Most Valuable Car Sold in Amelia Island History, Over $72 Million in Total Sales at Gooding & Company
Gooding & Company returned to Amelia Island to conduct the highest grossing sale and make auction week history with its 2023 two-day event. Eclipsing 2022’s record-setting total, Gooding & Company achieved a new top figure of $72,676,188, making 2023’s Amelia Island Auctions its most successful sale at the venue to date. Additionally, the firm again sold the most valuable automobile in all of Amelia Island history with the 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider. Presenting a two-day auction for the first time in its 13 years at the venue, Gooding & Company successfully sold 148 out of 155 lots, culminating in an impressive 95% sales rate. Over the course of the Thursday, March 2, and Friday, March 3 event, 15 lots were sold for over $1,000,000.
Steered by celebrated auctioneer Charlie Ross, Gooding & Company sold half of the top 10 lots of the week, comprising five highly significant Ferrari examples that achieved remarkable results on the auction stage. The top lot was, of course, the striking star car of the Amelia Island Auctions, the 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, which sold for $18,045,000. A clear crowd favorite among all of the spectators in the tightly packed room, the desirable California Spider deservedly earned its title as the most valuable car ever sold at auction in Amelia Island with its stunning, one-off aquamarine-hued Azzurro Metallizzato exterior and preferred covered headlight treatment.
Prancing Horses from various eras were well represented among the star cars of the two-day sale. An immediate postwar competition veteran, the 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Spider Series II sold for an impressive $3,525,000. Just before the sale, Gooding & Company was proud to announce that this vehicle had a combined acceptance to two forthcoming 1000 Miglia events, and was also the recipient of the 1000 Miglia’s Amelia Island 2023 Spirit of 1000 Miglia Award. A largely original, unrestored low-mileage 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 performed well at market, achieving $3,525,000, as did the exceptional 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider, which sold for $2,535,000. Representing Maranello’s more modern supercars, the time capsule, US-specification 1990 Ferrari F40 sold for $3,085,000.
Additional top lots included a sophisticated prewar 1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan, which achieved $2,205,000, and the 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SSZ, which sold for $1,545,000 setting a new world record at auction for the 1900 model. German blue-chip classics, such as the 1958 BMW 507 Series II, which sold for $1,820,000, and the 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, which brought in $1,792,500, also confirmed that they continue to be highly sought-after collectibles. Further, the company set an important world record with the 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS, which realized $967,500 and became the most valuable Dino 246 GTS to ever sell at auction. A magenta-colored 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 Targa climbed in value to $201,600, and a 1951 Cisitalia 202 SC Gran Sport Cabriolet set a world record at auction for the model when it sold for $720,000.
Gooding & Company offered three important automotive and motorcycle collections, with 100% of lots sold in each collection. Top lots from The Leo Schigiel Motorcycle Collection, which bookended both the Thursday and Friday sales, included the 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport, which sold for $201,600, and the 1941 Indian Four Model 441, sold for $106,400. Highly desirable selections from Pfaffenhausen were offered with RUF//The Collection, including the Blutorange 1998 RUF Turbo R, which realized $1,550,000, and the 1997 RUF BTR2, which set a new world record at auction for the BTR2 model when it achieved $720,000. Select offerings were also presented from The Estate of Erickson Shirley, such as the 1959 Lister-Chevrolet Sports Racer, sold for $423,000, and the incredibly low-mileage 2011 Porsche 997 GT3 RS 3.8, sold for $268,800.
“In recent years, Gooding & Company has emerged as a true market leader at Amelia Island, and this year, we really solidified this status with yet another record-setting sale that presented the most valuable car ever sold in this market,” said Gooding & Company President and Founder, David Gooding. “We are perpetually grateful to our loyal clientele for trusting us with their prized consignments, and we are thankful to everyone who has helped our Amelia Island event grow to what it is today: a hallmark sale in the collector car world that consistently brings the greatest automobiles to market and sets the tone of the entire industry for the remainder of the year. Led by the sale of our star car, and the highest sale of the year thus far, the covered headlamp Ferrari California Spider, we are confident that 2023 will be yet another unprecedented year of success for our company and the market at large.”
Lots Sold Over $1 Million:
Lot 164 – 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, sold for $18,045,000
Lot 22 – 1953 Ferrari 250 MM Spider Series II, sold for $3,525,000
Lot 150 – 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, sold for $3,525,000
Lot 25 – 1990 Ferrari F40, sold for $3,085,000
Lot 135 – 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider, sold for $2,535,000
Lot 129 – 1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan, sold for $2,205,000
Lot 38 – 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, sold for $2,040,000
Lot 156 – 1964 Ferrari 500 Superfast, sold for $2,012,500
Lot 18 – 1958 BMW 507 Series II, sold for $1,820,000
Lot 127 – 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, sold for $1,792,500
Lot 116 – 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, sold for $1,765,000
Lot 42 – 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, sold for $1,737,500
Lot 125 – 1998 RUF Turbo R, sold for $1,550,000
Lot 158 – 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SSZ, sold for $1,545,000
Lot 123 – 1998 RUF Turbo R Cabriolet, sold for $1,022,500
New World Auction Records:
Lot 158 – 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SSZ, sold for $1,545,000 (a world record for the model)
Lot 188 – 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS, sold for $967,500 (a world record for the model)
Lot 122 – 1997 RUF BTR2, sold for $720,000 (a world record for the model)
Lot 27 – 1951 Cisitalia 202 SC Gran Sport Cabriolet, sold for $720,000 (a world record for the model)
Image: Photo copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Image by Jensen Sutta.
