RM Sotheby’s held the third Auctioneer to take on the tidal waves of Rétromobile, one best classic car shows in the world. Similarly to Bonhams, they also conducted their business outside the premises of the show. Sotheby’s however moved to a tent on the other side of the river Seine, with an incredible set of cars.
A week earlier, the tent served as a venue for the supercar exhibition, traditionally organised for the fashion week. The highlights of RM Sotheby’s included a diverse single-owner collection of 21 iconic automobiles from multiple decades. Dubbed the Poster Car Collection, it ranged from an iconic pre-war 1937 SS 100 Jaguar 3½-Litre Roadster to revered sports cars from the 1950s and ’60s and sought-after supercars from the 1990s.
Beyond this collection, the lots offered exceptional treats for fans of all epochs and budget sizes. From posters to poster cars and from pre-war roadsters to recent hypercars, everybody could find the object of their desires.
Like the other two auctioneers, RM Sotheby’s also reported a successful night in Paris. Their seventh annual sale during the Rétromobile week amassed over 16.5 million euros in sales. This ranks RM Sotheby’s at third place in total sales, but the lots included some of the most spectacular cars of the auction week. Below I will give a few impressions of my favourite cars of the auction.
The star lot of the Poster Car Collection was arguably the white 1958 BMW 507 Series II. Sotheby’s noted high pre-auction interest confirmed by the absence of any moment without somebody inspecting it. In the end, the beautifully restored roadster changed hands for an outstanding €1,996,250,
The much-lauded Poster Car Collection was a stand-out feature of RM Sotheby’s sale. All-but-one of the 21 cars found new homes led by the sale’s top-selling BMW 507 Roadster Series II and Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing.
The entire collection grossed €6,437,459, exceeding pre-sale low estimate for all cars.
Other stand-out sales from the grouping included a 1992 Jaguar XJ220 at €398,750, a 1967 Iso Grifo GL Series I reaching €275,000 and a 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS restoration project bought for €263,750.
Another high flyer was a 1964 Porsche 904 GTS sold for €1,917,500, a beautiful two-seat dual-purpose sports racing car, retaining its original engine and gearbox.
Among the pre-war cars, my favourite was a 1939 Delahaye 135 Roadster with a body designed by the legendary French coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi.
The car made it to the top 10 items, with a sales price of €455,000, while the bicolour 1946 Delahaye went slightly above €375.000.
Next to them on the podium, the red Chapron version seemed almost like a steal, taken for €32.200. Whereby the catalogue laid emphasis on its “original” state, suggesting some work to be done before driving…
Mercedes cars were performing well at Sotheby’s Parris auction. The 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing with a fascinating competition history settled on €1.07m and a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster was bought for €764,375.
The third Swabian car was an impressive Mercedes limo, a Mercedes-Benz 600 5 door Pullman. One of the world’s most advanced automobiles of its time, the 600 featured a hydraulic system that powered nearly everything in the car, including a self-levelling air suspension.
One of the rarest versions was the 600 Pullman, a limousine that was built in a modest quantity of 428 examples. Sold new in California in 1973, it remained in the US until 2002 when it was exported and was lent to be showcased in the Mercedes-Benz World in the UK.
By 2012, the car was sold to a Romanian collector who commissioned Kienle Automobiltechnik to conduct restoration. The car definitely needed further work, making the €200.000 price range was more than adequate.
The red 1963 Maserati Sebring 3500 GTi Series I designed by Vignale was another favourite of mine, sold for €138.000 slightly under the estimate. This specimen is one of only 35 RHD specification cars of the first series.
It was fitted with Maserati’s fuel-injected 3.5-litre inline six-cylinder engine and ZF five-speed transmission. A bare-metal restoration was performed in 2013, restoring it to its original colour scheme of Rosso Cordoba with white leather, as well as a complete mechanical overhaul. It is what you can call showroom shine, and it certainly left me speechless.
Demonstrating the varied segments of the offering by RM Sotheby’s, a 2012 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport was the third-highest value sale of the night, bringing in a final €1.52 million. The French hypercar is one of only 48 Super Sport models ever produced and was offered for sale with a characterful colour combination, and numerous optional with only 4,000km.
The most striking and also the expensive new car of the event was a 2015 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. Lamborghini unveiled the Veneno at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary.
The designers at the Centro Stile Lamborghini pushed design to its limits, and the Veneno was equipped with Lamborghini’s naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V-12 engine tuned to produce a whopping 750 bhp. Only four Venenos produced, but one retained by Lamborghini and showcased at the factory museum during my visit.
The Lamborghini Museum is an obligatory automotive pilgrimage site
The following year a roadster version of the Veneno was announced in a setting equally as thrilling, onboard the Italian Navy’s aircraft carrier Cavour docked in Abu Dhabi in 2014.
The Veneno roadster retains the technical platform and with 1,490 kg, a power-to-weight ratio of just 1.99 kilograms per horsepower. This concrete car was the second to leave the factory, and it was bought from the first owner by a member of the House of Saud, the royal family of Saudi Arabia. Finished in a Matte Black over an interior trimmed in a striking lime green paired with black leather, the car also boasts lime-green pinstriping on the exterior. With only 450km accumulated, the Veneno Roadster is set to be a future classic and undoubtedly one of the most desirable Lamborghinis ever built. It would be a centrepiece of any collection of 21st-century hypercars. Maybe due to the impressive price (estimated at about €5.000.000), the car remained in the lot.
Nevertheless, the Veneno was only the second most expensive estimate, as the first place would go for the 1955 Jaguar D-Type.
The unsold cars remained available for bids for a few more weeks, thus I recommend to visit the web page covering the Auction on RM Sotheby’s’ website.
For the introduction to the Rétromobile event and links to the detailed impressions, please visit the main article:
