daytona, snagged top honors in A/Production at Road America, and won the SCCA Presidents Cup at Marlboro, Maryland. Today it appears in livery to honor its appearance at the 1963 12 Hours of Sebring. Due to a gearbox failure, it and Thompson qualified but did not race at Sebring—but this remains the only one of the 14 Duntov-prepped Z06 racers to compete exclusively at the national level.

1984 Lola T711 Corvette IMSA GTP racer

Mecum, Lot U129

Estimate: N/A

Now wait a minute, you may be thinking. What is a Lola doing on a list of Corvettes? For context, this ’84 racer hails from the pre-Pratt & Miller era, in which a variety of privateer teams fielded Corvettes and/or drew from the Chevy Performance parts bin. Lee Racing, who fielded the T711 shown here, decided to combine Chevy Performance grunt with a Lola body and chassis to create a mid-engine monster eligible both for IMSA and FIA Group C competition. Sort of a C8.R before the C8.R, if you will.

The Kevlar- and carbon-fiber-bodied oddball didn’t enjoy much success on track, retiring in nine out of 12 races between ’85 and ’86, despite being driven by NASCAR Cup champ Terry Labonte. It seems to have fared better in retirement, competing in vintage events such as the Silverstone Classic and the 2014 Le Mans Legends. T711-HU02 is eligible for the Sebring 12 Hour and Daytona 24 Hour Classics events and comes with an extensive selection of Lola and Corvette spares. While it originally had a 90-degree turbo V-6 based on a Chevy small-block, it now is motivated by a more Chevrolet traditional mill, a 430-cubic-inch aluminum V-8. Want an obscure slice of Chevrolet racing (with a lowercase “r”) history? This mixed-heritage mid-engine beast is a tantalizing ticket.

1966 Chevrolet Corvette Pilot Line L88

Mecum, Lot S237

Estimate: Upon request

It’s not often that you see a red-liveried Corvette with a Ferrari license plates—but crossed-flag aficionados know that this is far more than a Prancing Horse fan’s love affair with American muscle. Or maybe there’s some truth to that after all, because this factory-built C2 racer was prepped for the 12 Hours of Sebring by seasoned Le Mans driver Luigi Chinetti, a long-time friend of Enzo Ferrari, a factory agent for the marque in the U.S, and owner of the North American Racing Team (NART). Chinetti didn’t work on this red beastie alone, either: The same man who sponsored his U.S. naturalization collaborated with him on this C2. A Belgian-born fellow named Zora Arkus-Duntov, if you’ve heard of him.

The car’s spec sheet reads like a run sheet of hallowed Chevy performance hardware: a dyno-seasoned L88 engine mated to a heavy-duty four-speed manual and driving a Positraction rear end, transistorized ignition (K66), race-spec brakes (J56), heavy-duty suspension (F41), a 36-gallon gas tank, a fresh air-intake hood, and the first shoulder-harness belts ever fitted to a factory-backed 1966 Corvette race car.

Those who have spent time behind its wheel include Zora himself and Don Yenko. It has raced at Daytona International, Talladega, Charlotte, VIR, and Road Atlanta. Restored in 2013, the car has since raked in MCACN and Bloomington Gold honors, with a resume capped by the Grand Sport Trophy at the 2020 Amelia Concours d’Elegance. This red-liveried legend—one of the “Four Kings” backed by Chevy and developed directly by Zora—has potential to set a high-water mark for the Corvette market when it crosses Mecum’s block on Saturday, January 15.

Whether you’re attending Arizona Auction Week or just want to stay close to the action from afar, we’ve got you covered—from auction results to analysis and everything in between. Sign up for our Insider recap from Arizona Auction Week here.

The post 8 exceptional Corvettes up for auction this January appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Hagerty’s Automotive Intelligence team analyzes thousands of auction sales each year. Although they all help inform our view of the market, some of them stand out and can tell us something more. We call these “Sales that Teach.”

In the craziness that was the collector car market of 2021, a few clear themes stand out. Newer enthusiast cars became “collectible,” vintage pickup/SUV prices kept on trucking upwards, and cars that are traditionally cheap or at least affordable became increasingly less so. The demographic shift toward younger collectors hit with full force, a healthy high-end market was confirmed in Monterey, and online auction platforms matured as a permanent fixture of the classic car ecosystem.

One area that didn’t get as much attention as it deserved amidst all that change was the traditional muscle car-heavy live auctions from the likes of Mecum and Barrett-Jackson. But this isn’t to say the muscle car market is sleepy, or that the pandemic has dampened enthusiasm for the live auction spectacle. On the contrary, muscle cars are as hot as they’ve been in a long time, and live sales brought many record prices just like the ones on the internet did. Mecum, which has become something of the Muscle Car King in the auction world, is perfect evidence of that. Although the volume of vehicles sold hasn’t quite bounced back to pre-pandemic numbers, prices are up.

After a few years of softening prices, Hagerty's Muscle Car Index hit its all-time high twice in 2021. Some of the biggest reversals and biggest gains were for cars at the top of the muscle car market. Think Hemi Cuda convertibles, LS6 Chevelles, or Boss 429 Mustangs, including one that sold at Mecum Dallas 2021 for $357,500. While not a record, the price was nearly 60 grand above the Mustang's condition #1 value at the time of the sale.

Boss 429s are collectible for the usual reasons—big engine, high performance, racing pedigree, and, by muscle car standards, rarity. In order to homologate its 429-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) "semi-hemi" engine for NASCAR racing, Ford decided to stuff the near race-spec V-8 into its volume-selling pony car. But the Boss 429 couldn't just drop into a standard production Mustang, so Ford contracted with Kar Kraft in Dearborn to make it fit. In part because of their high price, Ford sold only 1360 Boss 429 Mustangs in 1969 to '70, and today they're the most valuable Mustangs not wearing a Shelby snake.

The Mecum Dallas car, finished in Grabber Green (one of five colors offered), is a high-dollar restoration with some show awards to its credit. None of that is exceptional for one of these Mustangs, but the price is, and it's part of a general rebound for these Mustang royalty after prices started dipping in the late 2010s. Mecum offered 10 Boss 429 Mustangs in 2021, eight of which were reported sold for an average price of $272,571. In 2019, the average auction price of a Boss 429 was $217,343. Hagerty Price Guide values for the Boss 429 are also up from where they were a year ago. Far from the biggest increase in the world, but notable for a high-dollar car that had been slipping prior to the surges of 2020–21. In short, the past two years have been a big growth period in prices all across the hobby, and that is almost as true for mature segments of the market like American muscle as it is for newcomers like JDM and late-model exotics.

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We’re pretty sure that every ’80s car looks better with box flares and a pair of Holley Dominators, and this 1982 Mercedes SL that’s hitting the auction block at Mecum’s Kissimmee sale next year is just more evidence for our argument. This car, built by Neil DeAtley, owner of a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Lewiston, Idaho,  was campaigned in the SCCA Trans-Am series in 1982 with driver Loren St. Lawrence. It takes the stately SL design and turns it on its ear, in the best way possible.

If you wanted a V-8-powered Mercedes grand tourer in 1982, the Mercedes 380 SL was the most powerful version available in the United States. Its 155hp 3.8-liter V-8 was hamstrung by U.S. emissions, but the Euro-spec SL was available with 237 hp and considerably more torque thanks to a 5.0-liter V-8. It was that powerplant that was the basis for this racing machine. While its pushrod competitors in Trans Am were famous for their 5.0-liter engines, the overhead-cam Mercedes would have to make do with 4.5 liters, so the engine was de-stroked to 4.5 liters, convenient since European 450 SL emblems could go right on the decklid and advertise the proper displacement. SCCA rules also mandated that its race cars be carbureted, so the Bosch mechanical fuel injection system was removed in favor of a pair of Holley carbs topped with velocity stacks for each primary bore. Despite the reduction in displacement, the added airflow from the twin carbs, as well as some tubular headers, no doubt made the 4.5-liter V-8 considerably more powerful than its production 5.0-liter counterpart.

The rest of the car followed the engine’s lead and ditched civility for a much more raucous persona. The interior is devoid of creature comforts and is instead finished in what looks like anodized aluminum panels. Racy, sure, but it probably sounds like driving inside a cowbell. At least the V-8 soundtrack would be invigorating.

The new tube chassis and fiberglass body panels mean there’s not much actual SL left intact, but the flared body still has much of the elegant design of the German original—just with a whole lot more attitude.

Despite its snorting engine and gorgeous bodywork, the DeAtley Motorsport 450 SL’s best finish in the 1982 Trans-Am series was sixth place. Elliott Forbes-Robinson took the series championship for 1982, winning five of the series’ 10 events in his Pontiac Trans Am. Nonetheless, this beautiful race car got to go wheel-to-wheel with Elliott Forbes-Robinson along with Paul Newman, who gave the Datsun brand its final race win in the 1982 season before moving to the Nissan brand. The novelty of owning the only Mercedes to compete in Trans-Am, plus the fact that it’s been recently renovated to be track-ready yet again, makes this an interesting collector proposition.

Will we be seeing this on the hallowed turns of Laguna Seca yet again, vying for position with Datsun 280ZXs and third-gen Camaros and Firebirds as it did 40 years ago? We can only hope.

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“I think the big, impressive event auctions will continue, but rolling around on an aircraft hanger floor on a November’s day looking at a fifty grand classic car is not great. My argument is that unless you’re an absolute pro, it’s a better experience to sit on your sofa, look at 200 images, look at a journalist-written description, and make a buying decision within 14 days, than it is to make that call whilst someone is there with a gavel.”

It seems that a huge amount of people agree with Tom Wood, CEO of Car and Classic, one of the UK’s largest online timed auction sales sites. Early in the pandemic, we wondered if the masses would be willing to part with large sums of money for cars they’ve never seen in real life. In retrospect, that was rather quaint. People happily pay their taxes and search for love online. Using the web to purchase a temperamental old vehicle is, it seems, just another facet of our already highly digitized lifestyle.

Wherever you are in the world, classic and collector car online timed auction websites are big business. In 2020, Bring a Trailer sold $400M of cars, a 66 percent increase from 2019. By the day, the scene is getting more crowded. Bonhams acquired The Market last spring and, months later, sold the Instagram-famous Ferrari F40 ‘F40BLU’ for £1,000,500 ($1.363M) setting a new UK dedicated online auction record. In August, Collecting Cars sold a 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder in the US for $1.405M (£1.03M). Stateside, one can peruse online auctions everywhere from Hemmings and AutoHunter to Cars & Bids and PCARMARKET.

And yet, if we’ve learned anything from the latest revelations about Facebook, it’s that popularity for an online platform doesn’t necessarily translate to trustworthiness. Aside from the fact that car collectors inherently have different perceptions—one person’s “patina” is another person’s “rust”—there are no doubt bad actors looking to exploit the vulnerable in a market awash with cash. All this, in a very young area of the industry, where most of the online sales sites have only been operating for a few years and are still developing their procedures. So how do these companies build trust and maintain trust, both in the vehicles they sell, and in their own brand?

Making the descriptions…descriptive

The most obvious challenge faced by online sales sites is to try to describe the car as effectively as possible, and every representative of the sites I spoke to was keen to spotlight how much effort they go to in this area.

“Before accepting each car, we do a good amount of research,” said Doug DeMuro, co-founder of Cars & Bids. “We ask important questions specific to the model (NSX snap ring, E46 subframe, etc), we look up prior sales and classifieds, and we review any maintenance records the seller shares—all of which helps us make an informed decision about whether to accept it for sale and what reserve price to offer.”

All use a combination of written descriptions, photographs, and video, with most offering the services of a copy writer and professional photographer to ensure the listing is as comprehensive as possible. Autohunter, for instance, says about 35 percent of its sellers opt to use one of their professional photographers, who are “directed to photograph any noticeable cosmetic imperfections,” said Steve Gregg, the site’s manager for auctions and dealers.

Some platforms go even further and insist that their representatives actually see the car. “As standard, we send our photographer out to see the car, but we encourage our concierge service where the car is brought to us. That gives us the chance to drive it a couple of miles and get to know it a little,” said Tristan Judge, CEO of The Market by Bonhams.

The power—and the risk—of the masses

However good the listing is, it can’t tell the whole life story of a car that is often many decades old. That, says Howard Swig of Bring A Trailer, is where the online sales sites offer an advantage over more traditional sales methods: The power of the collective.

“The enthusiastic BaT community is such an essential component to our whole ecosystem,” he said.  “The community is very skilled and sharp-eyed at evaluating what’s on offer, and then bidding accordingly. When something really special or exceptional pops up, it most often leads to a vibrant discussion with sometimes hundreds of comments on a single listing.”

Everyone I spoke to, from huge companies like BaT to newcomers Well Bought, Well Sold, told me that the opportunity for prospective bidders to engage in an open forum with the seller in a manner very reminiscent of social media posts was key to their success. This interaction, they told me, built confidence in the sale, made the bidder feel like they had the opportunity to ask any questions they wanted, and generated a sense of reassurance. It’s the common ground on which the online sales platforms, for all their differences, operate. It’s also, as Hagerty has analyzed, one of the motivating factors behind buyers spending more on online sales than in in-person auctions.

The enthusiastic BaT community is such an essential component to our whole ecosystem. The community is very skilled and sharp-eyed at evaluating what’s on offer, and then bidding accordingly.

Howard Swig, Head of Auctions, Bring a Trailer

But this community also provides the background to one of the biggest concerns voiced about online timed-auction platforms: that these ‘users’ have been given too much power to influence sales, and in some instances their identities aren’t even clear. Given the frightening reach of troll farms on social media, it’s not hard to imagine that in some cases, bidder and seller usernames are actually dealers masquerading as private individuals, or even ‘house’ bidders that push cars over their reserve then mysteriously disappear.

A few of the sites have identified this as a major issue. “Every bidder on our site has a unique username that you can click on,” notes Judge. “Then you can see their history: what they’ve bid on and what they have won. It is then quite obvious whether someone is genuine or not.”

A few sites, including Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids, and AutoHunter take this one step further: click on any bidder or seller and their profile is revealed, including the number of listings, bids. BaT and Cars & Bids also have basic ratings system—thumbs up and flags on BaT, reputation scores on Cars & Bids.

But a significant number of sites still have no way of checking a bid or listing history of a particular user, leaving them open to suspicion that this lack of transparency is intentionally there to hide something. I asked Tom Wood why Car and Classic doesn’t have this facility.

“It’s a great question. We’re super-concerned about GDPR [General Data Protection, an EU regulation], and we launched this platform really quickly. At the moment, we show the first seven characters of a username and sometimes people put in their name or email address into that username. So, I have this potential GDPR nightmare of people’s emails and names potentially sitting live on the site [but] we should probably be cleverer about it: we should manually check each username to make sure it doesn’t have someone’s name in it.”

We know what normal bidding patterns look like. If our team spots anything we think is suspicious, then we investigate it immediately to determine if it is of concern, or simply a genuine but unusual bid.

Edward Lovett, Founder and CEO, Collecting Cars

Of course, manually checking usernames becomes harder as the sites continue to experience exponential growth. “We can’t vet commenter identities as much as we’d like, mainly because there are so many—we’re closing in on 150,000 users and often auctions will have 50 or 100 comments, the majority of which are coming from different people,” notes DeMuro, of Cars & Bids, although he adds that they do go to great lengths to keep out shill bidders.

Given the impossibility of closely examining every user, some companies rely on in-house teams to spot anomalies.

“As we have now sold more than 4,000 lots on Collecting Cars, we know what normal bidding patterns look like,” said Edward Lovett, CEO of Collecting Cars. “If our team spots anything we think is suspicious, then we investigate it immediately to determine if it is of concern, or simply a genuine but unusual bid. If we ever suspected someone was bidding on behalf of a friend, then we would of course ban them from bidding again.”

Sale or no sale?

Another criticism that some sites have faced is the lack of a complete set of published results, both sales and no sales. Again, this has been perceived by some as sinister—a way of increasing sell-through rates and glossing over no-sales.

In truth, there’s a good reason why some of the sites don’t publish no-sales—they don’t want to hurt a car if it is re-listed, as Wood told me. “On [the Car and Classic] results page we publish sold cars…. We’re happy to be transparent about it but we re-run most of [no-sales]… so what you don’t want to do is have an unsold car sat there on your results page as it could affect it on the next run.”

Others believe that everything should be published. Autohunter, for instance, lists unsold cars on its sister site, ClassicCars.com, but leaves the original post alone. “If we can connect an underbidder with the seller, AutoHunter will publish the vehicle as sold, otherwise it will remain published as a no-sale, regardless of whether or not the vehicle may sell on ClassicCars.com,” said Gregg.

It ‘aint over ’til it’s over

Once the bidding has concluded, there’s another major point of trust in the story: the exchange of funds. With any large online transaction there will always be scope for issues to arise, especially when the vast majority of vehicles are not seen until after the auction has finished. Every company I spoke to was adamant that they were careful to identify the real identity of bidders, usually through a credit or debit card check and a ‘hold’ of funds. Car and Classic goes one step further and establishes an escrow system whereby they act as a full intermediary between buyer and seller.

“Escrow was the bit missing around online auctions,” Wood told me, “Although it has made our life a nightmare. We have to KYC (Know Your Customer, or identity check) all of our customers to make sure they are real under money-laundering regulations. That means passports, address checks… every seller and every winning bidder.”

“But it’s worth it. It means that when the hammer has gone down, you are the binding buyer of this vehicle as long as it is in the condition described. You transfer your money to us and we have this beautiful double-opt-in process where the seller says, ‘I’ve given them the keys, I’ve done the paperwork’ and the buyer says ‘Yes, I’ve seen it, the condition is as described,’ then we release the money between the two parties. The seller has the confidence because he knows we’re in funds before the buyer knows who he or she is.”

In a transaction like this, especially with the volumes of vehicles currently being sold online around the world, there will always be some disagreements, but everyone I spoke to was adamant that they were proactive at solving disputes between customers.

“We work hard to resolve disputes,” said Judge of The Market. “If something is not as expected, we negotiate between the buyer and seller as we want everyone to be happy. Our return rate is quite fabulous and our buyers tend to be evangelical about the experience. We want that to continue.”

But that level of customer interaction comes at a cost, as Wood explained.

“This is an incredibly expensive process for us,” he said. “[Car and Classic] have a heavy customer support staff base who are always on the phones, dealing with people. I’d say 95 percent of the time it’s completely seamless, 5 percent of the time there will be questions, and 1 percent of the time there’ll be an issue. We want those resolved so that people return.”

“We are sometimes asked ‘What if the car isn’t as described?’ by first-time bidders,” said Lovett of Collecting Cars. “And of course, there are legal protections already in place regarding this. However, we want to ensure that every car we list is absolutely as described, so we also make sellers jump through hoops to get to the listing stage.”

Others have imported goodwill and trust, either from linking with well-known personalities or by being part of an already well-known, trusted company, as Avi Tandon from Automotive Auctions told me.

“Operating within the Silverstone Auctions Group provides Automotive Auctions with a wealth of resources and verification which other companies don’t have the luxury of having,” he told me. “Our in-house team are also active within the automotive community, attending events and shows nationally which allows us to make incredibly valuable connections with them in the real world as well as online.”

A new, self-policed industry

Talking to the key players in the segment, one does get the sense that online auctions are not quite the Wild West they’re sometimes made out to be. Everyone was happy to explain what they were doing to make their customers’ experience better, all keen to maintain their reputations and drive return sales. They almost all offered Hagerty their sales and no-sales data, too, so that we could report on them as an independent commentator. It’s also worth remembering that many of the concerns about online auctions apply, in some measure, to in-person sales—”used car salesman” was an epithet long before the internet was invented.

Yet it’s hard to get around the fact that online auctions are very different from in-person auctions and currently lack a great deal of specific regulation. As seen elsewhere on the internet, this puts a great deal of onus on the community to self-police and gives the companies themselves huge flexibility in the way they do business. And like some of those internet giants, the online auction platforms are becoming influential enough that others in the industry feel compelled to play by their rules—or lack thereof. At least one critic was reticent to comment publicly because he feared being boxed out.

What is clear is that a huge number of people are content to trust in these companies, with both quantity and high sale records continuing to tumble. Whether the people who use them have the full protection they deserve remains to be seen, but in the meantime, Hagerty will continue to monitor this thriving area of the market.

***

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If you think it’s a little early to be talking about Mecum’s 2022 Kissimmee Auction, then you haven’t seen the amazing 1964 Turbosonic Custom Dragster scheduled to cross the block in January. We can hardly contain ourselves. Neither can the dragster.

The Turbosonic, built by legendary Barris Kustom Industries, looks more like a rocket than a car, and its powertrain tells a similar story. Designed by George Barris, Les Tompkins, Dick Dean, and Tom Daniels, the three-wheel dragster is powered by a 1300-horsepower Turbonique micro-turbine you could buy from the classified ad pages of 1960s magazines. Seriously.

What was it like to add turbine power to a street car? Scary. Benjamin Hunting once wrote that installing a Turbosonic was like “strapping a rocket engine to the back of your car, filling it with a magical mail-order fuel, and then lighting its 1300-horsepower fuse.” Even Turbonique acknowledged in an ad that a Turbonique-powered Volkswagen Beetle reached 183 mph before going airborne and crashing. Thankfully, driver Roy Drew walked away unharmed.

It seemed that the only thing holding back the Turbonique engine was the car in which it was installed. So Barris went to work. His Delta V-shaped drag car has an alloy frame and a body made of fiberglass and aluminum, and it features four stabilizer wing flaps, Airheart disc brakes, and a parachute.

Painted in flame-like Pearl Yellow, gold, tangerine, red, and Wild Cherry, the Barris Turbosonic sold for $29,700 at Barrett-Jackson’s 2016 Scottsdale Auction. Do you have the wallet—and the guts—to buy this turbine-powered beast? We suggest you don’t sit on it. Not without a four-point harness, anyway.

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Come August, Monterey, California, is usually ground zero for European automotive royalty. This year, a very special dream car will be vying for the spotlight during Car Week 2021—one bristling with Detroit muscle. Mecum announced it will host the auction of the one-off V-10 Shelby Cobra concept that Ford unveiled in 2004. The show-car roadster debuted at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and Carroll Shelby played a role in its development. Shelby even drove the car on track and gave rides to some lucky journalists.

Ford had planned to build the Cobra as a follow-up to the 2005–06 GT, aiming to poach Corvette and Viper buyers rather than supercar folk. While the GT used a supercharged, tall-deck 5.4-liter V-8, the Cobra relied on a short-deck V-10 based on 4.6-liter architecture. The Viper, interestingly enough, was envisioned as a hardcore successor to the original Shelby Cobra and used a V-10 before Ram adopted an iron-block V-10 with similar displacement. In Ford’s case, the truck V-10 came first and never got the four-valve heads that the Cobra concept’s 6.4-liter powerhouse did. The 605-horsepower dry-sump engine is linked to a Ricardo transaxle that’s mounted in the rear. The packaging helped the Cobra’s weight balance while keeping plenty of foot room as there’s no need for a huge transmission tunnel.

Like the GT supercar, this visionary Cobra made extensive use of aluminum extrusions to keep the chassis lightweight and rigid. The construction is clearly visible when the forward-tilting hood is lifted. Speaking of that hood, it, like the rest of the body, is made from fiberglass and carbon fiber over a foam core.

Due in part to the economy’s downward turn in 2007, Ford pulled the plug on Cobra production. Just four of these all-aluminum DOHC V-10s were built. One was used in the 427 concept from the previous year, one was used in the GR-1 concept—a modern take on the Shelby Daytona Coupe—and one was tested in a Mustang.

Chris Theodore, Ford’s Vice President of Product Development at the time, was responsible for getting the concept built and was also responsible for making it roadworthy once again. Theodore bought the car in 2017 when Ford auctioned it off to raise money to restore the Fair Lane mansion where Clara and Henry Ford lived. As it was a concept and never meant for use on public roads, Ford decided to sell the car as more of a sculpture than a car. To that end, they mangled the transmission output shaft and welding the drive shaft’s splines inside the torque tube, then buttoned it up by bolting on the inspection cover and grinding the heads off the bolts. That was merely a mild stumbling block for Theodore, who enlisted Technosports in Livonia, Michigan, to return the concept to its former glory and running form. Technosports originally built the chassis, and the firm helped Theodore have the car ready for Amelia Island in 2018, where the car was a big hit. We spoke with Theodore about the car, so if you’d like to see more, we suggest you visit that article here. When we spoke to him in 2018, Theodore had plans to put some track miles on the car, but it appears that the racing slicks included in the action are from its original show days. Road tires are also included in the auction.

Mecum doesn’t have a presale estimate on the car’s value, but it is a very rare piece of Ford history with connections to the legendary Carroll Shelby, which means bidding could get exciting. Perhaps even more enticing, the car is now titled and licensed for road use. Yee-haw.

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At Mecum Indy this week, we were just about positive we’d see a world-record truck price. The only thing we weren’t sure of was exactly how high the bids would go. Well, the hammer has fallen and Parnelli Jones’s legendary Baja-winning “Big Oly” Bronco sold for $1.87M, including commission. This record surpasses the $1.21M paid for a Mercedes G63 AMG 6×6 two years ago by a huge margin, and for good reason. It all comes down to that one word we hear so often in this hobby—provenance.

Parnelli Jones is one of the biggest names in racing as well as one of the most versatile drivers in the history of the sport. He racked up wins on road courses and ovals as well as on dirt and sand in vehicles of all shapes and sizes. But even though Jones was getting a little more selective about what he was willing to drive by the second half of the 1960s, he agreed to get into off-road racing in a Ford Bronco prepped by legendary builder Bill Stroppe (with whom he had taken stock car wins at Pikes Peak in 1963–64). Stroppe essentially dared him to do it; as Jones said, “It was like showing a red cape to a bull.”

After some mixed success in the Stroppe racers, Jones went back to the drawing board to build the ultimate Bronco race truck, and Big Oly (pronounced “oh-lee”) was the result. Mind you, there isn’t much Bronco underneath. It has a full chrome-moly tube frame chassis, setback 351 engine, modified Twin I-Beam front suspension, dual 22-gallon fuel cells, aluminum inner panels, fiberglass bodywork, an adjustable wing that doubles as the roof, and lots of other modifications. But the 2600-pound, 390-hp off-road rocket was the winning recipe, and it changed the sport. At the 1971 Baja 1000 in Mexico, one of the world’s most famous off-road races, Big Oly finished first and smashed the event’s record time by over an hour. Jones and Big Oly won the Baja 1000 again in 1972, and then took wins at the Baja 500 and the Mint 400 in 1973. That race history alone is enough to make Big Oly the most famous and most valuable Bronco around, but there’s more.

Often when we see a famous race car piloted by a famous driver come to market, the prefix “ex-” gets tagged onto the driver’s name, like an ex-Derek Bell Porsche or an ex-AJ Foyt Indy car. Not the case with Big Oly. After it retired from competition in 1975, Big Oly didn’t get sold off to a succession of owners who raced it into the ground. Instead, Parnelli Jones kept the all-conquering Bronco. It never left his ownership. Until just now.

There were seven other cars from the Parnelli Jones collection on offer in Indy this year, including the 1974 Parnelli Formula One car, but Big Oly was the talk of the town this week. We overheard one collector with an affinity for off-roaders say, “I just have to have this thing.” Clearly, a few bidders were thinking the same. A famous one-of-one racer sold by the very same guy who built it, drove it to victory, and kept it into retirement is not the kind of thing we see every day on the collector car market. Or ever, for that matter.

There aren’t really any comparable sales to Big Oly on the car market, let alone the vintage truck/SUV market, which is why most guesses as to “what will it bring” didn’t get much more precise than “somewhere in the seven-figure range.” This is what it took to become the second owner.

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There’s a wealth of red, white, and blue motorsport veterans up for auction this May. King of the hill is the “Big Oly” Bronco, headed to Mecum Indy, which we’ve already covered extensively. Among the Parnelli Jones collection is another heavyweight, Mario Andretti’s 1974 Parnelli VP J-4 Formula 1 car. If you’re a fan of Jeff Gordon, Bill Elliott, or Tony Stewart, you’ll find a NASCAR racer to suit your tastes.

We singled out four American race cars whose origin stories are particularly compelling, including one that, despite its relative rarity and pristine condition, may be a sub-$50K bargain. The other three? Their six- and seven-figure presale estimates are well-deserved.

1960 Chevrolet Corvette LM

RM Sotheby’s, Lot 170

Estimate: $900,000–$1,300,000

American privateer Briggs Cunningham was obsessed with bringing Le Mans glory to America. In 1950, Cunningham and team were the first Americans to race at Le Mans since the 1930s, entering a pair of Cadillacs which finished 10th 11th. Then, from 1951 to 1955, the Cunningham team raced cars of their own design to moderate success. After a five-year hiatus, Briggs was back at the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans for his final attempt to win with an American car and team.

Cunningham entered a trio of C1 Corvettes—officially numbered #1, #2, and #3—in the GT-5.0 class. Chassis #3535, this car, wore the #1 livery and was driven by Briggs Cunningham and Bill Kimberly. In the third hour, heavy rains caused Kimberly to lose control on his first lap after a driver change. The car spun, flipped twice, and caught fire. Kimberly walked away from the accident, but the Corvette wasn’t so lucky. The fire-scorched car was retired after just 32 laps. Corvette #2 was forced to leave the race after 20 hours, but car #3, driven by Bob Grossman and John Fitch, went on to win its class and place 8th overall.

After Le Mans, chassis #3535 was sold to Marshall “Perry” Boswell Jr., Cunningham’s friend and an SCCA racer. Boswell then modified the body from that of a relatively standard 1960 Corvette to its current form. He swapped in a Zagato-style grille and single-headlight fenders, and filled in the signature Corvette side coves. From 1966 to 1974, the Le Mans Corvette was sold and repainted several times before disappearing from the public for 37 years. In early 2011, the car was discovered in a Tampa classified as “pre-production, Zagato-bodied, Pontiac prototype” with a low asking price. The seller, Rick Carr, was unaware of the car’s Le Mans history until he researched the chassis number. Larry Berman, Cunningham historian, was able to confirm the that this car was indeed the #1 Le Mans entry. Our best guess? Carr likely upped the asking price after learning that.

The current cosmetic condition and post-Le Mans modifications prove that a car’s history often has the greatest influence on its value. Cunningham’s #2 and #3 Corvettes have already been restored to their 1960 Le Mans specs. We’d expect this car’s next owner will bestow the same treatment upon #1.

1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona

Mecum, Lot F186

Estimate: $750,000–$1,000,000

Prior to breaking the 200-mph barrier, this 1969 Dodge Daytona, serial number DC-93, actually started life as a 1969 Charger 500 press car. In that role, DC-93 was stolen, quickly recovered, and taken to Nichels Engineering for modification as a Chrysler “Development Car.” It was then driven by Paul Goldsmith in the Daytona 500 in February 1969, before getting schlepped back to Chrysler to receive an experimental aerodynamics package. Chrysler engineers added a sloping nose cone and the massive rear wing later made famous by the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona and 1970 Plymouth Superbird—the “Winged Warriors.”

The aero modifications on DC-93 resulted in a drag coefficient of only 0.29 with zero lift. Combined with the 575-hp, 426-cubic-inch Hemi EX-144 V-8 and four-speed manual transmission, Mopar had a seriously mean machine. It was so fast, in fact, that Charlie Glotzbach earned pole position driving DC-93, then wearing #88, at the inaugural Talladega 500 in September 1969 with a qualifying speed of 199.446 mph, a world record at the time. Mopar decided to reach for the 200-mph barrier, and, on March 24, 1970, DC-93 set an official average lap speed of 200.447 mph on a closed Talladega circuit with Buddy Baker behind the wheel.

In its convoluted, colorful history, DC-93 was driven by Bobby Allison, Dan Gurney, Bobby Isaac, and James Hylton. Later, it was sold to Don White, who raced it in USAC Stock Car competition for several seasons, modifying the body routinely as rules changed, before retiring it in the mid-1970s and eventually parking outside his shop for 20 years.

We don’t expect this car to have any trouble clearing the $750,000 low estimate; Charger Daytonas without racing history are worth over $700,000 in #1 (Concours) condition.

1990 Chevrolet Corvette R9G

Mecum, Lot S243

Estimate: $30,000–$40,000

Although the C4 Corvette is often considered the outcast of the Corvette family, it was a favorite among racers in its day. The C4 dominated SCCA Showroom Stock racing in the mid-’80s, beating the Porsche 944 Turbo 29 times in a row from 1985 to 1987. The SCCA rewarded its success by banning the fourth-gen from the series and, in 1988, a new Corvette Challenge series emerged to welcome it.

Chevy offered support by building Corvettes with “sealed” engines and transmissions for spec racing, via option code B9P. In 1989, the spec-racing Vettes were equipped with the new ZF six-speed transmission and designated R7F. In 1990, Chevy pulled their support for the third Corvette Challenge season to focus on launching the ZR-1, but not before briefly offering the R9G option package for (potential) race prep. Only 23 R9Gs were made for the 1990 model year and it’s believed only 8 were fully converted to race cars, like #98 here.

This is one of two R9Gs raced by Morrison Motorsports for the 1990 SCCA Escort World Challenge Series. Car #98 earned more team points than any other car in the series, and its multiple podium finishes include a first-place finish at the Toronto Star 24-Hour World Challenge at Mosport. Number 98 and its sister car, #97, secured a team championship for Morrison in 1990.

Since only 23 were built, we don’t often see R9G Corvettes appear at auctions, but they are a bargain. A non-race-prepped example still in the wrapper sold for only $40,000 at Mecum Kissimmee 2014. This car, #98, last sold for $42,000 at Mecum Monterey 2015—we’ll see if bidders this weekend will surpass that number. If your budget is more like mine, this 1990 Corvette R9G is very interesting for the money.

1965 Plymouth Belvedere A990 Lightweight

Mecum, Lot S248

Estimate: $150,000–$175,000

Nothing is more American than drag racing, and few of its classes are as renowned as Super Stock, formed in 1967. To give potential racers more incentive to race in the new class, George Hurst (of shifter fame) fronted a $10,000 prize ($80,000 today) for the first Super Stock World Champion. Ed Miller and Kip Guenther quickly teamed up for a shot at price. The car they chose was a battle-worn 1965 Plymouth Belvedere A990 that already had full racing season under its belt.

The A990 Lightweight was a factory-built drag racer in every sense. Power comes from a 426 cubic-inch Hemi V-8 with a pair of four-barrel carburetors on a cross-ram intake. A high-lift and duration camshaft, revised pistons, and a compression ratio of 12.5:1 was good for an advertised 425 horsepower and 480 lb-ft of torque. Power was sent to the Dana 60 4.56:1 rear end through either a modified TorqueFlite automatic or a Hurst-shifted A833 four-speed manual. (This car is 1 of only 13 A990 cars built in 1965 with the four-speed.) To reduce weight, the rear seats, heater, and radio were removed and the body panels were replaced with steel about half as thick as that clothing a standard Belvedere.

Miller and Guenther went on to win the debut Super Stock Eliminator Championship in 1967, making this Belvedere the only four-speed car to ever win a drag racing World Championship. Despite its remarkable history, however, this A990 Lightweight has struggled to find a home. This is the car’s third sale attempt at Mecum in the past five years after it failed to meet reserve in 2017 and ended with a $90,000 no-sale in 2019. Maybe 2021 will be its lucky year, considering that muscle cars are having a moment.

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With their sleek, aerodynamic styling, road-hugging chassis, and solid powertrains, fourth-gen Camaros were popular cars among enthusiasts seeking fun on the autocross, road course, or drag strip. These are cars that were well-liked and well-received when new and offered a potent V-8 powerplant—especially the 1998–2002 models equipped with the LS1.

We’ve noted for several years now that while the average SS and Z28 offer a lot of fun per dollar, they still seem to be off the collector car buyer’s radar. As a result, their values have yet to climb like many other sporty coupes of the era. There are a few highly desirable models that may change that, however. Here are five fourth-gen Camaros available at Mecum’s upcoming 2021 Indy sale this month that are worth keeping an eye on.

1997 Camaro SS 30th Anniversary

Lot S70

Chevrolet had a lot planned for the 1998 Camaro. It served up a new fascia and the V-8 models received a version of the all-aluminum LS1 that had debuted with the C5 Corvette, giving the Camaro its first Gen III small-block. To give the last of the Gen II V-8 Camaros a proper sendoff, Chevrolet, with help from SLP, built a limited run with the high-output LT4 V-8, an engine that would normally be found in the Grand Sport Corvette. At 330 hp, it was a serious machine.

This 30th Anniversary model offered by Mecum at Indy, one of just 100 equipped with the LT4, has just 35 miles on the odometer. It’s loaded with just about every option a Camarophile could ask for, including a six-speed manual transmission, houndstooth seats, and Hugger Orange stripes.

2001 Camaro SS Intimidator

Lot S231

Dale Earnhardt was one of NASCAR’s most beloved drivers because of, not in spite of, his hard-nosed driving style and sometimes-bristly personality. His signature black GM Goodwrench race car was not a welcome sight in most drivers’ mirror. To distill some of that attitude into a something that would sell on the dealership floor, Dale Earnhardt’s Chevrolet dealership worked with high-performance tuner GMMG to create the Intimidator special edition Camaro with the looks and performance fitting the Intimidator name.

This example has just 62 miles on the odometer and features a tuned LS1 V-8 that churns out 381 hp thought a six-speed transmission equipped with a Dale Earnhardt short-throw shifter. A lowered suspension drops the body over a set of 17-inch American Racing wheels finished in silver to match the stinger strip on the hood. The car comes complete with Intimidator SS car cover, dash plaque, and documentation.

2002 Camaro ZL1 Phase 3

Lot S233

2002 marked the end of the F-body. With no clear return in sight, lots of effort was made to ensure Camaro went out with a bang. One such sendoff was GMMG’s ZL1. GMMG is like a Yenko or Baldwin-Motion of the modern era and offered tuned Camaros that were available straight from the dealership.

Just 69 ZL1s were built by GMMG in 2002 with a 427-cubic-inch LS as an homage to the original ZL1 Camaro in 1969. Of those 69, only 37 were equipped with the 600-hp Phase 3 package based on the C5R engine, and only one was painted in Dusk Blue, an original 1969 color. The Corvette part-sharing didn’t’ stop at the engine though, as this car also uses Z06 calipers and rotors front and rear along with chrome Z06 wheels.

With a screaming engine–complete with headers and cutouts­–and a track-gripping suspension, this Camaro is an all-around performance car that would have been one of the wildest cars on the street in 2002. We’re sure it’s still a ton of fun.

2002 Camaro Brickyard Pace Car

Lot S232

For the fourth-generation F-body collector looking for a low-volume, high-power, fully optioned car, it doesn’t get much better than this. Pace car editions are fairly unique as it is, but this 35th Anniversary Camaro SS also features a host of additional modifications by GMMG that take it to another level of performance while also making it a one-of-one rarity.

The Phase 2 engine, like the one in this Pace Car, used ported heads, a custom cam, and a high-flow exhaust to produce 475 hp. Like some of the legendary Camaros of yore, some of the speed parts from GMMG were a bit extreme. As such, the headers, with their 1.75-inch primary tubes, were delivered in the trunk, to be installed by the owner.

2002 Camaro GMMG Dick Harrell Edition

Lot S87

While 475 hp and even 600 hp was quite a lot for a Camaro, especially in 2002, GMMG wasn’t done adding horsepower to the fourth-gen platform. With 427 cubic inches of LS V-8 to work with, the Dick “Mr. Chevrolet” Harrell version of the GMMG Camaro packed 630 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque into the cramped engine bay. Dick Harrell is a legendary drag racer, so these Camaros featured a sturdy clutch and a Strange 12-bolt rear axle to handle the launches, and a six-point roll bar for added safety and rigidity. Just 33 of these widebody editions were built, making them one of the wildest Camaros you could ever buy from a dealership.

These five cars are among the rarest and most powerful of all fourth-gen Camaros. If they do well at auction and bring top dollar, there are still loads of garden-variety SS and Z28 models that can be snapped up at a relative bargain and turned into absolute track beasts. If these rarities are out of budget, they can still serve as inspiration for whatever kind of Camaro you’d like to cook up on your own.

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If you’re in the market for a prewar hot rod, Mecum’s Indianapolis auction running May 14–22 has something from just about every era you could desire. While the cars themselves were built before WWII, the different eras of customization really kicked off after the war. If you prefer your ’32 Fords and Model A coupes, roadsters, cabriolets, and sedans more in the factory flavor, Mecum has those as well. For now, let’s take a look at 9 varieties of custom builds that trace a timeline of hot rod design.

Perhaps you’re looking for something simple with a unique pedigree. In that case, this 1927 Ford Model T track roadster might suit you. This racing roadster was built in the vein of the ’40s and ’50s racers that plied dirt tracks all over Southern California and comes from the collection of road-racing phenom Parnelli Jones. It’s powered by a 304-cubic-inch Ford flathead V-8 wearing a set of aluminum heads. It tuns on alcohol and turns the tires by way of a three-speed manual trans.

For those who would like a leg up on their hot-rod build but still want some say in the final product, this handsome, black 1932 Ford roadster has much of the hardest work already done. The subtle modifications and vintage speed parts give it a traditional 1950s hot-rod look. The Ford flathead has a 4 inch-stroke crank, likely compliments of a Mercury. It’s topped by a set of Smith heads and uses an Isky cam to breathe through a twin-carb Eddie Meyer intake and gorgeous Eddie Meyer air cleaner. Inside, the dash is filled with a full complement of Stewart Warner gauges. It doesn’t get much more iconic in the world of hot rods than a ’32 Roadster, and this one is built with a fantastic collection of vintage components.

In case your hot-rodding tendencies favor a ’50s-style build that flaunts an even more race-inspired look and performance, how about this 1932 Ford five-window coupe? Chopped, fenderless, perfectly pinstriped, and sitting on wire wheels, this coupe looks like it’s ready to prowl the streets—or even the dragstrip. It’s powered by a 322-cu-in Buick nailhead V-8 that was available from 1953–56 and was one of the first widely available OHV V-8s hot-rodders could obtain. This fine specimen was on the cover of Rod & Custom magazine and sold earlier this year for $49,500.

El Matador is a great example of the customs turned out in the late ’50s and early ’60s that took factory bodywork to the next level and wowed show-goers who were expecting ever-wilder creations. While this coupe started as a 1940 Ford, legendary car-customizer Bill Cushenbery incorporated parts from at least two Chevy models and the windshield from a 1950 Rambler to bring designer Don Vamer’s dream to reality. An OHV Oldsmobile V-8 replaced the Ford’s flathead. Inside, a twin-cockpit dash layout features a center-mounted speedometer and a steering yoke. In that configuration, El Matador was the November 1961 cover car for Rod & Custom magazine.

Shortly after, the car was sold and toured the nation’s car shows, eventually losing the Olds in favor of a Ford small-block. A fire in 1993 seriously damaged the car and, during its restoration, the small-block was updated to a 5.0-liter from a Saleen Mustang and the interior received a newer column and steering wheel. Since then, the interior has been mostly returned to its original, Bill Cushenbery state.

If a wild custom is too flashy, how about a low-key, full-fendered 1930 Ford Model A Coupe on Torque Thrust wheels? At first, this subtle street rod looks as though it could be from almost any era, as its swooping fenders cover the more modern independent front suspension. Inside, a wood dash and steering wheel suggest an ’80s-style street-rod build, but the whole thing looks like it’s in fantastic shape, from the maroon paint to the nicely detailed small-block Chevy powerplant.

Step a bit further along in the street-rod modification timeline and you’ll find examples like this 1930 Ford Model A hi-boy. Dropping a small Model A body on top of a ’32 Ford frame is a time-honored racing tradition and a quick way to get V-8 power in a lighter package. This car’s twin snorkel and billet engine and interior dress-up pieces, however, suggest a much more contemporary build that hints at 1990s style.

Like the 1930 coupe we just highlighted, this 1929 Model A town sedan hides its independent front suspension by retaining its fenders. However, the billet-aluminum wheels bolted to the Mustang II-style suspension are a giveaway that this classic sedan is a much more modern build. Inside, an aluminum tilt column and Lokar billet accessories also point to a ’90s-style build. This one’s powered by a 410-hp Chevy 350 and features all the creature comforts afforded by a coilover TCI chassis (plus air conditioning!).

You couldn’t go to a car show in the late ’80s or early ’90s without seeing a Chevrolet TPI small-block in some sort of custom car. The alien-looking intake manifolds with their long runners were originally installed in Corvettes, Camaros, and Firebirds, and are great for low-speed torque. They certainly made for an interesting sight when they wound up under the hoods of street rods like this 1941 Mercury Club Coupe. The major modifications on this Mercury, aside from the engine and four-speed automatic transmission are a tilt steering column, Mustang-II-style IFS, and air conditioning, Seemingly original from the exterior, but with a modern drivetrain and a more comfortable interior, this coupe is a great representative of an early ’90s restomod.

Owned by Gene Hetland and built by Cass Nawrocki, the Triple Nickel roadster is a homage to the iconic Doane Spencer roadster and the Nickel Coupe that itself is a homage to the aforementioned roadster. While it captures the spirit of that legendary car quite nicely, it also features several small modifications that are easy to miss and other, like its stainless-steel removable top, that are hard to ignore. Under the hood is a wild engine: a Ford small-block featuring experimental four-valve pushrod heads that Ford contemplated before adopting the Modular OHC engine family. It’s tough to meld traditional customization techniques and magnesium wheels with a freakishly rare engine and Hilborn fuel-injection, yet the results speak for themselves. This kind of all-out build is a great representative of the kinds of cars that compete for elite car-show honors in the 21st century.

These 9 are merely a sampling of the wide variety of hot rods and customs available at Mecum’s Indianapolis sale. Whether you want a pickup, a Vicky, or a cabriolet, there is something available for just about every early Ford lover. If you’re more of a Chevy, Buick, Olds, or Willys fan, there are also hot rods to suit your tastes as well, but know that you’ll have to wade through a lot of beautiful Blue Ovals like these.

The post 9 flavors of prewar hot rod at Mecum’s 2021 Indy sale appeared first on Hagerty Media.

COVID-19 has left the world all topsy-turvy, and that includes the classic-car event schedule. Though the Mecum Indianapolis Auction is returning to its normal May dates, the Amelia Concours d’Elegance will be held two months later than its usual March time slot. Then there’s Gooding, which has taken its May auction entirely online (the week-long sale wraps up today).

Let’s just say we’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. One thing we can count on, however, is that plenty of great cars are looking for new homes. Here are the eight cars with the highest presale estimates at Mecum Indy, which runs May 14–22, and at RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams’ events at Amelia Island on May 22, one day prior to the concours.

1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider by Scaglietti

RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island, Lot #176

Estimate: $2.25M–$2.75M

Hagerty #2 (Excellent) value: $2M

This stunning Ferrari Daytona Spider has a lot going for it. The 36th of only 121 built, it was displayed at the 1972 New York International Automobile Show and was Ferrari Classiche Certified and a Platinum Winner at the Cavallino Classic. Formally owned by Alfred Ducato, an early Ferrari enthusiast and personal friend of Enzo Ferrari, it retains its matching-numbers chassis, engine, and gearbox, and it has fewer than 13,500 miles on the clock. Plus, it’s painted Giallo Fly over Pelle Nera.

The new owner had better build in extra time whenever they go out, because they’ll be answering questions at every stop.

1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti

RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island, Lot #136

Estimate: $2.5M–$2.8M

Hagerty #2 value: $2.25M

Another yellow Ferrari, albeit a lighter shade, this 275 GTB/4 has received more than 50 years of fastidious care under single ownership. One of 330 produced from 1966–68, the sports car retains its matching-numbers engine and gearbox.

Ferrari showed this successor to the 250 series at the Paris Salon in 1964, and although its Colombo two-cam, 3.3-liter V-12 was familiar, its layout was new. The Ferrari 275 GTB was the first road-going Ferrari to have an independent rear suspension, as well as a rear-mounted transaxle. Some changes appeared in 1966, including a longer nose with a slightly redesigned grille for the GTB. Shortly thereafter, the 275 GTB became the 275 GTB/4, as the engine under its hood gained two more cams.

This one, which recently underwent a meticulous restoration performed by Bob Smith Coachworks, won’t come cheap.

1930 Duesenberg Model SJ Rollston Convertible Victoria

Mecum Indianapolis, Lot #S135

Estimate: $2.75M–$3.25M

Hagerty #2 value: N/A

It’s hardly a surprise that an Indiana classic car auction includes a Duesenberg (two, actually), since the marque was once headquartered in Indianapolis before it moved to Auburn. When E.L. Cord purchased a controlling interest in the automaker in 1926, he named Fred Duesenberg chief of engineering and tasked him with designing “the best car America had ever seen.” In 1928, Fred rolled out the Model J.

Paul Whiteman, the legendary “King of Jazz” bandleader of the 1920s and ’30s, purchased this short-wheelbase SJ (chassis 2293/engine J-272) new. It originally received a LeBaron Barrelside Phaeton body, but after Whiteman parted with the car, new owner G. Tucker Smith had it refitted with a Rollston body in 1935. That’s an incredible upgrade, considering Rollston’s reputation for quality and attention to detail.

Under the hood of this SJ is a supercharged 420-cubic-inch inline-eight engine that produces 320 horsepower, making it the only early Rollston Convertible Victoria to be supercharged from the factory. This Duesy shouldn’t have any difficulty finding a new home.

1995 Ferrari F50

RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island, Lot 181

Estimate: $3.4M–$3.75M

Hagerty #2 value: $2.5M

As Ferrari had done for its 40th anniversary with the F40, it ushered in its 50th with the F50. The supercar was inspired by Ferrari’s racing efforts, sharing its layout with Ferrari’s contemporary F1 car by utilizing a carbon-fiber chassis and having its F1-based, 65-degree V-12 bolted directly to the chassis, thus acting as a load-bearing member for the rear suspension and transaxle. The 60-valve, 4.7-liter, 520-hp V-12 ensured it was a race car for the road.

Although the F50 is often considered the F40’s ugly younger sibling, it’s the rarest of all modern Ferrari halo cars with only 349 produced. Here’s you chance to join the exclusive owner’s club.

1936 Duesenberg Model J Rollston Convertible Berline

Mecum, Lot S147

Estimate: $3.5M–$4M

Hagerty #2 value: N/A

The second Duesenberg at Mecum’s Indy auction (see above for the other one), this 1936 Model J Convertible, also bodied by Rollston, was the final luxury automobile sold by Duesenberg while it was still in business. (Two more were completed by coachbuilders after chassis and engine production ceased.)

Black with a tan interior, it was shown at the 1936 New York International Auto Show, and Conkey Whitehead, president of Coca-Cola, just had to have it. At a time when the average automobile cost about $500, Whitehead bought it for $17,000. Adjusting for inflation, that’s the equivalent of $323,950 today.

The engine—a naturally aspirated version of Duesenberg’s 420-cu-in straight-eight—must have been music to the ears of jazz musician Charles Kyner, who later purchased the Model J and owned it for 46 years.

1929 Duesenberg Model J “Disappearing Top” Torpedo by Murphy

RM Sotheby’s, Lot 156

Estimate: $3.5M–$4M

Hagerty #2 value: N/A

The third Duesy on the list (offered by RM Sotheby’s), this Model J is not only gorgeous but unique—and expensive, even in Duesenberg circles.

California coachbuilder Walter M. Murphy’s most famous Model J design was the “Disappearing Top” convertible Coupe, which had a distinctive ragtop that hid neatly within the smooth rear deck when lowered. He built only about 25 examples, and the rarest of all is the Torpedo version, which is considered by many to be the pinnacle of Murphy’s work on Duesenberg chassis.  The Torpedo combined the standard convertible coupe’s lines with the flowing, gracefully tapered deck of a boattail speedster. It was often finished in bare aluminum, which extended forward through the beltline and down the center of the car’s cowl, like this example.

Few more glamorous Duesenbergs are in existence, and this one underwent a meticulous restoration by RM Auto Restoration that resulted in a 2020 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance Best in Class award. Win-win.

1934 Mercedes-Benz 500/540K (Factory Upgrade) Spezial Roadster

Bonhams, Lot 160

Estimate: $4.5M–$5M

Hagerty #2 value: N/A

Long before anyone called over-the-top sports cars “supercars,” Mercedes-Benz dominated the performance market. The stunning and exclusive 500K and 540K grand tourers were opulent and powerful—the must-have automobiles of their day. They’re equally sought-after now.

This 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500/540K Spezial Roadster (chassis #105136/engine #105136) is powered by a 5.4-liter eight-cylinder OHV engine with a Roots supercharger that takes output to 160 hp. Among its features are independent coil-spring suspension—double wishbones in front and swing-axles in back—as well as four-wheel drum brakes with “Hydraulic Servo-Assistance.”

Back in the day, Autocar magazine’s H. S. Linfield was in awe of the driving experience: “Without the supercharger, this is a quiet, docile carriage, the acceleration from low speeds being then quite mild. It will amble around town and along byways with scarcely a hint of its latent performance. Bring in the supercharger and it becomes another machine, with fierce acceleration … [yet] even a severe deflection is not felt, and on normal road surfaces the riding is mostly level and steady.”

Only 29 roadsters were built, and according to Bonhams, “Mercedes-Benz’s own Sindelfingen coachwork left little room for improvement. It can safely be argued that its own top-of-the-range sports tourer—boldly and appropriately named the Spezial Roadster—eclipsed all of its peers.” And so too will its new owner.

1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible

Mecum, Lot F166

Estimate: $5.75M–$6.5M

Hagerty #2 value: $2.1M

This Mopar muscle machine is almost as rare as a unicorn. It is one of just 11 convertibles fitted with a 426-cubic-inch Hemi engine in 1971, one of two exported to France, and one of only three that were equipped with a four-speed manual transmission. That makes it extra special—and especially desirable.

Originally sold in France, the droptop pony car—which retains its numbers-matching 425-hp engine and transmission—was repatriated in 1993 and shows 98,553 kilometers on the odometer (or just under 61,600 miles).

As our own Brandan Gillogly wrote in March: “The lauded Hemi V-8 is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable engines of the muscle car era. There’s simply no disguising the massive cylinder heads of the 426 V-8 when the hood is open. To trumpet the stock car and drag race prowess of the street Hemi even when the hood is closed, Mopar gave us the optional shaker hood so that at least part of the raucous engine could see the light of day.”

Additional features include a six-way manually adjustable driver seat, power steering, power brakes, and radio delete, which also means there is no antenna protruding from the passenger fender. The Cuda also wears understated Winchester Gray paint, but don’t expect it to fly under the radar. That won’t be possible at Mecum’s Indy auction, or on the street.

The post The 8 most expensive cars bound for auction this May appeared first on Hagerty Media.

January’s Las Vegas motorcycle sales often set the tone of the motorcycle market in much the same way auctions in Kissimmee and Scottsdale are perceived to in the collector car market. Judging by how they went this year, motorcycles will be a hot commodity for the rest of 2021.

The sales, like so many events these days, happened a bit differently than in the past. The headliners, Bonhams and Mecum, typically auction off bikes the same week, but Bonhams held its sale later in January at a new location, the Rio Hotel and Casino, and Mecum chose to wait until the end of April (which is why we’re talking about it now). As we’ve seen at car auctions, there were fewer lots on offer: Mecum’s event slimmed down from 6 days last year to 4 days this year—and nearly 600 fewer lots. Despite and perhaps because of the limited supply, demand was strong. In fact, we saw some astronomical, record-setting sales. Let’s zoom in on six big sales from Mecum Vegas for a better perspective.

2004 Honda Rune

Sold for $55,000

#1-condition (Concours) value: $25,500

The Rune is likely Honda’s boldest-ever design move, from a company known for playing it safe, and one of the brand’s most polarizing bikes. It was created in 2004 as a radically-styled concept based on the Goldwing, intended prove Honda could build an even better exotic cruiser better than Harley could. With an MSRP of $24,999, it cost more than most other bikes on the road.

Limited production and a high entry fee meant that the Rune was coveted from day 1, and it has held its value. Many nice examples exist, but we rarely see one transact for #1 (Concours) value of $25,500—about the bike’s original MSRP (although inflation means the amount doesn’t exactly equate to an even trade).

All to say, this $55,000 sale came out of nowhere. At more than double the #1-condition value, it leaves any comparable transaction in the dust—and leaves us scratching our heads. The Rune market isn’t an arena where we’d ordinarily expect to see much movement, and this single sale does not mean values for these bikes just doubled. More likely than not, this result will be as polarizing as the Rune itself. No doubt it’s a lot of scratch, but what’s for sure is that at least two people with deep pockets were willing to shell out for this special cruiser.

1986 Honda CR250

Sold for $12,100

#1-condition value: $5200

Whereas we can dismiss the Rune sale as something of an outlier, for now, there’s no doubt ’70s and ’80s super bikes have been on the rise, and our price guide has frankly struggled to keep pace (although we did call them out, along with the Knucklehead, below, in our motorcycles to watch in 2021 story back in January). This CR250 sale demonstrates that in high relief.

Dirtbikes were long viewed as utilitarian, even disposable, with many of them wearing plastic components rather than chrome and metal. Their appeal had long been limited to established enthusiasts and collectors. Until recently, that is, when faired sportbikes started to become widely accepted, and ’80s dirtbikes began their own price creeping.

Dirtbikes generally lived punishing lives, meaning today’s supply isn’t high, and as demand ticks up, so do prices. A CR500, the most iconic and valuable of all dirtbikes, will sell for upwards of $20K if it’s in excellent shape. This $12K sale of a Honda CR250 further solidifies the burgeoning value of lower-cc bikes.

1946 Harley-Davidson FL Knucklehead and 1943 Harley-Davidson E Knucklehead

FL sold for $220,000, and E Model sold for $220,000

#1-condition (Concours) value: $87,000 (FL); $87,600 (E)

We have been watching as Harley Knuckleheads slowly climb the price ladder, going so far as to lay out just how badly millennials want your Harleys. That said, we didn’t expect to witness sales even close to the original-paint “Greenie” Knucklehead that sold last year for $220,000. Well, it happened again at Mecum Vegas 2021. Twice. These most recent results are nearly triple our #1-condition price guide value, and the ’46 sets a new record for a the model year.

The J.C. Burgin collection from which the bikes were sold was part of the late Johnnie Clifton Burgin’s estate. He was the owner and caretaker but also the restorer of the majority of the Knuckleheads for sale from the collection; one Knucklehead for each of the 12 years Harley made them.

As prices lift ever higher in the mid-range tier—CB750s at $50K, Z1s at $35K, and CR500s at $20K—the top of the collector market is showing some signs of following suit. Harley experts caution us that these two sales reflect frenzied bidding in the room rather than a tectonic shift in Knucklehead values, but there’s no doubt these venerable bikes are performing well.

1973 Kawasaki Z1

Sold for $36,300

#1-condition (Concours) value: $22,600

The Z1—Kawasaki’s answer to the Honda CB750—is regarded as the first true superbike. These machines have proven time and time again that they are capable of commanding big dollars. The earliest 1972 production bikes sit on top of the value pile, commanding large premiums over later bikes and changing hands at or above $30K in the last year. At first, such prices seemed like outliers (this is sandcast CB750 money, after all) and then they just kept coming.

This example from Mecum Vegas tells us prices might go higher still. See, it’s not an early VIN. This price would have seem outlandish four months ago. At the pace things are changing, though, we could very well be saying it was bought well four months from now.

1963 Triumph Bonneville TT Special

Sold for $71,500

#1-condition (Concours) value: $20,500

At a time when Japanese bikes both old and new are taking the spotlight, British bikes have sat idle or even declined from their peak values. At least, that is, until this TT Special pulled in $71,500. That’s almost #2-condition Vincent Black Shadow money.

This particular TT Special is, well, special in several ways. It is the first and least common year for production, and the bike is said to be in 100 percent original condition with only 500 miles on the odometer. Being all-original might command, say, a 25 percent premium over a restored bike in #1 condition, especially for such a rare machine, but in this case it brought a truly shocking 248 percent premium. It’s not Steve McQueen’s TT Special, so what gives?

Clearly British bikes are not wholly falling out of favor, and the timeless style of the Bonneville—not to mention its recognizable nature among car and motorcycle enthusiasts—will ensure they are held as icons for years to come. Will $70K+ for a Bonneville happen again any time soon? Time will tell, but for some the Bonneville’s mystique remains worth a pretty penny.

Like this article? Check out Hagerty Insider, our website devoted to tracking trends in the collector vehicle market.

The post 6 sweet bikes that broke our price guide at 2021 Mecum Vegas appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Imagine, if you will, taking your significant other’s daily driver from them, smuggling it off to another country to be turned into a race car, smuggling it back disassembled in crates, assembling it, proceeding to race it competitively under a pseudonym (so your father wouldn’t find out) … and living to tell the tale.

Insanity, right? Well for Cristobal Galjuf of Lima, Peru in the early 1970s, it was reality. Incredible as it may seem, Galjuf, his marriage, and his relationship with his father survived the whole ordeal.

Thankfully for us, the other part of the story that survives today is the car at the center this tale—a 1967 Ford Mustang modified by Holman & Moody. And soon it will be offered at Mecum’s Glendale, Arizona auction (Lot S155) on March 20.

By 1971, Galjuf had for a while been road racing Mustangs in various events in Peru, at which point turned his attention to building a serious, purpose-built race car. His wife was daily-driving a 1967 Ford Mustang Coupe, built at the very Peru factory in which she worked, that he had purchased for her new. The logic behind taking this plain-jane four-year-old Mustang and turning it into a no-holds-barred road racer may be lost to time, but what’s for certain is that Galjuf decided Holman & Moody was the shop for the job.

Holman & Moody’s home in Charlotte, North Carolina, was, well, 3200 miles away and in America. Add in the wrinkle that Peru was under military dictatorship at the time and Charlotte might as well have been on the moon. Where there is a will, however, and a big enough budget, there is a way. Galjuf found a means of sneaking the car out of Peru.

As original documentation clearly demonstrates, once the Mustang arrived at H&M it was a cost-no-object undertaking. The 1972 invoice shows the cost to convert Mrs. Galjuf’s former daily driver into an “FIA Spec” road racer was just under $20,000—the equivalent of roughly $126,000 today.

For that money, Galjuf got a car prepared to a level unencumbered by the SCCA rules to which Trans-Am racers in the U.S. needed to kowtow. The basic specifications of this Peruvian-born, Carolina-bred road-race special included a full period TA-spec rear clip mated to a period NASCAR super speedway front clip, and whatever other tricks H&M could throw at it. Toughness and reliability were paramount, as evidenced by multiple shocks on each corner, easy-to-service four-wheel drum brakes, supremely heavy-duty bits like double-center wheels, and stout coolers for the gearbox and differential. This pony was expected to take a beating in Peru.

When the car was completed, Galjuf reportedly flew to Road Atlanta for a shakedown test with the H&M crew—at an invoiced cost of $5394.00! Afterwards Galjuf flew back to Lima while H&M disassembled the car, packed it in crates, and shipped it back to Peru so that the now much racier Mustang could be smuggled back into his home country. The scheme worked. Once the Mustang was reassembled, Galjuf raced it extensively (and quite successfully) for a few years in Peru, Mexico, and Argentina under the pseudonym of “Batman.” Why? So his father wouldn’t find out about his racing exploits, which were often televised or broadcast live on the radio where his father would listen to them. All of this came to an end, however, when a friend was later killed in a similar car and Galjuf, now with a family of his own, parked the H&M-built Coupe in the interest of self-preservation.

The car then moved through a succession of owners, none of whom were as successful at racing it, before ending up in a museum owned by a gentleman named Nicolini. The Mustang’s current owner, Charles Maranto, shared with me the story of how he discovered it, brought it back to the U.S., and got it back into fighting shape:

“On a trip to Lima Peru in 2011, friends told us of an interesting auto museum in the city owned by a guy named Nicolini. As we walked through, I noticed the Mustang. After lunch at a local eatery with Nicolini, I popped the question about buying it. He was agreeable to selling it but warned me that exporting cars from Peru is almost impossible. The next six months was spent kissing the a#@ of the export office. Finally, the shipper called and said ‘grab a bunch of 100-dollar bills and let’s fly down and get this done.’ After passing out said bills, I was given the go ahead to export the Mustang. An hour later we were at the airport loading it on to a cargo jet destined for O’Hare in Chicago, as overland transport is dangerous.

“We later embarked on a faithful restoration to exact condition as raced in ’72, with Lee Holman’s guidance. At some point in the car’s history, the original 289 was blown up and a replacement ‘tall deck’ engine was ordered from H&M. On arrival in Peru, the local mechanics could not fit the taller engine into the car, so mid-construction, the work was halted and that is the way it sat until we purchased it. To fit this engine during the restoration we had to manufacture an all-new exhaust and fashion a hood scoop to house the air cleaner. It has been a love fest for me to return this car to its original glory.”

Today, this ‘60s pony is much more than an old Ford race car. It’s a one-off with a wild, winding history that took it far from its home market in Peru—to America—so it could be covertly converted into a weapons-grade road racing car by one of the most famous race shops of all time, only to be returned home for almost four decades before being “greased” back to the United States and restored to glory.

The big question is, come the Mecum sale on March 20, will the person who writes the next chapter go by “Robin?” It would only seem fitting, as would a couple of mufflers so the Mustang can really stretch its legs on a 1000-mile road rally or two. You know, just to make sure everything is working properly, and perhaps to show how well a Mustang stuffed full of 1970s TA and NASCAR bits can still boogie. Because I bet it sure as hell can.

The post “Batman”: The ’67 Holman-Moody Mustang that was smuggled in boxes, raced, and restored to glory appeared first on Hagerty Media.

With January’s big auctions now in the rear view, the surprisingly strong sales numbers suggest that the 2021 collector market is off to a healthy start. Of course, you don’t have to spend mega money to get a satisfying machine to enjoy cruising, corner carving, or tinkering with in the garage. In recognition of that fact, a number of Hagerty staffers stared down a beast of an Excel spreadsheet that recorded every vehicle sold at Mecum’s gargantuan Kissimmee sale, in January, albeit with a $21,000 price cap in honor of the year 2021. From there we each selected our favorite vehicle (or vehicles), making our case for how to spend this imaginary 21-grand windfall.

2011 Jaguar XK8 ($12,100)

Only $12,100 for a 2011 Jaguar XK coupe in a suitable black-over-black combination is a great deal. Jaguar touted the F-Type as the new E-Type, but its two-seat configuration meant the 2+2 XK left no direct replacement in its wake. The turbo four-cylinder, supercharged V-6, and supercharged V-8 engines in the F-Type line mean the 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V-8 in this XK is something of a rare beast in Jaguar’s modern performance history. The XK coupe is one of the last cars that meets this storied English brand’s ideals of grace, space, and pace. — John Wiley

2004 Pontiac GTO ($16,500)

For $16,500 you can’t go wrong with this high-powered sleeper. Six-speed manual, 6000 miles, and rare Cosmos Purple color? This collector-grade GTO car passed by unusually cheap. As a driver, GTOs are very well-rounded, offering plenty of power that is balanced by impressive handling. The $16,500 price doesn’t reflect a premium paid for low mileage, so one could drive it guilt-free and easily sell it for the same price … or more. — Greg Ingold

1970 Honda CT70 and 1970 Honda CT70H ($16,500 total)

Now that it’s been nearly a year since our lives took a very strange turn, the opportunity to get outside and have fun with the wind in your face sounds better than ever. Throwing two CT70s in the back of the truck is perfect way to do just that. Pick up a buddy, throw on some tunes, and head into the hills for a minibike race. Honda made a ton of these bikes, so they can be easily found and restored, due to their size and limited bodywork. The H model is more rare; it has a four-speed gearbox and clutch, compared to the standard three-speed semi-auto gearbox found in most CT70s. Either way, these little bikes look good to go. Why spend $1000 and a year restoring it in the garage when you can let loose and feel like a kid right now? — James Hewitt

1952 MG TD Roadster ($18,150)

The last thing I need in my life is another British sports car, but I guess one more won’t kill me. And hey, this is a pretty good one. It’s an MG TD, but it isn’t just any TD. This is a relatively rare Mk II “Competition” model, one that came from the factory with extra go fast(er) goodies for the aspiring club racer. Thanks to higher compression, larger carbs, and larger valves, the car’s performance surged to a dizzying 57 horsepower and an 83-mph top speed—enough to get a speeding ticket. Adjustable friction-type shock absorbers just sweeten the deal. This one has matching numbers and wears an older restoration in colors that suit the TD’s shape (not every color does). At this price it looks like a pretty nice deal. We viewed it at auction a few years ago (when it sold for $23,100) and rated it in #3 driver-quality condition, but that’s exactly what these wide open little roadsters are for: driving. — Andrew Newton

2006 Pontiac Solstice and 1990 Ford F-150 ($19,250 total)

How about an all-American twofer? Convertible for the summer, truck for the winter (with some season-appropriate rubber and a few sandbags in the back). This Solstice comes in a nicely understated Emerald Green and, even though it’s no GXP, 177 hp and a five-speed manual should be a recipe for everyday grins. Who knows how many miles this red-over-red F-150 has (the listing doesn’t say), but it looks solidly clean. The inline-six means that this truck is probably better suited to around-town driving than intense towing, and, honestly, that’s realistic for my apartment-life use. Plus, two vehicles with functioning air conditioning? My Volvo might be jealous, but that’s luxurious for just south of 20 grand. — Grace Houghton

1992 Suzuki Cappuccino, 1973 Honda SL100, and 1975 Honda CB360 ($20,625 total)

I wanted to squeeze the most fun out of the hypothetical $21K as I could, so I naturally turned to a sporty Japanese kei car. The Suzuki Cappuccino is currently one of the most underappreciated cars on the market. (My co-workers are undoubtedly tired of me talking about it.) The Capp is basically a 3/4-scale Miata, except it’s turbocharged to 100-hp per liter, has a trick three-piece hardtop/targa/convertible roof, and gets 45 mpg. Although $13,750 might seem like a lot for such a little car, it leaves more than enough room in the budget for a couple of motorcycles. One practically new 1973 Honda SL100 with less than 400 actual miles to sit in the garage and look at, alongside a well-worn 1975 Honda CB360 to ride. — Adam Wilcox

1992 Toyota SR5 Pickup and 1975 Honda Dual Sport XL250 ($20,700 total)

Twenty-one-thousand dollars feels like an entire Brinks truck to me, a guy who typically convulses at the thought of spending five figures on something for myself. Flush with imaginary cash, I set about perusing the Japanese listings that would fit next to my reliable Lexus LS400. I’m also in the midst of a major spell of truck envy. Natch, this 1992 Toyota SR5 pickup is a perfect pick for my needs, at $18,700. Five-speed manual, four-wheel drive, garage-kept in California until July ’19? Count me all the way in. With the extra cash, I’m also scooping this $2200 1975 Honda Dual Sport XL250 to throw in the bed, plunging headlong into adventure mode. Or life-long rust-prevention mode? Don’t tell me which. — Nate Petroelje

1986 Mercedes-Benz 560SL ($20,350)

Many modern cars desperately advertise their sportiness, be it with pointless black trim, fake vents, huge wheels, or plastic cladding. An honest luxury cruiser is something of a lost art, and this late-model R107 SL strikes just that note. (Plus, I am an admitted German-car obsessive.) This ’86 is most certainly not the best-looking SL of the bunch, let alone the most handsome R107 of the generational run. But the capable 5.6-liter V-8 and various suspension upgrades—not to mention the amenities that Mercedes-Benz added toward the end of this car’s lifecycle—make it extremely comfortable. Build quality is also spectacular. Mecum’s Signal Red example appears quite clean given the car’s 78,000 miles. This is a car I’d happily drive for any reason, anytime, without worrying about spoiling it. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. — Eric Weiner

The post How far did $21K go at the January 2021 auctions? appeared first on Hagerty Media.

Rather unfortunately, Punta Gorda, a seaside city of about 20,000 located on the Gulf between Tampa and Fort Myers, is best known as ground zero for Hurricane Charley, a tiny, vicious Category 4 storm that was meandering north over open water toward St. Petersburg when it suddenly made a hard right turn.

Punta Gorda just exploded. Homes and businesses looked like they had been run through a shredder. Fishing boats were sunk or capsized or relocated into people’s yards. Mobile homes twisted in half, aluminum flapping in the wind. It left some bizarre, unforgettable images, such as a car still on a lift in a gas station garage that was no longer there. A used car lot was advertised by a sign atop a heavy metal pole. The hurricane bent the pole into a paper clip, and the sign smashed down hard into the featured car of the week, a pastel yellow Subaru Baja, which was not quite a tragedy but unfortunate nonetheless.

That was August 13, 2004. Today, there’s little sign left that anything bad ever happened to Punta Gorda, which is Spanish for Fat Tip. There’s nighttime partying at Laishley Park, downtown on the Peace River shore. There are parks and bike trails and a bent tree that was left as a memorial to the carnage.

Rick Treworgy, 72, was born in Caribou, Maine, but came to Punta Gorda with his family when he was 10, and he never left. He was one of the men who rebuilt Punta Gorda. He owns four companies and his real estate holdings are substantial.

But he is best known, in our world, anyway, as the owner of Rick Treworgy’s Muscle Car City, formerly located in an old Walmart but since consolidated into a former grocery store, the anchor tenant of a shopping center Treworgy owns that’s five minutes from his home. Which is also impressive.

Muscle Car City has long been the focal point of the automotive world in southwest Florida. There is a bar and restaurant called StingRays with a Chevrolet Corvette C5 convertible sitting atop of the awning. The big parking lot hosts car clubs and cruise-ins and once a month, a big swap meet.

Treworgy said he always thought he might own a car museum, since he started collecting cars at 14 with a 1955 Chevy convertible. “This was always a dream. But now it isn’t. I get to my office here at 5:30 or 6 a.m., and I just don’t see myself at 80 doing that, running a car museum. I’d like to travel, do other things. So everything goes.” The signs, the gas pumps, the dozen Schwinn Stingray bikes, and every car in it, all 200, representing possibly the finest private collection of GM muscle cars there is. All at no reserve.

Treworgy hired Mecum Auctions to handle the sale. They tagged it onto the end of the Kissimmee, Florida auction, the largest in the country with some 3000 vehicles. The next Friday and Saturday—which was last Friday and Saturday—Mecum erected a massive tent with four big-screen TVs in sequence in the parking lot. Every bidder from the Kissimmee auction was automatically registered, “and we registered another 800 on top of that,” said John Kraman, Mecum director of company relations and member of the unofficial Mecum band, Redline 7000.

“Rick put together a remarkable collection of GM cars—there is a Willys thrown in but it has a big-block Chevrolet—all of them in good or great condition that drew a tremendous amount of interest,” Kraman said.

Treworgy said he sought out cars that had the largest, most powerful engines available, the pinnacle of the model, and almost always with manual transmissions.
On Friday, every seat in the huge tent was taken, and more people lined the fringes of the seating. Only bidders and their guests were allowed: Civilians had to stand outside the chain-link fence and ogle.

Bidding was fast and furious as it often is when you chum the waters with “no reserve;” every consummation has a Happy Ending. Day one began with a 1957 Chevy Cameo pickup ($73,000) and ended with a 1978 Pontic Trans Am ($49,500).

Day two began with Treworgy’s own 2020 Corvette ($121,000), and ended with a rough 1934 Chevrolet project ($11,550). Beginning with that 2020 Corvette, auctioneers reeled off 49 Corvettes in a row, concluding with the oldest in the collection and one of the rarest, a 1954 roadster. A total of 50 Corvettes crossed the block, and it was some of the easiest auctioneering ever, especially with up to 30 percent of the sales going to phone or online bidders.

In the end, Treworgy, who had been watching the auction on TV in his darkened office, was almost giddy. Total: Almost $19 million. “I think everything brought a fair price for what it was,” Treworgy said, looking as though he’s already packed his bags for all that traveling he mentioned. “I’m really happy with how it turned out, though there were maybe 20 cars that crossed the block that made me say, ‘Man, I should have kept that.’”

But don’t cry for Rick Treworgy, Punta Gorda. He has kept at least 50 cars stored in a custom-built barn back at the house, including 20 1967 Corvettes with 427 cubic-inch V-8s and manual transmissions, one in every color that GM built that year. Plus he just got another Corvette, the very first 1963 L88 made, a Tuxedo Black convertible first purchased in Detroit by racer Tony DeLorenzo, for which Treworgy paid a reported $2.5 million. The seller: Dana Mecum of Mecum Auctions himself.

Treworgy is keeping StingRays Bar and Grille in Punta Gorda open, and will still host cruises and the monthly swap meet in the parking lot. Muscle Car City is likely to become a medical facility.

“I still have some nice toys,” Treworgy said. “And now I’m going to buy some more.”

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The January Auctions were very different this year. Some longstanding sales didn’t take place at all. Even so, it was a very busy month with 2239 vehicles sold between Mecum Kissimmee (the world’s largest collector car auction), Mecum’s “Muscle Car City” auction, and the four auctions usually held live in the Scottsdale, Arizona area. (These pressed on in modified form, the manner of which varied from house to house.)

We watched and we analyzed. As always, the results brought with them some interesting surprises. Some cars defied middling expectations with huge prices, while others flew under the radar at bargain prices. Frankly, however, between the consistent, surprisingly strong bidding in Kissimmee, the more focused high-dollar consignment lists in Scottsdale, and the absence of Barrett-Jackson’s and Russo and Steele’s auctions in Scottsdale this year, bargain pickings weren’t as plentiful in 2021 as they have been in the past. Here are six of the cars that snuck their way through a strong bidding atmosphere.

1965 Oldsmobile Starfire Convertible

Sold for $14,300, Mecum Kissimmee, Lot L53.1

#3-condition (Good) value: $27,400

A period ad boasted that the Starfire “sparkles with distinction,” but this one crossed the block early in the week and apparently didn’t sparkle enough to start a bidding war. As a ’65 model it lacks the nifty brushed aluminum side trim of the earlier Starfires, but it does have the new-for-1965 425-cubic-inch Rocket V-8, which puts out 370 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque. It was Olds’ most powerful engine that year, offering more oomph even than the 442. Starfires also came with leather bucket seats and power everything.

This one shows some wear and tear but nothing that would be cause for alarm. And at this price, the style, rarity, and cubic inches per dollar make it a savvy buy.

2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

Sold for $29,700, Mecum Kissimmee, Lot W124.1

#3-condition (Good) value: $33,500

The C6 Z06 was a bargain even when it was new, besting six-figure supercars while carrying a base price under 70 grand. It’s still one of the quicker cars on the road, even though its design is now 15 years old, so it’s a bit of mystery why Z06s are as affordable as they are. The buyer of this 37,000-mile Velocity Yellow car got a solid deal; this kind of price would ordinarily buy a car with higher miles finished in a less desirable color.

1967 Cadillac Eldorado

Sold for $7280, Bonhams Scottsdale, Lot 133

#3-condition (Good) value: $13,900

A California car with five decades of single-family ownership, this Cadillac sat for a few years but was recently put back on the road. It appears quite well preserved, too. Barely 7 grand for a ’67 Eldorado is essentially project car money, and this Caddy is in better shape than that.

1969 American Motors Hurst SC/Rambler

Sold for $44,000, Mecum Kissimmee, Lot F132

#2-condition (Excellent) value: $55,500

Following a tried-and-true formula, AMC and Hurst took a big, powerful engine and crammed it into a small, light car, creating the SC/Rambler. The one-year-only model, aimed at drag racing, was also one of the wildest-looking cars to come out of an era full of wild-looking cars. Most of the 1512 SC/Ramblers built came with the outrageous “A” paint scheme that featured bold striping and vibrant graphics, but this car with the “B” paint scheme isn’t exactly subtle—and it’s rarer.

Mecum’s SC/Rambler is a restored car with no major issues to speak of, but it nonetheless sold for driver-quality money. Most bidders must have been keeping their powder dry for the next lot of the auction, another restored SC/Rambler in the poppin’ “A” paint scheme, which sold for $55,000 (about condition #2 money).

1956 Jaguar XK 140 MC Fixed-Head Coupe

Sold for $64,960, Worldwide Scottsdale, Lot 9

#3-condition (Good) value: $81,900

The MC (called the “SE” in the U.K.) was the top-of-the-range version of the XK 140, and it came with a 210-hp XK engine fitted with the cylinder head from Jaguar’s Le Mans-winning C-Type. This one is also a gleaming former Jaguar Clubs North America (JCNA) show car. One big knock against it: the Borg Warner automatic surely turns some people off, but that only goes part of the way in explaining this modest price, which leaves the new owner plenty of money left over to toss in a period correct four-speed or one of the popular modern five-speed swaps.

1969 Pontiac Grand Prix Model SJ

Sold for $16,500, Mecum Kissimmee, Lot W74

#3-condition (Good) value: $20,300

Pontiac redesigned the Grand Prix in 1969 with a mile-long hood and even more prominent beak. The exterior may be an acquired taste, but the cockpit’s bucket seats, floor-mounted shifter, and wraparound gauge cluster makes for a sporty feel. With the 370-hp 428 in the range-topping SJ, there’s some verve under the hood, too.

These intermediate-sized Pontiacs certainly don’t have the following (or the value) of a GTO, but the price on this Model SJ was still a surprise. It looks like a solid driver but sold for less than what we’d consider decent driver money, especially given that in the same week another 1969 Grand Prix SJ sold for $34,100. Even though it was a nicer car, it wasn’t 75 percent nicer.

Think there are some other good deals we missed from January’s big auctions? Tell us about it below.

Like this article? Check out Hagerty Insider, our website devoted to tracking trends in the collector vehicle market.

The post 6 slick bargains from the 2021 January Auctions appeared first on Hagerty Media.

There are auctions and then there are auctions. The sale of Carroll Shelby’s personal Cobra shows just how frenzied they can become, after bidders went into battle over the hugely desirable sports car.

At the Mecum Auctions event held last weekend in Kissimmee, Florida, the atmosphere was as charged as they come. Wealthy car collectors vying to own the car that Shelby had ordered and owned from new threw money around with abandon, with bidding starting at $1.5 million and accelerating with all the drama of a Cobra smoking off the line.

Once the reserve was met at $4M, the atmosphere became electric as the auction descended into a two-horse race, with two bidders slogging it out at hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time. By the end of the tense process, there was elation—at least on one side of the bidding hall.

The winning bid was $5.4M, or $5.94M with the buyer’s premium. That is a world record for a 427 Cobra, handily beating the previous record set by Shelby’s own 1966 Cobra Super Snake by $840,000. This price also makes it the third most expensive Shelby automobile sold at auction, and a whopping $3.84M over the value of a #1-condition (Concours) 1965 427 Cobra.

What had got them so enthused? Chassis CSX3178 was Carroll Shelby’s personal Cobra, and he owned it from the day it was built until his passing. In 2016, a near-3000 hour restoration to return the Cobra to its original specification was commenced, carried out by Peter Klutt of Legendary Motorcar Company, a Shelby restoration expert and something of a celebrity figure in U.S. automotive circles.

One of just five 427 Cobras finished in charcoal grey, original documents tell how the car was ordered in November, 1965 as a rolling chassis from AC cars, at a cost of £1019 and 15 shillings. In January, the following year, it arrived at Shelby’s LAX workshop sporting a black interior and lacking an engine and transmission, just as Cobras did. Original work order documents from Shelby American detail how “Build 427 Street Cobra CSX3178” was instructed on January 7 and completed on March 3, when it was shipped to Carroll Shelby’s Dallas home.

Carroll Shelby appeared to pay $6273 for the car. What did he get? It sported a Ford-sourced 427 (7-liter) V-8 with dual four-barrel carburetors, a four-speed Toploader transmission, and Sunburst knock-off wheels.

As Mecum Auctions put it, “Imagine sitting in the seat that Carroll Shelby sat in for all those years and all of the conversations he had with his famous passengers (friends and racers)—if only this car could talk.” Its new owner will undoubtedly invest time and effort uncovering those stories.

Via Hagerty UK

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As sad as Rick Treworgy is about selling off his lifelong collection of muscle cars, there are plenty of prospective buyers out there who are thrilled with the opportunity to own one. Treworgy, who purchased his first car at age 14 and spent nearly six decades buying the best muscle machines that he could find, announced just prior to Christmas that he was closing his 60,000-square-foot Muscle Car City Museum in Punta Gorda, Florida.

Only one month later, Mecum is auctioning off Treworgy’s massive collection of nearly 200 cars and trucks, along with hundreds of pieces of art and automobilia, January 22–23. The sale, which will be held at the museum, comes on the heels of Mecum’s annual Kissimmee auction.

Treworgy, 72, opened Muscle Car City in Punta Gorda 14 years ago, and it represents more than 80 years of American automotive history. In a Facebook post on December 22, Treworgy said he will lease the museum space, but he plans to keep the facility’s restaurant open. “After it all settles, [we] will possibly do [car] shows and swap meets,” he wrote.

In-person attendance at the Mecum Muscle Car City Auction is limited to registered bidders only, which automatically includes those registered for Mecum’s 2021 Kissimmee auction. The museum will remain open to the public through January 17, then it will re-open for an auction preview on January 21.

With so many fabulous muscle cars available—all offered without reserve—it’s difficult to pick favorites, but we put our heads together and did our best. Among those we considered is Treworgy’s rare 1965 Chevrolet Chevelle Z16, but—believe it or not—it is one of three Crocus Yellow Z16s crossing the Mecum block in Florida this month, and we already wrote about the other two.

No matter. With this group there are no poor choices. Here are our six favorites.

1966 Pontiac GTO Convertible

Everyone loves a tri-power GTO, and no list of muscle cars is ever complete without one, so let’s get it to it. Although this is a “standard” GTO, the ’66 Poncho convertible possesses a menacing black-over-black color scheme, numbers-matching 389-cubic-inch/360-horsepower V-8 engine, and M20 four-speed transmission—a desirable combo that any muscle car enthusiast would be proud to own.

2002 Chevrolet Camaro SS ZL1 Super Car

When GMMG rolled out its upgraded Camaro SS ZL1 in 2002, let’s just say that it surprised some people—in a good way. SuperChevy.com called it “a throw-back to the big-block-powered machines of the late-’60s … a perfect mix of raw performance and hot-rodding ingenuity.” Today, Hagerty valuation analyst Greg Ingold, associate editor of the Hagerty Price Guide, uses fewer words: “This thing is super badass.”

Treworgy’s Navy Blue example is no. 21 of 69 ZL1 Super Cars, one of 30 with the 600-hp engine, one of 28 with a rollcage, and one of two with an automatic transmission. Plus, it has only 640 miles on the clock.

1968 Chevrolet Impala SS 427 Convertible

Along with additional styling touches, the Impala SS 427 package offered a hydraulic-lifter L36 V-8 rated at 385 hp. This one is powered by a special-order L72 rated at 425 hp. “It was an extremely rare option,” Ingold says, “especially in a convertible.” Only 1778 SS 427s were built, and fewer than 200 of them were convertibles.

In addition to its rare engine, this one has benefited from a body-off restoration. It wears factory-correct Matador Red paint and red interior, has power everything, and features factory gauges, tachometer, and a wood-rimmed steering wheel.

1968 Chevrolet Chevelle SS L89

The only known example of seven produced in 1968 with this configuration, this Chevelle SS packs a matching-numbers 396-cu-in L89 V-8 engine with aluminum heads that produces 375 hp. Painted Matador Red, it has a close-ratio four-speed manual transmission, F40 suspension, Positraction, special instrumentation, a tinted windshield, and rally wheels.

The subject of cover articles in The Chevelle World, and Muscle Car Review, this SS L89 is among the rarest-spec Chevelles built. Simply put, Ingold says, “This car is a very big deal.” We’ll be watching this one closely.

1968 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible L89

Like the Chevelle SS above, this restored C3 Corvette is a rare breed. It’s one of only 624 Vettes powered by an L89 with aluminum heads and built for the 1968 model year. Produced in November 1967, it is one of 708 Tuxedo Black ’68 Corvettes, and it carries its original engine and transmission—a matching-numbers (IU-suffix) 427/435-hp V-8 with tri-power carburetion and an M21 four-speed manual.

“It is about as rare as an L88,” Ingold says, “but the L88 is a race-spec engine that’s valuable because of its massive power and race history.”

1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL1 Convertible

If this were a true ZL1 car, it would be worth seven figures, since Chevy built only two. It isn’t. However, the Corvette carries an original ZL1 427 engine, which by itself is likely worth six figures and makes this Vette a star.

The reason Chevy built only two ZL1 Corvettes is because they were outrageously expensive. According to CorvSport.com (and other sources), the ZL1 option alone cost $4718, which was only $63 less than the base price of a 1969 Corvette coupe ($4781). In addition, Corvettes equipped with the ZL1 option required a handful of other mandatory options, including special front and rear suspension, a Positraction rear axle, heavy duty brakes, and a special ignition. All told, the purchase price of a 1969 ZL1 Corvette was a shade over $10,000—more than $70,000 in today’s economy.

Records indicate that 94 all-aluminum ZL1 engines with Corvette prefixes were built in 1969, 80 for manual transmissions like this four-speed. While some were likely retained by the Chevrolet Engineering Department, historians agree that the majority were sold to the public.

Treworgy’s Lemans Blue Corvette likely rolled out of the factory with an L88 engine, which was then swapped for a ZL1 427. The engine carries casting no. 3946052 and a casting date of 4-11-1969.

Is the car’s rare ZL1 engine enough to spark a bidding war? Time will tell.

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Mecum is offering a 1965 Shelby GT350R, SFM5R106 to be exact, at its Kissimmee sale this week. I’ll be watching very closely. Not because it’s the rarest or most important of the 36 original Shelby GT350 Competition Models (a.k.a. “R Models”)—Mecum already sold one of two GT350R prototypes for $3.85M last July in Indianapolis—nor because it has a particularly impressive competition record. Rather, it was purchased new by Dick Jordan, a privateer from Downers Grove, Illinois, and raced at all of the tracks in the area for a little under ten years before it ended up in storage and faded away.

No, I’ll be watching this car because, not long ago, it was mine.

Of course, any Shelby GT350 Competition Model is objectively worthy of attention. With relatively simple modifications, Shelby’s skilled team (headed by “Mr. GT350” Chuck Cantwell) made the Mustang nearly unbeatable in B-Production competition and created a formula that vintage racers still copy today.

That formula included basic weight cutting—eliminating bumpers, Plexiglas windows, fiberglass front apron and hood, and gutting the interior. It also featured a 289 “K Code” engine, which Shelby had been using for three years in Cobra competition cars.

To list all of the races won by GT350 R Models would probably require adding another server for this site. It will have to suffice to say that I do not believe there has been another production-based car built in such small numbers to have won so many races. In 1965, GT350 R Models won five out of six regional SCCA championships. At the 1965 ARRC National race, 10 out of the 14 B-Production cars entered were R Models. By the end of the race, Jerry Titus had won the 1965 B-Production National Championship in 5R001.

I grew up reading about the exploits of these most excellent underdog racing Mustangs after they had become the stuff of legend, and I dreamed of being able to experience one someday.

Dreaming remains inexpensive, as is studying history. The same can’t be said of the GT350Rs. Only 36 were built, in three batches. That includes two prototypes/ factory team cars, 5R001 and 5R002 (the latter of which Mecum sold at Indy in July 2020) and 34 production models built for customers. The production versions were priced at $5995, about $1500 more than a street-version GT350.

The initial batch of 15 customer R Models started with SFM5R094, delivered on 4/10/1965 to Tom Yeager of Marion, Ohio. The last first-batch car, SFM5R108, was delivered on 9/22/1965 to Gene Hammond Ford in Texas and sold to its first owner Bill Steele.

After the first batch was completed, the second batch of R Models was produced. The chassis numbers for these cars went from 5R209-5R213, for a total of five cars.

The third and final batch of R Models consisted of 14 cars, all but one being delivered post-January, 1966. As they were built so late in the 1965 model year, the third-batch cars actually had 1966 GT350 grilles and tape rocker panel stripes. R Model buyers were drying up by this point, as $6000 would get you any number of new race cars. For evidence of this, look no further than the last R Model to be sold from Shelby American, 5R533, shipped on March 31st, 1967–a nearly two-year-old “new” race car!

Many old race cars of the period were scrapped or simply forgotten the moment they fell out of contention, yet collectors recognized the significance of the R Models very early and have long paid considerable sums for them. Which makes sense. Although GT350Rs look like pony cars, they are, in fact, one of the greatest champions from one of the greatest eras in racing. They have more in common with famous prewar Grand Prix cars than a standard Mustang or a typical “obsolete” race car. Not to mention, they will always be at the very top of the Shelby food chain.

Just as the cars became moderately competitive “old race cars” in the early 1970s, people realized they were special and started collecting them. Today, 30 of the 36 original R Models are accounted for (although some are regarded as questionable in their authenticity per the Shelby American Automobile Club), a staggering amount considering these war horses were built for, well, war.

Which brings me back to my story of how the car that is being offered at Mecum Kissimmee this week—SFM5R106 a.k.a. the Dick Jordan/Jack Loftus Ford car—at one point ended up in my garage. In the early 2000s I had finally gotten serious about getting my hooks into some significant Shelbys, and an R Model was obviously at the top of the list.

Back then there was no such thing as Bring a Trailer, and few important cars had to that point sold online. So, imagine my surprise in 2004, when I saw R106 pop up for auction on eBay of all places. The bidding was in the low-100K range, not that much more than a good ’65 GT350 street model was trading for at the time. I hurriedly looked the car up in the SAAC Registry, contacted the seller, rubbed my eyes, shook my head, and determined that yes, there was a legitimate GT350R being sold on eBay.

I placed a few bids and then it seemed the secret got out. When the bidding surpassed the limits of my home equity LOC I did what any smart guy would do—I called a friend with a lot more money who also wanted to own an R Model. He gave me the green light to call the owner back and try to buy it outright and end the auction. That worked. The car was “ours” and off it went to my friend’s garage. Where it sat for 2 years. Untouched. Finally, I couldn’t stand it anymore and convinced him to sell it to me.

As I noted, R106 doesn’t have the most impressive racing record. But it was significant to me, as a Midwesterner, that it had campaigned locally. It seemed like it was my job to bring it “home” and make it look like it did at its first race in 1965. This involved hunting down a lot of its original parts, which a previous owner sold off for some reason. I was able to do that and reunite it with, among other things, its original magnesium wheels and Plexiglas side windows. Using vintage photographs, I was also able to recreate Dick’s original maple leaf and sponsorship decals as they were in 1965–1967.

During this time I also was able to drag home its sibling, R107, which has an incredible European race history, and also R533, which has an impressive history campaigning in Canada. I restored both of those to their 1965–1966 configurations as well, and loved to look at the three warriors in a row and imagine what kind of conversation they would have if cars could pop open a few beers (or cans of Castrol 20w50?) and shoot the breeze.

But the gathering couldn’t last. R Models were becoming too valuable for a Midwestern kid to risk racing and, make no mistake, they are awful road cars. So, I sent them on their way, one at a time. R106 was the last to go, in 2011, after five years in my possession.

I’ve always kept tabs on it. I still take a lot of pride in having erased the years to make her look like it’s 1965 again. The last time I saw R106 in person, its current owner was giving it some exercise at a track day in Illinois—literally a stone’s throw from where Dick Jordan lived in 1965.

Mecum estimates R106 will sell between $1.2–$1.5M this week. The Hagerty Price Guide pegs a #1 example at $1.05M, but as we saw with 5R002 price guides are just that—guides. And R106 is a great and very correct example of a model for which demand has always outstripped supply.

I’ll be keeping an eye on its sale because it is a Shelby—and an R Model at that—and also because it’s one of the first high-profile tests of the high end of the collector car market in 2021. But more important, I’m curious to see where my old friend is headed next.

This story originally appeared on Hagerty Insider, where you can find more deep-dive valuation stories about the collector car market.

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As cathartic as it was to see the calendar year change to 2021, the realities of 2020 are still with us. That applies to January auctions, which have historically been the most important of the year for the collector car market. Barrett-Jackson has postponed its legendary sale—long synonymous with “January” for collector car enthusiasts—leaving Scottsdale to host only a smattering of smaller sales that most bidders will be following online. The closest thing to “normal” will be Mecum’s gargantuan annual sale in Kissimmee, Florida, so we’ll be paying it more attention than ever.

It’s about time. Mecum has been around since 1988 and became the biggest and busiest collector car auction company in the 2010s. Its Kissimmee sale, which grossed more than $90M each of the last three years, has for some time been the largest single auction on the calendar. Yet the collector car community—including we at Hagerty—tend to focus our gaze on Scottsdale. There’s justification for that. The Scottsdale sales are older and feature more high-priced consignments. And Barrett-Jackson essentially created the auction-as-spectacle format.

Mecum Kissimmee, however, has the spectacle thing down, too. The auction takes up 60 acres in Osceola Heritage Park with multiple buildings and tent after tent after tent protecting the auction vehicles—sometimes more than 3000—from the Florida sunshine and occasional rain. Even if you leave your checkbook at home, walking the grounds is an all-you-can-eat buffet experience for a gearhead, with cars as far as the eye can see.

Although Mecum Kissimmee offers a little bit of everything it is, critically, a proving ground for muscle cars, a segment that we’ve seen slow considerably during the pandemic. From 2011 to 2020, a total of 996 Ford Mustangs, 2085 Chevrolet Corvettes, and 990 Chevrolet Camaros have sold here. There are always flashy headline sales—last year it was the Bullitt Mustang for $3.74M—the bulk of the cars here are more attainable than what you’ll find at Scottsdale. This makes Kissimmee a key reference point for the sort of cars the typical collector actually owns.

Mecum says this year will be no different in terms of scale, with some 2900 cars consigned on the eve of the sale, which kicked off January 7th and continues through the 16th. “I think Kissimmee 2021 is going to be super strong,” said John Kraman, the director of company relations. Attracting consignments has been more difficult in an era of pandemic and economic uncertainty, he admits, but the stability the market showed throughout 2020 has encouraged many to come off the fence.

“We get contacted all the time by people telling us they can’t wait to come back to the event; we have over two-dozen private collections consigned, and people are continuing to consign cars even as we speak.” Among the vehicles being offered are Carroll Shelby’s personal 427 Cobra, a Shelby GT350R, several Ford GTs, and a Plymouth Hemi Superbird.

Of course, the elephant in the room is COVID-19. Osceola county, like many other parts of the United States, has experienced rising infection rates and hospitalizations in the wake of the winter holidays.

Kraman says Mecum has complied with local restrictions wherever it has hosted live auctions this year and takes “self policing” of the events—masking in particular—very seriously.

“We don’t want to have a situation where someone says, ‘We’re going to shut this down.’ That’d be the ultimate train wreck,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to get this thing.”

Spectators won’t have access to the auction arena, which itself will feature more spaced-out seating, and most of the cars will, of course, be outside, but there won’t be limits on registered bidders, and the state of Florida currently is not restricting in-person attendance at events.

“We don’t tell event organizers whether they can or can’t host something,” said Jeremy Lanier, public information officer for the Florida Department of Public Health in Osceola County. The department does connect organizers with up-to-date CDC guidances, and Lanier added that Osceola Heritage Park has plenty of experience hosting large numbers of people during the pandemic, given that it has been a COVID testing site and will be a vaccine distribution site.

“I feel very confident events are held with utmost care there,” Lanier said.

For those who prefer to stay home, Mecum has, like just about every other major auction house, ramped up its digital tools. Kraman said online bids at Kissimmee will be processed in less than 1 second, allowing remote bidders to compete with those in the room. Online buyers, he added, now account for some 20 percent of Mecum sales, up from about 3 percent in 2019.

Still, Mecum makes no apologies for prioritizing the in-person experience.

“It will continue to be a blend, and we will continue to refine the absentee bidding process, but live events are our identity. It’s who we are,” Kraman said.

Live or online, restrictions or not, vehicles are crossing the block at a scale we haven’t seen since COVID began and likely won’t again for the rest of the year. Mecum Kissimmee will be the first and perhaps best public test of the collector car market in 2021. That’s why we’re finally giving it our undivided attention.

Mecum Kissimmee vs. Scottsdale, by the numbers

To get a sense of how big Kissimmee is in terms of the market, we can compare it to the Scottsdale auctions. Note the comparison is not quite apples to apples. “Scottsdale” is made up of half a dozen or more separate sales conducted by different companies over the course of a week, while Kissimmee is a single auction that takes 10 days.

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The motorcycle world embraces a far more diverse range of engine layouts than the automotive world does. A bike’s packaging is more flexible, and its demands for cooling and heat management are lax compared to even a basic car. Just how wild you can get in the two-wheeled kingdom? Take a look at this JRL Cycles Lucky 7 and its radial powerplant.

Yeah, radial—not rotary. Comprising seven cylinders and displacing a whopping 170 cubic inches, the Rotec Aerosport R2800 is the literal centerpiece of this custom bike. The R2800 is transplanted from the light-aircraft world and was originally intended to fit into the front of replica WWI planes and other vintage designs such as home-built biplanes. Those aircraft roots explain the redundant ignitions on the right-hand side of the bike.

This particular radial engine boasts classic aviation looks without the typical hassle; for example, the R2800 features an electric start system in place of a prop-start configuration. That start system might be one reason why JRL picked this engine around which to build a motorcycle—because, let’s be honest, the engine is so massive that the rest of the bike has to be engineered to fit around it.

The rest of the chassis is full-on chopper, with what looks like a 30-inch diameter front wheel and a rear tire wide enough to use as a home desk. The seat doesn’t look that comfortable, but rear-end discomfort won’t be keeping this bike off the road. Gas consumption is rated at 5.8 gallons per hour at 75 percent throttle when bolted to an aircraft; with the bike’s tiny gas tank and comparatively inefficient power usage, this bike might be lucky to get from the trailer to the photoshoot location without needing a refueling stop. That doesn’t kill the value, though.

“Despite the absurdity, unique motorcycles like this tend to do well at auction,” says James Hewitt, Hagerty information analyst and lover of all things crazy. “All it takes is two buyers wanting something unique, and the sky is the limit—especially when an interested party with deep pockets couldn’t have another built even if they tried. It is an interesting conversation piece that stands out where a classic bike might not. Where else are you going to find another?”

Well, there were two others built by JRL, but that doesn’t mean they will be any easier to get your hands on. If seven pistons shoving one crankshaft powering one wheel is your type of crazy, you had better get registered for Mecum’s Las Vegas sale so you can ride this beast home.

The post This radial chopper is patently absurd—and it’s awesome appeared first on Hagerty Media.

When Edsel Ford became interested in the Elgin Road race in Elgin, Illinois, the country’s first-ever stock car race, he turned to Don “Wild Irishman” Sullivan to prepare 10 entries on behalf of the company. This one, wonderfully restored in 1988 by Roy Nacewitz, took the checkered flag at the 1932 Indianapolis 500, with Fred Frame at the wheel. That makes it the first of many Fords to claim stock-car racing victory.

Ford was serious about racing. In addition to the 10 roadsters that were transformed into racers, a Chevrolet and a Plymouth were also secreted away to Ford’s facility at Dahlinger estate for testing. You’ve gotta know your competitor and what better way than by hand-on examination?

Although it was Ford doing the development of the racers, each of the 10 cars would technically be sponsored by a different Ford dealer and wear the dealership’s name proudly on the side. During testing, Frame crashed the car that was set to wear Cote Motor Company’s livery. To fill in, a 1933 roadster development car became the Cote Motor Co entry and wore the number 10.

Like the rest of the Ford entries, this roadster is powered by a 221-cubic-inch, 75-horsepower flathead V-8 and three-speed manual transmission. Race modification included a new, lower windshield that ditched the normal stanchions. A set of Stewart Warner gauges mounted in an engine-turned dash panel gives the driver vital details. There was, however, no lumbar-hugging bucket seat, just a bench. Nor was there rollover protection to speak of, which Frame could have used—he and his race mechanic brother rolled the car during an event in Long Beach, California. Ford had sent the car on a promotional tour after its win, and the Long Beach race would be its last.

Nacewicz acquired the roadster in 1982 and, with the help of Don Sullivan himself, restored the car back into its racing form in ’88, including all of the early production details that came on the No. 10 car, thanks to its early production status. Since 2006 it has been a part of the Dana and Patti Mecum Collection. It is still in tip-top condition from stem to stern, and it often finds its way into shows, where you can catch a glimpse of it and hear exactly what it sounded like then it raced its way into Ford history almost 90 years ago.

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