A Ferrari LaFerrari sold for $3.3 million as the top result at the Mecum Kissimmee 2018 sale but the surprise result was $2.2 million for a 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake.
The two top bids at the Mecum Kissimmee 2019 collector car auction failed to buy the most-expensive cars on offer. A $10 million bid was not enough to buy Mecum’s own 1965 Ford GT Competition Prototype Roadster. A highest bid of $6.1 million came close to the estimate for the 2016 Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta but was not accepted. Two cars sold for over a million dollar at Mecum’s Florida auction: a 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari for a respectable $3.3 million and a 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake for $2.2 million – double its presale estimate.
Mecum Kissimmee, Florida, Collector Car Auction 2019
Mecum claims its Kissimmee auction in Florida is the largest collector car auction in the world. While most of the car auctioning world is still preparing for the annual Scottsdale, Arizona, classic car auction week in mid-January, Mecum was already be selling in Florida. Mecum’s scheduled its Kissimmee auction for January 3 to 13, 2019 at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida, USA.
The massive Mecum Kissimmee auction event covers more than 60 acres and feature at least two dozen private collections, 3,000 items of Road Art, the Mecum Midway of food, exhibitors and various live entertainment acts on the Midway stage, the Dodge Thrill Ride, and, of course, the ceaseless high-energy Mecum auction action.
Mecum grossed $107.5 million in vehicle and road art sales during the Kissimmee 2019 auctions. In total, 2,328 of the almost 3,500 cars on offer were sold for a sell-through rate of 72%.
Top Results at Mecum Kissimmee 2019
The top results at the Mecum Kissimmee 2019 collector car auction were:
- 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari – $3,300,000
- 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake – $2,200,000
- A pair of two Tuxedo Black 1969 Corvette L88 cars sold as a pair – $990,000
- 1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Phaeton – $935,000
- 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 – $495,000
Note: Published results include auction premium.
Million-Dollar Cars at Mecum Kissimmee 2019
2014 Ferrari LaFerrari
The top result at the Mecum Kissimmee 2019 classic car auction was $3,300,000 paid for a 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari. The result was a few hundred thousand dollar less than was commonly accepted for LaFerraris in 2017 and average for 2018 results.
This 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari is a low mileage example – 418 miles – and delivered in special order Rosso Fuoco paint.
1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake
A 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake sold for $2,200,000 at the Mecum Kissimmee 2019 sale in Florida as the first car to achieve over a million dollar at public auction in 2019. The pre-sale estimate was a more modest $1,00,000 – $1,200,000. This is the highest price ever paid for a Mustang.
The 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake is a one-off Shelby supercar – the original intention was to produce 50 but at a retail price higher than a 427 Cobra and double that of a baseline GT500, the project never progressed beyond the prototype.
This Shelby GT500 Super Snake was fitted with a GT40 Mk II 427 engine specially built for this car. The most obvious external distinguishing feature of the car is the unique Le Mans Blue hood striping.
The 1967 Shelby GT500 Super Snake was famously used to demonstrate the durability of Goodyear Thunderbolt tires that Shelby was the distributor for on the West Coast. Fitted with standard passenger car Goodyear tires, the Super Snake drove 500 miles at an average of 142 mph and retained 97% of the original tire tread.
Top Cars Not Sold at Mecum Kissimmee 2019
The two highest bid lots at the Mecum Kissimmee 2019 collector car auction both failed to reach the reserve limits – in Mecum speak “The Bid Goes On…”
1965 Ford GT Competition Prototype Roadster
The highest bid at the auction was $10 million for the 1965 Ford GT Competition Prototype Roadster. However, the bid failed to buy the car that belong to the Mecum family. At the auction Mr Mecum confirmed that like many of the sellers at his auctions, he didn’t really want to part the car. It remains unclear at what price he would have been willing to let the vehicle go.
This Ford is the only GT Roadster with Le Mans racing experience. It is one of five built by Ford and one of only two to have survived. It was raced by Ford of France with Maurice Trintignant and Guy Ligier as drivers. Unfortunately, gearbox problems forced retirement after only eleven laps. The restored car finished 2nd in Class at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – beaten only by the 1966 Le Mans Winner.
2016 Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta
The second highest bid at the Mecum Kissimmee 2019 auction was $6.1 million for a 2016 Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta. Only 210 were made and this was be only the second “used” Aperta on offer at public auction. A European-specification LaFerrari Aperta attracted an unsuccessful highest bid of around $5.4 million at the Bonhams Goodwood Revival Sale in September 2018.
The last Aperta produced was sold new for charity for just over $10 million at the RM Sotheby’s Maranello 2017 sale. Another used Aperta will be on offer a few days after the Kissimmee sale at the RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2019 sale – this car has 1,500 miles on the clock compared to the 174 delivery miles on the LaFerrari Aperta at Mecum’s Kissimmee 2019. Both auction houses have the same $6,500,000 – 8,500,000 estimate for the LaFerrari Apertas.