Broad Arrow in California and Bonhams in Miami: the Grand Prix is sometimes not enough.

Location, location, location. Any real estate agent will tell you that the first three factors in appraising a house are "location, location, location". The same house on a prestigious street is worth more than another in a working-class area. One can think about this when comparing the results of these two auctions. Broad Arrow held its auction on April 27 during Air|Water in California, a very cool Porsche Club America event. Bonhams ran its auction on the same weekend as the Miami GP on May 4. The two events brought different clients to the two auctions and the results are evident.

With its Porsche-only auction, Broad Arrow sold 38 out of 57 cars (two-thirds) for total proceeds of $15,348,640 against an estimate of $26,465,000 (around 60 percent). Bonhams brought together 22 cars worth $22,305,000 but at the end of the day the result was disappointing: Only 11 cars were sold (half) for $7,184,800 (less than one-third). What caused this? The reason lies in the different type of events: Air|Water is an event of Porsche enthusiasts and collectors, capable of buying appealing cars with the little horse on the hood.
The 200,000 enthusiasts who gathered at the Grand Prix in Miami, on the other hand, may not necessarily buy a car worth "six or seven zeros." Plus Bonhams brought more expensive cars than Broad Arrow ($653,164 average vs. $403,912) and this steered away some aficionados with less deep pockets. In addition, the Brits offered more modern cars (for Air|Water the average was 1988, for Bonhams 1998) but, while the reason for this was to try to bring cars nearer to the F1 enthusiast customer, it also made the enchantment seem like a modern dealer of exotic cars. It must be said, however, that Bonhams is concentrating all its forces on the Monte Carlo auction and therefore the less interesting cars came to Miami.

In fact, many of Bonhams' cars had already gone unsold at other auctions in the past few months: The Ford GT MkII, for instance, was already seen in January at a Mecum auction. Unsold at the time at $1.2 million it "came back around" with an estimate of $1.2-1.5 million but bidding stopped at $900,000 (unsold).

2020 Ford GT Mk II went unsold at $900,000 (€835,975).

Then there was the Porsche Carrera GT which, unsold at Amelia Island ($1.3 million), was "recycled" to Miami with an estimate of $1.4-1.5 million. Bidding stopped at $1.25 million (unsold) and the 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America, unsold by Bonhams at Pebble Beach last August, also went unsold at $800,000 with an estimate of $1,000,000-1,300,000.

1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America was sold for $800,000 (€743,000).

At the auction Ferrari dominated with the best result. The top lot was a Ferrari SP30, a one-off built at the request of some wealthy customer by Maranello's special project department. Based on a 2011 599 GTO, it was truly stunning. Offered with less than 150 miles, at $2,250,000-2,750,000 it sold for $2,296,000.

2011 Ferrari SP30 Berlinetta sold for $2,296,000 (€2,132,500).

In contrast, a very different breeze was blowing at Air|Water, the event that, as the name implies, is dedicated to all Porsches, both air-cooled (up to the 993 series to be clear) and water-cooled (996 and up).

Proof of this is the Porsche Carrera GT: Broad Arrow offered a 2005 black model with black interior and only 3601 miles. Prices for this model have varied greatly: Until three years ago the average price was in the range of $700,000-800,000 but by early 2022 the best units were already passing for over $2,000,000. Then there was a cooldown of the figures as the price had "dropped" to $1-1.5 million. 2024 seemed to shoot upward again: Considering the excellent condition the estimate of $1,400,000-1,600,000 seemed in line but when the gavel came down to $1,792,500 an appaluse was triggered.

2005 Porsche Carrera GT sold for $1,792,500 (€1,665,000).

We move on to the 1986 Porsche 962 IMSA GTP that has gone to auction five times in the last ten years. The first time was in August 2013 at Pebble Beach. At the time the estimate was $800,000-1,000,000 but bidding stopped at $650,000 and the owner took it home. Three years later the market had gone up and Porsches soared, bidding with an estimate of $1,000,000-1,200,000, but bidding stopped once again at $750,000. It went unsold once again. Four years go by, it is the period of intermittent lockdowns, and at Pebble Beach it pops up again. In four years the estimate changed little: $1,000,000-1,250,000. Once again there was an inadequate bid of $900,000. The following year, the owner came back once again to Pebble Beach with an estimate of $900,000-1,100,000. The final bid was $800,000. Still no deal. By then the exhausted owner, still the same since 2013, took it to Broad Arrow asking to sell it at any cost. Estimated at $600,000-800,000, it was placed at $775,000.

1986 Porsche 962 IMSA GTP Dyson Racing sold for $775,000 (€720,000).

Amidst all these supercars I would have settled for a 1973 Porsche 911 2.4S Targa. It was not the usual "pre-bumper" 911, the color looked white but was a refined, very light ivory with elegant dark brown interior matching. It had a very powerful engine and was recently "re-cleaned" and ready to drive. Estimated at $140,000-180,000, it slipped away for $95,200. A 2.4S for less than $100,000? Maybe that's why I would have chosen it.

1973 Porsche 911 S Targa sold for $95,200 (€88,500).