2024 Florida sales – Bonhams at Amelia Island

By Steve Wakefield and Greg Ingold

29th February 2024

In line with previous years, the Brits kicked off proceedings at Amelia Island. The Bond St firm’s low-key catalogue grossed $6.4m at 64% sold by number.

This was the lowest figure recorded by Bonhams at an Amelia Island auction. Bolstered by big-ticket entries, in 2016 the gross was $27.2m, though at an unremarkable 67%; only two years ago, during a $14.3m event nine out of ten cars in the catalogue found buyers.

At a glance:

* Gross, motor cars: $6,435,585 (2023, $12,916,470)
* Percentage sold by number: 64% (2023, 79%)
* Top-selling car: 1904 Gordon Bennett Napier L48 ‘Samson’ Racing Car $742,000 gross, $670,000 net (est. $900k to $1.1m)
* Well sold? Once again competing bidders saw value in a No Reserve ‘DB’ Aston. The 1967 DB6 was bought for $263,200. Est. £140k to $180k
* Well bought? Impossible to call in a sea of No Reserve unfashionable entries

Expert North American market commentator Greg Ingold was at the auction and reports:

“Bonhams’ car count was down noticeably from last year, and judging how hastily they put together a run list after Arizona, they must have been scrambling for cars: the quality of consignments reflected it. The preview was sparsely attended and a sleepy auction led to a meagre sell-through rate.

“To put it succinctly, Bonhams felt as if they had put on an event for the sake of having one and were scraping the barrel for consignments. Despite a quiet preview, the auction itself was well attended, with notable dealers in the tent. However, it was not apparent whether they were there to bid or merely observe. Like we saw at Scottsdale, the room was not as energetic as days past, with only a handful of cars receiving spirited bidding.

“Overall, Bonhams did a fair job at what felt like short notice. Inevitably, the results did not compare to previous years.”

Bonhams at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club, Amelia Island, 29 February 2024 – results (2023)

Gross: $6,435,585 ($12,916,470)
Number of cars not sold: 28 (21)
Number of cars withdrawn: 1 (1)
Total number of cars: 78 (102
Number sold: 50 (81)
Percentage of cars sold by number: 64% (79%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 30% (34%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 80% (64%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 84% (77%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 8% (14%)
Average price of cars sold: $82,508 ($126,632)
Average year of cars offered: 1968 (1963)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 33% (54%)