In today’s Market Monday, we’re covering the results of Broad Arrow’s special Air|Water Auction. Based on our review of the data, the results must have been disappointing for both consignors and the auction house. 

As we covered some weeks ago, Hagerty’s auction arm Broad Arrow partnered with the creators of Luftgekühlt to hold an exclusive Porsche-only auction at their new event: Air|Water. In contrast to the air-cooled only experience you find at Luftgekühlt, Air|Water is an all-inclusive Porsche event and Broad Arrow’s consignments covered the broad history of Porsche models across the decades.

Results Overview

The “official” results from Broad Arrow have yet to be released, so our recap is based solely on the bidding action on Saturday. I do not yet have any information on post-auction deals, but at Wolf and Mare we prefer to focus on what happens on the block. Why? Well, post-auction sales numbers are not typically disclosed and are more akin to private sales than the vibe of the market you witness during an auction.

We tracked 57 total lots at this smaller more intimate event, which is far from a Barrett-Jackon or Mecum number. It even pales to Broad Arrow’s Amelia Island catalog which featured at least double the number of consignments. That said, the cars on offer at Air|Water were generally nice examples in “good” or better condition.

Of the 57 lots, Broad Arrow had 22 no sales for a sell-through rate of a dismal 61.4%. This is a far cry from the 90%+ sell through rate result the house was touting post-Amelia. I expect Broad Arrow’s PR team will publish a higher number after post-auction deals have been closed.

Only 35 total cars hammered sold at the Air|Water Auction. Of those, 20 sales fell below their low estimates before the buyer’s premium was added. The picture improves if you add buyer’s premium to the totals, with only 8 cars selling for below estimate. When determining value as appraisers, we must honor the sales price with buyer’s premium when using auction results as comparables. As market analysts and frequent auction attendees, the bid price is a better indicator of the mood in the room and the condition of the market.

Below we highlight some of the biggest losers and winners from the Air|Water Auction. Of the losers, all are long-hoods, which may indicate the air coming out of the market for early 911s.

As in: we sure hope Broad Arrow provided it. Four cars offered at No Reserve at the Air|Water auction hammered for tear-inducing low costs.

Guided at a reasonable $85-105,000 by Broad Arrow, this rare soft-window version of Porsche’s iconic Targa model failed to reach its low estimate with a high bid of $72,500. As it was a no reserve car, it still went home with the high bidder. It wears one of the most desirable long-hood 911 colors of Tangerine Orange and was supposedly the recipient of $40,000 of recent work. Sadly, this is the second soft-window Targa to perform poorly in 2024. We feel for the seller.

Sold on Bring A Trailer just last year, this 1970 Porsche 911E done up as a Safari-style build sold for a nervous breakdown-inducing low cost of $52,000 or $58,240 with buyer’s premium. This fun build was considered a bargain when it sold in 2023 for $73,500. Factoring consignment fees and the like, the seller must be inconsolable. 

Estimated at $140-160,000 this car was fairly estimated for a car in generally good condition with a few visible flaws. I’d call it a 3.5. Why on earth the seller was persuaded to accept a no reserve auction is beyond us, but this desirable early “S” car sold for a high bid of $85,000 or $95,200 after buyer’s premium. That high bid is less than a “fair” condition value for this car and an absolute bargain for the buyer.

A handful of cars did well at Air|Water, selling for above their high estimates when including buyer’s premium. Two of those cars were no reserve cars, but neither were an early 911.

This 911RS America in ordinary colors (Grand Prix White over black), had an extraordinarily low mileage of only 6,521. Even in the Porsche world, bidders love low mileage examples of rare vehicles, and this qualifies. Selling for an all-in cost of $302,000, this car beat its high estimate by over $20,000.

Another low mileage car with only 5,000 miles, this 996-generation Porsche 911GT2 hammered for $224,000 with buyer’s premium, or just over the high estimate. This makes the 996 GT3 we profiled a couple of weeks ago look like a fantastic bargain. The GT2 is a much rawer machine, of course, but it’s nice to see this gen of 911 get some due. 

Remember when these were $250,000 cars? The rich get richer, I guess. This nearly-new 3,000 mile 2005 Porsche Carrera GT sold for an eye-watering $1,793,000 with buyer’s premium. As of January, 489 of these 2004 and 2005 cars were still under recall due to suspension issues. No notes on whether this car was affected.

Just squeaking in past its high estimate with buyer’s premium (and at no reserve!) was this 1998 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet. You might wonder why the cheapest manual transmission 993 sold for a staggering $117,600 with buyer’s premium. The answer: it has only 11,600 miles. The sport seats probably helped a bit, too. Hopefully the buyer will sort it out and add many more miles.

57% of cars selling below estimate (before buyer’s premium) may be a clear sign that Porsches are not immune from a declining market. For others, it will create some nice click-bait “sky is falling” thumbnails on YouTube.

I feel this is definitely a sign of the times, with difficult economic conditions continuing to put pressure on the collector car market. But it’s also a somewhat expected result from a one-off auction tied to a brand new event. By all evidence, it certainly looked like Broad Arrow put on a high-quality, well-run auction. 

Bonhams’ small upcoming sale of exceptional supercars at the Miami Grand Prix will definitely be an auction to watch for comparison. I’m certainly hoping they can experience a bit of redemption after their poor showing at Amelia Island this year.

Wolf and Mare provides appraisal services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring a professional appraisal, give us a call or drop a line!