Bonhams’ now traditional end-of-year Ferrari sale at the fabulous Palace Hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland, took place on Sunday 17th December 2006. Once again there was a mouth-watering selection of Italian exotica which for the first time this year also included Maseratis, not just Ferraris. Clearly there is a lack of top Ferraris to bring to sale and the combination of these two great marques signals a desire to include more fabulous cars. The European auction houses are generally bullish about the state of the European market and Maserati is set to enjoy the benefits of the buoyant European market. Buyers are very realistic and extremely well informed these days. Individual clients are prepared to pay big money for rare things but they are not stupid and do their homework properly and often very carefully.

This year was the 9th edition of this Gstaad sale and was under a new director, Matthieu Lamoure, following the departure of Simon Kidston in January 2006. The auction itself was staged by James Knight.

The sale began with the Automobilia lots which this year included a series of impressive scale models, brochures, books, photographs, spare parts, including Weber carburetors, tool boxes and even a 250 GTE-based bar/sofa. This was built from an original car and sold for about 20,000 Swiss Francs (SFR). The original must have been served as a donor car for a 250 GTO or TR replica.

Bonhams has always selected a nicely varied line-up for almost every budget. The oldest Ferrari available was a 1952 212 Export Coupé Vignale, painted French blue and with Concours and race history of the early 1950s. This car was last entered in the 2006 Mille Miglia and would have been the perfect vintage car for almost any event on the planet. Alas, it didn’t sell. The most recent Ferrari was a 575 GTC Maranello competition car with a significant race history. This scarce racer was sold to a group of four friends in Switzerland and was the highest priced Ferrari to change hands at Gstaad.

The most difficult task Bonhams faced was to find a highlight for this year’s auction. They managed to get the ex-Masten Gregory 750 Monza Spider, painted white and blue and ready to race. But this great 50s sport racer failed to attract bidders and the bidding stopped at SFR 1.3m. It would have taken at least SFR 1.5m to secure this car. It had been on the market in 2005 already and it should not be forgotten that it is “only” a 4-cylinder engined Ferrari. Additionally it had been rebodied twice in the last 25 years. Not exactly what people really want.

There were also two 330 GTCs, one of which sold to a German dealer and the other one to a private Swiss individual. Unfortunately the 250 GT Lusso had a bit of a story, having been stolen in the 1970s, later re-appeared without body and today has a non-original and re-stamped engine. The bodywork also looked somewhat strange in certain areas, the proportions being a bit unusual. The 250 GT Cabriolet Series II also had a non-matching engine and that automatically killed the sale. Besides that it was painted red and that’s not the best color for these great Pininfarina creations. Surprisingly the fiberglass-bodied 308 GTB didn’t reach a high enough bid. The red 550 Barchetta came from a Swiss collection and remained in Switzerland with a new owner. The single-family owned Dino 246 GTS did sell for SFR 180,000 but it clearly needs fresh wheels, new exterior mirrors, a repaint and a series of other refurbishments.

Offered for the first time the Maseratis immediately eclipsed the Ferraris in the Gstaad sale. This was clearly because some of them were very rare racing cars from the 1960s. They formed the last in a long line of Maserati racing cars and had been part of German Peter Kaus’ fabulous Rosso Bianco collection for a very long time. Early in 2006 this collection had been taken over by Evert Louwman in Holland, one of the shareholders of Bonhams.

Although none of the Maseratis in Gstaad were particularly successful their rarity sparked a lot of attention. The most impressive was the 151/1 Coupé constructed for the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Its dramatic lines and brutish V8 engine appealed to the crowd gathered in the Palace Hotel and it changed hands for a staggering SFR 2,046,097, well north of the high estimate. Buyer was an Italian broker who purchased the car for an U.S. East Coast collector. Another top seller was the Tipo 65 Birdcage which is the very last Maserati racing car of the classic era. A combination of the tubular spaceframe chassis and the 151 engine, it was built at the last minute for the 1965 Le Mans race. It found a new owner for SFR 932,844 and will also be shipped to an U.S. East Coast collector.

As with the Ferraris, the high-profile Maseratis were backed up by a nice selection of more affordable examples. A beautiful Allemano bodied A6G 2000 was especially interesting. Even though it came with its engine removed, the unusual coupe sold to a well-known French dealer for well over the high estimate at SFR 229,621. A 1985 Maserati Bi-Turbo sold for ridiculously low SFR 4,000 (hammer price) and auctioneer James Knight commented that this was cheaper than the price of the taxi fare back to the airport [but at least you'd actually get there in the taxi! - Ed.].

In conclusion one can say that at Gstaad 2006 the Maseratis clearly stole the show. Maseratis were top, but the Ferraris were a flop. 21 out of the 28 Maseratis were sold, but of the 16 Ferraris offered, no fewer than six didn’t sell. It may be difficult to repeat the impressive offering in the years to come. Clearly it is getting more difficult for auctioneers to find cars that are fresh on the market, cars with no stories and questions marks and in perfect condition.

£19.7k wasn't enough to buy this fibreglass 308	550 barchetta went...	...so did Dino, despite needing some TLC	Daytona Spider conversion made nearly £120 grand
Bidding for neither F40 reached their reserves	F40 comp. conversion	Got to be the ultimate weekend toy!	There were lots of lots of these Maser thingies

 

Click here for MM's list of lots and prices achieved

© Marcel Massini 30/12/06