Broad Arrow’s Passion for the Drive: The Cars of Jim Taylor Realizes Over $21m

Broad Arrow Auctions wrapped its second-ever auction and first dedicated single-owner sale on October 15, achieving $21,258,415 in total sales. The Passion for the Drive: The Cars of Jim Taylor took place in Gloversville, NY, with 131 vehicles and 500 automobilia lots crossing the block. A mostly no-reserve sale, bidding concluded with 99% of all lots sold.

“It was a pleasure working with Broad Arrow Group and I’m pleased with the results,” said Jim Taylor following the auction. “Everybody worked hard and did a great job. I’m happy not only to see my cars and memorabilia go to good new homes, but also to see several items remain local to the area.”

The top grossing lot of the auction — a pretty-in-red 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster — realized $1,820,000, well above the pre-sale estimate of $1.2m to $1.4m. In addition to its known ownership history, the Roadster was accompanied by a hard and soft top, Nardi steering wheel, Euro headlights and factory fitted luggage, among others.

Fitting with Jim Taylor’s affinity for Ford and Shelby products, five of the ten top sales were from the two iconic American brands. A 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra, 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra and 1965 Shelby GT350 represented the finest of Carroll Shelby’s creations. The trio sold for $1,325,000, $995k and $417.5k, respectively.

On the Ford front, modern supercars stole the show. In the third spot at $1,297,500 was the 2020 Ford GT ’69 Heritage Edition and in sixth on the top ten sales list was a 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition. The first-generation GT realized $621k.

Other modern performance cars also sold strong during the auction. A menacing 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series realized $379k, while a one-of-99 2003 Aston Martin DB AR1 Zagato sold for $313k.

For anyone asking if the price of late-model Ferrari models with a six-speed transmission has softened, the answer appears to be no — at least not by much. A manual example of the often forgotten 612 and a holy-grail 599 GTB both sold for healthy sums. The Rosso Corsa 2005 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti brought $224k across the block and the 2007 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano traded hands for $549.5k.

Click here for complete results from the Passion for the Drive: The Cars of Jim Taylor auction