Enzo Tops Sotheby’s Auction

Posted on September 20, 2018.

Enzo made nearly £2m

Report and pictures by Keith Bluemel

RM Sotheby’s annual London auction took place on the evening of 05 September, at its regular venue of Battersea Evoution in Battersea Park on the south bank of the River Thames. The ambience was very “Swinging Sixties” with the bar staff all dressed in lurid “psychedelic pattern” attire, no doubt a reference to two of the star cars on offer, the Aston Martin DB4 GT, which featured in the Peter Sellers film “The Long Arm of the Law”, and the ex-Rod Stewart Lamborghini Miura P400 S, although neither of these reached their reserve prices. It seems that star names weren’t attracting the bidders, as neither an ex-Chris Barber Aston Martin DB2/4 nor an ex-Jim Clark Lotus Elite Super 95 found new homes.

The range of vehicles on offer was very eclectic, with a number of micro cars and other unusual vehicles from “The Weird & Wonderful Collection”, through a magnificent 1931 Cadillac V16 Sport Phaeton by Fleetwood, resplendent in pale green over silver with plenty of chrome, to a pair of 2017 Ferrari 70th Anniversary edition models, a 488 GTB and a F12 Berlinetta. All the vehicles in “The Weird & Wonderful Collection” sold, as did the Cadillac, which achieved a within estimate £522,500, but neither of the Ferraris made the cut. Within the other offerings there were also a number of ‘60s and ‘70s Maserati models from a single private collection, all of which sold either at or after the auction.

It is only fair to say that the overall sell-through rate was quite low, just a little over 50% on the night, which must have been disappointing, but the overall figure for cars sold reached £9.4 million including buyer’s premium, and this figure excludes post auction sales. A number of the cars, including a number of the Ferraris on offer, came close to their estimates, but obviously not quite close enough to clinch a deal.

However it was a pair of Ferraris that were the big numbers of the night, at different ends of the age spectrum. The top figure went to a 2002 Ferrari Enzo, which achieved £1,973,750, followed by a 1952 212 Europa model, which broke the million pound mark, selling for £1,017,500, next up was a 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 3.8 model, which made just under the magic million, selling for £933,125.

The 2019 edition will be held at the same venue, but will move to 05 November, as the early September date is within a crowded period on the event calendar.

Ferrari Entry

Lot # Model Chassis # Colour Sale Price

103 275 Series Tool Kit N/A N/A £19,200

104 641 F1 Steering Wheel N/A Black £4,200

105 F2003-GA Cylinder Head N/A N/A £19,200

106 F40 Wireframe Sculpture N/A Yellow £19,200

108 2 GTO Registration # N/A N/A Still for Sale

132 250 GTE 4323 GT Blue Still for Sale

133 Dino 246 GT 01136 Red £172,500

136 550 Barchetta 124422 White Still for Sale

152 512 BB 29943 Blue Met’ £250,000

156 Enzo 134951 Red £1,973,750