RM Sotheby's Auction in Dubai: Different Country, Top Lot Found

It doesn’t feel like five years have passed — it feels like much more! On November 30, 2019, during the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, RM held its first auction in the Middle East. The results were disappointing, prompting the renowned auction house to withdraw for nearly five years. However, this year, RM returned to Dubai with two auctions, and this time, the results aligned with expectations. In truth, the Emirati collecting scene has changed significantly: in the past five years, Dubai has hosted the Mille Miglia Experience UAE, starting in Dubai, and Abu Dhabi has welcomed the Cavallino Classic Middle East — both world-class events. The numbers from the latest auction were encouraging: 41 cars offered, with 30 sold, translating to a strong 73.17%. The estimated value was an impressive $33,710,000, and the final sales totaled an extraordinary $27,822,825 — almost 83% of the estimate. The average price of $928,428 highlighted a strong focus on the high-end market, though prices may take time to stabilize.

Strangely, as in 2019, in 2024 the most expensive car was also a Pagani. This year it was a 2014 Pagani Zonda LM Roadster. It was part of the customization program, or rather "unicization", called "Grandi Complicazioni" (a name that says it all), made almost entirely of carbon and had only covered 9,604 km. The current record for the model was set by a Zonda Aether sold in Abu Dhabi (in 2019), a 2017 Zonda Aether auctioned for $6,812,500. Five years later, the LM Roadster offered this time by RM came to auction with an estimate "exceeding $12,000,000", effectively doubling the model's valuation in a lustrum. Even though it didn’t reach that amount, it still went for $11,086,250, thus becoming the most expensive road car of the 21st century ever sold at auction.