A last-minute decision to postpone Rétromobile until mid-March left RM Sotheby's and Bonhams running stand-alone Paris sales in February. The lack of a high-profile exhibition didn't deter bidders, with new records and impressive sale rates for both auctions. RM Sotheby's were first away, with a catalogue that included the second tranche of cars from Marcel Petitjean's collection, featuring 28 road-going Ferraris all offered at no reserve. Top seller was the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO, a two-owner example with only 9,559 km from new, it smashed the €2.4-2.6m pre-sale estimate, establishing a record for the model at €3,464,375 – contributing towards a €25 million total and a 91% sell-through rate.
Ferrari 275 GTB/4 – Alex Penfold ©2021 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's
Petitjean's Ferrari 275 GTB/4 was displayed at the 1966 Paris Salon and is the first of the 330 four-cam models to have been built. Unrestored and requiring recommissioning, it was offered in its original scheme of Rosso Rubino over Beige and found a new home at €2,367,500 (est. €1.7-2.0m).
Ferrari Meera S – Ahmed Qadri-Pixelhaus Media ©2021 Courtesy of RM Auctions
Elsewhere, above-estimate results also included a 12,722-km 1996 Ferrari F50 at €3,436,250 (est. €2.8-3.2m) and a one-off 1983 Ferrari Meera S – commissioned for Saudi Arabian royalty in the 1980s using a Ferrari 400i and adapted by Giovanni Michelotti – which fetched €432,500 (est. €90-110k); while a one-owner 1994 Bugatti EB110 with 25,542km briefly held the record for the model when it sold for €1,805,000 (est. €1-1.2m).
Ferrari LaFerrari – © Bonhams
The Grand Palais Éphémère hosted Bonhams the following day, where a 930-km 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari turned in the star performance, raising the bar for a Euro-spec example at auction to €2,558,750 (est. €2-2.5m). Delivered new to Germany, it had been repainted Giallo Modena in 2016, receiving a new battery and charger in 2019, and a service by Ferrari Geneva in May 2020.
Porsche 904 Carrera GTS – © Bonhams
Bonhams' 1996 Bugatti EB110 GT narrowly pipped RM's day-old auction record for the model, its, three-owner car with 10,200km setting the new benchmark at €1,817,000 (est. €1.1-1.3). A 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS previously owned by actor Robert Redford for nearly a decade rounded off the top-three, changing hands for €1,345,500 (est. €1.3-1.5). Modern collector cars faring well included an 'as new' one-owner 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG with just 54km on the clock, soaring past its €100-150k guide at €195,500 and a 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, also barely used with 50km, that went for €218,500 (est. €160-220k). Again, overall numbers were robust, Bonhams reporting a €19 million total and a sell-through rate of 83%.
Honda NSX – © Brightwells
Brightwells pulled off the headline result in the UK at its timed online auction, with a 1992 Honda NSX that had been expected to raise £55-65k bringing a winning bid of £110,880 – a new auction record. Owned by the consignor from new, the well-cared-for, unmolested example had covered only 11,565 miles and came with a wealth of documents, MOTs and service history to complete the time-warp package.
Full February results here:
