Photo credit: Bonhams, RM Sotheby’s, Tom Gidden, Tim Scott
It is the most glamorous event of the year. No, I am not talking about Paris fashion week or even the Ascot racecourse. Because here, we talk about cars, and if the conversation turns to historic GPs, then Monaco is incomparable anywhere in the world.
Very close to the track, two auction houses were ready to race: Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s.
Bonhams was more cautious: 35 cars on offer and just 14 without reserve (40%) for a total of €14,980,000 ($15,710,125). With 26 sales and €11,522,575 ($12,004,794) in takings, they managed to reach €443,176 ($461,722) per car.
RM instead brought 64 cars, of which 11 without reserve (17.19%) for an estimated value of €39,445,000 ($41,367,500) and sold 47 (75%) for a total of €30,467,213 ($32,095,076), allowing them to conclude the day with an average price of €634,734 ($668,647).
This week, given the context, I want to focus on competition models. First, however, a quick mention of the top lots that did not shine: the 1927 Bugatti Type 35B offered by Bonhams, with an estimate of €2m-€3m ran out of track at €1.8 million but, after the auction, was sold at the minimum estimate: €2,000,000 ($2,097,500).
The 1953 Ferrari 340MM offered by RM fared even worse: various dealers have proposed this car for a while now without success, and those who could spend somewhere in the region of €6m-€8m were already aware of the car. It stopped at €4.8 million ($5m), a number too far from its target to close after the event.
The rest of the story was completely different: in fact, many sellers came away from the auction with pockets swollen with money and a smile stamped on their faces. One above all: Nigel Mansell.
At RM, the British driver brought his collection of single seaters, among which two Formula 1 cars driven by him in the golden era really stood out. The Ferrari 640 F1 from 1989 was the first Formula 1 to abandon the clutch with the gearbox mounted on the electro-hydraulic steering wheel and which helped Mansell win the Brazilian GP on its debut. Estimated at €2.5m-€5m, the car sold for €3,605,000 ($3,780,700).
On the other side of the rostrum (where the auctioneer calls the offers), the Williams FW14 that won 5 Grand Prix races during the 1991 season with Mansell behind the wheel, but was also famous for “giving a ride” to Ayrton Senna, who remained on foot after his McLaren abandoned him during the British GP. Offered at €1.5m-€3m, it changed hands for €4,055,000 ($4,252,640).
And now I’ll reveal a pleasant secret: these two sales literally split the TCCT team in two. There were those who gave more value to Ferrari for its victories and records, and those who argued that Williams should rightly bask in the emotional impact of the photo of Senna and Mansell together printed proudly on the cover of the catalogue.
I will admit to belonging to the second group, because I remembered that Senna’s McLaren, in the 2018 auction, here in Monaco, was sold for a stratospheric amount (almost €5 million). Who knows if the buyer of these two cars is the same collector…?
Bonhams also had a couple of F1s up for grabs: the 1999 Williams-Supertech FW21 driven by Alex Zanardi, a non-winning car that hasn’t been used in anger for 15 years. But even here, the emotional factor played an important role: it had raced at the Monte Carlo GP where it finished eighth, and buying it right here certainly added value.) The modest estimate of €100,000-€150,000 was literally torn to pieces when the hammer dropped at €362,250 ($379,905).
Of the many racing cars, the only one that sold without too much fanfare – and certainly a good deal for the buyer – was the 1969 Alfa Romeo 33/3. This was my favourite car from both auctions, starring in the 1970 edition of Le Mans where it was in second position before having to retire, restored between 2013 and 2020 (at a cost of £700,000) and with entry already approved for this year’s Le Mans Classic. Estimated at €1.7-€2.1m, it was sold for €1,636,250 ($1,716,000). Maybe they should have organized the sale at Le Mans!
