$1M+ Auction Fireworks Again

The Daily Vroom

Good morning, fellow Vroomers!

Yesterday’s shill bidding article really got the comments section fired up yesterday. Not surprising though, it's one of those hot-button issues that tends to bring out strong opinions on all sides. Appreciate everyone weighing in – keeps things spicy!

Speaking of spicy, we've got another one of those wild Tesla CyberTrucks wrapped up in the full Matte Black "CyberBeast" treatment hitting the auction block today. No reserve on this puppy either, so it's truly going to the highest bidder.

Current high bid is sitting at $150k, which is already a hefty premium over sticker for Elon's avant-garde electric pickup. But we all know how much of a frenzy these CyberBeasts can whip up amongst the Tesla faithful.

It'll be really interesting to see just how much people are willing to pay for that ultra-aggressive blacked-out styling package. An extra $20k? $50k? Or will some wealthy early-adopter go utterly buck wild and bid it up into the stratosphere?

No matter where the hammer ultimately falls, you can bet it's going to be an entertaining Cyber-sized spectacle to watch unfold!

MARKET LEADERBOARD

💰 The figures shared below don’t count any other sales such as car seats, memorabilia etc… All online auction sites are analyzed to put this leaderboard together.

The reserve sell-through rate is just for cars that are listed with a reserve. The full sell-through rate includes all auctions, reserve and no-reserve.

I only include websites that have sold 5+ cars in the chart below.

Looking at the market leaderboard, you might think yesterday was an absolute barnburner of a day for sales. The leaderboard is stacked with more names than usual – Hemmings and Hagerty both flexing a bit by managing to get some sales on the board.

But if you dig a little deeper into the nitty-gritty numbers, the total value of vehicles sold yesterday was just a hair over $5 million. Sure, Hagerty and Hemmings padded their stats, but the values of those cars were basically peanuts.

Not hating on them for hustling and moving some metal, kudos where it's due. But that $5 mil number on its own doesn't look too shabby until you realize that one single $1 million-plus sale was responsible for a huge chunk of that total.

Take that big dog off the leaderboard, and yesterday's sales scene is looking pretty anemic in terms of the overall value changing hands. Not a total bloodbath by any means, but definitely not worthy of shouting from the rooftops either. Just one of those average, unspectacular days in the wild world of car sales.

YESTERDAY’S TOP 5 SALES

Click on the cars to check out each listing!

2022 Ford GT Carbon Series $1,070,000

2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS $180,000

2019 Donkervoort D8 GTO-40 $172,900

1983 Porsche 911SC Coupe $135,000

2004 Ferrari 575M Maranello $127,727

Sale of the Day

Well, well, another massive sale went down on the old BaT website! This stunning 2022 Ford GT Carbon Series in the gorgeous Nightmist Blue paint crossed the virtual auction block and sparked an intense bidding war.

From watching it, the action really heated up towards the end, with the eventual winner throwing out increasingly higher bids left and right to fend off the competition. It went into not just two minutes overtime, but over 30 minutes as the million dollar bids came flooding in. This buyer was clearly not messing around – they kept aggressively outbidding themselves, determined to be the one taking home this ultra-low mileage, ultra-exclusive Ford supercar.

When the virtual gavel finally dropped, the winning bid landed at a staggering $1,070,000! For a new GT from the dealer, that's almost double the already lofty $668,600 sticker price. But for a Carbon Series model optioned out with all the lightweight carbon fiber goodies, that crazy Nightmist Blue paint, and only 48 miles on the clock, I can understand someone being willing to pay such a premium.

It just goes to show how fever-pitched the demand is for these new GT models from Ford. Whether it's the striking looks, the 660 horsepower twin-turbo V6, or just the extreme exclusivity, buyers are willing to go to incredible lengths to get their hands on one. Brings a whole new meaning to the idea of a "trailer queen" though – maybe they'll just stick this one up on a pedestal!

Your Feedback

Yesterday we asked you ‘How common do you think shill bidding by sellers is on online car auction platforms?

The majority of you think it’s either more prevalent than we realize or rampant across most auction sites.

Below are a selection of your comments, some strong opinions!

It’s rampant everywhere. Online and live.

ITS BEEN GOING ON SINCE THE MID 80'S WHEN THE FERRARI DAYTONA WAS BEING SOLD BY MID AMERICA MOTORS..THEY WOULD MARK THEM SOLD AT RECORDS PRICES AND OTHERS WOULD COME UP AND FEED THE SPIRAL..WAS GREAT TIMES TO SEE DAYTONA SPYDERS SELLING AT $140,000.00

Shady cars usually have shady owners.

I am following several auctions and one thing I notice is a really large first single bid. My gut tells me it's not a real buyer. However, I don't know if that affects the price or not. Shill is a whole other thing. Good article.

It's definitely more prevalent than we realize. And the platforms' claims that they are totally on top of it is dubious. With their push for more and more no reserve auctions, the problem will only get worse as poor bidding leads more last minute shill accounts.

It's getting to the point where I don't feel bidding is in my best interest. There will always be A-Holes Ruining it for the rest.

I am sure its going on a lot in the early bidding process.

Auction Highlights

Here are a few select very different Porsche’s that are up for auction.

I don't think I have ever seen a Porsche in Aquarius Blue before, and I think I see why. Sometimes, a color can hold a car back from its potential, and I think this may be just such a case. Great car, wonderful seller, weird color. That being said, someone really liked this color, as it was a $4,300 option when new. I hope the right buyer finds this one and gives it a loving home, or wraps it in their favorite color.


I love 80s excess. This listing gives me so many ideas of what could have been built out of a Porsche 930 body in white. Someone started with a vision 30+ years ago and never finished it. This blank canvas could be made into so many things. What would you make with it?


This is what I call an absolute gem of a sports car! The Cayman GT4 was basically Porsche flexing its muscles and showing everyone how to properly build a focused, no-nonsense driver's machine.

This particular example in glistening white over a black interior just oozes coolness. With only around 15,300 miles on the clock, it's barely been broken in. But that 3.8L flat-six engine making 385 horses and paired with a crisp 6-speed manual gearbox? Chef's kiss!

What really gets me excited though are all the performance goodies specced from the factory – the Sport Chrono package, ceramic composite brakes, sport exhaust, adaptive sport seats – the whole nine yards. This GT4 was built to be thrashed on track days and backroad blasts.

To me, the GT4 represents the pure driving experience that's becoming rarer and rarer these days. No turbos, no dual-clutch gizmos, just an incredible naturally-aspirated engine, a slick manual transmission, and balanced mid-engine dynamics. It's an absolute thriller I'd love to get my hands on. The real question is, who's the lucky person that gets to call this one their own?