Goodwood's Reality Check: 5 Hard Truths from the Revival Sale

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The dust had barely settled on Monterey Car Week, a Californian whirlwind of sun, champagne, and frankly staggering auction results. The numbers were biblical: a combined total of $432.8 million changed hands. The message from across the pond was clear: the US is firing.

This set the stage for Bonhams' Goodwood Revival sale, an event that felt like a critical barometer for the UK market. After the heady, perhaps irrational, highs of the post-COVID boom, the British scene has been decidedly more subdued.

The big question hanging in the Sussex air was simple: would the wave of optimism and high spending that drenched the Monterey peninsula make its way across the Atlantic? Was this the moment the UK market would finally bottom out and turn a corner, or was it to be a sobering confirmation of a deeper, more localised malaise?

The answer, as the final hammer fell, was unequivocal. The numbers don't lie, and they paint a picture not of a transatlantic boom, but of a market grappling with a starkly different reality.

Here are the five hard truths from the Goodwood Revival sale that every collector needs to understand.

1. Shrink, Shrink, Shrink.

Before diving into individual lots, the headline figures from the sale tell the most dramatic story. The total value of cars sold at the 2025 auction was just under £5 million. To put that in perspective, the same sale in 2024 grossed over £7 million, and in 2023, it was over £9 million.

That represents a near 50% collapse in total sales value in just two years. 

At the same time, the catalogue itself has shrunk, with the number of lots offered falling from 104 in 2023 to just 77 this year. 

However, the number of cars offered falling isn’t always a bad thing in our eyes. Indeed, the biggest issue in the market of recent years has been too much supply. Too many cars being offered, not enough buyers, basic economics tells you prices fall. This is actually what the market needs.

The shrinkage we’re seeing here though is primarily driven by a lack of consignor confidence. An owner of a top-tier, A-grade classic car is a savvy individual. They watch the market closely, and the data from recent UK auctions has been flashing warning signs. The sell-through rate (STR) at Goodwood was a weak 51% in 2024, and it only crawled up to 53% this year. More alarmingly, the percentage of cars that did sell but hammered below their low estimate jumped from 26% in 2024 to 39% in 2025.

For a potential seller, this data is terrifying. It means there's a roughly one-in-two chance their car won't sell at all, and even if it does, there's a high probability it will be for a disappointing price that doesn't meet their expectations. 

Faced with this risk, the logical decision is to hold back. Why expose a valuable asset to a public "failure" when you can wait and hope for a more favourable market or pursue a discreet private sale? This leads to a "consignor strike," where the best metal stays locked away in heated garages. The auction house is then left with a higher proportion of B- and C-grade cars, or cars with unrealistic reserves set by hopeful owners, which in turn leads to weaker results. 

It's a self-perpetuating cycle of decline. How we stem that decline is the question.

2. Reserves Were The Order Of The Day

That lack of consignor confidence flowed through to the catalogue.

Bonhams offered a catalogue with the lowest level of no reserve cars we’ve seen at their Revival sale in recent years. Only 6% of cars were no reserve.

It makes sense right, with a market that is subdued any rational seller is gonna protect their risk from the downside and offer the car with a safety net so they don’t walk out the room holding a cheque for less than half of their lower estimate.

Unfortunately, that situation happened for the owner of a 1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16V. Estimated at £40,000 - £50,000, it was offered (bravely) at no reserve. Sadly for the owner, it sold for £20,700 (including fees).

3. Thank The Lord The Heavy Hitters Sold

Bonhams were fortunate in many regards as well.

Looking at the heavy hitters, of the cars with the top 5 highest estimates in the sale, 4 out of the 5 sold. Indeed these 4 sold cars made up almost half of the total sales value.

The DB4 GT Zagato Sanction III went in with an estimate of £700,000 - £1,000,000. It sold including fees at £1,079,000 - the lowest result we’ve ever seen for a DB4 GT Zagato Sanction.

The 1951 XK120 Competition was a fair result for a car with good history, it sold at £316,260.

Other vehicles in the top 5 included the 1956 Maserati A6G/54 (estimated at £500,000 - £750,000) it just managed to sell at £483,000. Finally, the 1973 Ferrari Daytona sold at £309,350, just below its estimate of £325,000 - £375,000.

Let’s be under no illusions though, the results for these cars were hardly barnstorming - it shows price pressure exists at all levels of the market.

4. What Sold Well: A 1940s Car

You probably can’t believe the heading you’ve just read but it’s true. The car that outperformed its estimate by the largest amount was the 1948 ex-Johnny Lurani 1948 Healey Elliott Saloon.

A car, again with good history including class-victories at the Mille Miligia and Targa Florio, sold well. Estimated at £60,000 - £80,000 it smashed through its top estimate and sold including fees at £201,250. A new world record for the model.

It's a crucial reminder that in a soft market, impeccable provenance and history are what separate the good from the great, and are one of the few things bidders will still fight for.

5. What Sold Poorly: Rally Cars

The two weakest performers vs their estimate were both ‘rally cars’. The Lancia we mentioned above was the weakest of the lot.

In second place was a 1979 Nissan 280Z Rally Car, estimated at £60,000 - £80,000, it managed only £34,500 including fees.

Conclusion

So, what's the final verdict on Goodwood? The sale wasn't a disaster, but it was a sobering dose of reality and a clear sign that the UK market is playing by its own rules, completely insulated from the hypercar-fueled frenzy of Monterey.

If I was a seller, there isn’t a chance in hell I’d be going no reserve anytime soon - the risk isn’t worth the reward. If you don’t have to sell right now, don’t. It’ll be good for you and good for the market.

If I was a buyer, I’d be watching closely, it feels like we’re starting to bottom out, keeping on top of the market and watching each sale for any great value buys that could pay off in the coming years. It’s a golden opportunity.

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