RM Sotheby's London 2026 Auction Results: £36.55 Million Record Sale
RM Sotheby’s London Auction on October 31, 2026, delivered £36,550,950 in total sales and an 87.5% sell-through rate, led by an £8.16 million Ferrari Daytona SP3. Held at The Peninsula London, the event became the highest-grossing UK collector-car auction on record, according to RM Sotheby’s.
Ferrari occupied four of the five highest-priced positions, with an auction-record Aston Martin Valkyrie providing the British challenge. The leading results spanned six decades, bringing together a factory development hypercar, an extensively modified F40, a lightweight 1960s berlinetta and a limited-production front-engined V12.
London Auction Sets UK Record
Staged in partnership with the Royal Automobile Club and the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, the sale found buyers for 56 of 64 lots, including cars and memorabilia. Its £36.55 million turnover surpassed the previous British auction record, which RM Sotheby’s identified as Bonhams’ 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed sale.
All ten of the highest-selling cars went for more than £1 million, while total revenue rose from £23,703,910 at the 2025 London auction. Nevertheless, individual results require a closer reading: the biggest final price did not necessarily represent the strongest performance against estimate.
Five Most Expensive Cars at RM Sotheby's London 2026
Ferrari Daytona SP3 - £8,161,250
The 2022 Ferrari Daytona SP3 dominated the evening, selling for £8,161,250 with a backstory that distinguished it from a conventional customer-delivered example. Chassis 277499 was built as a development vehicle in June 2022 and subsequently served as Ferrari’s factory press car.
Finished in Giallo Triplo Strato over Rosso Ferrari upholstery, it passed into its first private ownership in March 2025 and showed 2,948 miles when catalogued.
The car combined that documented factory history with the SP3’s naturally aspirated 6.5L V12 and removable roof.
Aston Martin Valkyrie - £2,761,250
Second place went to the 2023 Aston Martin Valkyrie Coupé, whose £2,761,250 result established a world auction record for the model. One of 150 coupés, this left-hand-drive example had been delivered to Japan and remained with its original owner until the sale.
Only 300 kilometers were recorded at cataloguing, while an elaborate specification had added almost £235,000 to its original list price. Zenith White paint, blue-tinted exposed carbon fiber and Midnight Blue accents gave the car a distinctive appearance, complemented by blue and Dark Knight Alcantara inside.
Its Adrian Newey-influenced design and electric-assisted Cosworth V12 placed Formula 1-derived engineering at the center of its appeal. Unlike the Daytona SP3, the Valkyrie exceeded its upper estimate at hammer, making this a particularly significant result beyond its second-place ranking.
Ferrari F40 - £2,592,500
The 1988 Ferrari F40 secured third with a £2,592,500 sale, despite being far removed from an untouched factory-standard example. Originally delivered through Rome’s Sa Mo Car dealership, chassis 78623 later moved to Japan and acquired modifications intended to resemble the competition F40 LM.
Crucially, this was a modified road-going F40, not an original LM. Its replacement front and rear bodywork was not supplied by Michelotto, although the car retained its matching-numbers twin-turbocharged V8 and five-speed transaxle.
Early-production Lexan sliding windows added interest, while RM Sotheby’s presented a return to original road specification as a potential route for its next owner. The £2.3 million hammer price sat within the £1.8 million–£2.4 million estimate.
Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy - £2,041,250
The highest-priced traditional classic was the 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB Alloy by Scaglietti, which achieved £2,041,250. Chassis 08059 belongs to the approximately 80 long-nose, two-cam 275 GTBs originally fitted with lightweight aluminium coachwork.
Completed in Giallo Fly with blue leather, it underwent restoration by Bacchelli & Villa and Tappezzeria Luppi in 2003. Roelofs Engineering subsequently prepared it for historic competition, including a six-Weber-carburettor installation.
Ferrari Classiche documentation recorded its matching-numbers chassis, engine and bodywork, while the consignor’s 22-year ownership included participation in the Tour Auto, Le Mans Classic and Modena Cento Ore. Those credentials gave this sale a different character from the low-mileage modern machinery surrounding it: a documented Ferrari with an established record of active historic-event use.
Ferrari F12tdf - £1,928,750
Completing the top five, the 2017 Ferrari F12tdf sold for £1,928,750. One of 799 produced, the right-hand-drive UK-market car showed 3,195 miles and wore Azzurro La Plata paint with French tricolour stripes over a charcoal Alcantara interior.
Its livery referenced an early 250 GT Tour de France, connecting the modern limited-production model with the competition history behind its name. The specification also included a suspension lift, sports exhaust and extensive carbon-fiber detailing.
A 769-horsepower, 6.3L V12 and four-wheel steering supplied the performance credentials, while service documentation included attention from DK Engineering and HR Owen. Its fifth-place finish also put it ahead of the £1,861,250 Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta, which narrowly missed this group.
Records Beyond the Top Five
Further down the results, the 1991 Honda NSX supplied for Ayrton Senna’s personal use achieved a model-record £871,250. A Sean Wotherspoon-designed 1959 Land Rover Series II art car also set a model auction record at £132,250.
Not every major consignment sold: a Porsche Carrera GT and a Lamborghini Diablo SE30 with Brunei royal-family provenance remained unsold. Those exceptions temper the record turnover with evidence of selective bidding, even as the Valkyrie and the NSX owned and driven by Ayrton Senna demonstrated the strength of demand for particular specifications and compelling histories.