The Daily Vroom

Good morning Vroomers,

Let’s dive straight into yesterday’s action.

A 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport selling for $4,000,000 is, on its face, not shocking. What is remarkable is where, when, and how it happened. This car closed on Bring a Trailer on December 23, quietly becoming the fourth-highest sale in the platform’s history, while much of the traditional auction world would tell you this is precisely the moment when serious money is supposed to be asleep.

It wasn’t. It was very much awake.

Five separate bidders pushed beyond $3.9 million, a detail that matters far more than the final hammer. This was not one buyer stretching, nor a novelty result inflated by bravado. It was depth. Real, layered demand at the very top of the market, expressed calmly and methodically, in $1,000 increments that looked theatrical to casual observers but were in fact a tell. This is how disciplined buyers behave when the numbers stop being abstract. They do not rush. They control the clock. They wait for certainty.

That this played out two days before Christmas only reinforces the point. The assumption that major sales require perfect calendar choreography increasingly looks outdated. Ultra-high-net-worth buyers are not constrained by holiday schedules in the way sellers often imagine. If anything, this is when distractions fall away. The result suggests not that timing is irrelevant, but that car quality and clarity now matter more than ceremony.

The structure of the transaction deserves equal attention. At $4m, the buyer’s fee on Bring a Trailer is capped at $7,500. In the context of Monterey or Scottsdale, where layered commissions and premiums can quietly run into six figures, that delta is not theoretical. It is material. It changes the net equation. The increasingly common refrain that “only a tent auction can handle cars like this” is becoming harder to defend when the economics are laid bare.

The winning bidder’s profile adds another layer. On paper, nothing about their prior auction history signals an inevitable Bugatti buyer. Their previous wins on the platform were a 1963 Corvette Split-Window Coupe at $140,000 and a Yamaha Sidewinder SRX charity sale at $165,000. Yet a deeper look shows this was not a novice suddenly swinging wildly. Months earlier, the same bidder had chased another Bugatti to $2.9m. This was not a leap. It was a continuation. Notably, they joined the platform just over a year ago, a reminder that even at the highest end, new participants are still entering the ecosystem. The addressable audience is not static, and the platforms know it. Hence the advertising. Hence the expansion.

As for the car itself, this was exactly the kind of example that invites confidence rather than debate. Finished in Nocturne over Italian Red and Beluga Black leather, it avoided novelty in favor of permanence. The specification leaned into Bugatti’s core identity rather than attempting to out-shout it. With 1,400 miles, a recent Service 2 completed in September 2025, and nearly $200,000 in factory options, the car sat in a sweet spot between delivery-mile museum piece and something a buyer could plausibly use without anxiety. The seller clarified that the car had remained on MSO until recently and would become the first private registered ownership, a small but meaningful detail at this level.

Technically, the Chiron Super Sport remains a monument to a disappearing era. The quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter W16, rated at 1,578 horsepower, exists not to chase trends but to defy them. The engineering conversation around this car rarely descended into nitpicking, which is itself telling. When comment sections stop arguing and start marveling, it usually means the market has already agreed on the fundamentals.

The geographic footnote, that the seller operates out of Jonesboro, Arkansas, briefly distracted some observers, but only underscored a larger truth. The internet flattened this market long ago. Serious inventory no longer needs a coastal zip code to command global attention. Reputation, presentation, and reach now outweigh address.

Taken together, this sale reads less like an anomaly and more like a marker. Online platforms are no longer proving they can host transactions of this scale; they are proving they can do so efficiently, credibly, and with genuine depth of demand. This was not speculative behavior. It was rational decision-making by buyers who understand the product, the platform, and the economics.

If a $4,000,000 Bugatti can find five committed bidders and close cleanly on December 23, then the question is no longer whether the top end of the market belongs online. It already does.

YESTERDAY’S TOP 5 SALES

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

Smaller Platforms

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it. I’d love to see more of the smaller auction platforms succeed. Not because the big players are bad, but because a healthy market needs alternatives. Different ideas. Different incentives. That only works if two things come together. Eyeballs and good cars.

That’s why I’m rooting for sites like Guys With Rides. They don’t have big funding like nearly every other platform (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and what they are proposing seems a little crazy to me especially if they get inundated with vehicles due to the upfront cost, however kudos to them for not being the same as others.

Their approach is simple but different. Instead of charging sellers upfront or pushing volume, they invest first, putting their own money into photography, inspections, and marketing, then only get paid if the car sells. That kind of alignment matters.

It’s not the easy route. Being selective and taking on risk requires confidence in both the cars and the audience you’re building. But it’s exactly the sort of experimentation I like seeing in this space.

Will it work? That depends on whether the right cars show up and whether buyers pay attention. But platforms that try to rebalance incentives deserve a shot.

I’m cheering for them as I am for all platforms. The market is better when smaller platforms grow, take risks, and carve out a real identity.

Auctions To Keep An Eye On

There are plenty of modified modern performance cars that look impressive on paper and unravel under closer inspection. This 2016 Shelby GT350R does the opposite. What stands out here isn’t just the Hennessey HPE850 conversion or the headline power figure, but the care, intent, and consistency shown by a single owner over nearly a decade.

Purchased new in 2016, this car has remained with the same owner throughout, and that continuity shows everywhere. The decision to send it to Hennessey in October 2020 feels measured rather than impulsive. The HPE850 package adds a 3.0-liter supercharger and the proper supporting upgrades, backed by dyno documentation showing 743 horsepower at the wheels. It’s a level of performance that meaningfully elevates the car without pushing it into novelty or fragility, and it reflects an owner who wanted more capability, not more attention.

The rest of the build reinforces that impression. The interior modifications are purposeful and restrained, with a welded roll bar, carbon-backed Cobra seats, proper Schroth harnesses, and a fire extinguisher. This is equipment chosen by someone who planned to use the car as intended and wanted to do so responsibly. Crucially, the original factory seats are included, and nothing about the work suggests shortcuts or permanent compromise.

Track use is disclosed clearly and without defensiveness, including visits to Willow Springs, Buttonwillow, and Auto Club Speedway. The seller describes these as controlled track days rather than competitive abuse, followed by inspections and regular servicing, including dealer checks after events. That transparency, combined with the tone of the responses in the listing, builds confidence. It reads like an owner who understood the car’s limits, respected them, and maintained the car accordingly.

The supporting documentation ties it all together. Hennessey paperwork, dyno results, service records, removed factory parts, two keys, and a clean Carfax all point in the same direction. Even the small details, like acknowledging older tires and an open recall, add to the sense that nothing is being glossed over. This is a car being presented honestly, not dressed up for a quick sale.

In the end, this GT350R feels less like a modified Mustang and more like a carefully stewarded example that has been thoughtfully evolved over time. For a buyer who values provenance, transparency, and ownership quality as much as raw performance, this is the kind of car that’s easy to feel good about owning and even easier to trust.

This Defender is interesting because it didn’t try to become something else.

It’s a 1997 Defender 90 with the 300Tdi, left-hand drive, manual, and fully rebuilt to factory spec. No engine swap. No lifestyle cosplay. Just a proper frame-off restoration done with a clear idea of what makes these trucks desirable in the first place.

The work was commissioned by the seller and completed by RE-VI-VE in Lisbon, and it shows. Chassis stripped to bare metal, treated and reassembled with new hardware throughout. Engine, gearbox, transfer case, brakes, steering, suspension, wiring, cooling all rebuilt or refreshed. Around 300km since completion, which effectively puts this truck back at the starting line.

The choice to keep the 300Tdi matters. It’s not fast, but it’s durable, mechanical, and globally serviceable. In a sea of LS-swapped and over-modernized Defenders, this one leans into what the model actually does best: go anywhere, run forever, and be easy to live with.

Inside, it’s equally honest. Exmoor Trim seating for six, full cage, soft top, rubber mats, air conditioning, and a simple Bluetooth setup. Comfortable enough to use. Tough enough not to worry about. Nothing feels added just to impress.

At $55,000, the market is still deciding how to price a Defender that’s been restored to be used, not curated. But for someone who wants a clean-title, freshly rebuilt diesel 90 that doesn’t need excuses or follow-up work, this one makes a very strong case.

Sometimes the most interesting Defenders are the ones that remember what they are.

I’ve always been partial to a good 'ol pickup and this 1972 Chevrolet C10 is the classic restomod paradox. It’s been taken all the way apart, rebuilt to look sharp, made comfortable, made usable, and then dropped back into the market to answer a tough question. What is a clean, nicely executed, small-block C10 actually worth when it’s done right but not radical.

On paper, it ticks all the right boxes. Short bed. Black paint. Red interior. Lowered stance. A straightforward 350 with a TH350 automatic. Power steering, power brakes, front discs, air conditioning, modern infotainment. The bed wood is new. The trim looks right. The engine bay is tidy without trying to cosplay as a show car. It’s the kind of truck that looks great parked, sounds good fired up, and wouldn’t make you nervous to actually use.

What makes it interesting is what it doesn’t try to be. This isn’t a six-figure build with an LS, custom chassis, or brand-name suspension components shouted from the rooftops. It’s a restrained, old-school restomod aimed squarely at the buyer who wants the look and feel without the intimidation or the maintenance anxiety.

That restraint cuts both ways. The current bid sitting in the low $30s with the reserve still unmet tells you exactly where the tension is. Buyers love the presentation, but they’re also very aware that the market has moved. Clean C10s are everywhere. Truly exceptional ones separate themselves quickly. The rest live in this middle ground where condition, taste, and realism have to line up.

There’s also a subtle clock at work here. With fewer than a thousand miles on the build, this truck is still effectively new since restoration. That’s appealing. But the longer it sits unused, the more it wants an owner who will actually put miles on it and stop treating it like a finished project waiting for validation.

This auction feels less like a moonshot and more like a calibration. A good-looking, well-sorted C10 asking the market to be honest about what it values right now. Not hype. Not nostalgia alone. Just a clean truck, built sensibly, waiting for the right number to meet it.

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