A 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible sold for $3 million at the Mecum Kissimmee 2016 sale while the headline Ferrari 275 and Porsche 962 failed to sell. Bidding for the 1989 Daytona-winning Porsche stopped at $2.3 million while a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta could not be bought for $2.8 million. Four American muscle cars from the early 1970s with powerful 426/425 HP Hemi V-8 engines sold for over a million dollars: two Plymouth Hemi Cuda convertibles, a Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T Convertible and a Plymouth Hemi Cuda. Two 1969 Pontiac Trans Am Convertibles received high bids well over a million dollar but failed to clear the reserve margins. Porsche Carrera GTs and Ferrari 365/4 Daytona Berlinettas failed to reach a million dollar.
Mecum Kissimmee Classic Car Auction 2016
While the rest of the classic car auction world was still getting ready for the Scottsdale, Arizona sales at the end of January, Mecum already moved over 3,000 cars and more automobilia across the block at a week-long auction from 15-24 January 2016 in Kissimmee, Florida. Overall sales topped $91 million (without post-auction deals) – the highest-grossing sale ever for a single Mecum auction and 30% more than Kissimmee 2015. The sell-through rate was 78%.
The following cars sold for, or received highest bids (HB), over or near a million dollar at the Mecum Kissimmee 2016 collector car sale:
Year | Car | Price ($) |
1970 | Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible | 2,942,500 |
1971 | Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible | 2,530,000 |
1970 | Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T Convertible | 1,815,000 |
1971 | Plymouth Hemi Cuda | 1,045,000 |
1967 | Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta | HB 2,800,000 |
1989 | Porsche 962 | HB 2,300,000 |
2012 | McLaren MP4-12C High Sport | HB 900,000 |
2005 | Porsche Carrera GT | HB 825,000 |
2005 | Porsche Carrera GT | HB 650,000 |
1973 | Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona | HB 800,000 |
1973 | Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona | HB 660,000 |
HB – Highest bid received but not clearing reserve margin.
American Muscle Cars Sold for a Million Dollar Plus at Kissimmee 2016
Several American muscle cars sold for over a million dollar at the Mecum Kissimmee 2016 sale in Florida. These cars are rarely seen in the polite and genteel society of million-dollar classic car auctions by the likes of Bonhams, Gooding and RM Sotheby’s but the results are nothing to sneer at.
The following four cars were all part of the Brett Torino Collections and were produced in the 1970-71 period when these muscle cars were produced in very small numbers:
1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible
The Lemon Twist yellow 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible achieved a hammer price of $2,675,000 – the highest result for an American car at the 2016 Mecum Kissimmee auction. Only 14 of these convertibles were built in 1970, of which only five were fitted with the A833 4-speed transmission. The car has its original but rebuilt E47 426/425 HP Hemi V-8 engine. The car has covered only 27,500 miles since new and is in a remarkably original condition.
1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible
A Sno-White 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertible achieved a strong hammer price of $2.3 million. This car with its powerful 426/425 HP Hemi V-8 engine was the first of only five automatic convertibles produced in 1971. The car was restored in 2003 by Julius Steuer.
1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T Convertible
A Sublime green 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T Convertible sold for $1,650,000 at the Mecum Kissimmee 2016 sale. Although 1,070 R/T convertibles were sold in 1970, only nine had Hemi engines and only four of those were fitted with an automatic. The 426/425 HP Hemi V-8 engine is backed by a floor-shifted A727 Torqueflite automatic transmission.
1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda
A 1971 Plymouth Hemi Cuda sold for $950,000 hammer price at the 2016 Mecum Kissimmee sale. This Winchester gray metallic car is unrestored but well-maintained condition. It has its original R-Code 426/425 HP Hemi V-8 engine and original 4-speed transmission. It has covered only 59,000 miles since new.
Two of the eight Pontiac Trans Am Convertibles produced in 1969 received bids of $1.9 million and $1.4 million respectively but failed to clear the reserve margins.
High-Bid Cars at Mecum Kissimmee 2016
Several high-profile cars received high bids but failed to clear the reserves at the 2016 Mecum Kissimmee sale:
1989 Daytona-Winning Porsche 962
One of the highlights of the 2016 Mecum Kissimmee classic car auction should have been the 1989 Porsche 962, chassis 108C-2, that won the Daytona 24 Hour race in 1989. The winning car in green, gold and white Miller livery was driven by Derek Bell in his last 24-hour race with co-drivers Bob Wollek and John Andretti to victory at Daytona in 1989. This Porsche had also finished the Daytona race in 1988 in second place.
This Porsche 962 had 11 top-five qualifying runs and 5 podium finishes during the 1988-89 seasons. Apart from victory at Daytona in 1989, it also won the same year at Palm Beach and the Porsche Cup USA.
Bidding stopped at $2.3 million – around a quarter of the Porsche marque record that was set at $10,200,000 million at Gooding’s Pebble Beach 2015 sale for the 1983-Le Mans winning Rothmans Porsche 956 that also finished the Le Mans race the year before in second place.
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta
The highest bid at the 2016 Mecum Kissimmee auction week was $2.8 million for a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta, chassis 10717. This matching-numbers car was owned by a Ferrari mechanic since 1970 and is in a well-maintained, original unrestored condition.
Although Mecum has achieved very good results on similar cars in the past, Bonhams, Gooding and RM Sotheby’s are probably more suitable for handling these types of Ferraris and Porsches rather than the marathon auctions Mecum stages. However, it is harder to imagine those companies successfully selling the American muscle cars that Mecum achieved top dollar for at Kissimmee 2016.
Porsche Carrera GT and Ferrari 365/4 Daytona
Two Porsche Carrera GTs and two Ferrari 365/4 Daytona Berlinettas were on offer at Mecum’s Kissimmee 2016 sale. None were sold. At Monterey 2015, Mecum sold a Porsche Carrera GT and RM Sotheby’s a Ferrari 365/4 Daytona for just over a million dollar. Since then, these models have come to market in increasingly high numbers. Several are on offer at the various sales in Scottsdale, Arizona and Paris, France and judged by the bids received at Kissimmee, the offers on most are going to remain well short of a million dollar.