January Auction Thread (2025 Edition)

With the last major 2024 U.S. collector car auctions behind us this week, it is time to look ahead to the January auctions.

Each year the January auctions are quite important in setting the market tone for the year. Still, these specific auctions will be important as they will mark the first set of collector car auctions following the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

For 2025 the January auctions will kick off on January 7th with Mecum’s massive Kissimmee sale and end with Barrett-Jackson’s well-known Scottsdale auction which concludes on January 26th.

The only other major auction companies participating in the January Auctions this year are RM & Bonhams, both hosting in the Scottsdale, Arizona area.

Gooding & Co. and Worldwide Auctioneers have opted out of the Scottsdale auctions and Broad Arrow has set their sights on Amelia Island along with Gooding.

Mecum’s Kissimmee sale is headlined by the 1969 Porsche 917K Chassis No. 917-022 which was the Steve McQueen hero car from “Le Mans”. Other highlights include the 1970 Lamborghini Muria P400 S Chassis 3685, the 1966 Ford GT40 MkI Road Car Chassis P/1034, the Le Mans class winning 1976 Porsche 934 chassis 0060022, the Indy 500 winning 1959 Kurtis-Epperly Offenhauser Indy Car Chassis KK500-J119, and the 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra Roadster “Essex Wire” Chassis CSX3009. Ferrari offerings are so far scarce with just Mecum’s 1951 212 Chassis 0185EL & a 1978 512 BB Chassis F102BB24975 being listed.

Barrett-Jackson’s docket has yet to be announced, however, they have said that the auction will feature cars from the David M. Ressler Collection, part of which they sold at their “Scottsdale Fall” auction.

RM’s Arizona auction is highlighted by the 1939 Bugatti Type 57 C Atalante by Gangloff Chassis 57828 which is being offered by the Petersen Automotive Museum and the 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Chassis 198.040.6500100.

Bonhams has yet to announce any vehicles for their Scottsdale auction.

 

Yes, according to Mecum it has been owned by him since 2001.

 

Timmmmmmmmmmy, (now just seeing this as a possible South Park reference and love it), I Always enjoy reading your threads on the Monterey Auctions so I figured I would make one for the January Auctions.

Over the past few years, the number of Boutique Auctions seems to have increased causing more supply than demand for them. I would argue this has caused the Arizona auctions to fall in quality dramatically, highlighted this year by Worldwide dropping their sale again after seeing a 63% sell-through rate and only $5.6M worth of vehicles changing hands at their 2024 auction. While Gooding hasn't had a presence in Arizona for a couple years, I would also argue their lack of attendance has only sped up the decline in importance that the Arizona auctions used to hold.

B-J has continued to focus on resto-mods and customs rather than pre-war classics, European sports cars, and stock restored muscle cars. I would argue this also had an impact on Arizona Car Week as fewer million-dollar "salon" cars on offer, means fewer major collectors attending these sales. This change has definitely helped B-J's profitability, though, as they are attracting a more sustainable crowd of younger buyers.

Mecum's Kissimmee sale on the other has not only grown rapidly (3,242 vehicles on offer in 2020 & 4,102 on offer in 2024), but has also begun to fill some of the holes left by B-J, Gooding, & Worldwide. This is showcased not only by a growing number of 7 figure cars on offer at Kissimmee. (23 7-figure cars on offer in 2024, almost quadruple from the 7 in 2020), but total sales numbers are also up significantly from 2020's $94.8M to 2024's $215.3M. Contrast this with RM's recent performances in Arizona, 2020 reaching $30.3M and 2024 only reaching $22.9M.

This goes along with your question about Seinfeld's 917K. Just as B-J's Scottsdale sale used to be as known in similar respects to the Pebble Auctions, Mecum's Kissimmee sale has begun to reach these kinds of levels in its own way. I see this as one possible reason to sell it at Kissimmee. The boutique sales in Arizona are down, B-J is focused on modern exotics and customs as their headliners, and DM has been pushing Kissimmee as the new auction to sell a 7-figure (or 8-figure) car at. DM's collection has also been prominently featured at major events over the past couple of years including Pebble, Amelia, & others, allowing him to potentially gain respect with collectors in sectors he may not have previously held.

Of course, there is always the possibility that DM has bought 917-022 or has reached an agreement to purchase if it doesn't meet the reserve in Kissimmee.

 

While it is true that DM sells a lot of the 7 figure and certainly the 8 figure cars, not all of them are bought and sold by him. An example of this is Peter Klutt's GT40 Lightweight Mecum sold in Monterey, for $7.15M hammer to the consigner of P/1034 at Kissimmee.

 

Mecum has added a group of Ferrari's to their Kissimmee auction from the Michael Jaye Collection. These include:

1964 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe, VIN / Serial: 6171

Rosso Cordoba 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS, VIN / Serial: 07898

1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS, VIN / Serial: 03572

2004 Ferrari 575M Maranello, VIN / Serial: ZFFBV55A440135465

6-speed 1998 Ferrari F355 Spider, VIN / Serial: ZFFXR48A7W0109770

1995 Ferrari 348 Spider, VIN / Serial: ZFFRG43A9S0099601

2001 Ferrari 360 Modena, VIN / Serial: ZFFYU51A910122855

1981 Ferrari 308 GTSi Coupe, VIN / Serial: ZFFAA01A9B0035603

1983 Ferrari 512 BBi, VIN / Serial: ZFFJA09B000048255

1989 Ferrari Mondial T 2+2 Cabriolet, VIN / Serial: ZFFFC33A3K0082527

2008 Ferrari F430 Spider, VIN / Serial: ZFFEW59A580162071

DM has also added his 330 GTC chassis 10889, and his 275 GTS chassis 06809 to the docket. Both of these need to be sold or go away for a few years as they have been overexposed.

 

Look's like Lee's 275 GTB/4 chassis 10583 was bought by DM or didn't really sell at Monterey this year. It has been added to the Kissimmee 2025 docket.

 

Don Davis has consigned a few of his Ferrari's to Kissimmee 2025. These include:

1984 Ferrari 512 BBi, VIN / Serial: ZFFJA09B000051417

Ex-Letterman 1968 Ferrari 330 GTC, VIN / Serial: 10761

1987 Ferrari 328 GTS Coupe, VIN / Serial: ZFFXA20AXH0070411

Ex-Letterman 1963 Ferrari 250GT/L Lusso Coupe, VIN / Serial: 4595

He has also consigned a freshly restored 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra Roadster, VIN / Serial: CSX2105 and a 1959 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, VIN / Serial: 198042109500027.

 

RM has updated its website to show the auctions starting in "Early 2025".