RM Sotheby's Sold Guikas Collection at No Reserve
RM Sotheby’s final live, in-person auction was held at the Circuit Paul Ricard, offering a collection of 77 cars from the same owner. The Guikas Collection was offered completely with no reserve. RM Sotheby’s seem pleased with the results of the sale, totaling nearly $45,000,000, and stated the following:
It’s no surprise that the beautiful 1955 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione, chassis no. 0385 GT, proved to be the top seller of the day. Displayed at the 1955 Turin Motor Show, chassis 0385 GT was clothed in special one-off bodywork, similar to the 375 MM Berlinettas of the period and what clearly became a prototype for the first series of Ferrari 250 GT LWB ‘Tour de France’ GT cars. Offered with full Ferrari Classiche certification, this historic car presented a rare opportunity to acquire one of the great 1950s GT prototypes and brought €6,192,500. The second most significant sale of the auction was the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I by Pinin Farina, the 23rd of only 40 examples produced and a car originally supplied new to Italy. One of the few examples to retain its matching-numbers engine, gearbox and rear axle, this timeless Ferrari cabriolet was offered in beautiful, restored condition, boasting an extensive history file documenting the car’s provenance, and deserved its €4,420,625 selling price. Rounding off an all-Ferrari top three, was the 2005 Ferrari 575 GTC, chassis 2224, one of 12 Ferrari 575 GTC examples made between 2003 and 2005. Significantly, chassis 2224 is considered to be the very last, V-12 race car built by the Ferrari factory and is a car that boasts an extensive competition history over the 2005/6 seasons. This important piece of Ferrari racing heritage brought €2,648,750.
Other notable sales included the 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C, chassis no. B 0209. A highly desirable ‘riveted’ Grifo A3/C and the eighth of only 10 such examples built, the car in question has a strong place in French popular culture for having been owned by Jean-Philippe Smet, aka French icon, Johnny Hallyday. This well-known and important Iso Grifo has recently been repainted in its original dark red exterior and still retains its carefully preserved original interior. This outstanding car made €1,805,000, a world record for the model. Being one of only 157 desirable LP400 ‘Periscopio’ examples made, the stunning black 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 ‘Periscopio’ by Bertone attracted significant pre-sale interest. A desirable early example with adjustable suspension and lightweight mechanical components, , this exotic 70s supercar brought an impressive €905,000. An equally iconic super car of the 1980s also attracted huge interest. The 1986 Ferrari Testarossa, a desirable, early “monospecchio” and “monodado” Testarossa, and one of only six monospecchio constructed in the original colour scheme of Argento over Rosso, more than doubled its pre-sale low estimate, selling for €286,250 and establishing a world record for the model.