Market Intelligence
Three good reasons
The 2022 RM London auction performed well in comparison to last year's sale. Three key factors contributed to this success: the current state of the market, the “Gran Turismo Collection” effect, and the demand for "safe haven assets." The sale featured a record-breaking average price per car and a 76% success rate. Although the top lot was a 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, other cars performed similarly to those seen at Pebble Beach. Rally cars were of particular interest, including an Audi Quattro Sport S1 E2 and two Lancias: a 1985 Delta S4 Group B and the first example of the Lancia 037 in Evo 1 configuration from 1982. The collection also featured three Ferrari supercars, an F40, Enzo, and LaFerrari, which sold for lower prices than similar models due to their high mileage.
Three favourable circumstances make it impossible to make a serious comparison between last year’s RM auction in London and today’s: the first of these is the exceptional moment the market is currently enjoying. The second is the “Gran Turismo Collection” effect which represented three-quarters of the sale. The third is the widespread pursuit of “safe haven assets”, something easy to find in some of the finest production pieces from the 80s onwards, the ones that are now the most popular.
With 24 lots sold in 2021 (60% success) compared to 38 this year (76%), our premise gets off to a great start, and is confirmed by the turnover: twelve months ago RM took home £7,474,025 (€8,511,530) - against pre-auction estimates of £18,015,000 (€20,515,750), a measly 41%. Today, they netted £27,194,125 (€30,969,075) against estimates of £37,680,000 (€42,910,550), providing an excellent 72%. The average price per car more than doubled from £311,418 (€354,645) last year to £715,635 (€814,975), again setting a record for this auction.
