It seems like only yesterday that we bid goodbye to 2025 – you can read our classic and collector car sale round-up here – but the January 2026 auction season is already underway. Mecum’s enormous Kissimmee event kicked off on January 6, and this month also sees major sales in Arizona and Paris, plus some well loved smaller auctions in the UK.
We’ve picked out five fascinating lots that caught our eye, which are under the gavel in January, from a variety of price points and different areas of the market. There are several big model anniversaries this year, including the Lamborghini Miura, Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider, Chevrolet Camaro, Maserati Ghibli, Jensen Interceptor, Jaguar XJ and many others. In the past we’ve seen upticks in interest and thus values during such milestones, but with demographic change in effect, will we see a new set of anniversary heroes in 2026? The anniversary of the Aston Martin DB5, notably, passed with not a great deal of auction fanfare…
After all, it’s a big anniversary year for the Ferrari 550 Maranello (30 years), but there’s also the gen-one Aston Martin Vanquish (25), BMW M3 E30 (40), Ford Sierra RS Cosworth (40), Aston Martin V8 Zagato (40), Lamborghini LM002 (40) and Porsche 959 (40), plus we’ve seen a lot of talk about the first wave of track-focused cars, such as the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, BMW M3 CSL and Porsche 996 GT3 RS. In a few years’ time the last two will become available to US audiences for the first time under the 25-year import rule. Could we see movement there?
Whatever happens, here are some of the highlights from the January 2026 auction season. What have you got your eye on?
1962 Maserati 5000 GT, Gooding Christies, Paris
All 5000 GTs are special – there were, after all, just 34 built. However, this one was produced for His Highness the Aga Khan IV. The second car built by Frua, the Aga Khan 5000 GT featured a number of special features including wire wheels, limited-slip differential, steering dampers and a complete toolkit. Oh, and a Philips 45rpm record player in the console in front of the passenger. After being delivered to Paris and then taken Switzerland, the Maserati stayed in Parisian storage for much of that decade and the one that followed.
In 1983, American collector Tom Price acquired the car (in quite a shopping haul – he also bought a Ferrari 250 GTO), before passing it to Terence Teodori a decade later. In 1997 the Maserati was in the collection of multiple 5000 GT owner Alfredo Brener, who had the car restored to its original Penombra Metallizzato paintwork. After six years on the concours scene it joined the collection of John Bookout, and then Ian Wade a year later.
It passed into its current German ownership in 2013, and has been a stalwart on the concours scene ever since; it’s also appeared in Magneto magazine courtesy of Winston Goodfellow (you can read that story here). It’s estimated at between €750k and €950k, and goes up for sale with Gooding Christies on Thursday, January 29, 2026.
1993 Porsche 964 Turbo S Lightweight, RM Sotheby’s, Arizona
Now for something completely different courtesy of RM Sotheby’s at its Arizona sale on Friday, January 23, 2026. This 964 Turbo S Lightweight is one of just 86 models built. Essentially a road-legal version of the 1991 IMSA Supercar Championship-winning 964 Turbo, the Turbo S featured a uprated version of the 3.3-litre M30/69 SL flat-six – beefier camshafts, bigger fuel injectors and a more efficient turbo.
Thinner glass and lighter bodywork dropped the kerbweight considerably, while bodywork changes included rear quarter vents inspired by the 959, revised front air intake ducting, a reprofiled rear spoiler, an alloy strut brace, 40mm-lower ride height and 18in three-piece Speedline alloy wheels. The frame was also seam-welded and reinforced.
This particular example was finished by Porsche’s special wishes department in 1992 in Midnight Blue with a Bordeaux interior, Amethyst Metallic wheel centres and gold brake calipers. The Matter roll cage was covered in leather – in fact, almost every surface is trimmed in hide. The 964 remained with its original owner until being imported to the US in 2009, and since 2018 it’s been in the Todd Blue Lapis Collection. It’s covered 633km since new, and is estimated at between $2.25m and $2.75m.
1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, Artcurial, Paris
Artcurial may have lost the official Rétromobile partner slot, but this hasn’t stopped it pulling in something very special for its Automobile Legends sale, which takes place at the Peninsula Paris hotel on Thursday, January 27, 2026. Delivered new in Paris in 1956, this Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing has covered just 34,000km from new and has never been restored or dismantled. It retains its original paintwork, natural-leather interior and factory-installed mechanical components.
Unusually, the car is specified with the full range of period sports options listed in the original catalogue, including the NSL engine, Rudge centre-lock wheels plus sports suspension and springs. This specification closely matches that of the aluminium-bodied competition-oriented models, despite the car having steel panels. It is one of only 30 examples delivered new in France and one of 106 finished in Graphit Grau. The 300 SL remains accompanied by its original accessories, including tool roll, luggage and registration plates. Its mechanical and structural condition is reported to be exceptionally well preserved; it’s been estimated at between €2m and €5m.
1966 Ford GT40 MkII Factory Lightweight, Mecum, Kissimmee
You’ll have to be quick to enter the bidding for this temptation – the Mecum Kissimmee sales bonanza kicked off the 2026 auction season on January 6. However, you’ve got until Friday, January 16 to enter the bidding for this 1966 Ford GT40 MkII Factory Lightweight, one of 11 GT40 MkIIs built and nine that survive. Chassis XGT-3 was initially ordered by Alan Mann Racing, and it was constructed by Shelby American at its Los Angeles facility, where the GT40 was developed into a Le Mans-winning car.
When Ford Advanced Vehicles commissioned the chassis and body from Abbey Panels, it specified experimental thin-gauge metal for both. Only three MkIIs were built in this lightweight form. XGT-3 retains its original body and chassis, including the thin-gauge steel structure, aluminium roof and adjustable suspension unique to the lightweight cars, as well as its factory Le Mans fuel crossover tanks. Retained by Ford until 1977, the car has had four private owners since. It is regarded by GT40 guru Ronnie Spain as the most original MkII in existence, and no estimate had been released at the time of writing.
1996 Hummer H1, Bonhams, Arizona
Given the pedigree of the other machinery up for grabs during the January 2026 auction season, our final selection might raise an eyebrow. However, its first owner was Tupac Shakur – indeed, this 1996 Hummer H1 was the last car ordered by the rapper and actor before he was killed in Las Vegas in September that same year. Very few details have been revealed by Bonhams at the time of writing, but the Hummer still carries the modifications Shakur installed, and there are images of him in the car. It’s also listed in the deceased’s estate inventory.
No estimate has been released at the time of writing, but with the recent P Diddy Netflix documentary bringing Shakur’s life and death back into mainstream conversation, as well as the current wider retrospective towards the 1990s, it will be fascinating to see just how high this Hummer can go when it’s put up for grabs on January 23.
Further details
For more information on Artcurial’s Paris sale, click here.
For more information on Bonhams’ Arizona sale, click here.
For more information on Gooding Christie’s Paris sale, click here.
For more information on Mecum’s Kissimmee sale, click here.
For more information on RM Sotheby’s Arizona sale, click here.
