Q3 2023 - auction highlights
9 October, 2023
Bonhams took the bragging rights for the top price at Monterey Car Week in August when its 1967 Ferrari 412P with Le Mans history made $30,255,000, setting the benchmark for the year and helping Bonhams achieve a $55 million sale total.
[ Bonhams Monterey Sale – auction results here ]
A 1957 Jaguar XKSS was the star performer at RM Sotheby’s three-day Monterey auction, changing hands for a mid-estimate $13,205,000. RM’s single-owner barn find collection of Ferraris raised over $16.5 million, many smashing their pre-sale estimates, including a 1965 275 GTB/6C Alloy at $3,305,000 (estimate $2,000,000 – 2,500,000); a 1956 410 Superamerica Coupe Series I at $2,810,000 (estimate $1,600,000 – 2,200,000); and a 1954 500 Mondial – untouched since being crashed and suffering a fire in the mid-1960s – at $1,875,000 (estimate $1,200,000 – 1,600,000). RM reported an 86% sell-through rate and total sales of $164 million.
[ RM Sotheby’s Monterey Sale – auction results here ]
Gooding & Company’s headline car didn’t disappoint at Monterey, the unrestored 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB that had been owned by the respected Ferrari collector Guilio Dubbini for 18 years sold for $9,465,000 (estimate $9,000,000 – 11,000,000). Brass Era cars also brought strong results, Gooding posting over $95 million in total sales.
[ Gooding & Company Pebble Beach Sale – auction results here ]
Ferraris filled the top three results at Broad Arrow Auctions’ Monterey Jet Center sale, led by a European-spec 1995 F50 with under 11,500km at a mid-estimate $4,240,000; a 1985 288 GTO thought to have covered around 9,000km fetched $3,910,000 (estimate $4,250,000 – 4,750,000); and a recently restored 1965 250 GT/L sailed past its guide of $1,900,000 – 2,300,000, going for $2,810,000. Sales totalled $57.5 million with an 84% sell-through rate.
[ Broad Arrow Auctions Monterey Sale – auction results here ]
Artcurial held a single-lot sale in Paris for a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, a car that failed to sell at Rétromobile earlier in the year when it received a top bid of €20 million. One of only two examples without any period competition history, it was listed this time round at €13,500,000 – 20,000,000 and was hammered away at €15,771,200.
[ Artcurial Ferrari 250 LM Sale – auction result here ]
Bonhams returned to Goodwood for its 30th anniversary Festival of Speed sale in July, selling a unique 2007 Koenigsegg CCGT GT1 for £3,319,000 (estimate £3,000,000 – 4,000,000). Other success included a 1964 Aston Martin DB5, a stalled restoration project in a dismantled state, that drew £326,600 (estimate £220,000 – 300,000), while a 20,808-mile 1983 Lotus Esprit Turbo that had been owned by the consignor for 28 years realised £66,700, together with its cherished registration ‘W 28’ (estimate £60,000 – 70,000).
[ Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale – auction results here ]
Goodwood Revival two months later saw Bonhams back in action, a rare-to-auction concours-winning 1967 Toyota 2000GT returning the best result on the day at £799,000 (estimate £700,000 – 900,000). Bonhams’ catalogue cover star, an ex-Works 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 RSR that finished 4th at Le Mans, sold post-auction for £3,122,475 (estimate £3,750,000 – 5,750,000).
[ Bonhams Goodwood Revival Sale – auction results here ]
Iconic Auctioneers (formerly Silverstone Auctions) hosted its annual Classic Sale at Silverstone Festival, held over two days it was a pair of ex-Colin McRae Subarus that took the honours. The rally legend’s prototype 1998 Impreza 22B set a new auction record for the model at £480,500 (estimate £400,000 – 500,000), while his 1992 Legacy RS went for £414,500 (estimate £380,000 – 450,000). Another record was set for the brace of Ford Capris driven by Bodie and Doyle in The Professionals. Sold as a single lot they attracted a winning bid of £186,750 (estimate £200,000 – 230,000).
[ Iconic Auctioneers Silverstone Festival Sale – auction results here ]
Gooding & Company established a new world record for a production Jaguar E-Type at its London Auction that accompanied the Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Palace in September. Chassis 850004 was the first E-Type sold, and the fourth right-hand drive Roadster built, starting life as the personal car of Le Mans team manager Frank “Lofty” England, it found a new home at £911,250 (estimate £900,000 – 1,200,000).
[ Gooding & Company London Auction – sale results here ]
The 1984 Nürburgring Champions’ Cup marked the debut of Mercedes-Benz’s 190E 2.3-16 and the opening of the new GP-Strecke circuit with a race for 20 identical cars driven by past and present F1 Champions. Aryton Senna’s winning car went straight to the Mercedes-Benz Museum, while all the remaining 190Es except Niki Lauda’s second place car were converted back to their original spec. RM Sotheby’s offered the Lauda car in its ‘as raced’ configuration at their St. Moritz sale where it generated CHF308,750 (estimate CHF400,000 – 500,000), not unsurprisingly a new record for the model.
[ RM Sotheby’s St. Moritz Sale – auction results here ]
Classic car auction results and prices for: Ferrari | Jaguar | Koenigsegg | Toyota | Porsche | Subaru | Ford | Mercedes-Benz
From leading auction houses: Bonhams | RM Sotheby’s | Gooding & Company | Broad Arrow Auctions | Artcurial | Iconic Auctioneers
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