An explosive weekend of high-end car sales at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island car auction. Explosive because investors in high-end autos showed up to bid in a target rich environment of million-dollar vehicles. In a post covid world the auction looked and felt like a return to normalcy. Collectors Dashboard had estimates for the cars with a dozen above the $1,000,000 level. One of the most prestigious concours events for over 20 years RM Sotheby’s has been the official auction house to the luxury car event.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. This means collectibles are attracting the same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds. Many collector cars and trophy cars now cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. If that isn’t considered “capital” that would have otherwise been invested, then nothing else will either.

Lot 161 was a car that most people will never even get to see once in a lifetime. This was the 1934 Packard Twelve Individual Custom Convertible Victoria by Dietrich. The car came with an auction estimate of $3,750,000 to $4,500,000 (USD) and sold for $4,130,000 USD. Let’s hope the new owner doesn’t leave this car in a tight parking lot to run into the store.

Here are the top cars that each had million-dollar potential assembled on March 5, 2022 by Sotheby’s for one legendary display of capital:

• Lot 165: Ferrari LaFerrari had an estimate of $3,600,000 to $4,000,000 USD and sold for $3,662,500 USD.
• Lot 133: Bugatti Chiron Sport had an estimate of $3,000,000 to $3,300,000 USD and sold for $3,360,000 USD.
• Lot 143: McLaren Speedtail had an estimate of $2,600,000 to $3,000,000 USD and sold for $2,700,000 USD.
• Lot 129: Bugatti EB110 GT Prototype had an estimate of $2,000,000 to $2,500,000 USD and sold for $2,100,000 USD.
• Lot 154: Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan had an estimate of $2,000,000 to $2,400,000 USD and sold for $3,525,000 USD.
• Lot 135: 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS had an estimate of $1,600,000 to $2,000,000 USD and is currently listed as “price upon request”.
• Lot 159: 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing had an estimate of $1,500,000 to $1,650,000 USD and sold for $2,040,000 USD.
• Lot 145: 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster had an estimate of $1,400,000 to $1,700,000 USD and sold for $1,545,000 USD.
• Lot 147: 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra had an estimate of $1,100,000 to $1,300,000 USD and sold for $1,132,500 USD.
• Lot 175: 1953 Cunningham C-3 Cabriolet had an estimate of $900,000 to $1,200,000 USD and sold for $1,215,000 USD.
• Lot 169: 1994 Porsche 911 Turbo S ‘Package’ had an estimate of $900,000 to $1,200,000 USD and sold for $1,105,000 USD.

The 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS is still for sale according to Sotheby’s as are 40 other high-end vehicles. Price upon request is the flat rate amount the owner is willing to part with it for. A car not selling could be for a number of reasons and should not be seen as a barometer for the success of an auction. It could be as simple as the owner not being satisfied with the bidding activity.