Graph of the Week: Marques offered at Amelia Island
The Amelia Island auctions have grown considerably since they began in the late 1990s, and now they make up one of the three major collector car auction events in North America alongside Monterey and Scottsdale. At these high-profile sales, there are correspondingly high-profile cars, and in this case “high-profile” is usually synonymous with Ferrari. This is the most common make among the high-end collector car sales (RM Sotheby’s, Gooding & Company, and Bonhams) in Monterey and Scottsdale. In Amelia Island, however, it’s Porsche that makes up the largest share.
The popularity of Porsches at the Amelia Island auctions is a fairly recent development. In 2011, there were just two Porsches on offer compared to 17 Ferraris. In 2016, there are 42 of them compared to 28 Ferraris. 16 of those Porsches are of course the cars consigned from the collection of Jerry Seinfeld, but even last year there were 32 in Amelia Island. The number of Packards, meanwhile, has decreased from 11 in 2011 to just five this year, while the number of Cadillacs, Chevrolets and Fords has essentially remained the same. At the more exclusive catalog sales like RM or Gooding, fewer cars are selling for higher prices, which makes them some of the few places where you’ll see more Ferraris than Fords. You’re more likely to see a Porsche than anything, though, as Amelia Island has become a serious destination for Porsche buyers.
