2019 RM Sotheby's Amelia Island Sale (High Performance Cars Announcement)

RM Sotheby’s announced several high performance cars including a Bugatti 57 SC Tourer and Shelby 427 Competition Cobra for the Amelia Island 2019 sale.

1937 Bugatti SC Tourer by Corsica — Darin Schnabel ©2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

A 1937 Bugatti 57 SC Tourer by Corsica (estimate $6,000,000 – $7,500,000) and a 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra (estimate $3,000,000-$4,000,000) are the lead cars for the RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2019 classic car auction. Further high performance cars announced for the sale include a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, a 2005 Maserati MC12 Corsa, a 2015 McLaren P1 and a 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder.

RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2019

RM Sotheby’s 21st annual Amelia Island classic car sale – 8 & 9 March 2019 at the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island, Florida, USA.

In 2019, RM Sotheby’s earned $38.1 million at Amelia Island with a sell-through rate of 84%.

In 2018, RM Sotheby’s grossed $27 million with a sell-through rate of 85% with 87 of 102 lots offered sold.

In 2017, RM Sotheby’s earned an Amelia Island record $70.9 million but in contrast to most years, a second auction day was held during which 63 cars from the Orin Smith collection were sold without reserve to earn a total of $31 million.

In 2016, RM Sotheby’s earned $38.6 million with a high sell-through rate of 89%. In 2015, RM Sotheby’s earned $60 million at Amelia Island with a remarkably high 98% sell-through rate.

High-Performance Cars at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2019

RM Sotheby’s is offering 141 cars at the two-day Amelia Island 2019 classic car auction. High-performance cars on offer range from pre-war classics to modern hypercars:

1937 Bugatti 57 SC Tourer

1937 Bugatti SC Tourer by Corsica Front Quarter — Darin Schnabel ©2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The lead car for the RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2019 classic car auction is a rare 1937 Bugatti SC Tourer, chassis 57512, estimate $6,000,000 – $7,500,000, with coachwork by Corsica. It is one of only two ever built with this four-seat open tourer bodies.

Introduced in late 1937, the Bugatti Type 57S was, on its own, a potent creation. With just over 40 production examples built, it added a significant increase in both horsepower and overall performance to the standard Type 57. Of total 57S production, just 16 examples were finished with open coachwork, making the 1937 Bugatti 57SC Tourer on offer at Amelia Island exceptionally rare and desirable by any standard. Add the fact that Corsica built a total of only eight bodies on the Type 57S, including just two four-seat tourer bodies, with chassis no. 57512 being the second example commissioned, and the car becomes rarer still. Adding the available “C” specification Roots-type supercharger early in the car’s life further raised the power output to 200 hp, enabling a top speed of 120-mph and making the 57SC the fastest French production car of the period.

1937 Bugatti SC Tourer by Corsica rear Quarter — Darin Schnabel ©2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The Bugatti comes to Amelia Island having formerly been a centerpiece in the Judge North, General Lyons and Blackhawk Collections. While in the hands of the Blackhawk Collection, a full restoration was performed, and the car was displayed on the lawn at Pebble Beach in 2003 to much fanfare. As it presents today, it carries this well-preserved restoration from its Pebble Beach debut. Most importantly, the Bugatti retains its original chassis, engine, gearbox, and body, with the supercharger believed to be the same one that was installed within the first few years of its life.

1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra

The 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra, chassis no. CSX 3006, estimate $3,000,000-$4,000,000, is one of 19 true production 427 Competition Cobras built, of which a mere handful retain their original body. This Cobra claims significant period racing and ownership history, perhaps most notably as the only production 427 Cobra to win outright in a major European race.

Equipped from the factory with a potent competition 427 side-oiler aluminum-head engine, the Cobra on offer was delivered new to William G. Freeman of Muncie, Indiana. Freeman campaigned the car in two SCCA races before he was offered a contract in Europe and had to put it up for sale.

The Cobra eventually landed with The Chequered Flag in England, where its debut was in the 1966 Brands Hatch Ilford 500 at the hands of former Shelby American Team driver Bob Bondurant, paired with unparalleled long-distance racer David Piper. With wet conditions looming, the Cobra left two Ford GT40s, a lightweight Jaguar E-Type, and a Ferrari 250 LM in its trail spray, taking the overall win after six grueling hours.

The Cobra was later sold to Mike Shoen, one of the earliest Shelby collectors and historians, and he commissioned a ground up restoration to its original LHD configuration. The Comp 427 would then pass through the hands of such noted Cobra collectors as Steve Juliano, George Stauffer, Chris Cox, Jim Spiro, and Larry Bowman.

In 2003, Bowman sent the car to Legendary Motorcar Company for a no-expense-spared restoration to its Brands Hatch-winning configuration, even finding the original lightweight custom seats that Piper and Bondurant used in 1966 – which are included with the sale. The car would then land with Gary Bartlett of Muncie, Indiana, the same town the car was delivered to nearly five decades earlier. Under Bartlett’s ownership, it was presented at such important events as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Goodwood Revival, and the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. Truly one of the most significant factory Competition 427 Cobras in existence, the car is fully sorted and ready for the road, rally, or track.

Further High-Performance Cars at RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2019

Completing the incredible lineup of high-performance automobiles set for the Amelia Island sale, are:

1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, chassis no. 06899, retaining its original, matching-numbers engine, meticulously restored by Motion Products, Inc. in 2017 to its original Argento color over Nero seats with grey cloth inserts, and wearing its original sunburst wheels (Est. $2,200,000-$2,400,000);

2005 Maserati MC12 Corsa, the incredible 755-bhp, track-only version of Maserati’s iconic 21^stcentury supercar, one of just 13 examples built, and the ultimate private racing car (Est. $1,600,000 – $2,000,000);

2015 McLaren P1, one of 375 examples built, finished in optional Volcano Red, showing less than 750 miles and recently serviced by McLaren Tampa (Est. $1,400,000-$1,600,000);

2015 Porsche 918 Spyder, exceptionally well-optioned, showing less than 1,300 miles and finished in dark blue metallic over black interior (Est. $1,250,000-$1,500,000);

1960 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II, chassis no. 1805 GT, the 19^th Series II Cabriolet built, fully restored by marque specialists in Modena and accompanied by a factory-correct hard top (Est. $1,150,000-$1,300,000);

2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster ‘McLaren Edition’, the only example like it ever built, showing less than 4,900 miles and coming to Amelia Island with Full McLaren upgrades, including unique engine (Est. $800,000-$1,000,000, offered without reserve);

2012 Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package, one of just 50 Nürburgring Package cars, offered from single ownership, showing just 1,615 km and accompanied by a factory luggage set (Est. $825,000-$925,000).