The Daily Vroom

YESTERDAY’S TOP 3 SALES

Following on from their $2.9m sale on Monday, DuPont Live had another stellar sales day with the Porsche Speedster top of their list of sales yesterday.

Want to dive deeper into any of these listings? Just click on the car to take you directly to the listing.

Cars & Bids After Sonoma

Coming down from the excellent weekend Cars & Bids had at Sonoma is a bit like coming back from vacation and heading straight back to work. It's never quite as exciting.

Still, the first two days back weren't bad at all.

Across the last two days, Cars & Bids sold 77 of 106 listings, good for a 72.6% sell-through rate. That's a strong number by any measure and a reminder that the platform has no problem selling cars. Some days are better than others, but buyers are clearly still showing up.

The more interesting question is whether Sonoma will help Cars & Bids attract more high-dollar inventory.

Of course, there's a catch. The listings that closed over the last two days were largely live before the Sonoma event even took place. High-end consignments don't appear overnight. Owners need time to make decisions, submit cars, go through the process, and get scheduled. If Sonoma is going to have an impact, we probably won't see it immediately.

That's why the real test comes later. We'll need to revisit this in a month or two and see whether the platform starts attracting a larger number of six-figure cars.

There were signs of both opportunity and challenge in these results.
A few listings crossed the six-figure mark in bidding with only one selling, a beautiful no-reserve Porsche 911 Carrera T Club Coupe that brought an impressive $293,000.

Overall, the average sale price across the 77 sold vehicles came in at just under $26,000.

That number highlights the long-term opportunity for Cars & Bids. The platform has already demonstrated that it can sell more than 70% of its inventory. The bigger challenge is increasing the value of the inventory itself.

And let's not feel too sorry for them. Based on the results from these two days alone, Cars & Bids likely generated around $100,000 in buyer's premium revenue. That's not a bad couple of days at the office.

But imagine what those numbers look like if the average sale price rises meaningfully. That's where the real upside is. The sell-through rate is already there. The audience is already there. The question is whether Sonoma helps convince owners of more expensive cars that Cars & Bids is a place worth selling.

It's still early days.

We'll check back later this summer and see whether Sonoma was simply a successful event or the beginning of a shift toward higher-end inventory.

Auctions To Keep An Eye On

I love a good old Defender.

Not because they're particularly good. They're noisy, slow, uncomfortable, and about as aerodynamic as a brick. Yet somehow, that's exactly why people love them.

This 1995 Defender 90 NAS is the kind of truck that reminds you why these have become so collectible. Just 29,000 miles, a clean history, and perhaps most importantly, it still looks like a Defender rather than a restoration project gone wild.

The spec doesn't hurt either. Portofino Red, soft top, five-speed manual, and a V8 under the hood. If you asked most Defender enthusiasts to build their dream NAS truck, they'd probably end up with something pretty close to this.

What makes these trucks special isn't speed or luxury. It's the experience. Every drive feels like an adventure, even if you're only headed to the grocery store. That's something modern SUVs, no matter how capable or expensive, struggle to replicate.

The funny thing about old Defenders is that everyone who owns one complains about them. Then they refuse to sell them. That tells you everything you need to know.

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I'm not sure there's a better way to spend a few minutes than watching an old Porsche 356 drive through the countryside.

Seriously, do yourself a favor and watch the video.

Modern cars are objectively better at almost everything, but they rarely make you feel anything. A 356 is the complete opposite. It's slow by today's standards, the steering wheel looks oversized, and the cabin feels charmingly simple. Yet somehow that's exactly what makes it special.

This 1962 Porsche 356B Cabriolet has all the ingredients enthusiasts look for. A wonderful color combination, an interesting ownership story that begins with a U.S. serviceman purchasing it through SonAuto in Paris, and a long history of careful refurbishment and maintenance. The rebuilt 1,720cc flat-four and recently overhauled transaxle should make it even more enjoyable to drive than when it left the factory.

But for me, the highlight isn't the paperwork, the restoration, or even the hardtop that comes with the car.

It's that video. The winding roads, the sound of the flat-four, and the view over those beautiful front fenders are a reminder that some cars aren't about numbers at all. They're about the experience.

And few cars deliver that experience better than a 356.

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There are certain cars that instantly transport you back to a specific era. The Audi UR Quattro is one of them.

Before all-wheel drive became standard on everything from family crossovers to luxury SUVs, Audi shocked the automotive world by proving that putting power to all four wheels could create a genuine performance advantage. The result was the Quattro, a car that didn't just win rallies, it changed the sport forever.

That's why cars like this still matter. This 1984 UR Quattro looks exactly how you'd want one to look. Black over black, boxy fender flares, those unmistakable proportions, and of course the legendary turbocharged five-cylinder under the hood. Even standing still, it looks fast.

What really caught my attention, however, is the mileage. Just 17k kilometers is remarkable for any 1980s performance car, let alone one that spent its life in a country where enthusiasts actually drive and enjoy their cars. According to the seller, it has been carefully stored during their four-year ownership while still being started, moved, and serviced regularly. That's often far better than a car that's simply been parked and forgotten.

The best part about a UR Quattro is that it doesn't need a giant wing, flashy colors, or a million horsepower to get your attention. Its significance comes from what it represents. Without the Quattro, the performance car world probably looks very different today.

Some cars are collectible because they're rare. Others are collectible because they changed history. The UR Quattro happens to be both.

Dreaming about parking this Quattro in your garage? Our free Import Calculator will tell you exactly what it could cost to get it from Japan to your driveway.

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