January 2025 - US auction previews
15 January, 2025
A new auction record for a Porsche 917 could be on the cards if Steve McQueen’s hero car from the film Le Mans finds a buyer at Mecum’s mammoth 13-day Kissimmee sale, with the Porsche scheduled to cross the block on 18 January. After its film duties ended, chassis 917-022 was campaigned by Reinhold Joest and Jo Siffert during the 1971 season, subsequently passing to Brian Redman and Richard Attwood, before ending up in Jerry Seinfeld’s collection in 2001 where it has remained ever since. Seinfeld commissioned a recent overhaul, returning the car to its original 1970 spec and Gulf livery, retaining the features that were unique to its time with McQueen.
Mecum’s line-up also includes three significant Shelby Cobras; a 1965 289, the only Stage III factory-built customer Dragonsnake; an unrestored 1967 427 with just 18,036 miles that has been stored for the past three decades; and a 1965 427 Competition, a three-time SCCA Champion and reputed to be the winningest Cobra of all time (estimate $4,500,000 – 6,000,000).
[ Mecum Kissimmee Sale – auction highlights here ]
RM Sotheby’s annual pilgrimage to Arizona on 24 January kicks off its 2025 season, where the headline entry is a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT TdF LWB Berlinetta that is estimated to fetch $3,500,000 – 4,500,000. Supplied new to two-time Italian National Road Racing Champion Casimiro Toselli, it enjoyed early success on the Italian hillclimb circuits, before heading to Venezuela where it finished 3rd in class at the 1960 1000 Kilometres of Buenos Aires.
Other highlights include a 1970 Iso Grifo 7-Litri Series I, the final example built and the subject of a $200,000 restoration from 2018-23 (estimate $550,000 – 650,000); a one-of-25 1995 Porsche 911 Remastered by Gunter Werks (estimate $900,000 – 1,100,000); and a 4,496-mile 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet, federalised for the US after being imported in 2022 (estimate $575,000 – 700,000).
[ RM Sotheby’s Arizona Sale – auction catalogue here ]
Bonhams’ Scottsdale sale takes place on 25 January at The Westin Kierland Resort, where a 1967 Lamborghini Miura heads the inventory. With only three owners and some 33,000 miles from new, it’s collected multiple concours awards following the completion of an exacting restoration by renowned specialists in 2016 and carries a guide of $2,200,000 – 2,800,000.
An ultra-rare 1981 Porsche 924 Carrera GTR joins the roster with a pre-sale estimate of $450,000 – 550,000. One of only 17 factory-built customer cars, it’s offered in time-warp condition having never been raced, and was previously sold in 2016 when its first owner reported just 109km of track use.
[ Bonhams’ Scottsdale Sale – auction catalogue here ]
Classic car auction price estimates for: Porsche | Shelby | Ferrari | Iso | Mercedes-Benz | Lamborghini
From leading auction houses: Mecum | RM Sotheby’s | Bonhams|Cars
Read through the rest of our classic car previews for more information about our auction collections. Check out our online resource for upcoming classic car auction events and classic car auction results around the world.