RM Sotheby's Villa Erba auction 2015 - too little money for expensive Ferraris?

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Created on May 24, 2015

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Tim Scott - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Tom Wood - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Cymon Taylor - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Bruno von Rotz

Erik Fuller - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Remi Dargegen - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Jason Dodd - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Dom Romney - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Jon Green - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Courtesy of RM Sotheby's - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Bernard Canonne - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Tim Scott - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Tom Wood - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Cymon Taylor - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Bruno von Rotz

Erik Fuller - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Remi Dargegen - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Jason Dodd - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Dom Romney - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Jon Green - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Courtesy of RM Sotheby's - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Bernard Canonne - Courtesy RM Sotheby's

107

This red Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Litre from 1964 went under the hammer at Euro 110,000 - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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The hammer fell on the Ferrari F40 at Euro 900,000 - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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All auctioned cars were driven up, the picture shows the queue - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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The BMW K1 from 1992 was auctioned off for a good cause (Caritas) for 10,530 euros - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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The 1958 Lancia Aurelia B24S went to a telephone bidder for the hammer price of 280,000 euros - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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The Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta Touring with Targa Florio and Mille Miglia history triggered bids of up to €6 million - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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The hammer fell on this rare Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight from 1973 at RM Sotheby's Euro 900,000 Villa Erba auction on May 23, 2015

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The highest bid for the 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400S with less than 30,000 km on the clock was Euro 910,000 - sold - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Big announcement, but not sold - the Ferrari 250 GT SWB from 1960 was sold for €9.1 million, the seller probably expected an eight-figure sum - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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The second star of the evening was not sold - the highest bid for the Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider from 1961, estimated at over €10 million, was €10,250,000 - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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The auction lasted around three hours and into the night, with the E-Type being the third-to-last vehicle - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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The BMW Glass 3000 V8 with coupé bodywork by Pietro Frua from 1967 also failed to find a new owner - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Porsche 911 S 2.4 Targa (1973) - as lot 103 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Lancia Aurelia B24S Convertible Pinin Farina (1958) - as lot 104 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 288 GTO (1985) - as lot 105 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari F40 (1991) - as lot 106 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari Enzo (2002) - as lot 107 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari F50 (1996) - as lot 108 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 458 Speciale A (2015) - as lot 109 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta Touring (1952) - as lot 110 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Lancia Flaminia Sport 3C 2.8 Zagato (1963) - as lot 111 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Sport Lightweight (1973) - as lot 112 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Talbot-Lago T23 Major 4-Litre Cabriolet (1939) - as lot 113 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta Scaglietti (1973) - as lot 115 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Lagonda V-12 Drophead Coupé (1939) - as lot 116 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Fiat 1500 B Berlinetta Touring (1938) - as lot 117 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 575 Superamerica (2006) - as lot 118 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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De Tomaso Mangusta Ghia (1968) - as lot 119 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta 'Lusso' Scaglietti (1963) - as lot 120 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Austin-Healey 100S (1955) - as lot 121 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 195 Inter Berlinetta Ghia (1950) - as lot 122 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d'Este Coupé Touring (1949) - as lot 123 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione Scaglietti (1960) - as lot 124 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Mercedes-Benz 190 SL (1959) - as lot 125 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster (1958) - as lot 126 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Minerva AL Cabriolet Van den Plas (1930) - as lot 127 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Pininfarina (1965) - as lot 128 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Lamborghini Miura P400 S Bertone (1971) - as lot 129 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Scaglietti (1961) - as lot 130 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Lancia Stratos HF Stradale Bertone (1974) - as lot 131 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Fiat 8V Cabriolet Vignale (1953) - as lot 132 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II Pinin Farina (1960) - as lot 133 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 599 GTB HGTE (2007) - as lot 134 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé Adaptation H.J. Mulliner (1962) - as lot 135 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 512 BBi (1984) - as lot 136 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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BMW-Glas 3000 V8 Fastback Frua (1967) - as lot 137 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8-Litre Roadster (1964) - as lot 138 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Bentley S1 Continental 'Flying Spur' Sports Saloon H.J. Mulliner (1959) - as lot 139 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 Pininfarina (1969) - as lot 140 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

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Every two years, RM (now together with Sotheby's) holds an auction in Cernobbio on the occasion of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este . The reason for the biennial rhythm is not clear to outsiders, but there will probably be one.

40 vehicles, including two Riva boats, were registered for 2015. A motorcycle was added at short notice, but a car and a boat were withdrawn before the auction.

All auctioned cars were driven up, the picture shows the queue - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

This meant that 39 lots went under the hammer. The total estimated prices amounted to around 54 million euros, which meant an average of over 1.3 million euros per vehicle.

Perfect staging

The RM people proved once again that they know how to stage their cars. A video featuring Jackie Oliver driving the Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta at Silverstone got things going in the run-up to the event. And even afterwards, videos were repeatedly interspersed, accompanied by bombastic sound. Then there were the jokes from Max Girardo and his companion on stage. Really entertaining and never boring.

Figureheads not sold

A Ferrari 250 GT SWB from 1960 and a Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider from 1961 were the stars of the auction in Cernobbio near Como on May 23, 2015. Estimated prices were whispered, but it can be assumed that both cars were in the eight-figure range.

Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione Scaglietti (1960) - as lot 124 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

The bidders - over 600 people sat in the fully occupied gallery and watched the cars on offer pass by - didn't really let themselves get carried away either.

Max Girardo opened at five million for the yellow SWB and nine million was reached after just a few steps. But then nobody wanted to go higher and Max had to withdraw the car ("I have to pass this one").

The second star of the evening was not sold - the highest bid for the Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider from 1961, estimated at over €10 million, was €10,250,000 - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

The same thing happened with the California Spider, which was even bid up to €10.25 million, but that wasn't enough.

There is a good chance that at least one of these cars will soon reappear in Monterey or at the November auction at Sotheby's.

Very generous bidders

The bidders on site and via the Internet/telephone line were very generous, as 34 (87%) of the 39 vehicles on offer (including 1 boat, 1 motorcycle and a sculpture of a Bugatti 35) were sold.

In terms of value, however, the RM people must not have been entirely happy, as the total turnover fell to 26.7 million euros, mainly due to the two unsold top lots, so that an average of around 810,000 euros per lot was realized (including surcharge/commission).

Ferrari 212 Export sold

The most expensive vehicle sold was the Ferrari 212 Export from 1952 with touring bodywork.

The Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta Touring with Targa Florio and Mille Miglia history triggered bids of up to €6 million - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

The hammer fell at exactly 6 million euros and the racing car, which probably came from Swiss ownership and had participated in the Targa Florio and Mille Miglia in the 1950s, found a new home.

Modern Ferraris in demand

Bidders showed great interest in the modern Ferrari sports cars, including an F40 from 1991, an F50 from 1996 and an Enzo from 2002, as well as a 288 GTO from 1985, a 599 GTB HGTE from 2007, a 575 Superamerica from 2006 and an almost-new 458 Speciale Aperta from 2015.

Ferrari F40 (1991) - as lot 106 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

They all found new owners with bids that were at least above the lower estimate, but in some cases also above the upper estimate.

Villa d'Este on the occasion of the Concorso Villa d'Este

RM also auctioned an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d'Este from 1949 to coincide with the event.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d'Este Coupé Touring (1949) - as lot 123 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

And the event was obviously very well suited to this, as the hammer fell at exactly 700,000 euros, which is probably a new record for this type of vehicle.

Favorable opportunities

Of course, no car in the Villa Erba park was really cheap, but the Fiat 1500 B Berlinetta from 1938 with touring bodywork can still be described as a bargain, as Euro 145,000 was enough to win the bid for the miniature Alfa 6C.

Fiat 1500 B Berlinetta Touring (1938) - as lot 117 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

The 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupé also went for a good price, although the hammer price of 250,000 euros was at the upper end of the estimate. But compared to the 6000 hours that went into the restoration, the price for the imposing convertible seems very low.

Lagonda V-12 Drophead Coupé (1939) - as lot 116 at the Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

Why attracted enough

In previous years, the auction stand emptied out quite quickly towards the end, but in 2015 the majority of bidders (and spectators) held out until the end. This was probably also due to the bearable temperatures, the blankets distributed and the appropriate clothing of the participants.

The auction lasted around three hours and into the night, with the E-Type being the third-to-last vehicle - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

Nevertheless, in addition to the Ferrari top lots already mentioned, several other vehicles were not sold, such as the 1955 Austin-Healey 100 S, one of 50 built, the Ferrari 195 Inter as a Ghia-Berlinetta from 1950, the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II as a Drophead Coupé Adaptation from 1962 and the unique BMW/Glas 3000 V8 from 1967 with Frua fastback bodywork from 1967, for which the bids fell well short of expectations.

The BMW Glass 3000 V8 with coupé bodywork by Pietro Frua from 1967 also failed to find a new owner - Villa Erba auction by RM Sotheby's on May 23, 2015

Surprising, actually, as this is a really good-looking and even better-sounding one-off that would certainly make more of an impression at a Concours d'Elégance than many a Ferrari ten times more expensive.

Results in detail

The following table shows all the vehicles on offer (two were withdrawn) with the estimated prices in euros and the highest bids and sales prices in euros and CHF. The sales prices include the bidder commissions. The conversion was made at the exchange rate 1 Euro = 1.04 CHF. Unsold lots are listed without selling price (VPreis).

The column "% Est" compares the highest bid with the average estimated price. All information without guarantee.

Lot	Vehicle	Year	€ Est from	Est to	€ Hbid	CHF Hbid	% Est	€ VPrice	CHF VPrice
100	BMW K1	1992			9000	9360		10530	10951.2
101	Bugatti Type 35 Sculpture		50000	60000	55000	57200	1	64350	66924
102	Riva Florida "Nounours"	1959	80000	120000	125000	130000	1.25	146250	152100
103	Porsche 911 S 2.4 Targa	1973	160000	200000	170000	176800	0.94	190400	198016
104	Lancia Aurelia B24S Convertible by Pinin Farina	1958	270000	320000	280000	291200	0.95	313600	326144
105	Ferrari 288 GTO	1985	1600000	2000000	1700000	1768000	0.94	1904000	1980160
106	Ferrari F40	1991	700000	900000	900000	936000	1.13	1008000	1048320
107	Ferrari Enzo	2002	800000	1000000	1125000	1170000	1.25	1260000	1310400
108	Ferrari F50	1996	1050000	1350000	1100000	1144000	0.92	1232000	1281280
109	Ferrari 458 Speciale A	2015	350000	450000	460000	478400	1.15	515200	535808
110	Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta by Touring	1952	5500000	7000000	6000000	6240000	0.96	6720000	6988800
111	Lancia Flaminia Sport 3C 2.8 by Zagato	1963	250000	320000	250000	260000	0.88	280000	291200
112	Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Sport Lightweight	1973	950000	1350000	900000	936000	0.78	1008000	1048320
113	Talbot-Lago T23 Major 4-Litre Cabriolet	1939	250000	325000	225000	234000	0.78	252000	262080
114	Riva Aquarama Special "Shaheen"	1975	350000	550000	recalled
115	Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta by Scaglietti	1973	640000	720000	650000	676000	0.96	728000	757120
116	Lagonda V-12 Drophead Coupé	1939	185000	250000	250000	260000	1.15	280000	291200
117	Fiat 1500 B Berlinetta by Touring	1938	180000	220000	145000	150800	0.73	162400	168896
118	Ferrari 575 Superamerica	2006	370000	450000	370000	384800	0.9	414400	430976
119	De Tomaso Mangusta by Ghia	1968	210000	260000	210000	218400	0.89	235200	244608
120	Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta 'Lusso' by Scaglietti	1963	1800000	2200000	1800000	1872000	0.9	2016000	2096640
121	Austin-Healey 100S	1955	900000	1100000	850000	884000	0.85
122	Ferrari 195 Inter Berlinetta by Ghia	1950	1250000	1650000	1150000	1196000	0.79
123	Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d'Este Coupé by Touring	1949	600000	700000	700000	728000	1.08	784000	815360
124	Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione by Scaglietti	1960	on request		9100000	9464000
125	Mercedes-Benz 190 SL	1959	160000	200000	180000	187200	1	201600	209664
126	Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster	1958	850000	1000000	850000	884000	0.92	952000	990080
127	Minerva AL Cabriolet by Van den Plas	1930	1100000	1390000	recalled
128	Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 by Pininfarina	1965	260000	320000	220000	228800	0.76	246400	256256
129	Lamborghini Miura P400 S by Bertone	1971	900000	1400000	910000	946400	0.79	1019200	1059968
130	Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider by Scaglietti	1961	11000000	13000000	10250000	10660000	0.85
131	Lancia Stratos HF Stradale by Bertone	1974	350000	450000	385000	400400	0.96	431200	448448
132	Fiat 8V Cabriolet by Vignale	1953	1100000	1400000	1000000	1040000	0.8	1120000	1164800
133	Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II by Pinin Farina	1960	1400000	2000000	1400000	1456000	0.82	1568000	1630720
134	Ferrari 599 GTB HGTE	2007	225000	300000	320000	332800	1.22	358400	372736
135	Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Drophead Coupé Adaptation by H.J. Mulliner	1962	350000	420000	335000	348400	0.87	375000	390000
136	Ferrari 512 BBi	1984	250000	350000	290000	301600	0.97	324800	337792
137	BMW-Glas 3000 V8 Fastback by Frua	1967	380000	480000	250000	260000	0.58
138	Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8-Litre Roadster	1964	120000	160000	110000	114400	0.79	123200	128128
139	Bentley S1 Continental 'Flying Spur' Sports Saloon by H.J. Mulliner	1959	190000	240000	200000	208000	0.93	224000	232960
140	Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 by Pininfarina	1969	220000	280000	220000	228800	0.88	246400	256256