The American market is flourishing: Barrett-Jackson and Mecum confirm.
27 April 2024 4 min read 10 images
Photo credit: Barrett-Jackson, Mecum
Two big auctions, both with over 600 cars: Barrett-Jackson in Palm Beach, Florida from April 18 to 20, a place where in its "golden period" between 2006 and 2007 grossed between $30 and $35 million ($32 million in 2007). This year it grossed $45,198,805 with a similar number of cars. One can clearly say that the golden age is now.
Mecum in Houston, from April 4 to 6, offered more cars than Barrett-Jackson (962 versus 600). It auctioned off 712 cars with a significantly lower average price of $41,104 and $29,266,350 in total sales. It is fair to make a distinction: Barrett-Jackson organizes only four auctions a year, Mecum does roughly one a month and the one in Houston was not even among the most important ones.
What did these two have in common? The short answer is the target audience. The "average collector," the one who buys cars thinking about how to justify these escapades to his wife instead of giving her a gift.
Let's have a look at the top lots. For Barrett-Jackson it was a 2022 Alan Mann Heritage Edition Ford GT. If you think that compared to a "regular" Ford GT it's just a marketing ploy, you're probably right. In the end, the paint color changed and a few more things. However, you have to remember that the 2006 "Heritage" in Gulf livery, was also a marketing move and a very successful one too!
As one of 30 with only 16 miles, this Alan Mann Heritage sold for $1,292,500, a new record for the model and about 30 percent more than a regular Ford GT MkII. And that's not all: Out of the seven most expensive cars sold by Barrett-Jackson, no less than five were Ford GTs in various shapes and forms.
In second place among the most expensive in Florida was a hard-to-interpret exploit: A 2022 Ferrari SF90 Spider, silver with red interior, customized by Ferrari's tailor-made program to trace the livery of the famous Ferrari 625TR.
Beautiful car but, let's face it, easily orderable from a dealer brand new. And the market does not overlook this: After a flare-up for the first one sold in January 2022 at $935,000, today the average price is between $500,000 and $850,000. So the price paid of $1,100,000 at Barrett-Jackson not only represents the model's new record but a difficult anomaly to interpret.
At Mecum the top lot showed up with figures closer to Earth: In this case it was a 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster in black with 8761 miles. People become increasingly amazed by the market for these cars: At the time, it was a real supercar that could rival the Porsche Carrera GT (612 BHP) and challenge the Ferrari Enzo (660 BHP) thanks to its supercharged 617 BHP V8. Today a Ferrari Enzo is worth $3-4 million, a Porsche Carrera GT ranges between $1-1.5 million while this SLR sold for "only" $357,500.
At the top end of the market Barrett-Jackson stunned with another pair of masterstrokes. The first was a Chevrolet Corvette Greenwood Daytona Turbo. In 1981 it was transformed from 225 BHP to a wild 575 BHP while also installing an incredible body kit. This was the second unit produced and it was on display at the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky. The price paid was $247,500, a new record but not a historic one: From now on the seller will be the one to make the price.
The other one is a 1958 Buick Special Convertible. Of the various "pinned" American convertibles of the 1950s, the Buick Special Convertible is the least desirable: Less luxurious than a Cadillac, more common than a Skylark, no special convertible has ever reached $100,000 in adjudication. In Palm Beach, a new record was achieved: $126,500, nearly 28 percent higher than the previous record.
Chevrolet Tahoe, a mythical name that is becoming a collector's item. Let's try to imagine: To your left a 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe with 23,145 miles and to your right a recent 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe Premier with 20,069 miles. Both black, both in excellent condition. Which one would get a higher value? Victory points for the newer one: $50,600 vs. $49,500 but within a few months the outcome could be different.
Another interesting car was the 1961 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II. The car was beautiful but Barrett-Jackson couldn't hide it: The RR with chassis LLCB1 was reportedly sold in Scottsdale in January for $71,500. Careless move: The seller only managed to bring home $48,400.
To conclude the bargain of the day: The Austin-Healey cars have a peculiarity as it seems that their quotations are carved in stone: $60,000-65,000. Not this time: At Mecum's the car had an unappealing color combination (red with white interior and white top), but it was priced way too high. It sold for $23,650.
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