Broad Arrow at Villa Erba: Veni, Vidi, Vici
07 June 2025 3 min read 9 images
Photo credit: Broad Arrow Auctions
I admit it — I was among the 8,000 enthusiasts who watched Broad Arrow’s Villa Erba auction on YouTube. Broad Arrow, which belongs to Hagerty, has established itself among the top international auction houses in just a few short years. However, it had never ventured into Europe before — a market that isn’t always easy. Italy in particular has often proven difficult. That said, the sale took place during “Como Car Week”, which originally was just the Villa d’Este Concours but has since expanded into a series of side events that now make it a must-attend. And so Broad Arrow pitched BMW, the organizer of the Villa d’Este Concours, with the idea of holding an annual auction — compared to RM’s biennial schedule — and made its European debut with genuine success. The auction spanned two days: the first dedicated solely to BMWs, the second to all other cars, for a total of 68 vehicles offered — 25 of which were without reserve. The nearly €45 million in estimates (€44,665,000) turned into a solid harvest for the American house: 49 cars sold, a healthy 72.05% sell-through rate, and €28,998,225 in sales (to which a couple of post-auction sales and automobilia must be added, pushing the total above €31 million).
The car that undoubtedly stole the show was the 1948 Ferrari 166 Sport Corsa by Ansaloni. The car was incredible: likely the oldest original Ferrari in existence, chassis number 004C (recall that until the mid-1980s, even-numbered chassis were for racing cars and odd-numbered were for road cars), making it the second Ferrari ever built. It was sold to the Besana brothers, confectionery industrialists and the very first clients of the newly born carmaker. It finished sixth in the 1948 Targa Florio, participated in the Mille Miglia in 1948 and again the following year, remained in the same family for over fifty years, and had never been offered publicly. In the case of the world’s oldest Ferrari, objectivity goes out the window. Even though these early cars are no longer particularly trendy, the €5.5–7.5 million estimate was a bold bet. In the room, a bidding war erupted and two determined bidders exchanged over 30 rounds before one finally triumphed with a winning bid of €7,543,750. A truly emotional moment — even for Broad Arrow, making its European debut.
Less thrilling was the 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C Speciale Teardrop Coupé. With bodywork by Figoni & Falaschi, Villa d’Este was its natural environment — more elegant than sporty, though this very car did win the 1948 24 Hours of Spa. A unique example, originally sold by Luigi Chinetti for 165,000 French francs — a fortune at the time. After the untimely death of its owner John O’Quinn, it was sold at Monterey auctions for $4,620,000. Since then, it remained in the same hands and came to auction with an estimate of €4.5–6.5 million without reserve. However, as the market has shifted over the past 15 years, bidding stalled at €3,606,250. Interestingly, this seems like a drop, but at the August 2010 exchange rate, those $4.62 million equaled €3.617 million — so in reality, the price barely moved.
Speaking of shifting perspectives, a telling case was the 1989 Ferrari F40 “Competizione”. Originally built as a road car, it was converted in the late 1990s for British GT Championship racing, inspired by the F40 LM. That means 35% more power — but a loss of originality. Offered with an estimate of €2.3–2.8 million, it just barely reached the low end at €2,312,500. For comparison, just a few days earlier at RM’s auction, a standard example with 17,300 km (not exactly low mileage for the model), certified by Ferrari Classiche, fetched half a million more at €2,817,500.
Speaking of comparisons, the one I was most curious about involved two McLaren MP4-12Cs. Both from 2012, one in Volcano Red and the other in Elite Pearl White. The red car had 8,938 km, while the white had clocked 12,438 km. But more importantly, the red car belonged to Lewis Hamilton, and the white one to Jenson Button. Somewhat cynically, the two lots were placed sequentially so that the only real difference was the fame of the previous owner.
The bets among friends were on, and everyone assumed Hamilton’s would take the lead — as did the auction house, which estimated it at €175,000–225,000, well above the €125,000–150,000 estimate (no reserve) for Button’s. And so it went—but the real surprise was the slim difference: just €161,000 for the red one, compared to €126,500 for the white.
Of a completely different caliber was the result achieved by the 2003 Honda NSX-R. Broad Arrow already has a great track record with NSXs; they hold the current world record — a 1995 first-series car sold for $632,000 a couple of years ago — and also sold the second most expensive “R”. At Villa d’Este, they brought another rarity: a second-generation (NA2, for fans) of which only 140 units were made, all in white with black roofs. This example had just 16,000 km on the clock, and the estimate was ambitious: €750,000–950,000. Yet bidders understood the valuation wasn’t far-fetched, and offers poured in until it hit €934,375. At that price, it becomes the only Japanese road car (other than the legendary Toyota 2000 GT) to reach the million-dollar mark. As someone once said: “the land of the rising sun”.
The true bargain was the very first lot of the first day. As mentioned, the first day was entirely dedicated to the German marque, and Lot 1 was the 1982 BMW 635 CSi “The Observer Coupé”. Starting from a standard 635 CSi, Mike Gibbs — with the support of BMW UK and The Observer newspaper — developed a coupé-cabriolet with a retractable glass roof that turned the coupé into a convertible. A feature that predated today’s solutions by years. Probably due to reliability issues, the roof was eventually fixed in place, but it remains a documented, one-off example with just 19,000 miles. Considering that, the €40,000–50,000 estimate (no reserve) seemed reasonable, but perhaps because of its position in the lineup or concerns over the cost of restoring the coupé-cabriolet feature, bidding stalled at €16,100.
Anyone familiar with my passion for the winged marque Lagonda would have easily guessed that my favorite car of the auction was the 1939 V12 Rapide James Young DHC, which sold for €568,750 — but there were other thunderbolts too, like the 1966 Fiat-Abarth 1300 OT. Maybe I’m the only one who sees styling cues from the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale in this model, but beyond that, its story stood out: class winner at the 1967 Targa Florio, it also participated in 1968 and 1969, formerly owned by Vincenzo Osella (founder of the eponymous racing brand), and in the same family since 1988 — who had abandoned it. Yes, it was a barn find of a highly significant car! Experts suggested restoring it, but I would have only refreshed the mechanics and left the layers of dust intact. Estimated at €400,000–450,000, it sold for €394,375.
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