The 20 biggest sales at Amelia Island 2018

These cars sold for a combined total of £22m!

Every year since 1996, hundreds of the world’s most beautiful classic cars have descended on a Floridian island just 13 miles long for the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

Besides being a perfect place to parade priceless classics, that event has also proven to be a prime spot for high-end auctions – with the likes of RM Sotheby’s, Gooding & Company and Bonhams auction houses regularly bringing an array of astonishing lots to the island.

And, while two of this year’s headline machines – a 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.1 Turbo and a 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica – went unsold below reserve despite receiving record-breaking bids, 2018’s edition still served up a smorgasbord of astonishing sales.

Here are the 20 biggest, in ascending order.

20. 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra

Sold for: $1,045,000 / £752,400 (Gooding & Company)

A true slice of Shelby history, this all-original 1967 Cobra is one of only 260 427 roadsters built – and one of just 100 or so to carry a 428 cubic inch variant of the famous Ford V8.

More arresting, still, is the story behind its appearance at auction: stored in a North Carolina garage for some 30 years beside a Ferrari 275 GTB, it was recently rediscovered thanks to a curious friend of the owner, and captured on YouTube series The Barn Find Hunter.

19. 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra

Sold for: $1,045,000 / £752,400 (Gooding & Company)

Another Shelby machine (which sold for exactly the same amount), this one’s a stunning, matching-numbers example of the early small-block Cobra, built in 1964 and finished with a rare silver paint job.

Originally shipped to NASCAR legend Carl Kiekhaefer, chassis CSX2271 has undergone two fastidious restorations in the last 20 years, making it a highly original and fantastically maintained example of a lesser-spotted rack and pinion Cobra.

18. 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster

Sold for: $1,072,500 / £772,200 (Gooding & Company)

It might be the 300 SL Gullwing that adorns more posters, but the Roadster variant of Mercedes’ powerful late-’50s tourer was arguably the better road trip machine.

One of just 324 built in 1958, chassis 8500154 was restored by a Mercedes-trained specialist in 2013 to the tune of $190,000 – including a full mechanical refurbishment (from water pump to oil lines) and interior refresh to make this 300 SL one of the finest going.

17. 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster

Sold for: $1,094,000 / £787,680 (RM Sotheby's)

Had you hot-footed it from Gooding & Company's auction to the RM Sotheby’s sale, you’d have been able to bid on a second 300 SL: this one’s a 1957 example, which originally headed to Florida as one of the first Roadsters built – a fact confirmed by the matching numbers found on the body, engine and chassis.

Updated in 2007 to carry disc brakes and seat belts, it still has fewer than 14,000 miles on the clock – suggesting there’s plenty of touring left in its 3.0-litre motor.

16. 1987 Porsche 959 Komfort

Sold for: $1,100,000 / £792,000 (Gooding & Company)

Built for Group B, the legendary 959 was innovative to the core when it arrived in 1987: ultra-lightweight (with a part-Kevlar build) and equipped with variable all-wheel drive, its 2.85-litre flat-six delivered 450bhp – enough to hit speeds just shy of 200mph.

This particular example spent several years as part of Yoshiho Matsuda’s Porsche Museum of Japan, which goes some way to explaining why it’s covered just 7,400km in its lifetime.

15. 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.8

Sold for: $1,270,000 / £914,400 (RM Sotheby's)

Ultra-lightweight, rear-wheel drive and properly powerful, only 55 examples of Porsche’s race-bred and re-bored Carrera RSR 3.8 ever made it into being – and this is arguably one of the best.

Originally delivered to Japan – in special-order Ferrari Yellow, no less – this RSR 3.8 is pretty much as close to new as you can get, with just 475 miles on the clock and a record of regular, meticulous maintenance.

14. 1930 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S

Sold for: $1,270,000 / £914,400 (RM Sotheby's)

The oldest wagon on this list, Isotta Fraschini’s Tipo 8A S was built in the ‘20s as a barebones chassis (equipped with a 7.3-litre straight eight) before being sent off for a bespoke body, à la Rolls Royce.

Every bit a luxury machine, this particular example – ‘The Grey Goddess’ – was bodied in aluminium by Milanese coachbuilder Castagna, and is one of just three such iterations still in existence.

Well-preserved and fully restored, it’s an award-winning example of this Mediterranean classic.

13. 1976 Porsche 934

Sold for: $1,320,000 / £950,400 (Gooding & Company)

A race-proven 1976 Porsche, this turbocharged 934 – one of only 31 built for FIA Group 4 – has a full passport of racing heritage: from Sebring and Daytona to Silverstone, the Nürburgring and Le Castellet, it spent a decade being campaigned in endurance events.

Restored in 1990 and subsequently maintained as part of several collections, this Light Yellow example is a well-travelled mid-’70s machine that would doubtless turn heads at the Le Mans Classic, for which it’s eligible.

12. 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra

Sold for: $1,457,500 / £1,049,400 (Gooding & Company)

Packing coil spring suspension and a 427 cubic inch big-block V8, the third and final iteration of the Cobra was arguably the finest evolution of Shelby’s British-body/American-power formula.

This particular 427 was fitted for competition in the late-’60s but, it seems, never actually raced. After spending time, appropriately, in both the USA and the UK, it recently underwent significant cosmetic and mechanical refurbishment, making it an impeccable running example of the iconic Cobra.

11. 1996 Porsche 993 GT2

Sold for: $1,485,000 / £1,069,200 (Gooding & Company)

Porsche’s 993 GT2 was born as a homologation special and featured plenty of racing parts as a result – including aluminium body panels, bucket seats and a hefty rear wing.

Just 194 examples of the road-legal 430bhp GT2 were made, of which this Speed Yellow machine is one. With less than 6,000 miles on the clock, it remains in excellent condition and is slightly more forgiving than some roadgoing GT2s, thanks to its optioned air conditioning.

10. 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder

Sold for: $1,540,000 / £1,108,800 (Gooding & Company)

Back in 2013, Porsche began building a world-beating plug-in hybrid: doubtless one for the history books, the 918 Spyder combined the grunt of a 4.6-litre V8 with a pair of electric motors to deliver a combined power output of 887bhp. Oh, and it truly looked the business.

Fittingly, just 918 examples left the factory – of which this 2015 Spyder is one. Shipped to the US with a host of desirable extras (including Weissach magnesium wheels and a carbonfibre interior package), it’s about as close to a new 918 as you can get.

9. 1990 Porsche 962C

Sold for: $1,595,000 / £1,148,400 (Gooding & Company)

Porsche’s 962 prototype was a dominant force in ’80s endurance racing, claiming victory in the World Sportscar Championship in both 1985 and 1986, as well as an overall win at Le Mans in 1987.

This later 1990 example competed twice at Le Mans for privateer team Brun Motorsport, as well as contesting a full season of World Sports Prototype Championship races in 1990 and 1991.

Carefully maintained following the conclusion of its racing career (including an engine rebuild), 962-160 is notable for the fact that it’s still in possession of its original tub.

8. 1952 Ferrari 212 Europa Cabriolet

Sold for: $1,600,000 / £1,152,000 (Gooding & Company)

Equipped with a 2.6-litre V12, the 212 was an apt successor to Ferrari’s accomplished 166 tourer, balancing powerful performance with cruising comfort.

This 212 Europa, bodied as a bespoke cabriolet by Turin-based coachbuilder Ghia, was long thought to have been lost – until it was found in 2011, after almost 40 years in a Michigan garage.

It subsequently underwent a painstaking, six-year overhaul, which included refitting the original engine and refurbishing the bodywork based on period photos.

7. 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8

Sold for: $1,655,000 / £1,191,600 (RM Sotheby's)

Derived from Porsche’s Carrera Cup 911, the RS 3.8 was a race-bred featherweight that channelled 260bhp through the rear wheels. Stripped of luxuries and fitted with a host of racing kit, including track suspension and a steel synchromesh transmission, it was every bit the road-legal racer.

One of just 55 built, this RS 3.8 is believed to be the penultimate example to have left the production line, and has covered just 4,350 miles since new.

6. 2015 McLaren P1

Sold for: $1,710,000 / £1,231,200 (Bonhams)

It might not yet be a classic, but McLaren’s innovative plug-in hybrid is surely destined to be: the P1 picked up where the iconic F1 left off, combining a turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 with an electric motor to serve up 903bhp through the rear wheels – not to mention its bevy of high-tech mechanicals.

Little wonder, then, that this F1-derived sports car is still in high demand, particularly given its limited production run of just 375.

Remarkably, this immaculate example (finished in stunning Supernova Silver) was sold essentially as new, with just 360 miles on the clock.

5. 1993 Porsche 964 Turbo S Leichtbau

Sold for: $1,760,000 / £1,267,200 (Gooding & Company)

In 1992, Porsche decided to break its own mould by sticking a turbocharger in a lightweight 911. And so the 964 Turbo S Leichtbau was born – weighing just 1,290kg and producing 381bhp from a turbocharged 3.3-litre engine.

Just 86 examples of the groundbreaking Turbo S were built, of which this all-original 964 is one of four made to order for a single buyer and, as such, carries a host of bespoke touches – including a full matching-leather interior trim. More remarkably, it has just 59 miles on the clock.

4. 1967 Ford GT40 Mk IV

Sold for: $1,925,000 / £1,386,000 (Gooding & Company)

Racing chassis don’t come more iconic than Ford’s Ferrari-beating GT40.

Built to claim victory at Le Mans, its four consecutive wins between 1966 and 1969 made it a legend among sports cars – and the Mk IV was its most extreme variant: equipped with an aluminium honeycomb body, its 7.0-litre V8 was good for 212mph down the Mulsanne straight.

This particular Mk IV, the last of 12 built, was in fact assembled from a battery of authentic parts and has been certified as period-appropriate by the FIA.

3. 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB by Scaglietti

Sold for: $2,205,000 / £1,587,600 (RM Sotheby's)

Designed by Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti, Ferrari’s 275 GTB was a stunning blend of swooping lines and V12 power – capable of comfortably cruising past the 150mph mark. 

This particular 275 left the Ferrari factory in 1966 as one of just 58 second generation long-nose models to carry a torque tube, triple carburettor and steel body setup.

Proudly wearing its rightful shade of Rosso Rubino red, it remains in immaculate condition – including a period interior fit and finish.

2. 2003 Ferrari Enzo

Sold for: $2,365,000 / £1,702,800 (Gooding & Company)

Still one of the poster boys for aggressive Ferrari styling, the Enzo was launched in 2002 as an F1-derived performance machine equipped with a host of advanced technologies (from a carbon-fibre body to active aero) and a 651bhp V12 that was good for 220mph.

This 2003 model of the Prancing Horse hypercar has run for a remarkably slight 1,600 miles since new, and went to auction without reserve – but still managed to comfortably crest the $2m dollar mark.

1. 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose Alloy

Sold for: $2,530,000 / £1,821,600 (Gooding & Company)

What else could top the lots but this barn-find Ferrari 275 GTB?

Stablemate of the 427 Cobra that started this list, this 1966 Prancing Horse likewise spent the best part of 30 years consigned to a North Carolina garage before its recent rediscovery.

Beneath a layer of dust, the new owner will find a stunningly authentic aluminium-bodied 275 in long-nose guise – one of just 80 such variants ever built.

A matching-numbers example, it naturally carries the original silver paint job and, amazingly, has just 13,000 miles on the clock.