$5.532m Ferrari F50 tops RM’s Friday Miami auction

RM finished its two-day residency at the Biltmore Hotel Coral Gables Miami with the sale of 59 of the 77 cars listed in a broad-ranging catalogue spanning Brass Era classics to showroom-fresh supercars. Pending any post-sale deals, the on-the-day gross just tops $33m, making the combined total for the ModaMiami event around *$67.5m – a big figure, but below the $70.7m the Canadians recorded at Amelia Island in 2017.

Without the unobtanium offered the previous evening it was inevitable the Friday sale would revert to being a typical top-tier North American auction, with potential buyers looking at value and the chances of owning an identical, or a better example of the same model at keener prices later in the year. Only two cars beat top estimate on the night, and both were sub-$350k.

The European-spec F50 was hammered sold under lower guide and the other big-ticket, $5m+ entries, the Porsche 959 Sport and Ferrari Enzo, went home unsold.
 

Miami would not be natural territory for pre-War, but man at the rostrum at the time Sholto Gilbertson did well to find bidders for the 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A (above) that achieved $2,920,000. The $4m to $4.5m 1931 Duesenberg Model J did not sell.

Gilbertson took over from regular stateside auctioneer Mike Shackleton (top) mid-sale and the event was held in a function room inside the hotel.

At a glance (Friday 28 February):

* Gross, motor cars: $33,040,720
* Percentage sold by number: 77%
* Top-selling car: 1996 Ferrari F50 $5,532,500 gross, $5,025,000 net (est. $5.5m to $6.5m)
* Well sold? The de Tomaso Pantera morphed over two decades from a poor man’s Miura with respectable racing pedigree to four-wheeled medallion man. Only 41 final-edition 90 Sis were built, and one sold yesterday for $313,000 against its $150k to $200k estimate.
* Well bought? Alloy XK 120s have been rare sights at auction in recent years. RM’s was a US car not in its original colours, but an early XK suitable for sympathetic restoration or just driving. A canny buyer snapped it up towards the end of the sale for $89,600 gross. Est. $140k to $160k at No Reserve.

Other results of note (all prices gross):

* 1993 Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight, Not Sold. German car. A darling of recent market developments but maybe too much this time.
* 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, Sold after auction for undisclosed figure (below). There are rare, unique colours and there is Fantasy Yellow. Paired with non-original green interior and after-market colour-matched Rudge wheels, this had too much going on in the visual department, though a deal was struck later.
 

* 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring, $720,000. Matching numbers engine, restored by Ruf in 2014. Nice Light Yellow RS Touring selling for right sort of price.
* 1966 Ferrari 330 GTS, Not Sold. Bright red with matching Ferrari Red Book. The worst colour and shiny presentation out of step in today’s market.
* 1993 Lamborghini LM002, $450,500. Solid sum for a ‘double black’ Rambo Lambo.
* 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster, Not Sold. Asking $350k to $400k for an example with admittedly low milage and some interesting features clearly a step too far.  
* 1983 Lamborghini Countach 5000 S, $577,000. Fair value for a 30,297km Countach out of 32 years in single ownership.
* 1991 Ferrari F40, $3,580,000. US-spec car with 3,435 miles from new.

So that’s Part 1 of this year’s Florida auctions completed. Next stop Amelia Island. Last year Gooding and Broad Arrow slightly outperformed RM there, but it was first time for the all-new car show ModaMiami. The US market is outstripping Europe, though over here there's also a degree of price weakness against often punchy estimates. K500 reporting to continue later next week from northern Florida.

* RM released official figures for motor cars on 3 March of $74,413,720 at 83% sold by number. Post-auction sales of the Porsche 959 Sports, Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster and Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale account for this difference.

RM Sotheby’s at ModaMiami, 27-28 February 2025 – results (2024)

Gross: $67,458,720 ($49,295,860)
Number of cars not sold: 18 (23)
Number of cars withdrawn: 4 (3)
Total number of cars: 86 (117)
Number sold: 68 (94)
Percentage of cars sold by number: 79% (80%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 62% (53%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 57% (64%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 82% (82%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 9% (10%)
Average price of cars sold: $922,040 ($524,424)
Average year of cars offered: 1972 (1978)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 40% (51%)

Photos by Peter Singhof