This 254-mile McLaren F1 could sell for over £20million
McLaren F1s don’t come up for sale very often. They’re hot property for so many reasons: they’re rare, celebrated as one of the greatest motorcars of all time, and they’re just about the definition of a blue-chip collector car in 2024.
They don’t transact these days for anything less than £10million. So this one, with just 254 miles on its odometer from new, that became the highest-priced McLaren F1 ever sold when it last came up for grabs in 2021, must have the potential to double that.
Chassis 029 has more than time capsule status to its credit. For a start, it’s presented in a unique colour way. Creighton Brown is named directly after the legendary joint owner of McLaren International, who joined the team with Ron Dennis back in the early 1980s and who was instrumental in the creation of McLaren Cars and the F1.
The car was originally delivered in Japan and comes complete with what is described as an ‘unbroken chain of provenance from new’. That means service records, ownership history and more. As you’d expect for a car that’s seen so little use, all the usual F1 accoutrement is present and correct, including the fitted luggage to match the Light Tan and Brazilian Brown cabin, FACOM tool chest and even the TAG Heuer watch.
We understand that every vehicle is unique, which is why our Agreed Valuation policies take the true value of your classic car into account.
Indeed, it is the mileage that is the huge draw that makes this F1 a real unicorn, with the last owner having covered just 14 miles in the three years since purchasing it. Now, it could be yours, when it hits the Sotheby’s Sealed auction block on 13th May. But with talk of a softening market for all collector cars and the comparative peak this car sold at last, will this F1 manage to surpass its 2021 sale price of $20,465,000? We’ll be excited to find out.
This car is up for sale with RM Sotheby’s Sealed.
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Scheckter Ferrari up for sale in Monaco
Scheckter Ferrari up for sale in Monaco
Jody Scheckter’s 1979 Ferrari 312 T4 will cross the block for an estimated €5,250,000 – €6,500,000 at RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale from 10th to 11th May.
Other highlights include a Kremer Racing Porsche 917, McLaren M23 and a McLaren Elva in a sale studded with motorsport and road car jewels.
The 312 T4 is one of a number of lots from the Jody Scheckter Collection and was Enzo Ferrari’s last F1 drivers’ championship-winning car. It won the Belgian, Monaco and Italian Grands Prix on the way to the constructors’ championship. This very chassis is the one that took the chequered flag at Monza to seal both titles.
Built by famed Italian designer Mauro Foghieri, the 312 was Ferrari’s first ground-effect car powered by a 3.0-litre flat-12 engine.
Bought by Scheckter in 1982, the car comes with its original bill of sale and is beautifully original, with heavily worn seat belts that are a testament to its success in the field. The car raced nine times in 1979 in total and has only ever been driven by Scheckter, including more recently at 2019’s Monza Grand Prix weekend.
We understand that every vehicle is unique, which is why our Agreed Valuation policies take the true value of your classic car into account.
Our next lot – a 1981 Porsche 917 K-81 – can claim similar pedigree to Scheckter’s Ferrari and is estimated to make €3,500,000 – €5,000,000.
In all, the 917 competed in just 23 world championship races, remarkably winning 15 of them before it was rendered ineligible in 1972. From there, the 917 secured consecutive titles in the 1972 and 1973 North American Can-Am Championships.
This particular 917 was built by Kremer Racing 12 years later after Group 6 regulations for the 1981 World Endurance Championship were relaxed. As a result, this car was the last 917 to race at Le Mans, with Bob Wollek, Xavier Lapeyre, and Guy Chasseuil behind the wheel.
Dubbed the 917 K-81, Kremer built the car to make the most of contemporary tyres and aerodynamics and had a Kremer-built aluminium space frame with additional triangulation reinforcement and thicker-gauge tubing to stiffen the chassis.
Nevertheless, short gearing and a draggy rear wing hampered the car’s qualifying run, and it could only manage 18th place on the grid. However, longer gears were installed for the race, with lead driver Wollek climbing to ninth overall. The car was retired after Lapeyre hit a kerb and broke an oil pipe, resulting in catastrophic engine damage.
The car’s second and final outing would prove more fruitful. It led at Brands Hatch during the final round of the 1981 World Endurance Championship – driven by Wollek and Henri Pescarolo – before suspension trouble forced it to retire on lap 52.
Since then, the car has competed in several show events, including the Le Mans Heritage Club Concours at the 2014 Le Mans Classic, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize.
With a rebuilt engine and a meticulous maintenance record, the Porsche 917 K-81 could be your entry ticket to a host of historic racing events.
Another car with a hefty price tag is this 1973 McLaren M23. Another lot from the Jody Scheckter Collection, it’s expected to fetch between €1,750,000 – €2,250,000.
Thought to be one of McLaren’s best Formula 1 designs, the M23 took the company’s first constructors’ championship in 1973 and two drivers’ championships in 1974 with Emerson Fittipaldi and 1976 with James Hunt.
Peter Revson used this car for much of the 1973 season, taking it to victory at the British Grand Prix. Entered into 63 races, it was part of McLaren’s factory collection before the Scheckter Collection bought it. The car is eligible for historic events, including the Monaco Historic.
Racing cars feature throughout the sale, covering a broad range of disciplines. Our picks include a 1991 Audi V8 quattro DTM car (€750,000 – €1,000,000), a 1998 Roock Racing Porsche 911 GT2 (€750,000 – €1,000,000), and a 1977 Tyrell P34 six-wheeler offered at no reserve.
The road car contingent is no less illustrious, spearheaded by a windscreen-less 2022 McLaren Elva that’s set to make between €1,100,000 and €1,500,000 – someone could make a steal, given that the car was originally bought for €1,515,301 back in 2022.
That’s particularly true as this car is chassis #001 of a production run of just 149 cars and comes with €90,000 worth of custom options, including Jet Black semi-aniline leather with contrast bronze embroidery and piping. One owner from new, it’s covered less than 5 miles.
Billed as McLaren’s most extreme road car – yes, it is a road car – the Elva weighs just 1,269kg and is powered by an 815PS (599kW) twin-turbocharged V8. As a result, it can go from 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds, 0-124mph in 6.8, and if the road rash doesn’t get you first – can hit 203 mph flat out.
That the McLaren makes our next lot – a 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS (€315,000 – €350,000), one of Porsche’s most hardcore road machines – look shy and retiring tells you all you need to know. While the GT3 is all about scalpel like finesse, the GT2 is a twin-turbocharged sledgehammer that harks back to a time when 911s had to be handled with kid gloves, and its all the more appealing for it.
Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.
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Mercedes SLR McLaren Stirling Moss leads Sotheby’s Dubai sale
Mercedes SLR McLaren Stirling Moss leads Sotheby’s Dubai sale
RM Sotheby’s Dubai auction is headlined by a 2009 Mercedes SLR McLaren Stirling Moss, expected to fetch between £2.4-£2.8million pounds.
Just 75 examples of the SLR were made to celebrate Moss’ 1955 Mille Miglia victory in a Mercedes SLR 300, setting an astonishing 99mph average speed as he went.
Losing the roof not only made the SLR look gorgeous, but it also shaves 200kg in weight and gives your ears front-row access to one of the hypercar world’s most distinctive engine notes with a deep V8 and supercharger backing whine. This example looks close to box fresh. Finished in crystal Antimon Grey over a Black and Anthracite leather interior and delivered new to Luxembourg before it moved to Dubai and has covered less than 10,000 miles since.
The 2016 Koenigsegg Agera RSR up for grabs at the same sale, guided for between £2.2-£2.7 million, is even rarer than the Mercedes – Koenigsegg built just three for the Japanese market. The most subtle of the trio (there’s also a white and a turquoise car), chassis number 7123, has a black exterior with red accents and a black leather interior. This car’s odometer has just ticked past 600 – yes, six hundred – miles.
That is a shame because, with 1,160PS from its twin-turbocharged V8 engine, the Agera has one of the most intoxicating driving experiences, mainly because RSR models get a T-top-opening roof.
The 2014 McLaren P1 set the tone for the modern, hybridised hypercar when it went on sale in 2013. Matching huge performance with an ability to travel silently on electric power for short distances, the P1 was soon joined by the electrified Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder. The McLaren’s performance figures are as savage today as they were then, getting from 0-62mph in 2.4 seconds, 0-124mph in 6.8 seconds and onto a 217mph top speed.
Finished in stunning Mercury Red, this P1 is competitively priced (£630,000-£790,000) because to function, it needs a new battery costing nearly £120,000. Gulp.
A Dubai sale wouldn’t be Dubai sales without a coachbuilt car like this Rolls Royce Silver Spectre Shooting Brake by Carat Duchatelet, guided to make £215,000-£255,000.
Offering luxury you and your spaniel can enjoy, the Rolls Royce’s sweeping estate-style roofline comes courtesy of a huge piece of carbon fibre bodywork that sweeps from the A-pillar to the back of the car. It’s even more of a masterpiece on the inside, where the car’s ‘infinity scape’ headlining is supposed to mimic the fading of a distant galaxy.
More than 2,500 man-hours went into the car which was designed by Neils van Roij, the Dutch designer responsible for the Ferrari Breadvan Hommage’ and Range Rover Adventum Coupe’.
This 2018 Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet looks as at home on the dunes as the sand itself and is one of just 99 examples made, guided to cost £550,000-£650,000.
The first 4×4 to wear the Maybach name, this last hurrah to the W463 G Wagon features an elongated wheelbase, an electric fold-back roof and electrically adjustable rear seats. Power comes from a silky smooth 6.0-litre V12, which turbines out 621PS (457kW), not that it’s been used; this car has travelled fewer than 6,000 miles since new.
If the G-Wagon looks at home in the dunes, our final lot, a mid-engine 1985 Renault 5 Turbo 2, would be more suitable on roads closer to home. Stunning in metallic navy blue paint and chrome wheels with gold highlights, the car has covered less than 16,000 miles and is expected to sell for between £80,000 and £95,000.
Cheaper to produce than the original Turbo, the 2 swapped alloy body panels for steel and lost character touches like the original Bertone interior. Critically, though, the 160PS 1.4-litre turbocharged engine stayed producing 160PS (118kW), allowing the Turbo 2 to get from 0-62mph in under seven seconds.
Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.
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The 13 most expensive cars to buy at Monterey Car Week
The 13 most expensive cars to buy at Monterey Car Week
While the rest of us fret about the price of a litre (or a kW), the high-rollers of the collector-car world are packing their Louis Vuitton trunks and heading for the Monterey Peninsula in California and the annual auction fest. It’s the ultimate automotive shopping trip. So which rare four-wheeled gem would you go for?
To help you decide we’ve had a look to see what’s on offer this August. Across the three of the largest sales – Bonhams, RM Sotheby’s and Gooding & Co – there are hundreds of cars up for grabs. To keep it manageable, we will look only at cars with a five in their guide price. That’s as in five million or more. Each. Dollars, but then there’s not much between a dollar and a pound these days. Here they all are then, starting with the “cheapest” first…
13. 1955 Jaguar D-type
$4.5-5.5m, RM Sotheby’s
Delivered new to its first owner in the US, this BRG over black D-type comes with a touch of Hollywood about it. Actor owners include Tim Considine in the early ‘60s (My Three Sons, and Perry Mason), and then in 1999 it was bought and apparently regularly used by Nicolas Cage, the Oscar winner known for movies including Gone in 60 Seconds. It’s said Cage parked the D-type in the billiard room of his Bel Air home.
In between all the glamour, the D had a 20-year spell in the UK when it was raced by British racing legends Richard Attwood and David Piper, who with Gary Pearson won the 1997 Nürburgring Historic.
One of the 54 production models of the three-times Le Mans winner, it began life as a short-nose 3.4-litre in cream but over the years saw plenty of updates, including body changes and a fresh 3.8 XK motor. It is being offered with its original front and rear body sections.
12. 1960 Porsche RS60
$5.5-6.5m, Gooding & Co
Looking just as it did in the early 1960s with its distinctive blue body accent, this all-original RS60 is one of 17 cars Porsche made as the ultimate evolution of the 718-series Spyder. In effect it was a roomier and better handling long-wheelbase version of the works RSKs. Most important, it kept the lightweight all-alloy body and four-cam 1,587cc air-cooled engine, a combo that proved effective enough for works RS60s to win in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Targa Florio.
Privateer RS60s like the car here were equally effective. This one has a distinguished record in early 1960s racing in the US at circuits like Elkhart Lake, Meadowdale and Milwaukee. Over four race seasons, it competed in 17 races, finished in the top three places all but once, and took home 12 class wins. To see it today unmodified and original right down to the same engine it left the factory with 63 years ago is a delight.
11. 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4
$5-7m, RM Sotheby’s
Cool car, coolest owner: this was Steve McQueen’s Ferrari. Story is the King of Cool was in another Ferrari – a rare 275 GTS/4 NART Spider – stationary at a red light in Malibu when someone crashed into the back of him. Rather than wait for repairs, McQueen went out and bought another 275 – the GTB/4 berlinetta you see here. There are pictures of the actor with this car commuting to set for Bullitt.
A subsequent owner crashed the car and during repairs had the body converted to become a NART Spider. It’s now back to correct berlinetta form thanks to its next owner, the ex-Porsche factory driver and 1983 Le Mans winner Vern Schuppan. The restoration to originality was completed by Ferrari Classiche – which has subsequently certified the car – and stayed true to McQueen’s Chianti Red livery.
10. 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC Tourer
$5.5-7m, RM Sotheby’s
Impeccable style, 120mph performance and hand-crafted luxury all came together in the T57SC to make it the pinnacle of prewar motoring. The first owner of this car, Maurice Fox-Pitt Lubbock, loved the car to bits but had no option to sell it – he’d just been appointed vice-chairman of rival Rolls-Royce…
The Bugatti chassis was originally supplied to the British agent for a coachbuilt Corsica four-seat open tourer body to be fitted, making this one of just two such cars. When the Bug later went to the US the body was replaced by two-seat sports coachwork, but since then the original body has been tracked down and refitted, and the car returned to its original spec in a restoration that came with bills for an eye-watering $700,000.
9. 1956 Porsche 550A Le Mans Werks
$5.5-7.5m, RM Sotheby’s
Here’s a Porsche you may not have seen before. It’s a streamlined version of the 550A designed by Erwin Komenda and built by Porsche as a prototype racer for the 1956 Le Mans, at which it won its class and came fifth overall. The car, featuring Porsche’s first lightweight spaceframe, was a follow-up to the 1953 550RS with improvements that made it not just more aerodynamic but also faster, lighter, stiffer, more responsive and better-stopping. At its debut race, the Targa Florio, the 1.5-litre giant-killer beat much larger-engined rivals from Ferrari, Maserati and Mercedes… by 15 minutes.
Four such cars were made in period and this is the sole survivor. So, an unrepeatable opportunity for your own piece of Porsche racing royalty. If you don’t buy it Porsche surely will,m to put in its collection.
8. 1959 Ferrari 410 Superamerica
$5.75-6.75m, RM Sotheby’s
Don’t be fooled by the elegant coupe looks and luxury trimmings: with the Lampredi-designed 4.9-litre V12 developing 400PS (294kW) in the nose, the Superamerica was credited with a 165mph top speed, extraordinary at the time. There have been a few Superamericas but this is the pick of the bunch, one of just 12 Series III cars. Series III cars came with wider track and that V12, more or less taken straight out of Ferrari’s Le Mans winner, along with updated gearbox and the largest brake drums of any Ferrari. Updated Pinin Farina looks – pick the Series III by its covered lights, bonnet scoop and wing vents – meant it looked the part, too.
This black 410 Superamerica, the fourth made, emerged from restoration in 2020 and immediately won its class at the 2020 Amelia Island Concours, and since then has been winning more awards, including a maximum 100 points score to take best of show at this year’s Cavallino Modena.
7. 2001 Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrive
$8-9.5m, RM Sotheby’s
Tens of thousands of British fans at Le Mans in 2004 had a special reason to cheer on this Ferrari: Colin McRae was behind the wheel. It was the only time the Scottish World Rally Champion raced at Le Mans. As you might expect, he rose to the challenge and with co-drivers Darren Turner and Rickard Rydell brought the 550 Maranello home ninth overall and third in the GTS class. They even got fastest lap.
This is one hard-working competition Ferrari. With five Le Mans starts, it is said to be the most-raced 12-cylinder Ferrari chassis ever at La Sarthe. Successful, too. In a five-year race career between 2002 and 2006 it entered 34 events, won five races, took 14 podium finishes and scored 10 pole positions. And all the while it was used as the daily driver by the boss of the French racing outfit that commissioned it, Frédéric Dor of Care Racing Development
6. 1933 Bugatti Type 55 roadster
$8-10m, Gooding & Co
Famously described as a “grand prix car wearing an evening gown”, the T55 was aimed at Bugatti’s most demanding clientele. Just 38 were made and of those 14 were the Jean Bugatti-designed roadster, a car that today ranks among the most attractive, influential and recognisable automotive designs of all time.
This T55 roadster was delivered new to a customer in Algiers where it was the talk of the town – at least until the end of WWII. Someone from the liberating forces thought it a good idea to use its supercharged double-overhead cam straight-eight engine in a speedboat – filling the space in the Bug’s bonnet with (whisper it) a diesel engine.
It took a later owner, the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren, and the world-class ministrations of Britain’s Crosthwaite & Gardiner to reunite it with its original engine and make it look as you see it here today: totally stunning. No wonder this 110mph supercar of its day was the Bugatti chosen to sit alongside the Veyron at that modern-day supercar’s unveiling at the Geneva show in 2007.
5. 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB
$9-11m, Gooding & Co
Four owners, 33,000 miles, never raced or rallied…could be the archetypal sports car ad. But this, for many, is the sports GT, the sublime Ferrari 250 SWB (short wheelbase). And that is what it makes it so special: that in 60 years it has had so few owners, all of whom have cherished it, used it, never bent it, always kept it original – and most important never had it restored. It even still lives in northern Italy where it has always lived. This car is about its irreplaceable patina, from the touch-ups on the Grigio Metallizzato paint to the creases in the beige leather.
Any 250 GT SWB is as at home on a motor circuit as it is cruising along the Corniche, but this example, from late in the run of 165 berlinettas made, comes with the updates that made it more user-friendly and refined. Perfect then for the high-speed touring its 240PS (177kW) 3.0-litre V12 made it so good at.
4. 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider
$9.5-11.5m, RM Sotheby’s
Ferrari already offered the 250 GT platform with a cabriolet body but Americans wanted something more: a harder-edged convertible you could use all week, drive to the track at weekends, race (and likely as not, win), and then drive home again. Ferrari was happy to oblige. The Cali Spider was born, combining V12 power, the 250 Tour de France berlinetta’s chassis and beautiful new body curves courtesy of Scaglietti.
The result was far more than just a pretty face for rich Americans. Early cars took on Sebring (a class win) and Le Mans (fifth overall in 1959). But things got really hot in 1960 when the Cali Spider appeared with 200mm out of the wheelbase. This SWB version, like the car in the sale, also got a wider track, Koni adjustable dampers and four-wheel disc brakes. While it impressed on track – this car was third in class and 19th overall at the 1962 Targa Florio – it completely bowled over its roll call of famous jet-set owners, and still does. Just 56 were built and this is the second.
3. 1957 Jaguar XKSS
$12-14m, RM Sotheby’s
The ultimate Jaguar road car? For most fans that would be the XKSS, a thinly disguised, but oh-so-sexy street-legal version of the D-type of which just 16 were made in period to use up redundant racing chassis. The XKSS got doors, a windscreen, and an attempt at a hood, but essentially it remained a D-type – the car that just a year earlier had had its third successive win at Le Mans. It was a crazy idea but it was lapped up by well-heeled enthusiasts across the pond at whom Jaguar had unashamedly aimed it.
This car, formerly owned in the UK by Anthony Bamford and expertly fettled in the past by Chris Keith-Lucas of CKL, originally went to California where, unlike some of the 16, it was cherished from the start. Today it’s one of the most original and best-preserved XKSSs, truly the Coventry cat’s crème de la crème.
2. 1964 Ferrari 250 LM
$18-20m, RM Sotheby’s
Ferrari first put its V12 engine behind the driver in the 250 P in 1963, winning that year’s Le Mans with it. The same year it showed off a GT-class version of the car, called LM (for Le Mans) which got a to-die-for closed body courtesy of Scaglietti and came with an assurance from the factory that it would build the 100 of them needed for homologation. In the event only 32 were ever made but this didn’t hold the 250 LM back, winning Le Mans (as a prototype) in 1965 – and cementing the LM’s place in history as one of the very greatest Ferraris.
And be assured there’s not much not to like about this one. The 22nd of the 32 built, it chalked up four race wins in 1965, was piloted by drivers including Mike Hailwood, Innes Ireland, and Mike Parkes, competed in the ’68 Le Mans, and is said to be rare in never suffering a serious crash. It comes with all the Ferrari-approved provenance anyone would want.
A bonus may be its expected price – according to RM Sotheby’s, that’s a “fraction” of what you’d have to pay for the other two cars (the 250 GTO and 250 Testa Rossa) in this triumvirate of Ferrari’s ‘60s sports-racing greats.
1. 1967 Ferrari 412P
$40m, Bonhams
And so to what promises to be the daddy of all the cars for auction during Monterey Car Week 2023, the Ferrari 412P. Look at it: competition cars were never more voluptuous, encouraging some to maintain this is the most beautiful competition car of all time. But for such a spectacular car, there’s an equally spectacular price: Bonhams has given it a pre-sale guide of $40m – or around £30m. The auction house says it is the most important sports-racing Ferrari to come to the market in five years.
Goodwood Road & Racing has already taken a close look at this exquisite Ferrari, but to recap, here is a machine that competed in the World Sportscar Championship during the heyday of Ferrari’s dominance. Run by British Ferrari importer Maranello Concessionaires, its debut was in the Spa 1,000km in 1967 where in the hands of Richard Attwood and Lucien Bianchi it came home third overall, helping secure that year’s championship title for Ferrari.
Other events included Le Mans in 1967 and other drivers Piers Courage and Jo Siffert. It was later campaigned in Europe and South Africa by David Piper who modified it with an open-cockpit GRP body. Thankfully the original hand-formed aluminium panels were safely stored and after a nine-year restoration are now back where they should be and the car is exactly as it looked when it first raced in 1967.
Race it, drive it on road (it’s street-legal!), or just sit back and look at it. However the next owner enjoys it, it will surely be forty million bucks worth of sheer Prancing Horse pleasure.
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‘Lost and found’ Ferraris up for sale in Monterey
‘Lost and found’ Ferraris up for sale in Monterey
250GT, 500 Mondial Spider, 275 GTB, 512 BB Competizione… classic Ferraris worth an absolute fortune and normally seen primped to perfection on the world’s most exclusive concours lawns and racetracks. So what on Earth what happed to this lot, surely the most knackered stable of Prancing Horses you have ever seen?
Calling this collection of 20 Ferraris a “barn find” has to be the understatement of the year. Some of them look as though they belong on a scrapheap or in a breakers’ yard. But looks can be deceptive and even in this condition they are still expected to sell like hot cakes. And for millions of pounds.
There are 20 Ferraris in what RM Sotheby’s is calling the Lost & Found Collection. All will be sold – some changing hands for the first time in five decades – at the auction house’s sale during Monterey Car Week in the US in August. They are being sold as seen, and at no reserve price.
All the cars need restoring, some complete rebuilding. Damage varies. The most smashed-up bear scars of a roof collapse when the building in Florida they were being stored in was hit by a hurricane in 2004. They were moved to a secret warehouse where they have languished, unseen, ever since.
While some might look like basket cases, they are anything but because they are mostly complete and often with matching numbers for engines, transmissions and bodies that prove they are essentially the same machines that left the factory when new. Some of them are real rarities and others boast exceptional racing histories and ownership provenance. One was even owned by a king.
Because of all this, their value remains out of all proportion to their appearance. They will shine again, but you sure as heck wouldn’t want to pay the restoration bill…
1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider
Well, where would you start restoring this? At the very beginning, that’s where. Not just a weekend job then. But as RM says, restoring what to our eyes appears to be a wrecked shell of a car “could be a rewarding experience”. It will probably cost a million quid to buy – yes, even looking like this – and will cost another million to fix up, but then it’s a 500 Mondial – in fact the second Mondial ever built, and one of 13 first-series Pinin Farina Spiders. Further, it has a distinguished racing history in the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Imola Grand Prix with drivers who included Ferrari works ace Franco Cortese. The Mondial has been left as-is for more than 45 years after being damaged in a race, but one day it will look glorious again…and be worth many millions.
1956 Ferrari 250 GT Speciale
Look past the rust, the tired paint, missing glass, falling apart interior and filthy engine bay and see instead what this car is: one of four unique 250 GTs bodied by Pinin Farina during 1956, and as originally owned by King Mohammed V of Morocco. So this Speclale is special indeed, made more so by its correct numbers-matching V12 engine. Why does it look the way it does? Almost 50 years of complete neglect, is why. It’s reported it could sell for as much as £1.8m
1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2
Ouch! The sleek Pininfarina looks definitely came off second best when the barn roof collapsed on top of this 365 GT. Ferrari’s ultimate grand tourer of its day, this is the first time the car has been seen since 1979.
1965 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C
It looks a little different today than it did in 1965 when this very car was Ferrari’s star exhibit at the Turin Motor Show. As the first 275 long-nose with an alloy body and six carburettors, it’s an important car in the 275 GTB story, as well as for a competition history that includes the 1965 Targa Florio. It’s been hidden away for 44 years.
1966 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2
Definitely on the shabby side, but at least this Prancing Horse is in one piece. With its matching numbers Colombo V12 engine and five-speed ‘box, it’s one of the desirable dual headlight models and rare too, one of just 36 right-hand drive Series II models made. It was originally supplied in the UK by Maranello Concessionaires of Egham to an owner in East Africa and believed subsequently to have been owned in the UK by the racing driver David Piper.
1968 Ferrari Dino 206 GT
This Dino is still among the prettiest cars ever, even in this distressed state. The paintwork, engine bay and interior have all gone to pot but it’s largely undamaged and one of the less daunting resto projects. And it would be worth it, for this is one of 153 Dino 206 GTs with an all-alloy body and is thus far rarer (and much lighter) than your common or garden steel-bodied Dino.
1978 Ferrari 512 BB Competizione
This racing BB, veteran of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978, looks in pretty good shape at first sight, almost as though it hasn’t been touched since retiring (with gearbox trouble) in the 19th hour when running in 11th place. Which is pretty much exactly what happened. The BB had been entered as car number 87 for the North American Racing Team (NART), as its untouched 1978 livery shows. Its restoration will be sure to keep its racing authenticity, but work will be needed under the bonnet and in the cabin. Despite that, this authentic slice of flat-12 racing Ferrari could sell for £2m.
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This Ferrari just sold for €5,742,500
This Ferrari just sold for €5,742,500
A 1955 Ferrari 121 LM Spider by Scaglietti topped RM Sotheby’s Le Mans Centenary Auction as the Prancing Horse triumphed in the sale and on track.
The 121 Ferrari competed in 1955’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and that year’s Mille Miglia, and was raced by legendary drivers such as Maurice Trintignant, Harry Schell, and Piero Taruffi. One of just four remaining cars, the Ferrari attracted bids from around the world and went under the hammer for €5,742,500.
More modern machinery came in the form of a 2007 Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 that sold for €2,255,000. Built by Prodrive, it is thought to be one of just 18 in existence. The car demonstrated a strong race pedigree, which included third in the GT1 class and 22nd overall at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as third at the 2008 Silverstone Tourist Trophy and 24 Hours of Spa.
While the Aston featured a stunning Gulf livery, a 1984 Lancia LC2 – a factory-backed sports prototype created to compete in the World Sportscar Championship – wore the iconic Martini colours. It took pole position in the 1984 race, driven by Wollek and Nannini, and also sold for €2,255,000.
Other sale highlights included a 1958 Lister-Jaguar Knobbly (€1,551,875), the only example to ever race at Le Mans and a 2008 Saleen S7-R (€1,298,750), which won the LMGT1 class at the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, taking 13th overall.
Another star of the show was a 1954 OSCA MT4 by Morelli. Built by the Maserati brothers, it sold for €1,270,625. Finally, a 1990 Nissan 390CK that took pole position at Le Mans in the hands of Mark Blundell, went under the hammer for €1,073,750.
We understand that every vehicle is unique, which is why our Agreed Valuation policies take the true value of your classic car into account.
Aside from all of the glorious cars to go under the hammer, one other standout lot was the French triclore flag that was waved to start the 1965 edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours. It sold for €396,000, but its story gained new significance this year, as the 1965 just happens to be the last time, prior to 2023 that Ferrari had taken overall victory at the world’s greatest motor race.
Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.
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A stunning collection of Le Mans legends are up for sale
A stunning collection of Le Mans legends are up for sale
RM will celebrate 100 years of Le Mans as a star-studded list of racers – led by a works Porsche 962 – crosses the blocks on 9th June ahead of the start of the world-famous endurance race.
Guided at £5,000,000 – £7,500,000, the 962 was one of three cars assigned to the Rothmans Porsche Factory for the 1985 and 1986 seasons. It made its first appearance at Le Mans in 1985. Driven by John Watson, Vern Schuppan, and Al Holbert chassis #004 qualified fifth behind four other 962s (which were using specially prepared qualifying engines) but would spend half the race in second place before a crankshaft failure saw it retire with less than four hours of the race remaining.
The same car took pole at Le Mans the following year – in the hands of Bob Wollek, Jochen Mass and Vern Schuppan – before an oil spill caused it to crash out in the early hours of Sunday morning, missing out on what looked like a guaranteed third-place finish.
The Porsche went on to be raced by a host of privateers – its most notable success being second place at the Nürburgring 1,000km in the hands of Derek Bell and Hans-Joachim Stuck – before being sold to a collector in 1988.
Bought by the current owner in 2004, the car was subject to a full restoration by marque specialist, Trevor Crisp, in 2018. It’s eligible for various historic events including the Le Mans Classic and Rennsport Reunion.
While a German stars at RM, there’s no shortage of British machinery to get excited about, including the Jaguar XJR-12 LM. It took 4th overall at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by Derek Warwick, John Nielsen, and Andy Wallace and went on to finish 2nd and 4th, respectively, at the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring the following year. It’s guided at £2,150,000-£2,550,000.
Also flying the flag is a 1958 Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ (£1,250,000-£1,550,000), 1993 Jaguar XJ220 C LM (£1,350,000-£1,900,000) and a 2007 Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 (£1,800,000-£2,150,000).
We understand that every vehicle is unique, which is why our Agreed Valuation policies take the true value of your classic car into account.
Ferrari will have a strong showing at the sale, too. A 1955 Ferrari 121 LM Spider by Scaglietti (£4,700,000-£5,500,000) that was raced by works drivers Maurice Trintignant, Harry Schell, and Piero Taruffi will cross the blocks having been subject to a full restoration in 2023.
In addition, you can bid on a 1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione (£4,100,000 – £4,450,000), while more modern machinery comes in the form of a 2006 Ferrari F430 GTC (£650,000 – £850,000).
Fancy something a little bit different? Then how about a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Series III that served as the Le Mans Safety Car that same year. Expected to make up to £550,000, it’ll cross the block carrying no reserve.
Other cars that caught our eye include one of two beautiful 1954 OSCA MT4s (£1,100,000-£1,300,000), class-winning 1967 Alpine A210 (£1,000,000-£1,300,000), Mark Blundell’s pole-setting 1990 Nissan R90CK (£850,000-£1,300,000), an early works 1996 Chrysler Viper GTS-R (£500,000-£600,000) and a factory-entered 2005 Spyker C8 GT2-R (£215,000-£300,000).
We’ll bring you a full auction report after the sale.
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