Gooding reveals star cars for Amelia Island

15th February 2018

The wraps have just come off Gooding & Co’s headliners for its 2018 Amelia Island auction.

They are both Ferraris, a 1956 410 Superamerica S1 ($5m to $6m) and a 1952 212 Europa Cabriolet by Ghia. The latter, at $1.8m to $2.2m, is an early Ferrari, truly one for the connoisseurs – try asking a more recent collector to date it or name its coachbuilder.

As far as the 410 SA goes, RM sold the S3 ‘1305 SA’ for $5,335,000 in August 2017 and Gooding took $5,087,500 for the ex-Shah of Iran S2 ‘0707 SA’ in August 2015. The Series 1 car to be offered at Amelia Island by the Santa Monica-based house (‘0491 SA’, top and below) is presented in a non-original colour but finished to “show quality”. It’s a past Pebble and Cavallino class winner, with just three owners from new.

What the longer wheelbase of the S1 410 Superamericas gives in elegance, it takes away in agility, although there’s no denying this one’s understated Pinin Farina lines. Later versions, commissioned by the more extravagantly wealthy, can be fussy.