5 Big Sellers from the 2020 Amelia Island Auction Results
Steve McQueen’s Thomas Crown dune buggy fetches $456,000.
Doom and gloom in the stock market did little to dampen the 2020 Amelia Island auction results, with RM Sotheby's, Gooding and Company, and Bonhams all turning out strong auction results, helped along by a significant percentage of cars being offered without a reserve price. Despite selling 93 percent of the cars it offered, Gooding and Company landed last in overall sales with $20.7 million. A half-million-dollars higher was Bonhams at $21.2 million, though only 76 percent of its inventory sold. Finally, automotive auction giant RM Sotheby's landed top sales with $35.8 million; 94 percent of its vehicles found new homes. Here are five cars that sold for strong amounts at the three auction houses.
1967/68 Con-Ferr Meyers Manx Dune Buggy
Sold: $456,000
Your typical genuine Myers Manx dune buggy (there are lots of similar kits out there) has appreciated significantly in the past decade and should bring well into the $20,000-$30,000 range if it's in clean and usable condition. Why the crazy premium on this one? This was the Manx used in the classic Steve McQueen film The Thomas Crown Affair, in which McQueen himself drove co-star Faye Dunaway around on the beach. McQueen, it's said, had a hand in the custom buggy's creation adding magnesium alloy wheels, a naturally-aspirated flat-six Corvair engine in the rear and a cut-down, wrap-around windscreen. This car shifted hands several times before this sale and was once traded straight up for a vintage Mini Cooper S. The seller was right to strike while the McQueen iron is hot.
1907 Renault Type AI 35/45HP Vanderbilt Racer
Sold: $3,332,500
At the turn of the 20th century, Louis Renault's cars were really making a name for themselves in early racing events, especially in Europe. The popularity was such that wealthy American enthusiast Willie K. Vanderbilt asked Renault if he'd build a handful of racers for the American market. The 10 resulting cars were known as Renault Type 35/45HP Vanderbilt Racers and this is one of four remaining in existence. Despite only producing about 65 horsepower from its 7.5-liter four-cylinder engine, the Type 35/45 is capable of triple digit speeds due to its low weight and 2:1 final drive ratio and was very successful. Just four Vanderbilt Renaults are left in the world and this car was shown with its siblings at the 2016 Pebble Beach concours, racking up several awards in the process including the Pre-War Racing class. Pre-war cars may have a shrinking following, but this Vanderbilt Renault proves that the right car can still bring stratospheric prices.
