Veyron leads the way

Bugatti hypercar sets appropriate pace at Bonhams’ Swiss sale

VEYRON PRICES HAVE become an interesting talking point over the past few years but, with Bugatti’s electrified future looking more certain by the day, bidders fought hard to win this 2012 SuperSport. With a final sale price of CHF 1,840,000 (£1.56m), it topped the sales charts by a significant margin at Bonhams’ second annual Bonmont sale.

With a reasonable sell-through rate of 63%, modern supercars with low mileage and often complicated tax obligations seemed to fare well. One such example was the 2007 Gemballa Mirage GT – based on the Porsche Carrera GT – which raised CHF 669,300.

A Swiss-market 1964 Maserati Mistral Spyder was popular, with a final price of CHF 431,250, while an unassuming-looking Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16v made CHF 95,450 (£81k!). The reason? It was bought by driver Manfred Schurti after he competed in that 1984 Race of Champions at the Nürburgring.

Artcurial helped long-time collector André Trigano sell his collection of 169 cars on 13 September, raising €4.7m from this almost entirely no-reserve auction. The top-seller was his prized 1967 Lamborghini 400GT 2+2 at €481,600. A high proportion of the cars sold above their top estimates.

Worldwide Auctioneers had an interesting Auburn auction, with the ‘Stainless Steel Trifecta’ attracting huge attention. Consisting of three prototypes – a 1936 Ford Deluxe Tudor, 1960 Ford Thunderbird and 1967 Lincoln Continental Convertible – they fetched $1,045,000. A 1935 Auburn 851 SC Boattail Speedster managed to outsell them at $1,072,500.

The 400-lot RM Sotheby’s Mitosinka Collection auction finished with total sales of $1,819,225, topped by the 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Phaeton at $170,500. For some of the more interesting curios, see Dave Kinney’s auction picks on the next page.

If you’re curious about the presence of the 1956 Vauxhall Cresta E pictured below, you have Historics’ successful £4.47m Autumn Classic sale to thank. Sourced from New Zealand, then given a ‘money-noobject’ restoration in the UK, this special example sold for £53,760. Incredible. One other particular highlight at the sale was the ex-Sir Stirling Moss Peugeot 205 GTi 1.9, which ended at £20,160.

Historics has really stepped up a gear in recent months, and is continuing to expand its calendar with a new Monaco auction scheduled for next year’s Historic GP weekend. We’ll be watching with interest.