The Carlisle Auction, April 2026

Carlisle Productions held its 2026 Spring Auction across two days, Thursday April 23 and Friday April 24, at their Expo Center in Carlisle, PA. As always, the auction was conducted in parallel with Spring Carlisle at the Fairgrounds across the street. I long ago stopped wandering the Fairground aisles, but I drove out a day early in order to preview the auction cars, and I personally observed 270 cars cross the block.

Volunteer drivers await their assignment

Any auction is a hit-or-miss affair, and this year, there were fewer cars that garnered my interest compared to the past several years. As has happened at previous Carlisle Auctions, some cars did not show up until the day they were scheduled to run, which limited the time for prospective bidders to perform their due diligence. Speaking of, this year Carlisle saw it necessary to hand out “due diligence” sheets as well as hang signs with the same message. The bottom line: the complete burden for verifying the condition of any car lies with the bidder and not the auction house. They’re not wrong, but this year they went further to ensure that you got the message.

I’ve previously written about the improvements these fine folks have implemented to improve the overall experience for consignors, bidders, and spectators. (My blog posts covering Carlisle Auctions goes back eleven years, to 2015.) However, stuff still happens. Friday especially was fraught with mishaps, miscues, and some general mayhem that made the show feel like Amateur Hour. At least four if not five times, a car arrived on the block with a Lot Number that did not match the run sheet nor the info on the large screens. It does happen that a consignor substitutes a different car than the one he registered; however, in these cases, the auctioneer and others on the block were caught completely unaware of the substitution. One time the auctioneer intoned, “the reserve has been met!” only to quickly retract his claim after being corrected by the owner. Another time, the auctioneer declared the lot “sold, for $6,000!” only to realize that he had accepted $6,000 bids from two different bidders, necessitating a rewind. Silly things like these usually don’t happen at Mecum, much less RM/Sotheby’s.

As I mentioned, I recorded the results for 270 cars, 170 of which sold, and 100 which did not meet reserve. This resulted in a 63% sell-through rate, decent, but not great, and about average for Carlisle. Their after-sale desk looked busy for the entire two days I was there. As of this writing, Carlisle’s website is showing about 150 vehicles still for sale (and helpfully, the high bid is shown as well, giving you a starting point for negotiations).

The sold lots listed below are the cars which I found interesting. As always on Richard’s Car Blog, they are listed in “hammer price” order, so that you can gauge the relative value of these cars compared to one another.

Lot 472, 2001 Jaguar XK8 convertible, 88,694 miles, V8, automatic, brown paint, tan top and interior, factory alloy wheels.

SOLD for $2,250. I see many first generation XK8 convertibles at auction. From recent memory, most of them have around this mileage, and most of them sell in the $7,500 to $9,500 range. Why was this car so cheap? It looked terrible. The cloth convertible top was worn through in various spots, the interior was filthy, and the driver’s seat leather was shot, none of which gave any confidence in the car’s overall condition.

Lot 103, 1996 Volvo 850 sedan, five-speed manual, 184,234 miles, blue/green paint, brown velour interior.

SOLD for $3,250. Car showed poorly, looked like it had been used and abused. At this price, choices are to just drive it until something breaks, or part it out.

Lot 118, 1980 Toyota Celica coupe, five-digit odometer shows 63,310, brown metallic with beige cloth interior. Four cylinder, five-speed manual, factory A/C converted to R134a. Alloy wheels, blackwall tires.

SOLD for $7,250. This car looked completely unrestored, and was in amazing condition for a survivor. Paint and interior looked original, interior wear was commensurate with shown miles. Tires were 13 years old, and some interior plastics no longer fit well, but those were the only issues I spotted. I had a long talk with the owner, an elderly man who had recently acquired the car from a neighbor. He claimed that he had driven it two hours from his home with no issues. Despite all this, Carlisle is not an auction that draws much interest in imports. I expected a hammer price closer to $6,000, so seller did well.

Lot 249, 1960 Ford Taunus two-door station-wagon, two-tone coral and white paint, color scheme carried over to interior. Four cylinder engine, three-speed manual. Dog dish hubcaps on black wheels with whitewall tires.

SOLD for $7,500. Ironic, just weeks after posting an article about my father’s Taunus postcards, I see one in the metal for the first time in my life. This German-built Ford was sold in the U.S. in very limited numbers. There are no price comps, so this under-ten grand result seems reasonable for a car which appeared to be surprisingly complete and unmolested.

Lot 491, 1981 Alfa Romeo Spider, 95,416 miles, cream paint, black top, beige interior. Four-cylinder, five-speed manual, factory alloys, aftermarket wood steering wheel.

SOLD for $8,000. It’s around this mileage that I see many Spiders go up for sale. Various loose and broken interior bits didn’t give me confidence in the car, and frankly, I expected it to sell for less. Eight grand should buy you a nicer Spider.

Lot 187.1, 1928 Chrysler Series 62 two-door convertible, light beige body, brown fenders, tan top, brown interior, rumble seat. Wood spoke wheels with whitewall tires. Inline six, three-speed manual.

SOLD for $12,500. I believe that this was the oldest car to sell at this auction. I know very little about pre-war Chryslers except that, as a convertible with a six-cylinder engine (instead of a four) and a rumble seat, $25,000 would not have been a surprise. Then again, how limited is the audience for pre-war cars like this?

Lot 402, 1967 Plymouth Sport Fury two-door hardtop, bronze paint, matching interior with bucket seats and center console, alloy wheels, raised white letter tires, 383 V8, automatic.

SOLD for $13,000. This car rolled over the block relatively early on Friday morning, and I spotted it for the first time about thirty minutes prior, so this was another case of a car showing up almost literally at the last minute, leaving no time for an inspection. 1967 was a big year for Plymouth as this was an all-new body, and a real looker, especially in comparison to some of the ugly ducklings of just a few years prior. The Sport Fury package lived up to its name. This was a very good buy. I need a bigger garage (I’m referring to the length, as this thing would not fit).

Lot 503, 1979 VW Beetle convertible, white paint and top, taupe interior. I did not record mileage, but Carlisle’s website states 45,000. Factory alloys.

SOLD for $13,000. This was the final year for the famed Beetle drop-top. Sold for almost identical money compared to ’76 Beetle convertible below, so “last year of production” did not bring a price premium.

Lot 439, 1976 VW Beetle convertible, four-speed manual, 59,827 miles, white paint, top, and interior, aftermarket wheels.

SOLD for $13,750. Car appeared to be in well-maintained original condition. Lots of top-down fun, just don’t be in a hurry to get anywhere.

Lot 096, 1984 Porsche 928S, 168,987 miles, white with dark red interior. V8, five-speed manual. Factory alloy wheels.

SOLD for $17,000. This was the very first automotive lot of the auction, and it was a charity sale with proceeds going to a local firehouse. Car appeared OK, but, not sure if odometer still worked as trip odo was stuck at 000.0 (common 928 problem). These cars are robust enough that they can reach this mileage, but staying on top of maintenance is a necessity. Manual is a plus, as most U.S. 928s were automatics.

Lot 484, 1969 Pontiac Grand Prix, five-digit odometer shows 18,352. Bright blue metallic paint, white vinyl top, white interior with buckets, center console, floor shift. Factory alloys with whitewall tires.

SOLD for $21,500. This was the first year of the downsized “personal luxury” Grand Prix with the six-foot-long hood. This car was in decent shape, and price seemed fair for the condition.

Lot 421, 1962 Dodge Polara convertible, five-digit odometer shows 00396. Cream paint, white top, two-tone white and violet interior with power windows. 361 V8, push button automatic.

SOLD for $23,000. When I was a kid, I thought that the ’62 Dodges were ugly, and in the ensuing decades, that opinion has not changed much. However, this car’s outstanding condition made up somewhat for its unfortunate styling. Rare, and worth it for the diehard Mopar fan.

Lot 495, 1963 Mercury Marauder two-door hardtop, 390 V8, automatic, white with black vinyl top and black interior, factory wheel covers, whitewall tires. Five-digit odometer showed 70,349 miles.

SOLD for $23,500. I thought this was one of the nicest cars at the auction. May have been restored, or may have been a well-preserved original. Rare full-size performance car, sure to be a hit at any car show.