To expect a book that meticulously lists 10,737 transactions on almost 320 pages to be as exciting to read as a thriller would be a bit of an exaggeration. Nevertheless, Adolfo Orsi's work is eagerly awaited every year, as it summarizes 12 months of current auction activity (period September 2022 to August 2023) and is therefore considered a standard work for those who deal with the trade of rather high-priced classics.
The 28th edition of the "Classic Car Auction Yearbook" was published on October 26, 2023 and the concept has (of course) hardly changed compared to the previous year. It is probably noticeable that the main sponsor is now UBS instead of Credit Suisse, but this is for well-known reasons. It should also be noted that only color photos are now used, whereas in the past a lot of black and white images were used.
What may not be apparent at first glance is that the number of listed transactions has risen from 8431 to 10,737 within a year, an increase of 27 percent!
Because the overall volume was not to increase significantly, a few things had to be omitted. The number of photos was reduced, and the very interesting price trends of individual vehicles (chassis number) over 30 years also fell by the wayside. But you can live with that.
Interpretations and thoughts
While hardly anyone is likely to read the data section from page 78 onwards line by line, the first 70 pages are well worth a read. The market perspectives of the directors/representatives of the most important auction houses (Artcurial, Barrett-Jackson, Bonhams, Broad Arrow, Gooding & Company, H&H, RM/Sotheby's) are fascinating. Although the experienced auctioneers hardly contradict each other, they emphasize quite different things in their statements.
The general consensus is that live auctions will retain their important place in the market, that online-only auctions are likely to become increasingly important and that we are currently in a downturn rather than an upswing.
In the second part, book author Adolfo Orsi shares his thoughts on current market developments with us. He does this with many graphs and evaluations that show that total sales and the number of vehicles are increasing, while the proportion of cars that could be sold has fallen significantly compared to the previous year, but is roughly at the level of 2018 to 2021.
The average sales price achieved per car has also fallen, although more cars were sold for over one million than in the previous year. The proportion of cars offered without a reserve price was slightly higher than the previous year and at the upper end of the fluctuations seen in previous years.
Ferrari continues to be the top-selling auction brand, followed by Porsche, Ford (!) and Mercedes-Benz. However, brands such as Plymouth, Dodge, Chevrolet and Ford achieved the best sales rate. On average, the cars auctioned in the last 12 months were slightly older than those sold in the previous year.
The number of cars aged youngtimer or younger had already risen sharply in the previous year, and this trend continued in the period from September 2022 to August 2023, with the "neoclassics" increasing more than the youngtimers. Orsi also has an explanation for this: modern hypercars, super sports cars and small series products are often bought as an investment, but are rarely driven. With rising interest rates and all the uncertainties in world affairs, many of these "movable assets" now want to be sold again. Compared to pre-war cars or classics from the fifties to seventies, selling them is uncomplicated. There is no need for lengthy historical research, nor are there any major problems with missing documents or questionable condition assessments. This is why these younger cars in particular can also be sold easily online on platforms such as Bring-a-Trailer or Bonhams-Online.
Many statistics
Around half of the introductory section is used for a wide variety of statistics. One interesting example is the brand statistics over 30 years, which show how sales quotas and the average prices achieved for a manufacturer's cars have developed. In 1993, for example, the average price paid for a Porsche was USD 20,777; in 2022/23 it was USD 273,340, i.e. ten times as much.
Of course, the 28th edition of the Classic Car Yearbook also included price trends for individual models. If you take a closer look, you will see that almost all super classics have fallen in value in the latest period under review. The exceptions are the Porsche 959, the Ferrari 275 GTB/4, the Ferrari Daytona and the Dino 246 GT/GTS models. For almost all cars, the peak can be seen in 2016, which was followed by a decline and a further increase in 2021/22.
As in every edition, the ten most expensive cars of the period are portrayed in detail.
And at the very back of the book are the top five since 1993, which show that interesting cars have always been valuable, but that 30 years ago it was still enough to achieve a sales price of half a million to make it into the top five.
At the end, the 20 most expensive cars traded at auction from 1993 to 2023 are listed again as a reminder. With the sale of the Ferrari 330 GTO (chassis 3765GT) by RM/Sotheby's in New York in November 2023, this list is likely to change again.
The transactions
As already mentioned, the data-only section comprises around four-fifths of the available pages. Over 10,000 cars are listed with a brief description (including chassis number), estimated value (if available), sales prices and auction house/date. Orsi permanently employs three people for this! He deliberately refrains from listing the highest bids for unsold cars because he considers them to be a distortion of the market.
At EUR 100 / CHF 98, the new yearbook is not a cheap offer. But where else can you find such a wealth of data and interpretations of the current market in such a concentrated form? Anyone who has bought the previous editions will also purchase the 28th volume. Anyone who has never looked at the book should perhaps do so this year, as the work offers a deep insight into the investment-driven aspects of the classic car industry with data and interpretations. And with Orsi, even the advertising pages are worth a second look.
Bibliographical details
- Title: The Classic Car Auction Yearbook 2022 - 2023
- Author/Editor: Adolfo Orsi
- Language: English
- Publisher: Historica Selecta SRL
- Edition: 1st edition October 2023
- Format: Hardcover, 24.3 x 31.5 cm
- Size: 420 pages, 738 color photos and 94 graphics
- Price: EUR 100 / CHF 98
- ISBN: 978-88-96232-15-6
- Buy/order: Online at BM Classics or at other booksellers recommended by Historica Selecta
