Indy racecars and a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster topped the results at the Mecum 2022 Indianapolis collection car auction.
Two Evernham Indy cars led the top results at the Mecum Indianapolis 2022 collector car auction: the 1965 Brawner Hawk Ford “Dean Van Lines Special” Indy Car driven by Mario Andretti achieved $2,200,000 while the 1965 Eagle Weslake Ford “Santa Ana” Indy Car driven by Dan Gurney sold for $1,375,000. Eight cars sold for over a million dollar including a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, three Ford GTs, as well as the most expensive ever Dodge Hemi Daytona.
Mecum Indianapolis 2022 Auction
Mecum $126.5 million in total overall sales at the Indy 2022 classic car auction held May 13-21, 2022, at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis. The results represented an 18% increase over the past Indy auction record of $107 million achieved in 2021. The Indy 2022 auction saw more than 90% of all offerings hammer sold throughout its nine days, including 81% of all 2,504 vehicles offered.
Top Ten Results at Mecum Indy 2022 Auction
The complete top 10 collector car sales at the Mecum Indy 2022 auction included:
| Year | Car | Price $ | |
| 1 | 1965 | Brawner Hawk Ford “Dean Van Lines Special” Indy Car | 2,200,000 |
| 2 | 1957 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster | 1,375,000 |
| 3 | 1969 | Eagle Weslake Ford “Santa Ana” Indy Car | 1,375,000 |
| 4 | – | The Dr. Richard Fosterer Corvette Pace Car Collection | 1,375,000 |
| 5 | 1969 | Dodge Hemi Daytona | 1,320,000 |
| 6 | 2019 | Ford GT Carbon Series | 1,210,000 |
| 7 | 2020 | Ford GT Mk II | 1,210,000 |
| 8 | 2020 | Ford GT | 1,210,000 |
| 9 | 1965 | Shelby 289 Cobra Roadster | 1,100,000 |
| 10 | 1971 | Chevrolet Corvette ZR2 Convertible | 962,000 |
Top Results at the Mecum Indy 2022 Auction
Two of the top results at the Mecum Indianapolis 2022 collector car auction were for Indy racing cars. The most expensive car overall was was Evernham’s 1965 Brawner Hawk Ford “Dean Van Lines Special” Indy Car (Lot S166), driven by Mario Andretti, which brought $2.2 million as an offering that crossed the auction block with no reserve. An Evernham’s 1965 Eagle Weslake Ford “Santa Ana” Indy Car (Lot S167) driven by Dan Gurney sold for $1,375,000, as did the 18-car, single-lot offering of Corvettes (Lot S159) from Dr. Richard Foster.
A 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (Lot S124) also sold for a relatively strong $1,375,000, as the latest SL to perform well this year — at least 11 1950s SLs have been sold thus far this year including three by Mecum. At the RM Sotheby’s Arizona sale 2022, a new 300 SL record was set when the extremely rare 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy Gullwing sold for $6,825,000. Earlier in May 2022, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé became the most valuable car in the world when it sold for a world record €135 million ($143 million).
The 1969 Dodge Hemi Daytona (Lot F111) sold for $1,320,000, as the most valuable Hemi Daytona ever sold at auction. It was offered from the Motor City Muscle Collection that achieved an overall total of $3.8 million for all 11 of the group’s selection of classic muscle cars.
THREE Ford GTs sold for $1,210,00 each — at least 13 of these cars in various special editions have traded at public auctions for over a million dollar thus far in 2022. Mecum alone sold six! The 2019 Ford GT Carbon Series (shadow black with sliver stripes) was high mileage with 1,280 miles on the clock compared to the white 2020 Ford GT Mk II with 332 miles, and the 2020 Ford GT sold by Parnelli Jones with only 15 miles.
The Indy 2022 top 10 sales list was rounded out by a 1965 Shelby 289 Cobra Roadster (Lot S136) from The Dr. J. Christian and Jennifer McCarter Collection that sold for $1.1 million and a one-of-two 1971 Chevrolet Corvette ZR2 Convertible (Lot S127) that sold for $962,500.
Private vehicle collections were responsible for nearly $47 million of the Mecum Indy 2022 auction total, with the headlining Ray Evernham collection of 32 no-reserve race cars and more achieving an impressive total of $6.4 million. The Asi and Lisa Sheikh Collection realized sales for all 33 of its rare and top-shelf classic and collector car offerings, reaching $6.7 million. The Dr. J. Christian and Jennifer McCarter Collection was also exceptionally well received with 20 cars hammering sold for an overall total of $7.6 million in sales.
Road Art in Indianapolis 2022 achieved $2.5 million added to the $126.5 million auction total. The top Road Art sales lot was the $147,500 sale of a 1950s Ford Jubilee animated single-sided porcelain neon sign (Lot Z817).