Fisherley Market Intelligence:
📍 ‘The collector-car market has developed an interesting habit: rewarding the exceptional while politely declining the merely expensive.’
At Broad Arrow’s recent Audrain auction, a 1914 Stutz Bearcat fetched $1.875 million.
Meanwhile, two original Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs failed to find buyers.
Apparently, even automotive royalty must now justify its asking price.
The message? Buyers haven’t lost their appetite. They’ve become considerably more particular about the menu.
♔ Full Story
▪️The money hasn’t disappeared. The willingness to overpay might have.
▪️Recent auction results suggest a market increasingly governed by selectivity rather than enthusiasm alone.
▪️At Broad Arrow’s Audrain sale on 2 October, 57 of 65 cars ultimately found buyers, including one post-auction transaction.
▪️But beneath that respectable result lay some revealing contrasts.
▪️The winner: A 1914 Stutz 4E Bearcat achieved $1.875 million, comfortably within its estimate.
▪️The surprise: A 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing and 1957 Roadster both remained unsold, despite their blue-chip credentials.
▪️The modern classics: A Ferrari 430 Scuderia brought $538,500, while a McLaren 765LT Spider achieved $516,500.
▪️The wider picture: September’s Zurich auction similarly demonstrated strong demand for distinctive provenance, alongside resistance to some modern hypercars.
♔ What matters now?
Condition, provenance, specification and realistic reserves increasingly separate successful transactions from expensive disappointments.
♔ The Fisherley View: The collector market isn’t rejecting luxury. It’s rejecting complacency.
A famous badge may secure the invitation, but it no longer guarantees a dance.
📍 ‘And the auctioneer’s hammer remains the ultimate investment committee.’
