For this week’s Market Monday we take a quick look at results from 2024’s Paris auctions. RM Sotheby’s Paris event was held in the stunning Salles du Carrousel in Louvre Palace and typically hosts a tantalizing selection of supercars and collector vehicles befitting the stylish venue. Bonhams conducted its auction in the equally stunning Grand Palais Éphémère adjacent to the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars.

We can hardly think of more incredible environments in which to admire lots that included a 2017 Bugatti Chiron, two Enzo Ferraris, a Lamborghini Miura, a McLaren P1 and more. Our focus is on Porsches and other German metal, however, so let’s get into it.

This year’s Paris auctions included cars that were one-offs or limited production examples, many of which failed to meet their low estimates and therefore remained unsold.

The 1989 Porsche 911 Speedster we featured in last week’s Good Find Friday was bid to $239,236 USD, which was well below the low estimate assigned by the auction house. This is a significant premium over the “wide-body” Speedsters we typically see on the market, but as a rare car with few recent comps assigning an accurate market value may have proved difficult. We hope the current owner continues to drive and enjoy this silver beauty until a new custodian can be found.

One-of-a-kind automobiles are especially challenging to value. A 1989 Porsche 928 GT “Flachbau” also failed to meet its reserve at RM Sotheby’s sale. Since the 1970s, Porsche has had a “special wishes” program that produces very limited factory customs. As a result of their exclusivity, Sonderwunsch cars are typically highly prized by collectors. This Porsche 928 is one such bespoke specimen, where the customer-turned project manager specified a custom flat nose or “flachbau” front end to mimic the countenance of the contemporary 944 model.

The look is rather unique and extraordinarily well executed but perhaps an acquired taste. This factory-modified vehicle was only bid to $151,128 USD which was again significantly under the low estimate.

This 1967 Porsche 911S “Soft Window” Targa, a limited-production variant profiled by our European market expert Chris Konstantinos, sold for just under the low estimate at $172,854. We hope this represents a seller who understands the changing landscape of the current market and not aggressive “grinding” from the auction house to lower the reserve. It’s a beautiful car that perhaps suffered from the aversion to red that seems to turn off buyers of Porsche sports cars.

Many “Rad era” cars, or those built between 1980 and 1999, continue to be winners. The 1991 Alfa Romeo SZ also profiled by Wolf and Mare sold for $64,820 USD—smack dab in the middle of its estimated range. 

Porsche 964s, once the black sheep of the Porsche 911 family, have become incredibly hot collectibles. There has been much speculation as to how much Singer Reimagined’s consumption of donor 964 chassis has contributed to the run-up in prices, with no concrete conclusions. With so much of the original car stripped away, we doubt the best cars end up as Singers. Regardless, there are desirable 964s out there. A 1993 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6, one of the scarcest of the generation, just sold for $483,153 USD.

In the near future, we expect early 2000s modern collector cars to become highly desirable in the market. We attribute this to two factors. First: enthusiasts who lusted after supercars from this era are now in middle age and perhaps have the means to realize their dreams. Second: In only a few years the 25-year import rule will enable importation of many special Europe-only variants that North America never received. 

One potential million-dollar collectible from the early 2000s could be the Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG. With the popularity of DTM racing in Europe, this special edition constructed to celebrate Bernd Schneider’s championship in 2003 is one sexy street legal race car. With its aggressive bodywork and potent 5.4 Liter V8 delivering 582 tire-smoking horsepower, it can reach 60MPH in 4 seconds.

With a hammer price of $437,537 USD excluding buyer’s premium, the ’05 CLK DTM AMG sold at RM Sotheby’s actually bested its 2023 sale price. When a car with much higher mileage than similar comparables sells for more than it did just a year ago in a slowing market, we take notice.

With Paris behind us, the industry will be looking toward the Amelia Island auctions at the end of the month. The automotive action at Amelia is best described as an East coast sister to Monterey Car Week, attracting significant attention and significant vehicles. We’ll be on-the-ground at Amelia this year and bringing you along for all the fun. Stay tuned!

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