Lots offered in the two-day auction were originally set for RM Sotheby’s second annual Essen auction,
which was cancelled alongside the Techno Classica Essen motor show due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the change of sale format, The European Sale became the auction house’s first-ever European car
auction held via its proprietary online platform and has achieved remarkable results. Lots saw an average of
25 bids, up to a high of 70 for a single offering.
Maarten ten Holder, Head of Europe, RM Sotheby’s, says: “As our first Online Only sale with a European
market focus, we are absolutely delighted with this remarkable result. Not only is the sale total exceptional
but to have achieved a 91% sell-through is a major achievement. Moving a long-planned live sale onto an
online only format was major effort from our team, but we’ve conclusively proven that we can conduct highly
successful online only sales on both sides of the Atlantic.”
With strong prices achieved across all categories of the collector car market, one of the sale’s undoubted
headline lots was the 1939 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Gangloff with one-off special cabriolet coachwork
by Lucien Schlatter and powered by Bugatti’s fabulous eight-cylinder, grand prix derived engine. This
classic pre-war ‘Grand Routier’ and was the pinnacle of high-performance touring cars of the era and
attracted much attention from bidders, eventually selling for an excellent €770,000.
Lot 399, the 1997 RUF CTR2 Sport brought game-changing performance to the 993-generation 911 Turbo
platform and this particular example was the very first of its kind, one of just two built for the 1997 Pikes
Peak International Hill Climb. This provenance meant it would be a firm favorite with enthusiast collectors
and it didn’t disappoint, achieving a sale price of €682,000. Other notable sales included a beautifully
maintained 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Volante at a final €627,000 and a mechanically restored 1981 Lancia
037 Stradale at €451,000.
The Petitjean Collection, a spectacular group of nearly 100 cars and a selection of collectibles assembled
by lifelong enthusiast and ex-racing driver, Monsieur Marcel Petitjean, was offered entirely without reserve
during the Wednesday sale session and along generated €7.3 million at the final reckoning. Results for the
Collection were led by the 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, which sold for a final €759,000. Delivered
new to France, the 300 SL was one of fewer than 30 examples specified with factory Rudge wheels from
new and has resided in the Petitjean Collection since 1976.
“It was a noteworthy auction on many levels and perhaps most importantly, it continued to reinforce that the
collector car market is very much alive and well and clients and enthusiasts continue to display the
enthusiasm for the hobby we were seeing before the onset of the pandemic. We look forward to interacting
with our clients both in person and via our Online Only platform as the calendar year progresses”, said
Auction Manager and Car Specialist, Augustin Sabatié-Garat.
The group of eight Lamborghini models through the years offered from the Petitjean Collection drew
significant pre-sale interest, translating to strong results in the auction. Leading the group was an early
thin-gauge-chassis 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 which brought a final €715,000. The first Miura delivered
to Paris, the car had been owned by M. Petitjean since 1979. Also selling well was the 1979 Lamborghini
Countach LP400 S, which sold well within estimate at €451,000. One of just 50 first-series LP400 S
examples built, the car was offered from 33 years of ownership in the Collection.
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