May 2021 - Amelia Island previews
14 May, 2021
Pre-war machines are the stars at this year’s Amelia Island sales, with RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams both re-scheduling their auctions to accommodate the postponed Concours d'Elegance events, which now run from 20-23 May. RM’s 1929 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Torpedo featuring bare aluminium coachwork with a unique tail design was restored in 2015 and carries a guide of $3,500,000 – 4,000,000.
Ferraris lock out the rest of RM’s top five, led by a US-spec 1995 F50 with 5,147miles at $3,400,000 – 3,750,000; a 1968 275 GTB/4 in single-family ownership since 1973 is listed at $2,500,000 – 2,800,000; a concours-award winning 1971 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider which was exhibited at the 1972 New York Auto Show and has covered only 13,442 miles is $2,250,000 – 2,750,000; and a 3,304-mile 1992 F40 with Ferrari Classiche certification is $1,800,000 – 2,200,000.
Top-tier Porsches include a 14,793-km 1993 911 RSR 3.8 that started life with Obermaier Racing, competing in the ADAC GT Cup series, before Freisinger Motorsport gave it a cosmetic restoration and mechanical refresh (estimate $750,000 – 850,000); while a barely-used 1981 Carrera 924 GTR, one of just 17 factory examples, has been catalogued at $375,000 – 450,000.
[ RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island Sale – auction catalogue here ]
Bonhams’ Amelia Island auction gets underway on 20 May, headed by a 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K/540K Spezial Roadster with a pre-sale estimate of $4,500,000 – 5,000,000. Purchased by the consignor at Bonhams’ Mercedes-Benz Museum sale in 2014, chassis 105136 was upgraded by the factory to the larger supercharged 5.4 litre engine in 1936, which was stamped with the existing number of the engine it replaced.
Highlights among the cars entered from the 1970s include a one-owner 1979 Porsche 911 Turbo that was refreshed and repainted at Porsche Southpoint in 2018 (estimate $95,000 – 130,000); a 1971 De Tomaso Pantera, also with just a single owner from new, presented in an unrestored condition with 12,706 miles (estimate $100,000 – 140,000); and a matching-numbers 1975 BMW 2002 turbo (estimate $110,000 – 140,000).
[ Bonhams Amelia Island Sale – auction catalogue here ]
Classic car auction price estimates for: Duesenberg | Ferrari | Porsche | Mercedes-Benz | De Tomaso | BMW
From leading auction houses: RM Sotheby’s | Bonhams
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.