Auction Recap: Auctions America’s 2015 Fort Lauderdale Sale

Auctions America concluded its 13th annual sale in Fort Lauderdale, with its most successful auction there to date. Billed as “South Florida’s Premier Collector Car Auction”, the sale packed the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention Center with almost 500 automobiles and generated $21.3 million in total sales with a sell-through rate of 76% and an average sale price of $57,957.

Many of the sale’s most notable lots (and many of its top sales) were on offer from the Cayman Motor Museum, a collection amassed by Norwegian businessman Andreas Ugland and housed in West Bay, Cayman Islands. Most were Italian, including several Ferraris, and all had no reserve. Being museum cars, they showed the usual signs of static display and were far from show-worthy, but the high level of originality in the collection, most of which was gathered during the mid-1990s, had bidders’ attention. Top sale of the auction went to the Cayman Museum’s 1959 Ferrari 250 GT, which went way past the $550,000 high estimate to a final price of $715,000. Other big  sales from the Cayman Museum included a right-hand drive 1979 Ferrari 512 BB that did $286,000 and a 1970 Ferrari Dino 246 GT that did $231,000. Slightly more modest prices from the Cayman Museum cars included a Maserati Khamsin that went for $137,500, a Renault 5 Turbo that did $50,400 and a BMW 2002 Turbo that also sold for $50,400.

The second-highest sale of the auction went to the 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang III “Shorty” prototype, a factory-shortened two-seater Mustang equipped with a 302 V-8. Factory prototypes like this rarely come up for public sale, and this car’s importance to Mustang history, combined with the sheer novelty it, helped to bring a final price of $511,550. Two Ford GTs were also in the top 10, and the sales of GTs at recent auctions continue to leave us wondering if anybody who bought them ever actually drove these things. A 2006 Heritage Edition with blue and orange Gulf livery and just 2.7 miles on the odometer went for $410,000, while a 2005 model with the lowest serial number not owned by Ford and fewer than 100 miles on the odometer did $451,000. At the other end of the price spectrum, a very interesting group of low-mileage 1980s Shelby-badged Chryslers – with four of them never titled and still on an MSO – all sold at no reserve for less than $25,000 apiece.

Top 10

1. 1959 Ferrari 250 GT  Coupe sold for $715,000
2. 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang III “Shorty” factory prototype sold for $511,550
3. 2005 Ford GT sold for $451,000
4. 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition sold for $410,000
5. 1987 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole sold for $335,500
6. 1979 Ferrari 512 BB sold for $286,000
7. 1953 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible sold for $242,000
8. 1970 Ferrari Dino 246 GT sold for $231,000
9. 1958 Dual-Ghia sold for $225,500
10. 1961 Jaguar E-Type Roadster sold for $215,500