Senna’s McLaren is on pole

Monaco sales dominate a busy global auction month

AYRTON SENNA’S 1993 McLaren-Cosworth Ford MP4/8A was the top seller at this year’s Grand Prix de Monaco Historique auctions. Bidding reached €4,197,500 for the Brazilian’s final Monaco GP-winning car, which was offered by Bonhams on 11 May. The sale generated a total of €13,600,000 for the auction house.

Also offered was the 1984 Toleman-Hart TG184 in which Senna first annoyed Alain Prost at Monaco, sol dfo r €1,610,000, while the ex-Ronnie Peterson Formula 3 Tecno achieved €92,000. The 1955 Jaguar XK140 SE Michelotti Coupé, found in a Belgian barn, sold – to much surprise – for €365,500 against an estimate of €20,000-50,000.

RM Sotheby’s Monaco auction on 12 May was considerably larger, with 72% of lots sold totalling €23,317,290. Another noteworthy F1 car passed through this auction hall, this time the 1992 Benetton B192 of Michael Schumacher. It was raced only once, in Spain, where the German driver took an impressive second place. Although no longer the fastest of supercars, the 2015 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse still attracted strong bidding at €1,720,625. One Ferrari 308 GTS, the personal car of Gilles Villeneuve, sold for €269,375.

Running almost concurrently in the US, RM’s two-day Auburn auction on 11-12 May raised $6,037,635, with 84% of lots sold. A single-owner 2006 Ford GT demonstrated a continued interest in the model, selling for $297,000.

Two single-marque auctions brought interesting results in the UK. Bonhams hosted its 19th annual Aston Martin Sale on 2 June, posting a healthy salerate of 90% and total sales of £4,474,499. The top seller wa san£ 886,300 DB5 Convertible, below – thought to be t he penultimate example built. Silverstone Auctions also hosted its first exclusive Ferrari sale in conjunction with the Ferrari Owners’ Club, which posted a solid sale-rate of 70%.