Mecum’s first-ever Nashville sale is in the books, and by almost any measure the debut delivered. Over five days at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee, the inaugural Mecum Nashville auction moved roughly $66.2 million in collector vehicles, with 1,099 of 1,509 reported lots finding new homes for a 73 percent sell-through rate, according to CLASSIC.com’s tally of reported results. The top of the board belonged to a piece of Daytona history: Paul Newman’s class-winning 1995 Roush Ford Mustang Cobra, which sold for $935,000.
For a brand-new stop on the calendar, those are strong numbers. New venues usually need a year or two to build a following. Nashville arrived with a full room, deep bidding in the middle of the market and a headline car that drew national attention. If you followed our preview of the sale and our early-week results report, the finish will look familiar: the momentum that showed up on Tuesday carried all the way through Saturday.
Mecum Nashville 2026 Results by the Numbers
- Total sales: about $66.2 million
- Lots sold: 1,099 of 1,509 reported
- Sell-through rate: 73 percent
- Average sale: $60,227
- Median sale: $40,700
- Top sale: 1995 Ford Mustang Cobra “Nobody’s Fool,” $935,000
Figures include buyer’s premium and reflect results reported as of Monday, Sept. 28. Mecum’s official final tally may differ slightly as post-auction sales are completed.
The spread between the average and the median is the most encouraging number here. A $40,700 median means the sale wasn’t propped up by a handful of trophy cars. Half the cars that sold brought more than that, and the middle 50 percent sold between roughly $21,000 and $70,000. That’s the price band where most enthusiasts actually buy, and it was busy all week.
Paul Newman’s Daytona-Winning Mustang Tops the Sale at $935,000
The star of the weekend came from the Roush Automotive Collection, offered as part of Roush’s 50th anniversary. The 1995 Mustang Cobra IMSA car, painted to promote Newman’s film Nobody’s Fool, won the GTS-1 class and finished third overall at the 1995 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Newman, then 70, shared the car with Tommy Kendall, Mark Martin and Mark Brockman. According to American Cars and Racing, it was Roush’s 10th consecutive class win in the race.
One detail made this car special. After the race, Roush fitted fresh bodywork so the car could go on museum display. Before the sale, the team put the original race-worn body back on, grime and all, and offered the show body with it. Buyers clearly valued that honesty. The car outsold the rest of the Roush race cars, including Tommy Kendall’s championship-winning 1997 Trans-Am Mustang Cobra. We covered the car’s story in depth in our look at Newman’s Daytona-winning Mustang ahead of the sale.
Roush’s NASCAR stock cars also found buyers. A 2007 Ford Fusion NASCAR car sold for $59,400, and a 2012 Ford Fusion NASCAR car brought $25,300. That’s a healthy sign for race-used cars with real provenance, a segment that can be hit or miss at auction.
A $605,000 Aston Martin DB5 Brings Blue-Chip Weight
The second-highest result was a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 at $605,000. It’s the kind of car you’d expect to see in Monterey or Scottsdale, not at a first-year sale in Middle Tennessee. A European blue-chip classic selling well here shows that serious collectors were in the room, not just local buyers looking for weekend cruisers.
Another standout was a 1959 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible at $115,500. The ’59 Cadillac is one of the defining shapes of American car design, and a six-figure result shows collectors still pay well for good tailfin-era convertibles. A 1958 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 Convertible added $63,800.
Trucks and Restomods Set the Pace
If one theme defined Mecum Nashville, it was the strength of well-built trucks. Buyers paid up for pickups and SUVs made to be driven:
- 1968 Ford Bronco custom (Coyote 5.0L V8): $115,500
- 1978 Chevrolet K10 4×4 (LS V8): $110,000
- 1950 Chevrolet 3800 custom pickup: $69,300
- 1975 Ford Bronco: $66,000
- 1970 Chevrolet K20: $63,800
Two six-figure results for modernized trucks tell you where demand is heading. These buyers want vintage looks with modern power, brakes and comfort, and they’ll pay for quality work. Our feature on the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer custom offered in Nashville explores the same trend.
Restomods did well too. That 1979 Pontiac Trans Am 10th Anniversary restomod sold for $68,200, and so did a 1936 Auburn Boattail Speedster replica. Well-executed builds are now trading close to many factory-original cars, which shows how much the market has come to accept them.
Muscle Cars and Modern Performance Hold Firm
Classic muscle and late-model performance cars both sold steadily. Highlights included:
- 1970 Plymouth Road Runner: $93,500
- 2015 Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang 50th Anniversary Edition: $93,500
- 2015 Chevrolet Corvette convertible: $77,000
- 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS Pace Car convertible: $71,500
- 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 coupe: $64,900
- 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle SS: $61,600
The $93,500 Shelby GT350 50th Anniversary Edition stands out. Limited-run modern Fords keep building a collector following, and this result matched the Road Runner, a classic Mopar muscle car. Even the motorcycles did well. A 1975 Kawasaki Z1 900 brought $11,000, and a pair of modern Indians, a 2001 Scout and a 2002 Spirit Deluxe, each sold for $11,000.
What Mecum Nashville Says About the Collector Car Market
Mecum Nashville capped a strong run for the auction house. Just last month, Mecum Monterey reached $114 million, its third nine-figure sale of 2026. Nashville proves the demand isn’t limited to the big-name coastal events. A new Southeast venue drew about 1,500 lots, sold nearly three-quarters of them and posted a median above $40,000 in its first year.
Not every car sold, which is normal for a healthy auction. A 1966 Ford GT40 MkII replica was bid to $200,000 without selling, and a 1954 Ford F-100 stopped at $70,000. Sellers held firm on reserves, and bidders still met them on most of the lots that mattered. That balance points to a market with confidence on both sides.
The takeaways are clear. Provenance still earns big money, as the Newman Mustang showed. Blue-chip classics can sell well outside the traditional hubs. And drivable, well-sorted trucks, restomods and muscle cars have a deep base of buyers in the Southeast. After this debut, Mecum Nashville looks like it has earned a lasting spot on the calendar.
Sources: Sales figures from CLASSIC.com and Mecum’s published results; details on the Roush Mustang from American Cars and Racing and RACER. All prices include buyer’s premium.
