(Darin Schnabel ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sothebys)
The whirlwind of Scottsdale auctions ended Sunday afternoon with Barrett-Jackson hammering a Jaguar sold at $18,000, bringing their totals to $103.3 million and 1,484 vehicles sold. Six other auction companies brought the totals for the week to $250.6 million and 2,491 sold out of 3,104 offered for an 80 percent sell-through rate. Average price, including everything from four-figure bargains at Silver to seven-figure Pebble Beach contenders at Gooding, was $100,588. The top sale of the week, a fantastically presented 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster at RM Sotheby’s, is officially the most expensive car sold in Arizona Auction Week history at $9.9 million.
While those are certainly impressive numbers, 2016 fell well short of the record-breaking high-water mark of last year’s Scottsdale auctions. Despite more offerings this year than last, total sales were down over $40 million, average sale price was down over $15,000, and sell-through rate was down six percent. Fewer cars sold for over $1 million this year compared to 2015, 25 as opposed to 34. Only Russo and Steele and Silver Auctions improved over last year, with all the rest except for RM Sotheby’s seeing a sizable drop. The overall tone of the week’s bidding could be described as cautious.
The overall picture may be down, but upon closer inspection there were some very strong performers this year that show signs of continued appreciation. Late-model exotics made up three of the top 10 sales, while C4 Corvettes, first generation K5 Blazers, Mercedes-Benz SL500s, and American cars from the late 1970s and 1980s were particular bright spots in Scottsdale with a number of top-notch examples of the second generation Pontiac Firebirds bringing huge results. Overall, it’s the mid-market cars from the 1970s through ‘90s that seem to be strongest at the moment.
As for the top sales, it was still as exciting and desirable a group of cars as you would expect from Scottsdale. It was a diverse group as well, covering a span of 86 years. Gooding had a strong showing of Ferraris both modern and classic, a pair of Duesenberg Model Js brought $2,420,000 and $3,000,000 and an essentially new McLaren P1 brought just shy of $2.1 million.
Overall Top 10 Sales:
1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster
RM Sotheby’s
$9,900,000
1950 Ferrari 166 MM/195 S Berlinetta Le Mans
Gooding & Company
$6,490,000
1967 Ferrari 330 GTC Speciale
Gooding & Company
$3,410,000
1929 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Torpedo Convertible
RM Sotheby’s
$3,000,000
2003 Ferrari Enzo
Gooding & Company
$2,860,000
1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton
Gooding & Company
$2,420,000
1995 Ferrari F50
Gooding & Company
$2,400,000
1965 Shelby Cobra 427 Competition Roadster
RM Sotheby’s
$2,255,000
1965 Ferrari 275 GTB
RM Sotheby’s
$2,117,500
2015 McLaren P1
Bonhams
$2,090,000