It’s good to be king, because then you can order yourself a custom-built car like the Maserati made for the Shah of Iran in 1959. The monarch and budding car collector requested that Maserati build a special car by installing the V-8 engine from its 450S racecar into the 3500 GT production coupe. The result was the 170-mph 5000 GT. Maserati made 34 with bodies by various coachbuilders. At its Amelia Island auction, Bonhams is offering one of the 22 with bodies by Allemano, a restoration candidate with a pre-sale estimate of $500K-$800K
Major auto auctions held in conjunction with the world-renowned Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance in Florida offer some of the world’s most desirable collector cars, and Premier’s regional sales managers will be there for the action and to meet customers. In the meantime, they have posted their own “Cars to Watch” as picks for cars most likely to sell well. Except for one American supercar making the list, it’s a German and Italian feast.
A 1986 hit movie made the Ferrari 250 GT California Spider famous among non-enthusiasts, but the California Spider had a rich life before that film. Enthusiasts have revered the car as a pinnacle Ferrari classic since it left the factory more than a half-century ago. The Ferrari collectors who restored this 1962 California Spider bought it in lightly damaged condition in 1972 for – wait for it – $2,400! It is expected to sell for up to $22 million at the Gooding & Company Amelia Island auction.
The 2023 collector car auction season got off to a roaring start in January. The Bonhams Scottsdale auction reached $30M in sales, and RM Sotheby’s reported $44M. The big surprise came from Bonhams, where a 1912 Simplex brought $4.8M, a record for a pre-WWI car. Supercars were still supreme, though, with a Ferrari LaFerrari getting $4.075M at RM Sotheby’s and, earlier in the month, a Ferrari F40 topping the Mecum sale in Kissimmee, Florida at $3.135M.
One a year in January, Palm Beach, Florida becomes the center of the Ferrari world with Cavallino Classic. This four-day event presents the full spectrum of the Ferrari lifestyle, including racing, touring, and concours competition – all in and around the luxurious setting of The Breakers hotel. A feast for all the senses, Cavallino Classic is a rare opportunity to see the marque’s vibrant history on display and on the track.
Will the 812 GTS be Ferrari’s final front-engine, naturally aspirated V-12 spider? Based on the appropriately named 812 Superfast Berlinetta, the 812 GTS shares a lineage with a line of classic open Ferraris, including the magnificent 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider of the early ’70s. The 812 GTS has a retractable hardtop roof and a 789-horsepower 6.5-liter V-12. Bonhams’ Scottsdale auction is offering a 2021 812 GTS with just 217 miles.
BMW’s Z8 is the kind of car that many wish BMW would build again. Two of those cars – a standard BMW Z8 and the Alpina version, called the BMW Alpina Roadster V8 – recently sold earlier this month at RM Sotheby’s Miami auction. Offered by two different owners, and both with under 23,000 miles, each car sold for exactly the same price: $229,600. Read the backstory on the Z8 and the Alpina Roadster.
The F512 M is considered the Testarossa at its pinnacle, the last of Ferrari’s analog flat-12 supercars. After three decades, the car can still snap necks even while standing still. The F512 M continued the Testarossa / 512TR evolution, and Ferrari would make just 501 of this final version before sunsetting its flat-12 supercar series. Demand was high for the 75 cars sent to the U.S., and RM Sotheby’s Miami auction in December is offering #52, a two-owner model from the Youngtimer Collection with 10,200 miles. The pre-sale estimate is $400,000-$450,000.
Ferrari’s Purosangue – the car designed to lure SUV buyers while “not being an SUV” – has been revealed. The Purosangue is the largest and most luxurious Ferrari ever made, with a dry-sump 6.5-liter V12 that goes from 0 – 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.3 seconds. Ferrari has not yet announced the price, and says it wants to limit Purosangue’s sales to 20% of its total volume.
