RM Sotheby's World Record in Monaco
RM Sotheby’s grossed more than €40,000,000 at their Monaco auction last weekend, making it their largest ever sale in the principality, with a sell-through rate of 82%. The undeniable star of the show was the Jody Scheckter Collection resulting in more than $13.5 million in sales that included the fabled six-wheel Tyrrell P34 and the very Ferrari Grand Prix race car that he took to the world championship in 1979. But those weren’t the only cars worth spending some time on that hit the block in Monaco.
The Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV, of Quattrovalvole, was an evolution of the prior LP5000 S that featured four valves per cylinder head in its 5.2L V12. That helped increase the power output to 449 horsepower and could propel the car from 0 to 60 mph in just over 4 seconds.
Minor modifications were made to the bodywork that improved aerodynamic performance and cooling courtesy of the side skirts, optional rear wing, and wider fenders. It certainly earned its place as a dream car to everyone growing up in the 1980s.
Only 610 examples of the 5000 QV were produced and this example delivered to Germany when new and then brought to the UK in 1989 by the same owner that consigned it with RM Sotheby’s. Selling for €455,000, a bit less than $500,000, the seller should be happy with this result.
Sold for €455,000
Produced as a tribute to the original Lamborghini Countach, the LPI 800-4 is a phenomenal combination of the classic Countach styling and modern automotive technology. Powered by a 6.5L V12 combined with an electric motor that produced 803 horsepower.
It proved itself worthy of the Countach name with a 0 to 60 time of 2.8 seconds and top speed well in excess of 200 mph.
Only 112 examples of this were produced, all of which were sold before the general public ever set eyes on one. The example offered by RM Sotheby’s in Monaco shows just 110 km since new and represents the first opportunity for anyone to bid on one of these at a public auction.
While the selling price of €2,001,875 was a bit shy of the MSRP, it doesn’t represent a major upset showing once again that modern supercars continue as safe investments.
Sold for €2,001,875
Amongst the array of stunning cars offered by RM Sotheby’s in Monaco was the Jody Scheckter Collection, cars coming from the ownership of the 1979 Formula 1 World Champion himself.
We previously discussed the 1977 Tyrrell P34, the six-wheeled masterpiece and we’ll touch on that again shortly, but the undisputed highlight of the auction was Jody Scheckter’s 1979 Ferrari 312 T4. This is the very car that Scheckter drove to three wins in the ’79 season and the one that took him to the championship.
Scheckter purchased the car from Ferrari in 1982 and since that time he’s been the only person to drive it. There may well never be another chance to buy a world championship winning Ferrari Formula 1 car again! More significantly, this was the last Ferrari Grand Prix race car to win the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship in the lifetime of Enzo Ferrari.
It’s absolutely no surprise that this was the most expensive car sold by RM Sotheby’s in Monaco and, frankly, €7,655,000 (about $8.34 million) seems reasonable to put it mildly for a car that won the F1 championship, let alone a Ferrari that had only ever been piloted by the winning driver.
Sold for €7,655,000
The Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider is the rarest variant of the Daytona produced by Ferrari. The Maranello-based marque built to 121 Daytona Spiders and the car offered by RM Sotheby’s was the 48th example produced. It was also one of only 19 left-hand drive models intended for the European market.
The Daytona marked is a landmark along the path of Ferrari automobile history. It was the last model produced before Ferrari moved away from the front-engined V12 configuration that served them so well for so long. It really was the last of its kind.
The example offered by RM Sotheby’s is well-documented by a report from Marcel Massini as well as by Ferrari Classiche. Its Red Book was included in with the car. It underwent a lengthy restoration under the care of the consignor in order to use the car at Cavalcade Classiche in 2019.
This car set a new record price for the Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider at €3,436,250 – about $3.75 million – so there is nothing else to call this than well-sold.
Sold for €3,436,250
The wild and completely unexpected 1977 Tyrrell P34 became an icon of pushing the limits with race cars since its introduction. This is another car offered from the Jody Scheckter Collection who won the Swedish Grand Prix behind the wheel of this car’s stablemate.
The example offered was constructed as a spare tub that wasn’t completed by Tyrrell when it was new, but later on was finished and ready for action on the track by 2008. As this was the first P34 that we witnessed at auction that wasn’t a continuation car – though only two of those were built – it was a challenge to put an educated estimate on this, so we relied on the estimate from RM Sotheby’s.
The selling price of €1,040,000 was more than double the low-end of the auction company’s estimate so there’s nothing else to call this than well-sold.
Sold for €1,040,000
The next major in-person auction to be held by RM Sotheby’s will be the Dare to Dream Collection of cars, sneakers, and sports memorabilia that was announced several months ago. It’s set to take place May 31 – June 1 in Toronto and is expected to result in prices threatening to set more world records.
Prior to the Dare to Dream Collection will see bidding close on the Sotheby’s Sealed McLaren F1 029 that’s traveled just 410 km since it was new. Bidding on the 1995 McLaren F1 will close May 16, 2024.