Photo Gallery «30 big surprises at auctions in 2025»

By and large, the major auction houses are quite capable of estimating the market value of a vehicle fairly accurately. From time to time, however, they are more or less clearly off the mark. This was also the case in 2025, when not all bidders wanted to follow the recommendations in the catalog and either paid much less or considerably more than expected for a car. From many hundreds of examples (with deviations of at least half or double) of auctions in 2025, 30 are summarized here as examples. There is probably little to be learned from this for the future, but these bidding events are certainly surprising.

This Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition from 1989 was sold for more than double the estimate - auctioned for EUR 1,130,000 by RM/Sotheby's in Milan

The buyer offered 2.07 times the estimated value for this Ferrari 512 TR from 1992 - auctioned for EUR 666,500 by RM/Sotheby's in Monterey

The highest bid was 215% above the median estimate for this 1985 Volkswagen Scirocco GT - auctioned for EUR 6435 by Artcurial at the Musée Automobile du Château de Vernon

The buyer offered 226% of the median estimate for this 1965 AMC Rambler Ambassador 990 Convertible - auctioned for EUR 96,965 by RM/Sotheby's in Hershey

Almost 2.5 times the estimated value was offered for this Ferrari 360 Modena from 2000 - auctioned for EUR 184,575 by RM/Sotheby's as part of the Tailored for Speed Collection in Switzerland

This Ferrari 400i Automatic from 1981 was 263% above expectations - auctioned for EUR 92,000 by Bonhams in Paris

The buyer had to go as low as 268% of the median estimate for this 1995 BMW M3 Cabriolet - auctioned for EUR 161,000 by RM/Sotheby's in Munich

This 1925 Doble Series E Coupe - auctioned for EUR 1,219,750 by Gooding Christie's as part of the Stan Lucas Collection - only went under the hammer at 287% of the median estimate

Exceeding low expectations by 293%, this 2006 Range Rover 4.2 Supercharged Vogue SE (L322) was sold for EUR 201,825 by Iconic Auctioneers at The Iconic Sale at Silverstone Festival

This 1992 Mazda RX-7 FD Veilside Fortune Coupé fetched more than three times the median estimate - auctioned for EUR 1,047,645 by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Almost five times higher than expected was the highest bid for this Crane-Simplex Model 5 Dual-Cowl Phaeton from 1916 - auctioned for EUR 780300 by Gooding Christie's as part of the Stan Lucas Collection

The buyer of this Renault Dauphine "Bonneville" Prototype (built 1961/2016) from 1961 paid more than six times the estimated value - auctioned for EUR 30,420 by Artcurial in Flins near Paris

This Renault 4 from 1963 only went under the hammer at 7.8 times the median estimate - auctioned for EUR 4680 by Artcurial in Flins near Paris

This Horch 830 BL from 1938 sold for almost ten times its estimate - auctioned for EUR 241,500 by Bonhams in Paris

1040% of the median estimate was offered for this Renault Juvaquatre (Type BFK4) from 1948 - auctioned for EUR 4680 by Artcurial in Flins near Paris

Just under half the median estimate was bid for this 2006 Aston Martin DBRS9 - auctioned for EUR 125,216 by Broad Arrow Auctions at the Monterey Jet Center

At 46% of the median estimate, the hammer fell on this 1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16V - auctioned for EUR 24,012 by Bonhams at the Goodwood Revival Sale

This Citroën SM from 1973 - auctioned for EUR 28,851 by Gooding & Co. in Amelia Island 2025 - achieved just 45 & of the expected price

Nobody wanted to bid more than 42% of the median estimate for this 1913 Ford Model T Touring - auctioned for EUR 7224 by Gooding & Company in Pebble Beach

At 42% of expectations, this 1970 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAm was sold for EUR 81,872 by RM/Sotheby's in Monterey

Bidders only wanted 41% of the expected price for this Pierce-Arrow Model 38-C-3 Five-Passenger Touring from 1914 - auctioned for EUR 35,087 by RM/Sotheby's in London

The bidding ended at 39% of the median estimate for this 1966 NSU Wankel Spyder - auctioned for EUR 10,459 by Bonhams at the Bonmont Sale

Nobody wanted to bid more than 36% of the median estimate for Kate Moss' 2003 Rover Range Rover Vogue - auctioned for EUR 5130 by Iconic Auctioneers at the NEC Classic Motor Show Sale

At 34% of expectations, this handsome 1974 Honda Z600 - auctioned for EUR 8669 by Broad Arrow Auctions at Monterey Jet Center - disappointed

The buyer of this 1970 Rover P6 3500 V8 only had to bid 32% of the median estimate - auctioned for EUR 4950 by the Oldtimer Galerie Toffen at the March auction

A mere 29% of the median estimate was enough to knock down this 1923 Marmon Model 34 Speedster - auctioned for EUR 21,638 by Gooding & Co. in Amelia Island 2025

At 24% of expectations, the hammer fell on this young Morgan 4/4 Sports from 2010 - auctioned for EUR 12,564 by Bonhams at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

With a hammer price at 23% of the median estimate, this 1969 Pontiac GTO 'The Punisher' was a bargain - auctioned for EUR 11,500 by RM/Sotheby's in Munich

The buyer of this 1970 Fiat 500 Giardiniera - auctioned for EUR 6742 by Bonhams at The Quail Auction - had to bid just over a fifth of the expected price

For this special Daimler Double-Six Vanden Plas XJ S1 LWB not even 10% of the estimate had to be bid for the purchase - auctioned for EUR 641 by Iconic Auctioneers at the NEC Classic Motor Show Sale