Regarded by many as the seminal vehicle designs of the 20th century, the B.A.T. 5, 7, & 9d were produced
by Bertone and presented individually to the public at the Turin auto salons over three consecutive years in
1953, 1954 and 1955. Despite their individual popularity and collective significance, the B.A.T.s were never
displayed together when new. Offered in the Sotheby’s sale from long-term ownership and for the first time
as a united trio, the three cars showcased that the power of artistry and ingenuity is always attractive on
the market, no matter the medium.
Ian Kelleher, Chief Marketing Officer, RM Sotheby’s, said: “The sale of the B.A.T. concept cars during
Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale represents the second time RM Sotheby’s has offered a motor
car as part of a Sotheby’s art sale—the first time being when we sold the Michael Schumacher Ferrari
F2001 Formula 1 race car in 2017. No other organization in the world has a client base as far-reaching as
Sotheby’s and since we have worked so closely and successfully with them in the past, working with them
again on the sale of the B.A.T. trio made perfect sense. Last evening’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction
was a perfectly executed example of cross category collaboration by the market leaders in both cars and
fine arts and served as further evidence of RM Sotheby’s expertise and leadership in the market for bringing
important automobiles to auction.”
In November 2017, RM Sotheby’s offered the Michael Schumacher Monaco Grand Prix-winning 2001 Ferrari
F2001, chassis 211, at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale, representing the car’s first presentation
for public sale as well as the first automobile ever offered in a Sotheby’s art auction. The Ferrari was sold
before an enthusiastic audience, with spirited bidding both in the room and from Sotheby’s Contemporary
Art and RM Sotheby’s specialists representing clients from each collecting segment on the phones. The
car eventually sold to a private collector on the telephone for a final $7,504,000, more than doubling the
previous record for a modern era Formula One car at auction.
Coming on the heels of Sotheby’s successful sales in Hong Kong, London, and Paris earlier this month,
yesterday evening’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale brought a total of $142.8 million with 95.1 percent of
lots sold, while the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale achieved $141.1 million with 100%
sell-through rate. With a combined total of $283.9 million, the two sales raised the total of the auction
house’s October evening sales of Contemporary and Impressionist & Modern Art to over $500 million
worldwide. Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale was led by the trio of Alfa Romeo B.A.T. concepts,
the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale was led by a prime example of Alberto Giacometti’s towering
female sculptures: Femme Leoni from 1947, which brought $25.9 million after 5-minute bidding battle
between Hong Kong and New York.
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