It was so much fun to participate yesterday in the Private Risk Management Association (PRMA) session "Gearing Up: Trends and Insights in Collector Cars and Memorabilia", timed to the Greenwich Concours, alongside fellow panelists David Kinney (publisher of the Hagerty price guide), Erin Haydon, ARM of Markel International, and Kunal Kohli of Private Client Select -- and expertly moderated by Ashley Mehyo of Distinguished Programs! It was a lively conversation about topics such as the distinguishing features of collector cars, recent market trends, changing risk characteristics, and claims. Thank you ORNARE for generously hosting the event!
So often we are bound to our specialties (love the British word "specialisms") that we don't get a chance to engage in such profitable dialogue across sectors, but conversations such as these are precisely what enrich our knowledge and sharpen our tools. It's especially valuable for those of us who work largely in the HNW + UHNW space, which is largely and perhaps increasingly defined by a cross-sector approach to collecting.
For comparative perspective, prices realized in the high end of the collector car market are broadly in league with those in the highest tranche of the art market, even if the volume of trade for ultra-valuable collector cars is not as robust as it is for a similar strata of fine art.
The highest price ever realized at auction for a collector car is $143 million for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé at RM Sotheby’s in 2022, over $90 million higher than than the 2nd highest auction record for a collector car. This price level would be exceptional even for fine art and yet, that year, Andy Warhol's "Shot Sage Blue Marilyn" fetched $195 million at Christie's, i.e., $52 million *more* than the Uhlenhaut Coupé.
In 2025, the second highest auction price was realized for a collector car when the Mercedes-Benz W196 R Streamliner sold for $53.9 million at RM Sotheby’s. That year six works of art sold publicly above that level.
We also discussed the high end of the market for automobilia. Just last week, a helmet worn by the late Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve in his last Formula One race sold for $1.25 million, a world record for a racing helmet. In 2023, a Musgo Gasoline advertising sign sold for $1.5 million (15x its low estimate). Seen within the context of the surging market for collectibles (comics, trading cards, sports and entertainment memorabilia, etc.), one has to reason to expect further growth in this market subsector.