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Auctions

How a 2005 Mercedes-AMG CL65 Became a $300,000 Collectible

By the mid-2000s, Mercedes-AMG was in a very particular mood. Not the restrained, Nürburgring-lap-time-chasing AMG we know today, but the slightly unhinged, torque-drunk division that believed the correct answer to every engineering question was “add two more cylinders and a pair of turbochargers.” The CL65 AMG was the purest expression of that mindset, and one impossibly preserved example has just proven that the world is finally ready to pay for it.

This Alabaster White 2005 CL65 AMG crossed the auction block for more than $300,000, a figure that would have sounded ridiculous a decade ago but now feels eerily logical. When new, this coupe already carried a stratospheric $182,280 sticker, which inflation turns into roughly the same $300K it just fetched. In other words, this car didn’t just hold its value—it completed a 20-year financial round trip back to its original altitude.

That alone would be impressive. The real story is what this thing is.

A Bentley in Disguise, a Supercar at Heart

Under the pillarless, yacht-like body of the C215 CL-Class sits AMG’s most excessive production engine: a twin-turbocharged 6.0-liter V12. Officially, it made 612 horsepower and 1,000 Nm (738 lb-ft) of torque, although everyone knew those numbers were conservative. In 2005, that put this Mercedes in the same power neighborhood as a Ferrari Enzo—except the CL65 could also heat, cool, and massage your back while doing it.

All of that thrust flows through a five-speed AMG SpeedShift automatic to the rear wheels, because at the time Mercedes hadn’t yet invented a transmission brave enough to handle that much torque with more ratios. Even so, the CL65 could catapult its nearly two-ton body forward with an effortlessness that bordered on absurd.

And yet, this wasn’t some stripped-out AMG special. It was a full-blown luxury coupe, complete with Active Body Control suspension, cross-drilled AMG brakes, and a cabin that feels more like a private jet than a sports car.

The Spec That Shouldn’t Work—but Does

This particular car was ordered new by Michael Fux, the philanthropist and serious collector known for his bold specifications, and it shows. The exterior is finished in Alabaster White, paired with a Java leather interior and chestnut wood trim. It’s an unusual combination, slightly flamboyant, and completely unforgettable—exactly the kind of thing that turns a production AMG into a one-off-feeling collector car two decades later.

The condition is where things really get wild. The odometer reads just 3,300 miles (5,300 km), which means this CL65 has averaged roughly 165 miles per year since new. That explains why it presents today as a near-museum piece, right down to its Michelin Pilot Sport tires with 2024 date codes and its still-immaculate interior.

And yes, it’s loaded. Heated and ventilated multi-contour AMG sport seats with massage, Keyless Go, Bose surround sound, COMAND navigation, Parktronic, a power rear sunshade, and even a trunk-mounted CD changer for those who miss the golden age of physical media. The instrument cluster tops out at 220 mph, a subtle reminder that this was never meant to be a mere luxury cruiser.

Why $300,000 Suddenly Makes Sense

For years, the CL65 AMG lived in the shadow of more obvious icons: the McLaren-engined SLR, the SL65 roadster, and the modern hyper-AMGs that followed. But tastes are changing. Collectors are rediscovering the era when AMG was gloriously unfiltered, building cars that made no apologies for their size, weight, or fuel consumption—only for their lack of restraint.

The CL65 represents the peak of that philosophy. A V12, twin turbos, no pillars, no compromises, and enough torque to bend space-time. Combine that with ultra-low mileage, a high-profile original owner, and a rare spec, and you get a perfect storm for value.

In 2005, this car was an outrageous indulgence. In 2026, it’s a rolling monument to a lost era of Mercedes-AMG madness—and now, officially, a six-figure collectible.

And honestly? That feels exactly right.

Source: Bring a Trailer

Auctions

1988 Lamborghini Jalpa is for sale

The Lamborghini Jalpa has always existed just outside the spotlight, and that’s precisely what makes it interesting. Introduced during the final years of the V12-powered Countach, the Jalpa never tried to out-shout its headline-grabbing sibling. Instead, it served as Lamborghini’s smaller, lighter, and more approachable alternative—an entry point into Sant’Agata ownership that didn’t require full commitment to Countach theatrics.

That role didn’t earn the Jalpa instant icon status, but it did give the model lasting relevance. Today, clean examples are genuinely hard to find, which is why this 1988 Jalpa currently offered for sale stands out. It’s not just well preserved—it’s exceptionally so, showing just 5,900 kilometers and presenting in a condition that suggests it’s spent far more time being admired than driven.

Visually, subtlety was never part of the plan. Finished in Giallo Fly, this Jalpa wears one of Lamborghini’s most vivid yellows, applied not only to the bodywork but also to the wheels. It’s the kind of color that makes excuses for nothing and apologies for even less. Only seven U.S.-spec Jalpas were painted this way, making this one of approximately 100 federalized examples and among the rarest color combinations offered.

The car’s low mileage is backed up by the details collectors care about. It comes with its original tool kit and spare wheel, a clean Carfax report, and a clean New York title—boxes that are increasingly difficult to check on eighties Italian exotics.

Power comes from Lamborghini’s 3.5-liter V8, originally fed by four two-barrel Weber carburetors but now upgraded with fuel injection for improved drivability. Output remains at 258 horsepower, sent to the rear wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. While it lacks the Countach’s V12 drama, the Jalpa compensates with a lighter feel and a more cooperative personality—qualities that made it the most usable Lamborghini of its era.

Inside, the theme continues. Black leather seats are accented with yellow piping that extends across the door panels, center tunnel, and even the floor mats. A yellow Momo shift knob completes the look, delivering peak eighties excess without tipping into parody. It’s bold, cohesive, and unmistakably period-correct.

With modern Lamborghinis pushing ever further into six-figure territory—the new Temerario starts at nearly $390,000 in the U.S.—cars like this Jalpa represent a very different proposition. It’s a fully analog Lamborghini, built before drive modes and touchscreens, and one that offers genuine rarity without the astronomical price tag of the brand’s more famous models.

For buyers looking to own a piece of Lamborghini history rather than just the latest performance numbers, this Jalpa for sale isn’t merely an alternative—it’s an argument.

Source: Bring a Trailer

Auctions

Low Mileage 2020 BMW i8 Coupe is for sale

The BMW i8 has always existed in a strange automotive limbo. It looks like a concept car that escaped an auto-show turntable, complete with dihedral doors and a silhouette that suggests six-figure exotica. Yet it was never truly fast in the way its looks promised, nor traditionally BMW in the way purists hoped. Its turbocharged three-cylinder engine paired with an electric motor felt futuristic in 2014 and mildly awkward ever since. And now, six years after production ended, the i8 remains an automotive question mark—especially in the collector market.

For years, the phrase “future classic” has hovered around the i8 like a half-remembered prophecy. But the market has been unconvinced. With rare exceptions, values have stubbornly stayed in five-digit territory, often well below original sticker prices. Even pristine examples haven’t triggered the kind of appreciation that usually follows low-production, design-forward cars with ambitious engineering.

That might be about to change—or at least be tested.

A 2020 BMW i8 coupe with just 426 miles has surfaced on Cars and Bids, and it represents one of the strongest cases yet for meaningful money. It’s not the lowest-mile i8 ever offered publicly, but it’s close. A 400-mile example appeared on Bring a Trailer back in 2019 and stalled at $75,000 without meeting reserve. Context matters, though: in 2019, you could still walk into a BMW dealership and buy an i8 brand new.

A more relevant comparison comes from 2024, when an E-Copper Orange i8 with 480 miles sold for $81,553. That sale quietly reset expectations for collector-grade coupes. This new example has a credible shot at eclipsing it—and not just because of the odometer reading.

Start with the configuration. The Crystal White exterior isn’t rare, but it’s paired with the E-Copper and black interior, a combination typically reserved for the full E-Copper exterior package. Here, it creates a striking contrast and subtly references the E-Copper theme BMW introduced late in the i8’s life cycle. It feels intentional, distinctive, and—importantly for collectors—unusual without being polarizing.

Then there’s the build date. As a 2020 model-year car, this i8 benefits from BMW’s Life Cycle Impulse updates and the incremental quality improvements that come with the final years of production. Late cars are almost always the ones collectors want, especially when a model’s early years were as experimental as the i8’s.

Even the auction venue works in this car’s favor. Cars and Bids has posted a slightly higher sell-through rate for BMW i8s than Bring a Trailer—79 percent versus 78. It’s a marginal difference, but when you’re chasing the right bidder for a niche modern collectible, marginal advantages matter.

Still, there’s an elephant in the room—or rather, a convertible. If the i8 ever earns true collector status, history suggests it will be the Roadster that leads the charge. BMW built just 3,884 of them, compared with 16,581 coupes. That disparity already shows up in pricing. A 1,000-mile i8 Roadster sold on Cars and Bids in 2022 for $105,000, well above what even ultra-low-mile coupes were bringing at the time.

So will this 426-mile coupe finally move the needle? Probably not in a dramatic way. But its outcome will matter. A sale north of the 2024 E-Copper car would help establish a clear value trajectory for delivery-mile i8s and reinforce the idea that condition and provenance now count. A reserve-not-met result—or a number that falls well short—would suggest the i8 still needs more time to mature, aging slowly and awkwardly, much like the technology that once made it feel revolutionary.

Either way, the BMW i8 remains exactly what it has always been: fascinating, frustrating, and just strange enough to keep us watching.

Source: Cars and Bids