Market Highlight
RM Sotheby’s to offer a concept car you can actually drive
One of the most exclusive supercars of the Nineties goes under the hammer – the Zagato Lamborghini Raptor
On the market for the first time in 19 years, Zagato’s fully functional Raptor concept car is the standout lot at the RM Sotheby’s sale in Abu Dhabi on November 30. We asked Hagerty Insurance’s valuations expert John Mayhead for his take on it. ‘Motor show concept cars are strange beasts. Form often takes such a precedence over function that the vehicle’s purpose is compromised. Sometimes rushed to meet a fixed show deadline, they become little more than striking automotive sculptures.
‘But once in a while the work of both designer and engineer combine seamlessly to create a show car that performs as it looks. The 1996 Lamborghini Zagato Raptor is one such vehicle. Built in just four months using then state-of-the-art CAD procedures, the Raptor was unveiled at the 1996 Geneva show to great acclaim and was originally planned as a short-run production model before Lamborghini changed its mind, leaving this one unique.
‘Despite a history that includes appearances at Pebble Beach, the Raptor is not just a show pony. Using the drivetrain and a supercharged version of the Lamborghini Diablo VT’S 5.7-litre V12 engine in a tubular chassis with carbonfibre bodywork, the car is not only 300kg lighter than the Diablo but produces 620bhp and hits 60mph in less than four seconds. ABS and traction control are
omitted, and the interior is finished in simple grey Alcantara; this is very much a driver’s supercar, as period road tests proved.
‘Concept cars are notoriously hard to value because they’re one-offs. Last sold in March 2000 for the equivalent of £135,000, the Raptor is likely to have achieved substantial growth in value since. The 2006 Lamborghini concept sold by RM at Monterey in 2017 for $1.32m may give some indication, although the market has dipped since then and the Raptor will need some recommissioning. RM’S $1.1m-$1.3m probably covers it. This is a unique supercar that combines practicality, performance and wonderful design. Bidding is likely to be fierce.’