Insurance broker Hagerty has reported a strong performance from 1980s and 1990s modern classics during the opening days of this year’s Scottsdale auctions in Arizona.
American classics built between 1980 and 2009 have enjoyed the greatest increases, with 40% of vehicles selling above condition-appropriate amounts, with the best performers being Chevrolet C4 Corvettes, 1994-2004 Ford Mustangs and 1982-92 Pontiac Firebirds.
In contrast, the sell-through rate of million-dollar lots has taken a 9 percentage point hit compared with last year’s results, with many Enzo-era Ferraris falling short of market trends. Most notable was a 1960 Ferrari 250GT SWB California Spider at the Bonhams auction, which failed to sell with a high bid of $10.65m. A 250GT SII Cabriolet from the same sale was snapped up for $1.43m.
A 2003 Ferrari Enzo belonging to Tommy Hilfiger is RM Sotheby’s current best seller at $2.69m, while Bonhams’ highly-anticipated 1963 Jaguar E-type Lightweight fetched $7.37m and a 1952 Ferrari 340 America Competizione made $6.38m.
All eyes will be on RM Sotheby’s 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster and Gooding & Co’s 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix car going into Friday.
Greg MacLeman is a contributor to and former Features Editor of Classic & Sports Car, and drives a restored and uprated 1974 Triumph 2500TC