2023 RM Sotheby’s Arizona Sale (Scottsdale Week Auction Results)

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The top sale results at the RM Sotheby’s 2023 Arizona / Scottsdale auction were for a Ferrari LaFerrari and a Lamborghini Miura P400 SV.

The top sale results at the RM Sotheby's 2023 Arizona / Scottsdale auction were for a Ferrari LaFerrari and a Lamborghini Miura P400 SV. Blu Elletro 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari at RM Sotheby's Arizona 2023 Sale
Brendan Stouffer – Blue Chip Fleet ©2022 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

RM Sotheby’s had a strong start to the 2023 classic car auction year with top results at the Arizona / Scottsdale sale. The two top results were for blue Italian supercars. A 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari sold for a very strong $4,075,000 while a 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV sold for $3,580,000. The ever-popular 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 achieved $3,360,000. A particularly notable result was for the most-expensive American car in the sale: the unique 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZL-1 Convertible sold for $3,140,000. Only two of the million-dollar lots failed to sell during the auction.

RM Sotheby’s Arizona (Scottsdale) Sale 2023

1937 Mercedes Benz 540 K Special Roadster by Sindelfingen
Darin Schnabel ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

RM Sotheby’s Arizona classic car auction: 24 January 2023 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.

The annual Arizona auction during Scottsdale week is usually a good earner for RM Sotheby’s including the Arizona / Scottsdale auction record of $9,900,000 paid for a 1937 Mercedes Benz 540 K Special Roadster by Sindelfingen in 2016.

Earnings from recent RM Sotheby’s Arizona sale include:

YearEarningsSell-Through Rate %
2023$44.9 million91%
2022$43.3 million95%
2021$35 million90%
2020$30.4 million90%
2019$37 million85%
2018$35.8 million86%
2017$54 million89%

Million-Dollar Results at the RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023 Auction

Million-Dollar Results at the RM Sotheby's Arizona 2023 Auction
© Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The following 12 cars sold for more than a million dollars each at the RM Sotheby’s Arizona / Scottsdale 2023 classic car auction:

YearCarPrice ($)
12014Ferrari LaFerrari4,075,000
21971Lamborghini Miura P400 SV3,580,000
31967Ferrari 275 GTB/43,360,000
41969Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZL-1 Convertible3,140,000
51966Ferrari 500 Superfast Series II2,225,000
61992Ferrari F402,150,000
71958Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster1,820,000
81987Porsche 959 Komfort1,682,500
92017Ferrari F12tdf1,242,500
102005Porsche Carrera GT1,242,500
111953Fiat 8V Coupe by Ghia1,105,000
121931Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by LeBaron1,050,000

Top Results at RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023 Sale

Top lots at RM Sotheby's Arizona 2023 sale - 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZL-1 Convertible
Motorcar Studios ©2022 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The most expensive cars sold at the RM Sotheby’s Arizona classic car auction performed largely as expected with most selling within or very close to the pre-sale estimates. Only two top cars failed to sell during the auction.

A 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari finished in Blu Elettrico over Crema leather sold for $4,075,000 as the top result in the RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023 classic car auction. This LaFerrari was delivered new to Ferrari super-collector Greg Whitten and had only 3,185 miles on the odometer. Although this result was just within the presale estimate of $4,000,000 – $4,500,000, it was still the best LaFerrari auction result since a LaFerrari sold for $5,170,000 at Mecum Monterey 2016.

The second most expensive car in the RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023 auction was a 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV by Bertone that achieved $3,580,000. This Miura was one of 150 SV examples built and with a color combination of Blu Notte over light gray. It was desirably equipped with air conditioning and a split-sump lubrication system.

The 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti was at $3,360,000 the third-highest result at the RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023 sale. This largely original and well-preserved example, presented in its original color combination of silver of black, had only four previous owners, including a 45-year period of single-family ownership. It was the 203rd of 330 examples built and is documented with a SEFAC invoice and correspondence, service/restoration invoices dating back to 1967, former owner’s correspondence, and history by Marcel Massini.

The most-expensive American car in the RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023 auction was a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZL-1 Convertible – the only convertible ZL-1 that sold for $3,140,000. Bloomington Gold Certified, and one of two factory aluminum 427 ZL-1 Corvettes, this ZL-1 was powered by its factory-correct, date-coded, all-aluminum ZL-1 427-cu. in. V-8 engine and an accurate, award-winning restoration by Kevin Mackay of Corvette Repair, Inc. The auction was the first time that the ZL-1 Convertible had ever been offered publicly and the result was one of only a handful of Corvettes to ever have sold for over $3 million.

Further Top Results at RM Sotheby’s Arizona Sale 2023

A few further interesting top results at RM Sotheby’s Arizona included:

  • 1966 Ferrari 500 Superfast Series II by Pininfarina  — although rare, this car is one of only 12 second-series examples and one of 36 total examples built, the Superfast generally fails to achieve very high prices at auction, especially compared to the more common 275 GTB/4 that are frequently seen at auctions.
  • 1992 Ferrari F40 — the result was just below expectations and one of the lower F40 results in recent months. However, the car was European specification rather than US, and the mileage of nearly 20,000 km was not exceptionally low.
  • 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster — a good result for a car that seemed well sorted and with numbers-matching engine, gearbox, and body.
  • 1987 Porsche 959 Komfort — 959 prices seem to be trending upwards again, at least partly helped by not many being offered at auctions in the previous two years.
  • 2005 Porsche Carrera GT — in contrast to the 959, Carrera GTs are rushing to market with results ranging from around a million to above $2 million. This one was a US-specification car with 13,000 miles on the clock.
  • 2017 Ferrari F12tdf — this is the latest modern Ferrari that tends to sell for over a million more often than not. This F12tdf was one of 299 US models (out of 799 total) and had only 700 miles on the clock.
  • 1953 Fiat 8V Coupe by Ghia — of the 15 8V chassis distributed to Ghia, this was the only one without a supersonic body but rather unique aluminum coachwork designed by Virgil Exner and Felice Mario Boano.
  • 1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by LeBaron — this Duesenberg was owned and exhibited by the Peterson Museum in the early 2000s.

Top Cars NOT Sold at the RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023 Sale

1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra at RM Sotheby's Arizona 2023 Sale
Lucas Scarfone ©2022 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

Only two top cars failed to sell at the RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023 sale:

YearCarHighest Bid ($)Estimate ($)
1965Shelby 427 Competition CobraHB 2,200,000$3,000,000 – $3,600,000
1994Bugatti EB110 GTHB 1,450,000$1,600,000 – $2,000,000

Bidding for the Shelby Cobra stopped well short of the lower estimate. This car was the only Cobra to have featured in the Cobra Caravan tour, a Hollywood movie starring Elvis, and in period competition.

The Bugatti was listed as available for sale at $1.6 million after the auction, which is basically the same price as the reported highest bid plus commission.

Scottsdale and Arizona Car Auctions 2023

Many auction houses have sales during the annual Scottsdale week in Arizona, USA, in late January 2023, including amongst others:

Scottsdale & Arizona Auction Results

Scottsdale & Arizona Pre-Sale Announcements

Scottsdale & Arizona Sales — Previous Auction Results