Market Intelligence
Bonhams. North Star or seafarer’s deception?
Bonhams achieved a near-doubling of last year's results, with €19.4m made from car sales at the Grand Palais auction. One reason for the success was the flexibility of the sellers, as demonstrated by the sale of the 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for €1.03m after the auction. The sale also included a high proportion of pre-war cars, with eight of the 12 most expensive vehicles sold dating from before World War II. The top lot was a Bugatti Type 55 Super Sport with Figoni bodywork, which sold for €4.6m, while second place went to a 1931 Invicta 4.5 litre S-Type Low Chassis that sold for €1.61m.
With €19,405,749 taken from the cars alone, Bonhams all but doubled last year's results (when the total stopped at €11.1 million) and it was the second-best result of all time. What was the “magic” recipe?
First of all, the flexibility of the seller, at least for what concerns the most important lots.
Take for example the 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster. The day before at RM, a specimen had been awarded for €764,000. At Bonhams there was one with disc brakes and an aluminium cylinder block (in addition to the very rare hardtop); experience says that these two characteristics add some 30% to the value of a normal one, meaning the car should have gone for around €993,000, and not for the estimate of €1.3-1.5 million as reported in the catalogue. What happened? Unsold at €920,000. But it didn't end there as Bonhams' experts took advantage of the seller's flexibility to close the deal after the auction at €1,033,333.
