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A weekly look at the world of collector cars and the money moving through it. This week: the collector-car market in one word (Ferrari), with a 38.5 million dollar 250 GTO atop our database; a Ferrari Enzo that gained almost 2 million dollars in 5 months and 12 miles; Gordon Murray's new track-only supercar; a tornado that struck the heart of the Corvette world; and the cars rolling out for Goodwood.
Good morning. It's Thursday, June 25. I'm Sharon, and this is Auto Market from ALT/FNDATA, our weekly look at the world of collector cars and the money moving through it.
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This week, the hot brand for the collector-car market is Ferrari. A 38.5 million dollar 250 GTO leads the way this year, and a single Enzo gained almost 2 million dollars in just 5 months and 12 miles. Plus Gordon Murray's new track-only supercar, a tornado that struck the heart of the Corvette world, and the cars rolling out for Goodwood.
Let's start at the very top, and at the top, the collector-car market is overwhelmingly a Ferrari story. Look at the most valuable cars in our database over the past year, and five of the top seven are Ferraris. Leading all of them is a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, which sold for 38.5 million dollars at Mecum's January sale in Kissimmee, Florida. The 250 GTO, one of just 36 ever built, is widely considered the holy grail of collector cars, and it sits in a class of its own.
Behind it, the picture is much the same. A modern Ferrari Daytona SP3 sold for 26 million dollars, a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider for 25.3 million, and a 2003 Ferrari Enzo for 17.9 million. The only cars to break the Ferrari grip on the top tier are a 1994 McLaren F1 at 25.3 million dollars and a 1966 Ford GT40 at 12.4 million. The takeaway for collectors is this: while the broader classic-car market has cooled from its pandemic-era peak, blue-chip Ferraris have held firm. They remain, in effect, the reserve currency of the entire hobby.
Here is a vivid illustration of how that blue-chip premium actually works. Hagerty reports on a single Ferrari Enzo that, in just 5 months and 12 miles of driving, gained almost 2 million dollars in value. A bit of background: the Enzo is Ferrari's early-2000s flagship, a hypercar named after the company's founder, with only around 400 ever built. Increasingly, cars like this are bought not to be driven but to be held. And the best examples, the ones with low mileage, complete documentation, and the right colors, have appreciated faster than almost any financial asset you could name. That is exactly why we track these results car by car: when a machine is this rare, a few months and a dozen miles can add more value than most people earn in a year.
To the new and the recent. Gordon Murray, the engineer behind the legendary McLaren F1 of the 1990s, has debuted a track-only version of his latest supercar, the T.50s, named in honor of the late Formula One champion Niki Lauda. With a screaming V12 engine and almost none of the electronic aids of a modern car, it is a purist's machine, and a multimillion-dollar one. And at the other end of the spectrum, Classic Driver this week spotlights a rare turn-of-the-millennium Lamborghini. It is a reminder that the cars of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Diablos and early Murciélagos, are now firmly collectible, with a younger generation chasing the posters that hung on their bedroom walls.
A sadder note this week. A tornado in Effingham, Illinois, has destroyed Mid America Motorworks, one of the best-known Corvette parts and restoration businesses in the country, along with its beloved "My Garage" museum and collection, according to Hemmings. For the Corvette community, it is a genuine loss, both of a long-running family business and of a piece of the marque's heritage. Our thoughts are with everyone affected.
Now to the calendar, because the summer season is ramping up. The Goodwood Festival of Speed, the great British celebration of motorsport and car culture, is upon us, where, in a sign of the times, a life-sized LEGO model of a Koenigsegg just set a record climbing the famous hillclimb. In California, the 31st Rodeo Drive Concours brought out its usual parade of exotica. And for those looking to buy, notable machines on the market this week include a 1935 Duesenberg Model J dual-cowl Phaeton, a 2004 Porsche Carrera GT, and a full docket at the Historics sale at Windsorview Lakes in the UK.
And briefly, on two wheels. Moto Guzzi, one of the oldest names in motorcycling, has patented a V-twin hybrid powertrain, a sign that even the most tradition-bound marques are now preparing for electrification. For what it's worth, the top motorcycle results in our own database are vintage racing machines, led by a Honda RC174 racer and a 1968 Honda CB750 prototype, each around 300,000 dollars at Mecum. That is a fraction of the car numbers, but it is a passionate and steadily growing collector market in its own right.
That's Auto Market for Thursday, June 25.
For insights on the data behind today's stories, the ALT/FNDATA membership gives you access to a rich library of market data dashboards, reports and insights. Get started at altfndata.com/membership or reach us anytime at info@altfndata.com.
I'm Sharon, from ALT/FNDATA. Closing Price is this evening at 5 PM Eastern, and Open Bid returns tomorrow morning at 6. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a five-star rating.
