Auction Preview: Amelia Island $100,000 to $1,000,000 Cars
Six figure cars make up a big chunk of the selection at the Amelia Island auctions, and most all of them are good, sound specimens. There is also an impressive mix of European, American and even Japanese cars in this price bracket. Here are five cars in the $100,000 to $1,000,000 range that have caught our attention.
1997 Porsche 993 Turbo S
Gooding & Company
Presale estimate: $325,000-$400,000
Hagerty Price Guide: N/A
The 993 is notable as the last of the air-cooled 911s, and one of the rarer versions of the 993 was the Turbo S, which was equipped with a 424-hp twin-turbo engine out of the GT2 (Gooding & Company has one of those this year as well) and the all-wheel drive of the regular Turbo. Less than 200 were made for the American market, and Gooding’s example is all original with only 15,000 miles.
1970 Nissan Fairlady Z
RM Auctions
Presale estimate: $150,000-$200,000
Hagerty Price Guide: N/A
Casual observers might dismiss the Fairlady Z 432 as a regular old 240Z with wing mirrors and right-hand drive, but they would be very wrong to do so. Nissan built 420 of these for the Japanese market and fitted them with the same twin-cam S20 straight-six that went into the original Skyline GT-R. RM’s example was imported to the U.S. only in 2013 and up until then had been with its original owner in Japan. It is all original other than a repaint, and with the recent passing of Yukata Katayama, “Father of the Z,” collector interest in these important Japanese sports cars will continue to grow.
1968 Intermeccanica Italia Spyder
RM Auctions
Presale estimate: $140,000-$180,000
Hagerty Price Guide: $63,900-$122,000
Although it was founded by a Canadian, Intermeccanicas blended Italian styling and sophistication with solid American V-8s, in this case a Ford 302. RM’s Italia Spyder wears an older comprehensive restoration, and although only 400 of these fast, gorgeous cars were built, they don’t command the same prices as comparable cars like Iso Grifos or Bizzarrinis, which are closer to and beyond the half million dollar mark in value.
1969 Ferrari Dino 206 GT
Bonhams
Presale estimate: $480,000-$520,000
Hagerty Price Guide: $614,000-$777,000
The 206 Dino is distinguishable from the much more common later series production 246 cars by its aluminum bodywork, wood-rimmed steering wheel, unique exhaust tips and, of course, its 2.0-liter aluminum block V-6 engine. Just 150 206s were built in 1968 and ’69. Bonhams’ example has an unknown early history and was reported stolen briefly in the early 1990s, but it is restored and represented as matching numbers. Gooding just sold a 206 Dino in Scottsdale for $418,000, well under even Bonhams’ low estimate for this car, so it will be interesting to see where it falls.
1959 Jaguar Mark IX
Bonhams
Presale estimate: $100,00-$140,000
Hagerty Price Guide: $16,800-$62,500
The Mark IX was the first production Jaguar with disc brakes at both ends and was fitted with a 220-hp, 3.8-liter version of the already well-proven XK straight-six that was coupled to a Borg Warner DG automatic. About 10,000 were made, and they are just as well regarded as any of the classic Jag saloons. Bonhams’ example is a recently restored 98.5-point JCNA concours car, but even so, the presale estimate is curiously high. For reference, Mecum sold another restored Mark IX for $32,000 at Kissimmee only two years ago.
