The Aguttes Autoworld 2026 collector car auction generated €1,982,327 in collector car sales on October 10, led by a 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider recreation at €190,976. Held at the Autoworld museum in Brussels, the European collector car auction recorded a 47% sell-through rate from 74 vehicles offered, indicating selective bidding across a catalog that ranged from prewar classics to modern performance cars.
Aguttes Returns to Brussels
The 2026 Aguttes Autoworld auction marked the third edition of the French auction house’s Auction & Motion event in Belgium, following sales in 2024 and 2025. Aguttes scheduled the sale during Zoute Grand Prix week, placing its Brussels collector car auction within one of Europe’s busiest annual gatherings for classic, competition and prestige automobiles.
Public viewing took place from October 8–10 in Autoworld’s first-floor gallery, with the live auction following on Saturday afternoon. The broader catalog contained more than 80 lots spanning nearly a century of automotive history, including collector cars, racing machinery, a motorcycle and automobilia; independent results analysis counted 74 motor cars offered.
The catalog’s anticipated headliners included a 1966 Porsche 906 Carrera 6 estimated at €1.2 million–€1.6 million and a 2005 Gumpert Apollo prototype estimated at €550,000–€750,000. Neither appeared among the published sales, leaving the auction’s strongest results concentrated below €200,000.
2026 Auction Results
Final prices for all sold classic and collector cars totaled €1,982,327. The 47% sell-through rate contrasted with the 87% rate Aguttes reported for its first Autoworld sale, highlighting a more selective European collector car market in 2026.
The five most expensive cars contributed €854,617, approximately 43% of the sale’s total automotive results. They included three Italian grand tourers, a British sports racer and an Alfa Romeo-based prewar recreation.
Top Five Sales
- 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider (R) – €190,976
- 1956 Lotus Eleven Series 1 – €179,040
- 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 – €173,072
- 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello – €156,361
- 1960 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato – €155,168
Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider
The Aguttes Autoworld 2026 top sale was chassis 915010, cataloged as a 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Spider “R.” The chassis is believed to have originated as a Super Sport with Touring coupé coachwork before Corrado Cupellini rediscovered it in the late 1980s; its present open body makes it a recreation rather than an original-period Spider.
The Alfa Romeo sold for €190,976, placing it within its €180,000–€240,000 estimate. It represented almost 10% of the auction’s total classic car sales volume and was the most expensive vehicle sold at the Brussels event.
Lotus Eleven Series 1
Lotus Eleven chassis 166 ranked second at €179,040 against a €150,000–€180,000 estimate. Built in 1956 as an 1100 model, the Series 1 was delivered new in the United States to Gunnar Rubini, a Volkswagen dealer in Toledo, Ohio, who also competed as a racing driver.
Approximately 270 Lotus Elevens of all versions were built between 1956 and 1958. The car’s selling price landed just below its high estimate, demonstrating continued demand for well-documented and event-eligible historic racing cars.
Ferrari 330 GT 2+2
A 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 took third place in the Aguttes Autoworld auction results at €173,072, comfortably within its €165,000–€195,000 estimate. Chassis 5613 was sold new in Italy through Italcar Fontanella and was presented in its original gray exterior and black leather interior combination.
The result placed the 330 GT only €5,968 behind the competition-focused Lotus Eleven. It also reinforced the appeal of Ferrari’s front-engined V12 grand tourers when provenance, specification and condition align with buyer expectations.
Ferrari 550 Maranello
The 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello sold for €156,361 against a €130,000–€180,000 estimate. Chassis ZFFZR49B000107284 was described as an ex-Ferrari Deutschland car showing slightly more than 52,000 kilometers, supported by a Car-Pass mileage record and an extensive invoice file.
Recent service work at Garage GGA included replacement of the timing belts. The above-midpoint result reflected the collector market’s emphasis on documented mileage, current maintenance and usable examples of Ferrari’s six-speed manual, front-engined V12 flagship.
Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato
The fifth-highest result went to 1960 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato chassis 824001289, which brought €155,168 against a €150,000–€200,000 estimate. The 2.5-liter V6 coupe retained its original turquoise interior, while the body had been repainted during the 1980s; catalog-related reporting also noted corrosion in lower body and chassis areas and the inclusion of spare parts.
Its history added further collector interest. Registered as 72 KD 75, the Zagato-bodied Lancia was associated for a little more than a year with French filmmaker Gérard Oury, although later research indicated the recorded second owner may have been Oury’s secretary.
Other Notable Sales
Three results beyond the top five helped illustrate different segments of the European collector car auction market: a one-off Sbarro with Ferrari mechanicals, an exceptionally original E36 BMW M3 and a highly restored Maserati Merak SS. All three found buyers, but the relationship between selling prices and estimates varied significantly.
- 1980/1984 Sbarro Super Eight – €105,036
- 1998 BMW M3 (E36) – €62,067
- 1977 Maserati Merak SS – €44,163
Sbarro Super Eight
One of the most unusual classic car auction results came from Franco Sbarro’s one-off Super Eight. Aguttes identified it as a 1980 car in the lot heading, while the catalog narrative and period reporting date its completion and Geneva Motor Show debut to 1984; it was developed with Swiss industrialist and first owner Bernd Grohe before passing through the Sbarro museum and two private collections.
Its compact fiberglass body covers a shortened Ferrari 308 GTB chassis, a fuel-injected 2,927-cc Quattrovalvole V8 producing approximately 240 horsepower and a gated five-speed transaxle. The odometer showed slightly more than 30,000 kilometers, and a 2020 service included replacement of the timing belts.
The Super Eight sold for €105,036 against a €120,000–€180,000 estimate, finishing €14,964 – or 12.5% – below the low figure. Despite missing its estimate, it was one of only seven motor cars at Aguttes Autoworld 2026 to sell for more than €100,000.
BMW M3 (E36)
The 1998 BMW M3 combined Dakar Yellow paint with the European-market 3.2L, 321-horsepower straight-six and a six-speed manual transmission. Delivered by Reggio Motori in Italy on September 30, 1998, it remained with its first owner until 2008, later passed to a Czech collector and joined the consignor’s collection in 2018.
The M3 retained its original paint and interior and showed fewer than 56,000 kilometers, with documentation extending from early service-book stamps to Czech inspection records. Aguttes advised a mechanical inspection before road use because the car had spent several years in static storage.
It realized €62,067 against a €50,000–€70,000 estimate, finishing €12,067 above the low estimate and €7,933 below the high. The strong in-range price reflected the premiums buyers place on originality, low mileage, rare colors and supporting documentation in the modern-classic BMW market.
Maserati Merak SS
The 1977 Maserati Merak SS, chassis AM122US*2220, featured a number of departures from standard specification. Its softened waistline visually resembled the Maserati Bora, while bespoke chrome bumpers, a graduated tinted windshield and custom wheels by racing driver Claude Svelig made the car distinctive.
The Merak entered the consignor’s collection in 2012 and received more than €70,000 of mechanical restoration by Isotta in Colombes, plus bodywork by Red Parts; Aguttes reported that total investment exceeded €90,000. Its SS specification included a 3.0L V6, three twin-choke carburetors, four-wheel independent suspension and disc brakes, while this example lacked the maintenance-intensive Citroën hydraulic system.
The Maserati sold for €44,163 against a €40,000–€50,000 estimate, landing €4,163 above the low figure and €5,837 below the high. The result demonstrated that restoration spending does not necessarily translate directly into auction value, especially when a car has nonstandard body details, although its condition and desirable SS specification supported an in-range sale.
Market Takeaways
The Aguttes Autoworld 2026 results reflected demand across multiple collector-car categories rather than one dominant segment. The leading group included a prewar Alfa-based recreation, a 1950s sports racer, two front-engined Ferrari grand tourers and a Zagato-bodied Lancia, while the additional highlights ranged from a one-off coachbuilt special to 1970s and 1990s performance cars.
However, the 47% sell-through rate and the failure of several highly estimated headline cars to register published sales showed that rarity alone was not enough to secure a deal. Buyers at this Brussels classic car auction appeared to prioritize credible provenance, realistic estimates, documented maintenance and condition appropriate to the asking price.
For Aguttes, the €1.98 million total confirmed meaningful demand below the seven-figure level while exposing a gap between seller expectations and bidder appetite at the upper end of the catalog. The sale therefore offered a useful snapshot of a selective 2026 European collector car market in which standout histories and well-supported examples could sell strongly, but ambitious estimates remained difficult to achieve.