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Mecum’s 2026 Kissimmee Auction kicked off what is promising to be a bumper year for car collectors with the biggest car auction in history, no matter which way you measure itMecum Auctions
By Mike Hanlon
January 23, 2026
Mecum’s Kissimmee auction always kicks the year away with a bang, but this year it smashed a laundry list of world records: the biggest car auction in history ($441 million), the highest single day in history ($259 million), plus world record prices for the Ferrari Enzo, F40, F50, La Ferrari, La Ferrari Aperta, 288 GTO, FXX, 275 GTB/4 Alloy, 599 GTO, 250 GT/L Lusso, F12tdf, 458 Speciale A, 599 SA Aperta, 430 Scuderia and 458 Speciale A plus the Pagani Huayra and Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach.
The auction didn’t just see many world records set, it saw many of them pulverised, reframing the marketplace on a dozen already revered models. The record price for an Enzo Ferrari TRIPLED, with many other records increased by 50% to 200%.
The trends on display were even more interesting, further emphasising an issue we’ve already addressed this week in that there are strong indications of a significant generational shift in the collector car and motorcycle markets.
While Baby Boomers (the richest generation in history) continue to dominate the top-tier market, later generations such as Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z are also growing rich and are actively reshaping the industry by driving up values for “modern classics.”
Each generation grows up with a different history, heroes, sex symbols, fashions, native technologies and the bedroom wall posters of each age group contain different aspirational objects. Modern classics suddenly look HOT
Let’s start with the auction record, because it offers a different perspective on the climb of rare automobiles as an asset class. In the last decade and a half, the record has tripled.
Gooding claimed the world record sales total for an automotive auction when it grossed $113.7 million at Pebble Beach in 2012, with RM Sotheby’s setting a new high mark at its 2015 Monterey auction with a total of $172.9 million.
Mecum then pushed the record total for a single auction to $217 million at the 2022 Kissimmee auction, extending its own record to $234 million in 2023, then again in 2024 when the gross total reached $275 million.
Although the $226 million gross take at Kissimmee in 2025 might seem like a step backwards, it was still one of the four highest car auction totals in history, and this week’s $441 million gross gives Mecum not just a new record, but all five of the largest car auctions (by gross receipts) ever held. In 12 years, the record receipts for a single car auction has progressed from $114 million to $441 million.
Kissimmee also broke live auction attendance records at a car auction (more than 140,000) helped by its proximity to the massive Walt Disney World resort and 13 straight days of continuous sales. One wonders how many of the Mecum audience this year had family members keeping themselves entertained at the adjacent entertainment colossus.
It’s the ideal scenario to enable dad to do his car thing while mum and the kids had their own adventure, and I seriously doubt the choice of location for the Kissimmee auction was accidental. Dana Mecum and his crew now hold the most important car auction held anywhere on the planet each year, AND ditto for the most important motorcycle auction too. Congrats are in order.
Given that the month still has seven major automobile auctions to be held, there’s every chance that January 2026 might see a billion dollars worth of collectible car sales.
It will be fascinating to watch the trends evident at the Scottsdale and Paris Retromobile auction clusters to see if the modern classics continue their rise.
Here’s a list the top sellers at the world’s biggest car auction and how the Mecum 2026 Kissimmee docket took a chain saw to the record books. We think the results offer some fascinating insight into the 2026 automotive investor marketplace.
1 | $38,500,000 | 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
One-of-One Ferrari 250 GTO Sells for $38.5 Million at Mecum Kissimmee
Lot S204 | Mecum Kissimmee 2026
Official Auction Page
The ‘Bianco Speciale’ is the only white 250 GTO produced during a run of 36 of what has become the most valuable production car in history. The V12 sports cars were built from 1962 to 1964 and this car is one of just eight right-hand-drive GTOs. It was purchased by Microsoft CEO Jon Shirley in 1999 for an undisclosed price (thought to be in the vicinity of $2.0 million) and has proven to be an astute purchase given the $38.5 million result.
Chassis 3729GT had a successful in-period racing career with one victory and five 2nd-place finishes in GT class. It was driven in competition by Graham Hill, Jack Sears, Mike Parkes, Roy Salvadori, Mike MacDowel, Mike Salmon and Richie GintherMecum
The price of this car could easily have gone much higher, given that previous GTO sales at auction include a 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO (3765LM) at $51.705 million in 2023, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (3413GT) at $48.405 in 2018, and a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO (3851GT) for $38.115 million in 2014.
I Bought a Ferrari 250 GTO for…
This car was purchased by thoroughly devoted Tifoso David Lee, who posted the above youtube clip. His posting on Instagram read as follows: I am proud to be part of Ferrari’s history book as the newest custodian of this masterpiece. I have been collecting for a long time now and have had many goals. The big five in red. The big five in yellow. The F80. But the top of the mountain, the last infinity stone of Ferrari collecting is the 250 GTO.
I am humbled and honored to have achieved this goal. Thank you to @mecum_auctions and my broker @kcmvp @beverlyhillsmotoring for representing me at the auction. Remember to always dream big no matter how impossible the goal may seem.
Now this car doesn’t have its original motor, but given it is the only white GTO and had been driven by a who’s who of 1960s drivers, expectations were in the $60+ million zone, with one publication pushing its estimate to $72 million, and highly knowledgable publications citing a recent private GTO sale of $70 million.
Is the less-than-anticipated price a sign of generational change? Gen X, the Millennials, and Gen Z will covet different objects and might demand more entertainment options than an in-period valve-radio … even with the on-board 12-cylinder orchestra. It might be beautiful and successful, but it is this car’s sound that will give you goose bumps.
Original:https://newatlas.com/automotive/florida-hosts-the-biggest-car-auction-in-history-and-points-the-way-to-future/
