2024 Scottsdale sales: The K500 takeaway

How times have changed. From three-day, five-auction, late-night marathons for so many years, yesterday’s efforts in Arizona by the ‘Big Two’ international firms – Gooding jumped ship a couple of years ago – were over after only a few hours. Can much be read into yesterday’s low-key results?

Market expert Greg Ingold was at both auctions and offers his observations:

“It’s January and the masses have descended on Scottsdale, AZ, for the unofficial kick-off to the North American auction season. Barrett-Jackson began running cars across the block last Saturday; it took until Thursday for RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams to conduct overlapping events on the same day.

“While these two auctions represent the first time since Monterey where a clear look at the state of the upper end of the North American collector car market can be taken, the start to 2024 brings a few complications.

“First being the calendar clash. RM Sotheby’s has always held its event on Thursday of Scottsdale week, however Bonhams pushed its date forward from a usual Friday slot. This created a short overlap where bidders had to choose between which sales to attend. The second complication being not as many cars to choose from: 44 fewer entries than in 2023.

“While the auctions were well attended, the level of excitement in the rooms felt distinctly absent. The usual cheering and clapping at strong bids just didn’t happen. Auctiongoers either quietly observed the sales, raised their paddles for cars they wanted and moved on, or chatted with their friends. The conflicting events had little impact on attendance, though, with Bonhams maintaining a fairly full room and RM filling up with bidders migrating to the Biltmore as Bonhams ended, then everyone slowly drifting away around dinner time.

“The most obvious impression was the lack of heavy-hitting headliners. Instead, there was only a sprinkling of must-have cars, and none of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities we have grown accustomed to seeing at these major events. While RM’s quality of catalogue was on a par with previous years, Bonhams felt oversaturated with cars of lower quality, such as the fun but homely No Reserve entries from the Maine Classic Car Museum fresh out of long-term display.

“The biggest sale of the week goes to Bonhams for its 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ (pictured, top), which brought $5,175,000. This is in stark contrast to the British firm’s top-seller last year, a 1912 Simplex 50HP 5 Passenger Torpedo Tourer that went for $4,845,000.

“Perhaps the most interesting car on offer was the very first 289-powered Shelby Cobra. This highly documented and well-preserved car drew plenty of interest at the preview and sold well with a final price of $1,215,000, which is in line with a concours-grade 289 Cobra. You could argue that as it’s so original and significant, the best place for it would be on display, preserved for posterity. Which would be a shame.

“Perhaps the most surprising result at RM was the 90-mile 2014 Ferrari FF, which achieved $324,000 which is arguably double what the astute observer of the FF market would expect to see.

“On a broad review of the results, it is clear that the market is slowly returning to normal. The buying frenzy is well and truly over, and seller expectations are starting to align with what buyers are willing to pay. There are few obvious bargains or steals to be had.

“The good news is that there is no sign that the bottom is going to fall out, more that the boom cycle is over. In areas where prices felt soft, it wasn’t by much. In cases where reserve was not met on cars where realistic bids were made, indications were that a few deals may shake loose over the following days. While classics have softened, modern collectible cars remain strong, bringing prices at or above expected market values.

“The main takeaway from Scottsdale 2024 is that post-COVID it is clear that the landscape in the valley of the sun is very different. With fewer cars and no planned return from Gooding & Company, it begs the question, will the slide continue, or will reinventing how the Scottsdale auctions are done bring back some of the pre-pandemic magic?”

Arizona Sales, January 2024. Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s combined (2023)

Gross: $35,039,180 ($73,953,721)
Number of cars not sold: 35 (31)
Number of cars withdrawn: 1 (1)
Total number of cars: 168 (213)
Number sold: 133 (182)
Percentage cars sold by number: 79% (85%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 48% (73%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 61% (57%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 77% (75%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 17% (12%)
Average value of cars sold: $263,452 ($406,339)
Average year of cars offered: 1966 (1972)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 57% (51%)

Arizona Sales 2024, Top 10 Cars Sold by Value

1. Bonhams 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, $5,175,000
2. RM 2020 McLaren Speedtail, $2,012,500
3. RM 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster in the style of Sindelfingen, $1,545,000
4. Bonhams 1936 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Sunroof Coupe, $1,380,000
5. RM 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso, $1,352,500
6. RM 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra, $1,215,000
7. RM 2021 Ford GT Mk II, $1,006,000
8. RM 1965 Aston Martin DB5, $797,000
9. RM 1957 Porsche 356 A Outlaw by Emory, $747,500
10. RM 1984 Audi Sport Quattro, $665,000

Total value Top 10 cars sold 2024: $15,895,500 (2023, $31,073,500)

Bonhams at the Westin Kierland Scottsdale, 25 January 2024 – results (2023)

Gross: $12,101,520 ($29,217,380)
Number of cars not sold: 14 (23)
Number of cars withdrawn: 0 (1)
Total number of cars: 84 (125)
Number sold: 70 (102)
Percentage cars sold by number: 83% (82%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 51% (74%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 69% (47%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 80% (71%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 13% (16%)
Average value of cars sold: $144,066 ($233,739)
Average year of cars offered: 1955 (1968)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 62% (47%)

RM Sotheby’s at The Arizona Biltmore, 25 January 2024 – results (2023)

Gross: $22,937,660 ($44,736,341)
Number of cars not sold: 21 (8)
Number of cars withdrawn: 1 (0)
Total number of cars: 84 (88)
Number sold: 63 (80)
Percentage cars sold by number: 75% (91%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 46% (73%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 52% (70%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 73% (81%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 17% (8%)
Average value of cars sold: $364,090 ($559,204)
Average year of cars offered: 1976 (1978)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 50% (56%)

You can download a list of all cars sold by Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s sorted by make and model HERE.

Photo by Bonhams