We told you Mecum dominates the auction industry when it comes to supercars. If you didn’t get a chance to tune in or watch the live stream, we have the top 10 sales from their Monterey Auction. The Hyatt Regency Hotel & Spa was the scene for automotive overload, with cars and collectors from around the world. Many in our hobby will use results like these to interpret the value of a car, so tell us if you think of these prices.
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10. 2011 Porsche 911 Speedster
A full 16 years after resurrecting the Speedster nameplate for 1993-94, Porsche announced the return of the now-911-based two-seat roadster in 2011. In tribute to the original Speedster based on the 356, Porsche limited production to 356 cars, only 100 of which were allotted to the U.S. market. Like its predecessors, the Speedster stood apart with its cut-down, steeply raked windscreen and double hump behind the cockpit. Even with the manually operated top in place, there is no mistaking the low-profile silhouette, which comes in almost 2.5 inches lower than the standard cabriolet. The Speedster’s drivetrain is headlined by the GTS model’s water-cooled 3.8L/405 HP direct-injection flat-6 engine, which unlike the GTS, was available only with Porsche’s paddle-shift PDK 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. The original Speedster was a spartan affair, designed by Manhattan automotive impresario Max Hoffman to appeal to California’s fast-growing sports racing crowd with its minimalist appointments. Not so for the 2011 version, which was given the full Exclusive equipment treatment to make it worthy of its limited-production status
Sold For $340,000
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9. 1965 Shelby GT350 Fastback
The Shelby GT350 was purpose built to homologate Ford’s wildly successful Mustang for Sports Car Club of America competition. Dreamed up by motorsports-legend and 24 Hours of Le Mans-winner Carroll Shelby, these cars were essentially street-legal race cars. Shelby’s original GT350s exemplified Ford’s “Total Performance” campaign and bestowed an unbeatable, high-performance image on the trend-setting pony car. Each of the 562 Shelby GT350s was born as a K-code Fastback Mustang, finished in Wimbledon White at the San Jose plant and then shipped to Shelby American in Venice, California, to be transformed. The GT350’s Hi-Po 289 CI V-8 received a 35 HP boost thanks to a Holley Le Mans 4-barrel carburetor with high-rise aluminum intake, Tri-Y exhaust headers, high-performance cam and dual side exhausts exiting in front of the rear wheels.
Sold For $385,000
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8. 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition
Of the 4,038 examples built during the Ford GT’s 2005-06 production run, the 343 Heritage Editions are among the most coveted. Using totally different graphics than the others, the 2006 Heritage Editions featured bright orange-and-blue livery as a tribute to the JW Racing/Gulf Oil GT40s from the 1960s and ‘70s. One of 20 produced with the $13,000 Heritage paint and base cast-aluminum BBS wheels, this gorgeous Ford GT is a one-owner car with only 1,800 original miles. Delivered new to Campbell Ford Lincoln in Niles, Michigan, the GT is also equipped with black brake calipers and standard radio. With a shape designed by Camilo Pardo, the 2005-06 Ford GTs recaptured the magic of the original Ford GT40, the endurance race car that brought Ford back to international-racing prominence by defeating Ferrari in the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Sold For: $420,000
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7. 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III
Rolls-Royce introduced its whimsically named Silver Cloud line in 1955 as a body-on-frame car, allowing coach-built bodies to be utilized in place of the standard body produced by the Pressed Steel Company. At a time when vehicles were moving toward favoring the monocoque construction, the Silver Cloud presented a desirable customizable luxury that particular and discriminating buyers appreciated. With the Silver Clouds coming in at more than $16,000 when purchased new, they were unquestionably geared toward the fastidious buyer, and Rolls-Royce was keen on catering to its established customer based. After eight years of production, in 1963, the Silver Cloud peaked with the third edition, aptly named the Silver Cloud III. The Cloud IIIs came standard as 4-door saloon models, but several variations were provided by coachbuilders, including the H.J. Mulliner 2-door convertible body seen on this 1963 model.
Sold For: $610,000
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6. 2015 Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta
Designed with considerable input from Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher, the Ferrari 458 Italia debuted as the most capable, powerful, beautiful and technologically advanced mid-engined V-8 Berlinetta in the company’s history. It was only a matter of time before a Spider version was unveiled, and that happened at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. In 2013, the 458 Speciale Berlinetta got tifosi pulses racing with an increase in power from 570 HP to 597 HP at 9,000 RPM, and tweaks to both aerodynamics and the electronic systems controlling the engine, transmission and suspension. And like the original 458 Italia, the Speciale was followed by a Spider version, this time with the Aperta appellation added on to signify its open cockpit.
Sold For: $620,000
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5. 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort
Just try to imagine it: the year is 1987, and Porsche has just launched a new car for the ultra-competitive FIA Group B rally series. It looks like a 911 that has overdosed on human growth hormone, with slippery Kevlar and aluminum bodywork reaching out to broad flanks, a long, wide tail with a massive integrated spoiler and a proliferation of intake scoops and vents scattered around the flowing bodywork. It is not only fast, but terrifyingly so, with a 0-60 MPH time of 3.6 seconds, 0-100 in 8.8, and a terminal velocity of 190 MPH; it slams to a halt from 70 MPH in just 166 feet and generates .87 g on the skid pad, all of these figures being the most impressive ever recorded in magazine tests to that time.
Sold For: $950,000
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4. 2004 Porsche Carrera GT
In 2003, the technical wizards at Stuttgart delighted Porsche fanatics and the motoring press alike with the Carrera GT, an all-new design packed with every advanced technology at Porsche’s disposal. Unconstrained by management, Porsche Motorsport Director Herbert Ampferer had drawn together specialists in carbon-fiber construction, powertrain design and aerodynamics to fill out his design team. They designed an incredibly strong yet lightweight 220-pound core structure made entirely of carbon-fiber, the first in any road-going automobile
Sold For: $985,000
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3. 2017 Ferrari F12tdf
When Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo announced the front-engined V-12-powered F12, he made clear his intent to make it the highest-performance production Ferrari ever built. A spectacular performer in every respect, the F12 made good on that promise, earning “Top Gear” magazine’s “The Supercar of the Year” award in 2012. But this is Ferrari we’re talking about, and Ferrari never stands still. As proof, in 2015 they introduced the F12tdf. The name is an allusion to the famed Ferraris that dominated the grueling Tour de France road-and-track race from 1956 through 1964, defining the very concept of a grand-touring road car that can win in the most demanding racing conditions.
Sold For: $1,250,000
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2. 2015 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse
Bugatti unveiled a targa-top version of its Veyron 16.4 supercar at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Named the Grand Sport, it featured minor revisions to the windshield and running lights, and it was extensively modified with reinforcements to maintain high torsional stiffness throughout its structure. Packaged with a tight-fitting hardtop and a fabric soft top for temporary use only, the Grand Sport maintained the same 253 MPH top speed as the fixed-roof original, but it was limited to 229 MPH with the top removed.
Sold For: $2,350,000
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1. 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari
Life, as the popular saying admonishes, comes at you fast. It’s intended as a reminder that one’s circumstances or attitudes can change in the blink of an eye, but in another context, it can apply to the explosion of technical advances since the first wave of exotic hypercars crashed onto the automotive landscape in 2004. The arrival then of Porsche’s Carrera GT and the Ferrari Enzo signaled a pivotal transformation in the supercar concept that reflected the light-speed pace of contemporary technological advances.
Sold For: $3,450,000
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So, what do you think? We kind of expected the LaFerari to come in first, and it was nice to see the appreciation of the rare Rolls-Royce. It’s obvious the Mecum knows how to sell cars, so click here for listings from their upcoming events and stay with us for all your auction news.
