Auction Recap: Mecum Monterey 2015

Mecum Auctions returned to Monterey in 2015 for its seventh sale there and ended up recording the highest total of the event’s history. In all, 380 of 657 vehicles sold (a 58 percent sell-through rate) for $44.6 million. The overall figure was a third higher than 2014’s $33.5 million even though the number of cars offered was essentially the same.

Mecum’s top seller for the week was a highly original 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S with 31,000 miles that sold for $2,530,000 — or about $750,000 more than what a Miura SV might sell for. The Lamborghini went for slightly more than a triple black 1970 Hemi Cuda convertible with an automatic that brought $2,475,000. This was the first time since June 2014 that we have seen one sell publicly, and the price confirms that interest in these low-production muscle cars remains strong.

Those two sales aside, the star of the auction was certainly Steve McQueen’s 1976 Porsche 930. The car was McQueen’s last special order Porsche, and carried a few small modification that the “King of Cool” made, including a dashboard switch that would kill the rear lights. After the end of a spirited bout of bidding, the car recorded a final price of $2,145,000, seriously besting the $1,375,000 that McQueen’s 1970 911 S sold for back in 2011.

Other notable sales include a pair of Porsche Carrera GTs that sold for $1,100,000 and $852,000, showing just how hot the market is for modern supercars at the moment, and $198,000 for undoubtedly the world’s best Toyota Land Cruiser wagon. On the low end of the spectrum, a 1985 Buick Grand National sold for $9,900, and a 2002 Ford Thunderbird traded for $12,100. The Ferrari Testarossa that starred in the “Miami Vice” television series failed to sell after being bid to $600,000

Top 10:

1. 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S Coupe sold for $2,530,000
2. 1970 Plymouth Cuda 426/425 Convertible sold for $2,475,000
3. 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera Turbo Coupe sold for $2,145,000
4. 2005 Maserati MC12 Coupe sold for $1,732,500
5. 1989 Ferrari F40 Coupe sold for $1,265,000
6. 1963 Shelby Cobra 289 R&P Roadster sold for $1,100,000
7. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT Coupe sold for $1,100,000
8. 1967 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C Roadster sold for $1,045,000
9. 1967 Toyota 2000GT Coupe sold for $1,017,500
10. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT Coupe sold for $852,500

Mecum’s next auction will be held in Dallas, Tex., Sept. 16-19.