During the Grand Prix Historique de Monaco on Friday, May 10, 2024, Bonhams will be auctioning 51 rare cars at the Villa La Vigie in Monte-Carlo alongside a number of automobiles.
The vehicles have been estimated at a total of EUR 17.8 million and are on average 42 years old.
Eight Aston Martins, six Ferraris and four Porsches together make up almost a third of the cars.
However, this is only the average view, as the range can actually be divided into four groups that are very different.
Seven racing cars
On average, each of the seven racing cars on offer is said to cost EUR 350’000, but the range extends from five-digit estimates to EUR 1.4 million.
The most expensive car on offer is a 1978 F1 Tyrrell 008, which Patrick Depailler drove to victory in the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix. Now USD 1.1 to 1.4 million is expected.
Another famous car is the Lotus 12 Climax from 1957/58, which was used as an F1 and F2 car and whose steering wheel was turned by Graham Hill, among others. The estimated value is EUR 290,000 to 390,000.
Significantly cheaper, but also interesting, is a Stanguellini Formula Junior from 1960, which even has a road registration. Interested parties should check whether this can be easily transferred to other countries before withdrawing the required EUR 70,000 to 100,000 from their account.
A Ford Galaxie 500 from 1963, a Brabham BT30 Formula 2 from 1969 and two more recent Formula 1 cars from Toyota and Force India will also be auctioned.
22 super classics
There are many super classics on offer. While blue chips such as a Porsche 356 A T2 Speedster from 1958, a Maserati Ghibli from 1973 or a Porsche 911 Carrera RS Touring from 1973 can be seen at auction time and again, other cars are much more unusual and genuine rarities.
Bonhams can offer a Ferrari 250 GT from 1960 with Drogo bodywork, for example. Chassis 1717GT was delivered to Switzerland as a Pinin-Farina-Coupé, but then re-bodied by Drogo in 1966 and optically adapted to the 250 GTO. It is now expected to fetch EUR 2.5 to 3 million.
The Delahaye 175S with Motto bodywork from 1950 was driven to Monte Carlo victory by Trévous and Crovetto in 1951, while Chrion and Mariotti took it to the Carrera Panemericana in 1951. This much racing history is worth EUR 450’000 to 650’000.
The Jaguar Mk VII with Coupébody by Stabilmenti Farina has no racing history, but a unique body. The 1951 car is now expected to cost between EUR 250’000 and 350’000.
The 1956 Maserati A6G/2000 with Allemano coupébody is also rare. Here, EUR 825’000 to 925’000 is expected.
In comparison, the Talbot-Lago T26 GSL from 1954 and the Facel Vega FV from 1955 are inexpensive, here EUR 200’000 to 250’000 is estimated.
Among the super classics, there are also two Aston Martin DB6s from 1965 and 1966, both of which, like 19 other cars (41% NoR in total), will go under the hammer without a reserve price.
Also worth mentioning are the AC Ace-Bristol from 1958, the Fiat 600 Jully from 1959 and the Osca 1600 GT2, which was only built twice as an aluminum convertible by Fissore in 1963 üfor EUR 350’000 to 400’000.
18 neo-classics and very young cars
A good third of the cars on offer are from the period after 1994. Interestingly, these cars are on average exactly the same price as the racing cars or super classics. They are said to cost an average of around EUR 376’611.
However, the spectrum is even wider than in the other segments, ranging from the Smart Fortwo from 2012 owned by Roger Moore (EUR 5000 to 8000) to the McLaren P1 from 2023 (USD 1.5 to 2 million).
The two cars from TouringSuperleggera from 2015 are certainly special and rare.
Four exceptions
In addition to the three segments presented above, there are four cars that do not fit into any of the categories. There are two pre-war vehicles from Delage and Hispano-Suiza, a Jeep Wagoneer Station Wagon from 1973 and a Lancia Delta Integrale Evo II from 1994.
There is certainly no lack of variety in Bonhams' offering in Monaco. The auction should be interesting and will of course, as always, be broadcast over the Internet.
Further information and pictures of the individual vehicles can be found on the Bonhams website.