Artcurial and Bonhams on track in Monaco: The winner and the loser
18 May 2024 12 min read 4 images
Photo credit: Artcurial, Bonhams
The Monaco Grand Prix Historique transformed the event into an opportunity for auction houses. On the starting lineup this year were as many as three heavy hitters: Artcurial, Bonhams and RM Sotheby's. To start with a few numbers: Artcurial offered 44 cars, which were all unreserved and from the same Swedish collection. They expected to obtain 32,620,000 and ultimately the forecast barely deviated: €29,764,368 (basically an 8% difference).
A spectacular venue, a magnificent day and a lineup of very interesting cars were not enough for Bonhams: The perfect auction, however, did not come to fruition. 60% of the 50 cars went through but compared to an estimated €15,505,000, only €5,720,418 were achieved. Presumably Bonhams exaggerated the sales: 4 auctions within a period of five weeks resulted in a negative record. You can read more about RM next week.
Since Artcurial already took place on Thursday the 9th, let's start off with an overview of the most interesting cars. The crown jewels of this collection were a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB and a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Spider California LWB both were Ferrari Classiche. The coupé was presented in a magnificent Blu Tigullio, the California had streamlined headlights, a magnificent color (dark gray with tobacco interior) and a restoration done by the best Italian craftsmen. However, there was a problem with the engine: Reprinted as Ferrari and redone using almost all the original parts, it was not up to the level of the rest.
However, the estimate of the 250 GT SWB at €8,500,000-12,500,000 seemed far-fetched and equally high was the estimate of the California with €7,000,000-10,000,000. The €5,477,200 paid for the Coupè and €5,134,000 for the Spider turned out to be far off and rather high.
If we looked only at the top lots we would be misguided since the prices of all other lots proved to be sustained. The 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB, for instance, which was not a rare 275 GTB/4, did not have aluminum bodywork or the famous six-carburetor battery. It was originally silver with Connolly blue interior but it was presented at auction in red with black interior, certified by Ferrari Classiche and estimated at €1.9-2.5 million. It seemed like a utopia, but instead it closed at €2,102,400.
A positive revival for Porsche, which has recently been a bit slumbering: The 1983 Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet with only 35,224 km, in excellent condition, with only a few previous owners and white with black interior was estimated at €70,000-110,000. It sold for €110,856 and thereby reshaped the market, shattering the previous record of €75,000.
Next, a 1989 Porsche 964 Carrera 4 Coupe, one of the less desirable 964s, was literally flying. With a sunroof, 65,000 km and a red color with a beige interior that made it look a bit like a Ferrari, it was estimated at €45,000-65,000 and it quickly got sold for €107,280. Another genuine record.
This was followed by a 1997 993 Carrera S, one of the most sought-after, which also turned out to be a fabulous result for the owners. Rare and in a special color, Vesuvio Grey, which despite the name looks more like a dark purple, it had 58,400 km and the X51 engine, the most powerful 300 bhp. In addition it featured numerous Porsche Exclusive accessories. The estimate of just €80,000-120,000 seemed strange. Not even the market understood it and in fact it closed at €220,520, which is almost triple and therefore a new world record for a physical auction.
At Bonhams all eyes were on the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Drogo. The reason for this is because this car is considered to be a complicated car: Created in 1960 as the Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Pininfarina, it was completely rebuilt in 1966 by Drogo after an accident. On the one hand, it was a car that was never produced before by Ferrari and "created" in terms of design after the accident. Therefore, it could not be certified by Ferrari Classiche. On the other hand, a one-off documented with regard to every screw. Was the estimate of €2.5-3 million too high or too low? It was a matter of whether the "purists" or the "users" would win. Bidding stopped at €2 million and it went unsold. The purists won because the car would be of rather limited use.
We now move on to the 1956 Maserati A6G/2000 Allemano GT, a unique one-off with a non-original engine that belonged to the Rosso Bianco collection (1988-2004) and Peter Louwman (2004-2006). In 2006 Louwman sold it for €144,000 and in 2013 it was presented at auction with an estimate of €425,000-500,000 but remained unsold. Close to ten years later it resurfaced with an estimate of €825,000-925,000 and got sold for €931,500, which was above the maximum estimate and therefore a top lot for Bonhams.
As the Porsche 911s rocked the top estimates at Artcurial, the results at Bonhams were not too bad either. In this case it was a 1992 "amethyst-colored" 964 Carrera 2 Cabriolet with the beautiful enlarged rear fenders known among the brand's initiates as Works Turbo Look. The estimate of €125,000-150,000 was also more than correct because it had 113,000 km and several previous owners. It closed at €218,500, which is a new record for this model.
The Forumla 1 cars both disappointed and amazed. While the single-seater cars competed within striking distance, the sales remained "in the pits" at the auction venue. A total of four Formula 1 cars were offered by Bonhams. The 2002 Toyota TF102 driven on the track by Mika Salo remained below estimate at €292,000 against the initial €300,000-400,000 and the 2010 Force India VJM03 driven by Adrian Sutil during the Belgian GP when he finished fifth was offered without reserve. Estimated at €150,000-200,000, it stopped at €103,500.
Incomprehensible that the two most important F1 cars remained unsold. The 1957 Lotus Type 12 was not only the car with which Graham Hill debuted in the top formula, but also the first F1 produced by Lotus. With a history like that, what was €290,000-390,000? Too much for this time: The bidding stopped at €260,000. Perhaps worse was the failed sale of the 1978 Tyrrell-Cosworth 008 F1 piloted by Patrick Depailler which was victorious at the 1978 Monaco GP. Ready for a new success in the Principality, it was estimated at €1,100,000-1,400,000 and stopped at €940,000.
CLASSIC CAR MATCHER