RM Sotheby’s Grosses $43m in Monaco

Monaco is known for its excess, and that excess was on display at RM Sotheby’s annual Monaco auction this past week. In total, the event brought over €40,000,000 in sales — or $43m — with 82% of the lots on offer finding new homes. This represents the biggest total yet achieved for RM Sotheby’s in Monaco.

The Jody Scheckter Collection was a highlight here, with the racer’s cars totaling €12,523,550 ($13,519,172). The high sale here was from his collection: a 1979 Ferrari 312 T4 that had been driven by Scheckter to all three of his victories in 1979 at the Belgian, Monaco and Italian Grands Prix. Scheckter bought the car directly from the factory — it was an all-original Championship-winning car that had only had one driver from new. All that combined into one unrepeatable lot that sold for €7,655,000 ($8,263,572) to a new owner in Japan. 

“This was the largest sale we have ever brought to Monaco,” said Augustin Sabatié-Garat, Director of Sales, EMEA. “We couldn’t be more delighted with the result. For most of the team, Jody’s Ferrari 312 T4 was the highlight of the sale, and to bring that car to the principality where it had enjoyed a famous victory, was a huge thrill. We couldn’t be more pleased that it is heading to a wonderful new home, and it reinforces RM Sotheby’s undisputed position as the leading auction house for the world’s most important Formula One cars.”

Other highlights from the Scheckter Collection included a six-wheel 1977 Tyrrell P34 that doubled its low estimate and sold at €1,040,000 ($1,122,680), as well as a 1973 McLaren M23 at €1,028,750 ($1,110,535).

The second highest seller of the event was a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider by Scaglietti, which came with Ferrari Classiche certification and a Red Book and sold to a new owner at €3,436,250 ($3,709,431). Just behind that was a 1954 Ferrari 625 F1 — the only Ferrari monoposto that had been raced by Marquis Alfonso de Portago. It brought €2,705,000 ($2,920,047).

More racing history on display included the final Porsche 917 to be raced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans — a 1981 Porsche 917 K-81. It sold for €2,648,750 ($2,859,325).

Other collection-sourced cars on-site also did well over their pre-sale estimates, including a 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series V Vantage and a 1965 Aston Martin DB5, each from the 20th Century Collection and a 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Rally and 1975 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale, both from the Sportiva Collection. 

See the complete results here.