Impressive Results at Bonhams Goodwood Auction
20 July 2024 4 min read 10 images
Photo credit: Bonhams
There were many possibilites for the bidders at the Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed to be distracted. Were they distracted by the European football championship? Or by what was happening on the track? No, the bidders at the Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed were not distracted at all. The fear that the market would drop did not materialize. In fact, the numbers suggest that the market is slightly growing. It’s true that only 42 cars were sold out of 72 offered (58.33%), significantly less than the 62.34% in 2023, but it must be noted that the "no reserve" cars were less than half (11 vs. 23 last year).
And indeed, it went very well: despite offering slightly less in value (£16,813,000 vs. £17,196,000) in 2024, by the end of the auction, they managed to achieve a higher turnover: £10,916,625, nearly £800,000 over the £10,181,884 of 12 months ago. This also means a nice increase in the average price: from £212,123 to £259,920.
These results are also due to the new "market star", the star of Mercedes-Benz, which is currently shining brighter than usual, as confirmed by the sale of the Tom Scott collection. Eight Mercedes produced between the 1920s and the 1970s were all sold, and only one did not reach the minimum estimate. The first lot was a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet. Estimated at £180,000-260,000, it went for £299,000. Then came the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing. A fairly normal model, silver with a red interior, with an old restoration over 30 years ago but with Rudge wheels. The estimate, correctly in my opinion, of £950,000-1,100,000 was surpassed at £1,135,000.
The 1924 Mercedes (not Benz) 10/40/65hp ex-Rolf Meyer exceeded the estimate of £80,000-140,000 when the hammer fell at £149,500.
Even better was the 1968 Mercedes-Benz 280SL Pagoda: 13,250 miles not guaranteed but plausible given the condition, sold for £166,750, though estimated at £80,000-120,000.
But the highlight was the crown jewel of the collection: a 1928 Mercedes-Benz S-Type 36/220 Sports Tourer. If I could award car Oscars, this would win for best interior. An array of famous owners, a sporty body (never re-bodied), the aforementioned impeccably preserved interior, and the same owner since 1991. The estimate of £1,600,000-2,500,000 was correct but it is always difficult to evaluate special cars, and this one was really special. I was not surprised it did well, but at £2,871,000, I did not expect it.
Curiosity: after all these triumphs, a Morgan 4/4 from the collection remained: embarrassing, it did not reach the minimum estimate of £35,000, going for £28,750!
The sale that surprised me the most was a pre-war sports car: the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Spider Corto had a strange story: although listed in the catalog as “1932” and with the chassis number of a real 8C, it was clearly declared as a replica, produced in the 1990s by Jim Stokes. But if that seems odd, how about its participation in Amelia Island (2017) and even Pebble Beach (2013)? Magnificent but still a replica. The estimate was correctly leveled at £350,000-500,000, but the market bid up to £608,600. A very significant amount for a "parvenue."
If the pre-war cars did well, the youngtimer supercars struggled. A 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari with 1430 miles remained stuck at £2,450,000, failing to reach the estimate of £2,800,000-3,400,000, returning to the seller. The same fate befell a 1995 Porsche 993 GT2. Sold new in Japan, it had only covered 34,000 km, but this was not enough to push bids beyond £860,000, far from the £1,100,000-1,500,000 requested.
At Goodwood, like at Artcurial last week, Mercedes-Benz is up and Porsche is down. None of the nine Porsches reached the minimum estimate, and three (including the 993 GT2) were not sold. For the Porsche 911 3.3 Turbo Martini Edition, there might have been a “traffic jam”: of six produced, there were two, one from 1978 and one from 1979. The first (white), estimated at £200,000-300,000, slipped away for £189,750, while the other (black), despite a higher estimate (£240,000-280,000), reached a lower price of £184,000.
A record for an Italian: Fiat Dino 2400 Spider 1971 silver with black leather, not particularly beautiful but the rise in Dino "Ferrari" quotations must have boosted the Turin version. The estimate of £80,000-120,000 was slightly high but the price of £132,250 is the highest ever paid in Europe at an auction and the second most expensive ever.
A sigh of relief for Ferrari 308 owners. The GTSi is the least desired version among all 308s, and this LHD, red with black interior, from 1982, estimated at £40,000-50,000, went for £59,800.
And the car I would have taken home? The 1986 MG Metro 6R4 Gr.B Rally Car, in a red and white Belgian livery, owned by the famous Ian Donaldson, with a substantial but minor race history, and with the engine just overhauled. However, the room cooled off due to a doubt related to the two chassis numbers (one of which belonged to an MG Metro Turbo). A dilemma to solve that blocked it at £80,500 when the estimate was £150,000-200,000.
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