After the sensational results for the 2026 Mecum Kissimmee Sale, all eyes were on Scottsdale for the high-profile auctions taking place this past weekend. It’s Sunday night as I write this and the results are in, so in this week’s Market Monday I’ll be providing high-level results and a preliminary analysis on what the results at the 2026 Scottsdale auctions mean for the collector car market for the upcoming Spring season.

Three auction houses held sales this January in Scottsdale, Arizona. The big sales are anchored by the Arizona Concours d’Elegance taking place on January 19th at the Scottsdale Civic Center. Numerous other satellite events provide a plethora of car-themed activities to enjoy. The biggest auction tent is always at Barrett-Jackson, but RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Cars also held sales at Scottsdale again this year.

For this year’s Arizona auction, RM Sotheby’s brought the exact same number of consignments as last year at 90 total lots. The sell-through-rate was 93% compared to last year’s 94%, but total dollar volume achieved was an impressive $58.7M. This is an 87% increase over 2025’s take, and mostly due to the number of high-dollar consignments. For example, last year’s top sale was a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT long-wheelbase at $3,772,500 while this year’s was a 2003 Ferrari Enzo that hammered for $9,300,000.

As usual, Bonhams had the smallest number of total consignments in Arizona with just 55 lots crossing the block in a single day. That’s a few more lots than last year, but the take this year was a 90% increase over last year with a total dollar volume of $11,000,000 compared to 2025’s $5.8M. Sell-through-rate was a very respectable 89%. The top selling consignment, a 2024 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, was the major reason for the increase this year. Its hammer price was $5,065,000. There were some high-dollar no-sales at Bonhams, including a 1956 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing and a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe.

While I’m told it’s feeling smaller than it has in recent prior years, Barrett-Jackson is still the big show in Scottsdale, and this year the auction house consigned about 2,018 vehicles compared to 2,049 in 2025. Sell-through-rate was 97% thanks to every single lot being a no-reserve listing. Unsold vehicles in this case are ones that never crossed the block, as by my numbers about 47 cars were withdrawn from the auction. Early dollar volume numbers are around $190M with final numbers still pending. The top sale was a 2026 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X sold for charity at a whopping $2,605,000.

It’s not the highest dollar sale in Scottsdale, but it’s the one I was most shocked to see, above even the $1M Split-Window Corvette. This 2005 Porsche Carrera GT hammered for $3,085,000 at RM Sotheby’s this year, making it the highest price paid for any Carrera GT in history. It’s one of 1,270 total cars built, finished in Seal Grey Metallic over Dark Grey leather and appears to be in excellent condition.

Why did this car sell for such a high amount? It’s not the lowest mileage Carrera GT to come to auction. That honor goes to a Carrera GT with 182 original miles that sold back in March of 2022 for $2,200,000. This car has been driven and enjoyed, at least a little, with 2,147 miles on the odometer at the time of cataloging.

This early 2000s Porsche supercar was just treated to a $45,000 service in March of last year, so perhaps knowing that this particular Carrera GT was trouble-free factored into the bidding. The car has some interesting options, including matching luggage and sport seats customized to be 10mm higher. I guess the new owner is as small in stature as the consignor.

Below are a handful of cars whose sales I found interesting for one reason or another. You can find descriptions of each lot and my reason for calling them out below..

The Bachman Collection results aside, the strong sales results seen at Mecum were repeated in Scottsdale. Supercars and low-miles low-production vehicles outperformed and results for other value tiers were strong. There were a few bargains here and there (such as a $55,000 Aston Martin Virage – an amazing buy!) but over the thousands of cars sold, prices were market correct for the most part.

It’s uncertain whether the same would be true outside of the spectacle that is Barrett-Jackson, but Porsche 911s restored for entry in the Porsche Restoration Challenge sold for unbelievable money in Arizona. I’ll most likely do a separate article on this, but when a 1982 Porsche 911 SC sells for almost $300,000, I sit up and take notice.

They’re not cheap cars by any stretch of the imagination, with average prices hovering right around $1M for the classic non-Turbo Singer Reimagined resto-mod 911s. That said, it seems these cars aren’t seeing the same appreciation that something like a Carrera GT, 918 Spyder, or even a RUF are experiencing. Singer is always reimagining (rimshot!) their product to create ever more impressive mechanical and design interpretations of the ultimate 911, which may depress their previous efforts’ values a bit.

January sales have given us a strong start to the 2026 collector car selling season. “Strong” in this context means that we’re not seeing further softening in value as we did during after the pandemic, nor are we seeing a boom for the entire market. We have a bit of a lull before the Spring auctions in Florida, but as of now my prediction of a stable market with mild growth appears to be on track. The market for 7-figure+ vehicles may be an exception that we’ll have to keep an eye on.

As always, markets vary and if you’re not shopping for multi-million dollar supercars and hypercars, you will still need to study the market for the car you’re looking to sell or acquire to avoid a loss. Of course, we’re here to help if you need an unbiased third-party opinion for your unique situation.

Have a great week everyone!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisals, and auction services for buyers and sellers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring an overseas car, give us a call or drop a line!