Q4 2023 - auction highlights
4 January, 2024
RM Sotheby’s set a new record for the most expensive Ferrari sold at auction with a 1962 330 LM/250 GTO changing hands for $51,705,000 as part of Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Art sales in November. The figure catapulted it to the second highest price ever achieved by any car at auction, behind RM’s 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé that made €135 million in 2022.
[ RM Sotheby’s GTO Sale – auction result here ]
An ex-Lewis Hamilton 2013 Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 W04 delivered another auction record for RM at its Las Vegas sale, the Hungarian Grand Prix winner becoming the most valuable modern F1 car when it sold for $18,815,000 (estimate $10,000,000 – 15,000,000). Other stand-out results included a 170km 2002 Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Roadster at $10,235,000 (estimate $10,500,000 – 13,000,000), and a 143-mile 2012 Lexus LFA Nürburgring Package, one of only 25 delivered to the US, fetching a benchmark $1,875,000 (estimate $1,800,000 – 2,400,000). RM posted a $59.7 million sale total and an 89.7% sell-through rate
[ RM Sotheby’s Las Vegas Sale – auction results here ]
RM was back making headlines in December, establishing five new auction records with the single-owner White Collection in Houston which raised $30.5 million. Among them, its 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach, unused with only 12 delivery miles, made an estimate-busting $3,937,500 (estimate $2,500,000 – 3,000,000) – nearly $2 million more than the previous high; a 2016 Porsche 911 R with a similar mileage drew $1,105,000 (estimate $700,000 – 800,000), another sizeable increase over the previous best; and a 2019 Porsche 911 GT2 RS Weissach with more than $300,000 in options and very few miles took $1,006,000 (estimate $700,000 – 900,000).
[ RM Sotheby’s White Collection Sale – auction results here ]
One of the two Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Editions used in the film The Wolf of Wall Street crossed the block at RM’s final US sale of the year, bringing $1,655,000 (estimate $1,500,000 – 2,000,000). Although it wasn’t the hero car which was extensively damaged during the infamous crash scene, it was used for driving sequences and close up shots, and its film-star credentials returned double what an ‘ordinary’ example would fetch.
[ RM Sotheby’s New York Sale – auction results here ]
A 35-lot boutique sale hosted by Bonhams at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November saw an ex-Kimi Raikkonen 2006 McLaren-Mercedes MP4/21 head the results, selling for $2,760,000 (estimate $2,500,000 – 3,500,000).
[ Bonhams Abu Dhabi Sale – auction results here ]
Bonhams’ annual excursion to Knokke-Heist in Belgium found a new home for a restored 1959 Ferrari 250 GT TdF with period competition history at €4,830,000 – just short of its lower estimate. Supercars that required recommissioning, having formed part of a collection in the Middle East, included a 395-km one-owner 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder that achieved €1,173,000 (estimate €600,000 – 900,000), and a two-owner 1994 Bugatti EB110 GT with 7,102km at €1,150,000 (estimate €800,000 – 1,200,000).
[ Bonhams Zoute Sale – auction results here ]
A 1973 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider was the top performer at RM Sotheby’s Munich sale, comfortably exceeding its €2,350,000 – 2,650,000 estimate at €3,098,750, while the even rarer unregistered 2023 BMW 3.0 CSL, one of only 50 produced, didn’t disappoint on home ground, selling for a mid-estimate €1,017,500.
[ RM Sotheby’s Munich Sale – auction results here ]
Aguttes successfully hammered away a 1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 for €288,240 (estimate €270,000 – 320,000) at its Peugeot Citroën DS Adventure Sale in Sochaux, France. A 1981 Peugeot 504 Cabriolet that had remained with its original owner from new was offered in time-warp condition with just 17,000km. One of only three ‘luxury-spec’ cabriolets built by Pininfarina, it brought its upper estimate €59,640.
[ Aguttes’ Peugeot Citroën DS Adventure Sale – auction results here ]
Highlights among the UK auctions included an unused 1986 Ford RS200 Evolution, one of only four right-hand drive examples, selling for £486,000 (estimate £500,000 – 700,000) at Iconic Auctioneers’ NEC Classic Motor Show sale. RM Sotheby’s London sale found a buyer at £2,226,875 (estimate £2,100,000 – 2,700,000) for its 1994 Ferrari 512 TR Spider. H&H closed the year with a change of owner for the ex-Patsy Burt 1954 Jaguar XK 120 Fixed Head Coupe (£111,375), and US registered left-hand-drive 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster that had been the subject of a nut-and-bolt restoration some 20 years ago went for £1,065,000 (estimate £875,000 – 950,000) at Historics’ November sale.
[ Iconic’ NEC Classic Motor Show Sale – auction results here ]
[ RM Sotheby’s London Sale – auction results here ]
[ H&H Buxton Sale – auction results here ]
[ Historics’ November Sale – auction results here ]
Classic car auction results and prices for: Ferrari | Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-Benz | Lexus | Porsche | Lamborghini | McLaren | Bugatti | BMW | Peugeot | Ford | Jaguar
From leading auction houses: RM Sotheby’s | Bonhams | Aguttes | Iconic Auctioneers | H&H Classics | Historics
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