March Auctions: A Stable Market Is Back

March 18, 2024

One of the most diverse collector car auction weeks in history has wrapped, with $183.8M trading hands across 468 vehicles offered spanning 121 years of automotive history, leading to the highest sales total for the March Classic Auctions. RM Sotheby’s was notably absent from Amelia Island this year, instead opting to hold a two-day auction the same weekend in Miami. However, Hagerty will include this auction in the writeup as part of the March Classic Auctions, as the sale nonetheless helps inform the market.

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Main Themes:

The March auction weekend set a record total for the March Classic Auctions at $183.8M, exceeding the previous record of $177.7M set last year
119-year span in the top ten sales – the collector car market shows collectability isn’t bound by age
Wide range of big sales, from new hypercars to turn of the 20th century racers
The median final price to condition appropriate Hagerty Price Guide value was +10 percent, down from +15 percent last year.
After 16 months of softening market activity extending into late 2023, with encouraging results from the March Classic Auctions and January sales, the market has turned the corner.

Highlights:

A 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP ‘Roi des Belges’ sold for $12,105,000, becoming the most expensive pre-1930s car ever sold at auction.
A 1967 Ford GT40 Mk I road car sold for $4,405,000.
The first 2022 Hennessey Venom F5 to be offered at public auction sold for $2,205,000.
A 2005 Ferrari 612 with a gated manual transmission sold for $467,000, setting a record for the model.
A 1988 Porsche 959 SC Reimagined by Canepa set the record for a 959 road car at $3,085,000.

Top Sales

The weekend’s top sale was Gooding’s 1903 Mercedes-Simplex 60 HP ‘Roi des Belges’, which brought just over $12 million, making it the most expensive pre-1930s car ever sold at auction. A 1967 Ford GT40 Mk I road car took the second spot at $4,405,000, and a 1953 Ferrari 250 Europa followed closely behind at $4,295,000. A 2022 Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport set a record for the variant at $4,047,500—the 119-year range of vehicles in the top 10 shows car collectors aren’t bothered by age.

Porsche Market Pauses

Only one Porsche made the overall top 10—a 2018 918 Spyder Weissach Roadster that sold at Gooding for $3,525,000. Another one, a 1988 Porsche 959 SC Reimagined by Canepa, was a strong sale, setting the record for a 959 road car at $3,085,000. Other Porsche sales were less confident even though March has long been associated with significant Porsche sales. Two notable early Porsche racers didn’t sell on the block, instead transacting after the auctions concluded: The 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder at Broad Arrow and the 1961 Porsche RS61 from Gooding, which sold for $3,100,000.

What’s more, some Porsches that crossed the $1M threshold did not quite meet expectations. A 1996 Porsche 911 Remastered by Gunther Werks sold for $1,022,500 after reaching a high bid of $1.15M and not selling on Bring a Trailer in late 2023, while a Porsche Reimagined by Singer went unsold with a $1,225,000 high bid. RUF, the only Porsche modifier considered a manufacturer and comprising its own class at Amelia on Sunday, went 4 for 6. The top sale was a 1998 RUF Turbo R selling for $1,517,500 in Miami. However, these modified Porsches had a lower sell-through rate than their stock counterparts—67 percent vs. 81 percent.

Stability Returns

Stability has returned to the collector market, and results show a less speculative nature. The median return on a car bought since 2020 and sold this week was zero percent. The median premium to Hagerty Price Guide condition-appropriate value fell to 10 percent this year from 15 percent last year, indicating a return to rationality. This resurgent stability brings traditional classics to the forefront, and a shift in priorities to how much joy and passion the vehicle can provide to a collector rather than return on investment.

Prewar Performance

It wasn’t just a few big sales. Overall, the prewar segment performed in line with or better than vehicles built after World War II. 82 percent of prewar cars sold, while the sell-through rate for postwar vehicles trailed at 80 percent. This is the first year since 2019, when the brass-era Don C. Boulton Collection was offered at Bonhams, where prewar cars had a higher sell-through rate at the Amelia Auctions. Postwar cars performed worse compared to auction house estimates as well. 75 percent of Postwar cars sold with a hammer bid below their low estimate, while only 69 percent of prewar cars did. On top of that, prewar cars were twice as likely as postwar cars to sell above their high estimate (16 percent vs. eight percent). Even as car collectors get younger, with most not even alive when these cars were new, there is still a tremendous appreciation for these antique automobiles.

March Classic Auction Results through March 3rd, 2024

Listed below are the raw results Hagerty Automotive Intelligence team members witnessed during live auctions, as well as after-sales reported to Hagerty by the auction companies. Results may not include all post-sale deals that have occurred. These numbers include the appropriate buyer’s premiums.

Overall through Sunday from all auction companies