The first semester will come to an end in two days after a start to the year that saw no fewer than 43 specialized auctions! From Kissimmee to Miami, then from Paris to Dubai, Gautier Rossignol delivers his analysis of the market to fully grasp its subtleties and trends, with a deep dive into the Ferrari brand. Between records and disillusionments, as always, the numbers don't lie, but a thorough reading between the lines allows for a better understanding of what awaits us.

From all corners of the world, auctions wasted no time in stirring up the market after a year that some will describe as challenging. While the initial results are promising, certain methods already criticized prove that it is high time to do less in order to do better...

Of course, Ferrari surfs above the fray, but this does not exclude respecting a few rules that, once upon a time, were not essential but have become inevitable today. Even at its peak, an empire must maintain control of its troops and especially those who attempt to enforce them. While the largest auction houses operating worldwide act as the safeguards of the market in question, it is evident that they each act in their own way, sometimes as it suits them... with varying degrees of success. We will revisit this later after assessing the outcome of these first three months.

Let's then respect the order of the calendar, and if you don't mind, let's start with Mecum, which kicked off the season in Kissimmee with the sale of three exceptional Ferraris... The 275 GTS/4 Nart Spyder (#10749), the 250 GT SWB California Spyder (#4137), and one of the three 275 GTB/LM Competizione Speciale (#6701). While the estimates were kept secret for a while, Mecum made a bold move against its direct competitors, qualified as Premium. While only one of them changed hands, this sale is currently the highest bid achieved at the beginning of the year! At 17.8 million dollars, this excellent 250 GT SWB California Spyder had only one flaw: being "red/beige leather" at a time when original configurations act as springboards. While some may say the result is disappointing (only one out of three sold), I believe, that Mecum had tried "everything or nothing" and emerged victorious from a risky gamble by achieving the highest price for this model, surpassing "3099 GT" sold in March 2023 at Gooding & Co for over 18 million dollars and in an incredible configuration (Azzurro Metallizzato). There is no doubt that we will find the other two cars again in August under one of the tents in Monterey, but that... is another story.

Let's cross the Atlantic and focus on the biggest event the market experiences in Europe, Rétromobile. While it is one of the most attended shows in the world, it is primarily the battleground for Artcurial Motorcars, Bonhams, and RM Sotheby's with 300 cars for sale (to be precise, 297). Looking at the statistics, each house experienced a significant decrease in turnover, but the sales percentages are substantially higher thanks to the 50% of cars offered without reserve. The combined gross amount decreased due to the reduced number of cars by a third and some high-value entries that remained unsold.
RM kicked off the festivities with a risky catalog that turned out to be successful, featuring a plethora of supercars from the 1990s and 2000s. However, it is the performance of their Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione (#1773 GT) that deserves recognition, fetching over 10 million euros. What to make of the 3.2 million euros obtained for their 275 GTB/6C aluminum or the 635,000 euros reached by their Dino 246 GTS?... The 275, though beautiful, was not "pure sugar" with a gearbox that was correct but replaced during a restoration in the early 2000s, which also omitted its original and sublime "Celeste Chiaro" color with a blue leather interior. Its result is in the high range. The 246 GTS, on the other hand, ticked many boxes with its "Marrone Dino Metallizzato" color (so Dino!) and a condition close to perfection (except for the non-original Daytona seats but typical of the era). At 635,000 euros, it is the most expensive sold in Europe. With an average age set at 1982, its catalog was the youngest of the three, yet it was Bonhams that achieved the second highest bid of the week with the sale of their Ferrari Enzo for over 3.9 million euros. This marks the third highest result for the model in Europe.

Artcurial Motorcars, on the other hand, reduced its catalog to 129 cars from 198 in 2023. As mentioned earlier in these lines, despite the rich diversity of their catalog featuring pre-war cars, youngtimers, 1950s to 1970s GTs, and Supercars, the Parisian house failed to sell most of its stars, such as its 250 GT LWB California and its 250 GT Lusso belonging to the same Swiss collector. Failing to meet expectations on its highest estimated car, its turnover struggles to surpass the 16 million euros mark. I come to another observation; if these results should have an impact on the position given to the auction house organizing the official sale of the show, it should still be kept in mind that Rétromobile is not a luxury second hand supercar show but rather an exhibition dedicated to vintage locomotion. The auction house must always maintain its position by offering the public a range of global automotive production, including barn finds, great French coachbuilders, roaring Italians, or simply extraordinary cars... On this specific point, Artcurial's catalog ticked all the right boxes.

Back to the United States, but this time in Florida, where the combined total of the four companies operating on-site exceeds 186 million dollars, thus surpassing the 2023 record of 178 million dollars. While the increase in the total sales volume corresponds to a 5% increase in the number of cars listed, rather than their success rates, the average age of cars in the catalogs (1973) matched that of last year. By comparison, ten years ago, the average age was 1954. Another trend that is quite logical with extensive sales where it is impossible to defend all cars, the number of aftersales showing cars "sold" without a price being communicated is now customary and a sign that the battle between auction houses is fierce given the substantial operating budgets of these multinational corporations! While the showdown between Broad Arrow and RM Sotheby's did not take place, with the latter leaving the venue to create its own event in Miami at the same time (ModaMiami), the battle raged on with Gooding & Co, which achieved a slightly higher turnover of 4 million dollars at 67 million dollars. The 1954 500 Spider Mondial Series 1 fetched 3.9 million dollars, the highest bid for a Ferrari at Gooding, closely followed by two 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spiders respectively at 3.6 million dollars and 3.3 million dollars for Broad Arrow's. These are very good results for cars from the 1950s and 1970s when, just a few miles away, RM Sotheby's stood out with a great bid of 3.3 million dollars for an F40 with only 1,200 km!

But does being bigger mean that you are the best? By that, do you understand that having the highest turnover demonstrates that one defends the interests of its sellers better? I am convinced otherwise, and judging by the latest results from our Aguttes on Wheels department on March 10th during the Spring Sale in Paris or from RM Sotheby's in Dubai with only 22 lots presented, their results prove the interest of targeted sales where the attention of the teams is more focused than ever on a quantity of carefully selected lots rather than being packed into a heavy-to-digest catalog!

If we had to retain the essentials:
The US market is much stronger than the European market. Why?
-   The local economy is not suffering from the woes of the old continent, with the Nasdaq rising 30% over the past four months and the Dow Jones up 18%... Q.E.D. (Quod Erat Demonstrandum).

How to explain that auctions go crazy more for one car than another?
-    Originality while maintaining its original authenticity, as exemplified by the two Daytona Spiders (Vert Bahram at Gooding and Bleu Dino at Broad Arrow) or the ultra-authentic Dino 246 GTS totaling only 3,500 original miles, which is nearing a million at Gooding...

What is the butterfly effect at auctions?
-    Seeing a Ferrari 612 Sessanta reach $456,000 at RM the day after a record-breaking sale of a 612 with an extremely rare manual gearbox at $467,000 at Gooding, which is double their purchase value 20 years ago... That's a bit of the butterfly effect!

Why should "without reserve" be used judiciously?
-    Because inflating an estimate to reassure a seller with a higher starting price and then selling ultimately below the low estimate, including buyer's fees, only disappoints the seller while weakening the auction house's reputation due to underperformance. If you want examples, the results of Rétromobile are full of them.

See you in Monaco!
-    Next May, the Monaco Historic Grand Prix will host Artcurial, Bonhams, and RM Sotheby's... Some rare classic Ferraris worth several million euros are already listed in the catalog! Business to follow.

Upcoming auctions
Tour Auto l La Vente Officielle
Monday, April 22, 2024

Automobiles de collection l La Vente d'Été
Sunday, June 23, 2024

For more information or to include a lot in our upcoming sales, contact
Gautier Rossignol
+33 (0)1 47 45 93 01 • +33 (0)7 45 13 75 78
rossignol@aguttes.com

Hugo Baldy
+33 (0)1 47 45 93 01 • +33 (0)7 60 78 10 18
baldy@aguttes.com