January kicked off collector-car auction season with a big bang and big dollars. Following Mecum’s $275M haul in Kissimmee, Florida mid-month, the traditional Arizona auctions added about $245M more to the tally, with $200M of that from Barrett-Jackson’s no-reserve sale in Scottsdale. Bonhams, though, had the highest-priced auction sale in Arizona, with $5.175M buying a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ (as in 300+ mph test-track capability) for a car with just Bugatti’s test and delivery miles.
Just 10 supercar connoisseurs were able to buy a McLaren 570 MSO-X, a special track-oriented model, in 2018. Each was decked out in livery inspired by McLaren F1 GTR racecars, and each is unique. At Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction in January, the #8 MSO-X will go to a new owner thanks to this auction company’s all no-reserve policy. McLaren built these cars as dual-purpose road and track machines, ready pile on the miles in either setting.
Most collector-car auction houses already offered absentee bidding options and live streaming auctions as part of regular operations, the safety and travel restrictions posed by COVID-19 spurred the industry to apply creative solutions. Learn more about Mecum, Gooding & Company, Bonhams and more are operating their summer auctions.
The going rate for a Ford GT is about $1.2M-$1.5M, or nearly three times the GT’s original $447,000 MSRP (before options). Barrett-Jackson’s top sale in Scottsdale was $1.485M for a 2017 GT with just 141 miles. A ’17 Ford GT in ’66 Heritage livery was the top sale at Barrett-Jackson’s Las Vegas auction in October 2019. It sold for $1.54M.