Gooding’s 2026 Amelia Island auction: day two

Gooding Christie’s wrapped up its 2026 two-day residency at the Racquet Park, Omni Amelia Island Resort, with an on-the-day gross of at least $57.7m. Once again, 90% of the catalogue was sold and, subject to after-sales, the Santa Monica firm’s total for the entire event should top $70m – its second-highest figure recorded in Florida.

While the SWB Cal Spider understandably topped the figures at $16.505m, the feature result of the afternoon was $1,325,000 all-in paid for the 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS commissioned new by California architect Craig Ellwood. To North American specification (with unloved side-repeaters), the car’s big pluses were ‘Chairs and Flares’, ‘Daytona’-style seats, Campagnolo alloy wheels and widened wheel arches, air-conditioning and – the really big one – special-request Porsche Signal Orange paintwork. It is the only Dino of any description so finished.

The car had been rebuilt mechanically in the 2000s and only “recently acquired by the consignor” – who no doubt bought gold in summer 2025 and bet big on Rich Strike winning the Kentucky Derby in 2022 at 80–1.

The catalogue was a clever blend of old and new with, unusually for Amelia Island, no ‘Great Gatsby’ or Brass Car Americana, and was not overloaded with showroom-fresh modern supercars. As usual, master auctioneer Charlie Ross, white-suited for the occasion, skilfully steered the event over the line.

At a glance (on the night):

* Gross: $57,655,060
* Percentage sold by number, motor cars: 92%
* Top-selling car: 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider $16,505,000 gross, $15,000,000 net (est. $16m to $18m) 
* Well sold? 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Spider (est. $2m to $3m, above) for $3,415,000. In its own small way, one of the stars of the night. A preservation class car coming out of long-term ownership, artfully introduced by David Gooding playing on the Rossellini connections, from a sector currently in the shadows
* Well bought? There were many entries in at No Reserve, and we tipped the 1971 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/3  (below) – bulletproof provenance issues aside – in our preview. It was bought for $885,000 all-in against an estimate of $1m to $1.4m. Ditto the $274,400 1966 Abarth 1300 OT Periscopio

In line with figures recorded elsewhere this year, the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT achieved a strong $3,112,500 against an estimate of $1.5m to $1.8m. The 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza could not repeat the healthy performance of the Rossellini 212 Export and sold below estimate for $3,085,000 – something of a buy.

Other results of note (all prices gross):

* 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, $3,030,000. Tidy car in safe and smart original Grigio Argento, bought on the money.
* 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’, $786,000. European ‘Daytona’ with flip-up lights, restored and maintained in the US. Good result.

* 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, $1,765,000. Concours-standard, three-year restoration car, well bought.
* 1992 Mercedes-Benz 500E, $357,000. Ex-Jerry Seinfeld, only 2,335 miles. Big price, no doubt generating much sellers’ remorse from those who once owned the Porsche-built ultimate Q-car.
* 2001 Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 VT Coupé, $747,500. 7,000 miles, pleasing gold-tinged Grigio Antares example of the regular Diablo fitted with the final 5,992cc engine.
* 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Gullwing’, $2,012,500. Non-original colours (originally Weissgrau) and gearbox, but benefitting from a recent Mercedes-Benz Classic Center inspection confirming the numbers. The right price.
* 1964 Ferrari 275/330 GTC Prototype, Not Sold. Interesting 330 GTC development car sold new to Milan in searing Rosso Cina. An older restoration. $650k to $800k was just too expensive.

* 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S (above), $2,590,000. Good price for an average car (but much better than RM’s last week).

It was a typical performance from the Californians: smart presentation of a catalogue that read today’s buyers’ mood well, entertainingly handled by Ross at the rostrum. Official results are to follow, but with only 11 of 132 cars not sold on the day we forecast a two-day gross in the region of $70.4m – a figure bettered only by the $72.7m recorded in 2023.

Gooding Christie’s at Amelia Island, 5-6 March 2026 – provisional results (2025)

Gross: $70,392,800 ($67,427,210)
Number of cars not sold: 11 (10)
Number of cars withdrawn: 0 (3)
Total number of cars: 132 (143)
Number sold: 121 (133)
Percentage of cars sold by number: 92% (93%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 80% (72%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 69% (77%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 80% (91%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 14% (6%)
Average price of cars sold: $581,759 ($506,972)
Average year of cars offered: 1969 (1963)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 67% (64%)

Photos by Marcelo Murillo (top) and Peter Singhof for K500