$73.6m for RM at 2026 Moda Miami sale

It was a close-run thing but, in the end, the Old World edged ahead of the New. Top honours at RM’s third Moda Miami event went not to the latest headline-grabbing model of 2026, but to one of car collecting’s enduring standards. Just.

The event was held in a large white tent adjacent to the hotel, with the cars — other than the No Reserve antique fire engines — carefully displayed on the golf course just outside. Apart from a handful of racing cars and the American LaFrance collection, all were driven over the block. The set-up worked well, and the busy saleroom was boosted by an influx of young Instagrammers keen to see the modern cars, whom RM had generously allowed access to the event — “…as long as you tag @rmsothebys…” prompted British auctioneer Sholto Gilbertson (top, with Will Smith), somewhat darkly from the rostrum, where he presided over four of the five hours of the auction.

Fellow Bonhams refugee Malcolm Barber (above) handled the early fire engines, adopting his evangelical-preacher style – an old Amelia Island trick – stepping down from the rostrum to coax bidding on the rare Brass Era lots as if testifying before the Lord. All good fun, and the Brits made it an entertaining early-evening sale.

Much of the bidding came from the room. The top-selling Cal Spider generated a flurry of offers up $6m and it was hammered sold at $6.4m, just over lower estimate. Next up was the black LaFerrari (below) at $6,880,000 with premium. The Ford GT40 road car did not look like selling and is a model probably better offered as a private treaty sale. The Euro Ferrari F40 with low mileage achieved $5,230,000.

In general, the results were an improvement on the two-day auction last year dominated by No Reserve ‘unobtainium’ lots from the Collection of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Few cars sold below lower guide price this time, more went above top estimate, and the sell-through was an improvement by six percentage points.

The overall figures might change with possible post-sale deals over the weekend.

At a glance (on the night):

* Gross: $73,590,560 (2025, $74,413,720)
* Percentage sold by number, motor cars: 89% (2025, 83%)
* Top-selling car: 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider $7,045,000 gross, $6,400,000 net (est. $6m to $7m)
* Well sold? Purely on the numbers, any of the series-production 1990s/2000s Ferraris: red, 4,932 miles 1990 Testarossa, $395,500; red, 2,984-miles 1999 550 Maranello, $307,500; white, manual 2003 360 Spider, $252,000. 
* Well bought? If a million-dollar Dino GTS is a little out of reach today, how about the slightly tired Rosso Rubino 1979 Ferrari 308 GTS estimated at $100k to $150k that was snapped up for $100,800 all-in? If you’ve got a barn, maybe it’s time to start filling it up with cars like these. 

As we reported in our preview, all the Florida catalogues this year carried a mix of old and new, and RM’s was no exception. Following a distinctly old-school 1937 Packard 1507 Twelve Coupé Roadster – sold above top estimate for $329,500 – came a $511,000 2017 Ferrari 488 GT3, bought below its lower guide price.

It was an odd combination, but somehow it worked – there was no mass exodus once any particular group’s favoured models had crossed the block. The modern cars, in particular, were greeted with whoops, cheers and the occasional holler from the audience.

As far as the $1m+ Dino GTS market is concerned, the verdict will remain out until after Amelia Island next weekend. RM’s red car sold for $80k below estimate, achieving $797,000 gross.

Other than rarity, the ‘chairs and flares’ cars offer little to justify the premium. Their styling can appear slightly unbalanced – there is a lot of ‘flare’ going on and, to some eyes, it detracts from beauty, what is fundamentally the model's raison d’être. By contrast, the funky Rosso Dino GT delivered new to Italy presented well and sold strongly for $566,000.

Other results of note (all prices gross):

* 2020 Aston Martin DBS GT Zagato, $758,500. When a car is hammered sold at half its top estimate, yet is not in at No Reserve, you learn something about the state of the market for that model.
* 2020 McLaren Speedtail, $1,974,000. Good result for a car not always easy to move on.
* 1969 Ferrari 365 GTS, $2,590,000. Solid.
* 1992 Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer, $1,160,000. Fiercely fought over.
* 1993 Ferrari 348 Serie Speciale tb, $335,000. Interesting, rare and little-known version of the generally unappreciated 348 series with factory-tuned motor and F40-style seats.
* 2024 Bugatti Bolide, $4,955,000. Completely OTT, one-of-40 – so a fair few made – special edition that cost over $5.4m when new. The Instagrammers loved it. 
* 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S, $1,875,000. Shocking blue non-original interior even more shocking when seen in the flesh. Sold at right level – not $2m to $2.25m estimate.
* 1966 Porsche 906, Not Sold. We only saw one meaningful bid. 
* 1984 Lamborghini Countach 5000 S, $841,000. Slightly weak figure for car owned new by one of fathers of the Countach in the US, Joe Nastasi. Someone needs to do a good book on these cars…
* 1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8-Litre Roadster, $128,800. One of the bargains of the auction, an early flat-floor LHD car with outside bonnet locks. 

The auction was conducted as show cars were arriving for Moda Miami, which takes place over the weekend. The big USP of Moda is its convenience compared with Amelia Island which, however good, still has even US nationals cursing its location and shortage of reasonably priced hotels. The main auction tent will be repurposed for prize-giving and other events throughout Moda proper.

So what is the key takeaway from last night? That the North American market remains healthy, but is not currently producing some of the more extreme results we have witnessed this year. And that different strands of the collecting universe can coexist quite happily, enjoying a good night out together. In difficult times for the wider world, that is something to be celebrated.

Let’s see what happens 390 miles up the I-95 from Thursday onwards.

RM Sotheby’s at Moda Miami, 27 February 2026 – provisional results (2025)

Gross: $73,590,560 ($74,413,720)
Number of cars not sold: 10 (15)
Number of cars withdrawn: 0 (4)
Total number of cars: 89 (86)
Number sold: 79 (71)
Percentage of cars sold by number: 89% (83%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 72% (68%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 46% (55%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 68% (79%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 13% (8%)
Average price of cars sold: $931,526 ($1,048,081)
Average year of cars offered: 1980 (1972)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 46% (40%)

Photos by K500