RM Sotheby’s Concludes Most Succesful London Auction Ever With Outstanding £27.2 Million Sale

M Sotheby’s returned to London for its annual sale in the capital city and concluded its best-ever result with the 16th-anniversary sale of its oldest European yearly auction fixture. The sale grossed £27,264,325, with 83% of all lots sold to bidders representing 35 countries.

The sale was led by the astonishing Gran Turismo Collection, featuring some of the most desirable supercars and rally cars of the past 50 years, from marques such as Ferrari, Bugatti, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lancia, and Audi, forming part of the single-day sale, which boasted 53 great lots.

 The Gran Turismo Collection

The Gran Turismo Collection comprised 18 remarkable cars, the highlight of which was the 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, the ultimate variant of the Chiron and one of only 30 ever produced. The fastest of all the Chiron versions, capable of 304 mph, the example sold had only covered 1,416 miles and achieved £4,195,625.

The collection also featured some of the most desirable Ferrari supercars ever produced. It was the 1991 Ferrari F40, the 2003 Ferrari Enzo, and the 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari, which proved to be the biggest Maranello stars of the night.

The three cars sold for £1,411,250, £1,917,500, and £1,973,750, respectively. The oldest car in the collection, but by no means the least glamorous, was the 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV by Bertone, which brought an excellent £2,058,125.

The collection also featured three stunning Group B rally cars, all boasting incredible provenance. The 1982 Lancia 037 Group B Works Evolution 1 rally car was driven by rally superstars Markku Alén and Walter Röhrl, selling for £1,045,625, while the other Lancia in the trio, the 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Group B Works, which won the 1986 Rallye Monte Carlo in the hands of Finnish rally legend Henri Toivonen, sold for £1,636,250.

Completing the lineup was the 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2 Group B Works, a highly significant example driven by World Rally Champion Hannu Mikkola for the 1985 RAC Rally, which sold for £1,805,000. All three cars represent auction record prices for such models.

Other Highlights

 A car that garnered a lot of pre-sale interest was the incredible 1990 Ferrari Testarossa Pininfarina Spider ‘Special Production’, one of a small number of unique production cars built by Pininfarina for essential clients. The example offered was unregistered with less than 500 km and sold for an excellent £1,467,500.

‘The Freddie Effect’ brings a fantastic result for charity – RM Sotheby’s was delighted to sell Freddie Mercury’s personal 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, which turned out to produce one of the night’s most remarkable results.

The car was owned by Mercury from 1979 to his untimely death in 1991, then passed to his sister, who retained the car for many years. Sold to benefit the charity Superhumans of Ukraine, raising funds to help build a brand-new hospital in the Lviv province of Ukraine, the car brought an astonishing £286,250 against a pre-sale estimate of £20,000-£30,000, with all proceeds going to charity.

Top Ten Lots  

2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+		£4,195,625
1971 Lamborghini Miura SV by Bertone		£2,058,125
2014 Ferrari LaFerrari		£1,973,750
2003 Ferrari Enzo		£1,917,500
1985 Audi Sport quattro S1 E2 Group B Works		£1,805,000
1985 Lancia Delta S4 Group B Works		£1,636,250
1990 Ferrari Testarossa Pininfarina Spider ‘Special Production’		£1,467,500
1993 Bugatti EB110 GT		£1,411,250
1991 Ferrari F40		£1,411,250
2011 Ferrari 599 SA Aperta		£1,085,000

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