Spring winds on Amelia Island

There was a healthy amount of curiosity before this edition of Amelia Island, a spring event on the 'East Coast' and a springtime highlight in a potential contrast to the famous Pebble Beach events. The beginning of the year did not provide an accurate picture of the classic car market: A few 'top flops' and an overall feeling of a possible slowdown in demand. Looking at Gooding's numbers, however, gives us second thoughts: Sales of $66,078,670 - the second best year ever - even surpassed the estimated $64,155,000 on offer (103%), which is very rare to see.

It was more difficult for Bonhams, offering far fewer cars (78 vs. 102), selling only 50 (vs. 80 in 2023), sales halved from $12.8 million to $6,686,750, partly due to the drastic reduction in unreserved cars. A slightly less interesting auction? Perhaps because the lots were less appealing than in 2023. The reason can be found in the fact that Bonhams announced another sale in May specifically in Miami, on the occasion of the Formula 1 GP.

In order to demonstrate just how important individual lots are, we start with Bonhams: Honda NSX-R GT, year 2007, obtained from the factory by Spoon, a famous Japanese tuner who had decided to race it in the 2008 Macau Grand Prix Road Sport Challenge. With 440 hp and a weight reduced to 980 kg, the car finished in third place. There was no trace of further history to follow, but this brilliant start was enough: Estimated at $240,000-280,000 it closed at $368,000, $77,000 over the previous record for a second generation NSX!