Auction News | The Amelia Island Auctions 2021

Auctions are an important part of the classic car market. Rare and special vehicles in particular are sold for sometimes extraordinary sums. In our “Auction News” section, we regularly look at the resultsof the most recent auctions. This time, the Amelia Island auctions from Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s.

THE AUCTION – RM Sotheby’s amelia island auction

RM Sotheby’s returned to the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island once more on 22nd of May. The total sales amounted to $ 42,174,340 USD and more than 95% of all lots offered found a new home.

The offer ranged from sports cars like the 1959 Fiat-Abarth 750 GT ‘Double Bubble’ Coupé Zagato (Estimate $100,000 – 125,000) to classics like the 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS (Estimate $350,000 – 400,000).

THESE WERE THE LOTS TO WATCH OUT FOR

1965 Shelby 289 Cobra

Amongst others, an iconic Shelby 289 Cobra, was offered. The Shelby 289 Cobra was able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 5.8 seconds. The superb power-to-weight ratio enabled the newcomer to take 7th place in the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Dan Gurney went on to be the first U.S. driver to win an FIA race in an American car at the Bridgehampton 500 KM in September of the same year.

Sold for: $967,500 USD

1935 MERCEDES-BENZ 500 K THREE-POSITION ROADSTER BY WINDOVERS

Another timeless classic, the Mercedes-Benz 500 K model, was offered to potential buyers. Of the 342 constructed chassis, only 41 were sold as bare chassis to be clothed by outside coachbuilders, and only ten or so of those received bodies by British coachbuilders. One of those surviving British-bodied Mercedes is the 500 K Three-Position Roadster by Windovers.

Sold for: $1,600,000 USD

THE AUCTION – Bonhams 2021 Amelia Island Sale 

Bonhams scheduled its seventh Amelia Island sale for May 20, 2021, at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club in Florida, USA. The offered vehicels had a 90% sell-through rate, which can be considered as quite impresive with all its top-end lots automobiles being from the prewar era.

THESE WERE THE LOTS TO WATCH OUT FOR

1913 Mercer Type 35K Runabout

Bonhams offered it’s potential buyers one of the most famous and revered American automobiles of the Brass Era, the Mercer. It featured a marvelous T-head 4-cylinder engine, with its blocks cast in pairs and mounted on an aluminum crankcase, and an exceptionally well-designed and balanced chassis, all the creation of engineer Finley Robertson Porter.

Sold for: $ 2,425,000 USD

1933 Duesenberg Model  J ‘Sweep Panel’ Dual-Cowl Phaeton

Another lot which sold for a high price was the 1933 Duesenberg Model  J ‘Sweep Panel’ Dual-Cowl Phaeton. Among the first bodies made available for the Model J Duesenberg was a sporting Dual-Cowl Phaeton by LeBaron, which featured a contour line that began at the radiator shell and raced backward, descending until it met the middle of the front door, when it reverse-curved back into the cowl.

Sold for: $ 1,655,000 USD

THE BEST RESULTS AT the amelia island auctions

The 1929 Duesenberg Model J ‘Disappearing Top’ Torpedo Convertible Coupe by Murphy was sold for the highest amount ($ 5,725,000 USD) from both auctions. The restored example is one of two models built with polished and brushed bare aluminum coachwork and the sole intact survivor.

With a well-known history from new, the vehicle passed through the hands of a few California owners through its early life and in 1951, it was purchased by a long-time Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club member and remained as his prized possession until 1985.

In both auctions, more than 10 vehicles achieved a sales price of more than one million euros, the most expensive vehicle in Bonham’s auction being a 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500/540K Special Roadster.

THE NEXT AUCTIONs

RM Sotheby’s:

RM Sotheby’s Milan

15. Juni 2021,

Milan, Italy

Bonhams:

The Bonmont Sale

27. June 2021,

Cheserex, Switzerland

Text: Lennart Klein Pictures: Bonhams; RM Sotheby’s

Author: Lennart Klein

Lennart Klein ist Redakteur beim Classic Trader Magazin. Seine Begeisterung gilt zwei- und vierrädrigen Klassikern gleichermaßen. Traum-Klassiker: Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior & Mercedes-Benz 600. View all posts by Lennart Klein →