We’re now just a month away from the next big event on the US live auction calendar with Amelia Island Concours Week starting on March 5th and running through March 9th. Two of the big auction houses, Gooding & Company and Broad Arrow, will be holding their sales on Friday and Saturday before the concours. As noted in our Amelia Island Visit Guide, there will be no Bonhams Cars tent this year. In this week’s Market Monday, I’ve scoured the catalogs for both 2025 Amelia Island Auctions to choose 10 cars I think represent the best long-term buys.

For this year’s sale, Broad Arrow has secured some truly amazing consignments that definitely rival the lots from RM Sotheby’s. Given the auction’s beautiful setting at the Ritz Carlton overlooking the beach, the preview display should be breathtaking. While blue chip cars abound, below are the cars that I would bid on based on fun factor and long-term appreciation potential.

A car piloted by the great Stirling Moss in the 24 Hours of Le Mans will never lack desirability. One of Jaguar’s most iconic vehicles, the D-Type Jag has to be included in any high-end collection. Guided at $6.5-8.5 million, you’ll need to be well-heeled to raise a paddle on this one.

Originally painted the lovely paint-to-sample color of Sahara Beige, this 356A was repainted in black but retains its red interior color. It’s difficult to tell, but it seems it’s also been fitted with a replacement engine, but still features a Fuhrmann four-cam hanging behind the rear axle. Its ownership by a Porsche exec in Bavaria adds some provenance. Its lack of originality may hold it back, but 356As have been performing quite well over the last year or so, and the Carrera is the ultimate A coupe to own.

Devin built fiberglass cars based on any number of chassis, including MG, Triumph, and Volkswagen. The Devin D is perhaps the best known variant, and cars built with VW running gear and Porsche power have appreciated mightily over the last 5-10 years. With a Super 90 engine from a 356 and numerous early Porsche details, this one is a solid buy in my opinion. The estimate of $70,000-$90,000 is right on the money based on sales in recent years.

Probably my favorite Italian supercar that I will never be able to fit in, the Lancia Stratos has benefited from a pandemic bump and continues to climb it seems. The most recent Stratos to sell at auction went for much less, but the body was reconstructed. Some of the proceeds from the sale of this Stratos (painted in my favorite color) will be donated to charity, which usually inspires higher bidding. Estimated at $575,00-$650,000, I think it could hit toward the top of that valuation. I sincerely can’t wait to see this car in person.

The first Sport Classic 911 available in the United States (legally), this 992.1 generation Sport Classic is painted in Dolphin Gray over a black interior with Pepita houndstooth seats. Because it lacks the typical racing stripes and meatball on the side, I think this example goes for big money.

This year, Gooding is bringing some impressive modern classics to Amelia Island, including a number of Rad-era examples that I am very excited about. One car has inspired such lust that I may have to register to bid. No, I will not be revealing my secret crush in the list below.

For those that think I don’t like Italian cars, this list should prove you wrong. Along with the Porsche 930 Turbo “Flachbau”, the Testarossa is a quintessential poster car. Like the Flachbau, prices for Testarossas have been steadily increasing and I consider them to still be undervalued in the marketplace. As Rad becomes Trad, I predict these will go much higher.

I think everyone has seen the video of a Yellowbird tackling the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 1987. It’s one of the most iconic car videos in history, and firmly places the RUF CTR Yellowbird in grail car status. They’ve always been expensive, but with RUF more active in recent years and drawing more attention to the tuner’s past, could these go even higher?

There’s something about a grandpa-spec color combination draped over such an aggressively tuned body like the AMG 6.0 “Hammer” variant of the W124 coupe. It’s kind of like a Werther’s original laced with cocaine. These cars are nearing $1M now for unusual color and low mile examples. Perhaps we’ll see the first one to cross that mark this year at Amelia.

The catalog is not complete on this one, but it appears to be a base model Diablo. Even still, these cars have doubled in value over the last 4-5 years and I don’t think the party is over yet. 90s supercars are still rising, in my opinion, and I’d expect clean low-miles Diablos to continue to appreciate for the foreseeable future.

While much of the rise in values for the 993 Carrera S were attributed to the pandemic bump in 2022, values for this generation of 911 continue to rise. While maybe 28,000 993 Carrera coupes were built, only 3,714 were the Carrera S. A manual, two-wheel drive, rear-engined, air-cooled modern 911 is a safe bet for the long term.

Even without Bonhams Cars present at this year’s Amelia Island Week events, I am very excited to preview both auctions from Gooding & Company and Broad Arrow. The lots, well  beyond my choices above, are quite spectacular and it will be exciting to see so many of our dream cars up close.

There’s much debate on the future of live auctions, amid incredible success from online platforms like Bring a Trailer and Cars and Bids. Yet those sites haven’t put on events that gather so many premium collector cars in one place as the big live auction houses at Amelia Island or Pebble Beach.

See you all in Amelia!

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!