From a Bugatti Bolide to a Ferrari F1 car: auction stars and surprise bargains
Recent auction results reveal strong demand for rare performance cars, historic racers and modern collectibles
The Market
2024 Bugatti Bolide
Sold by RM Sotheby’s, £3.5m
Chiron too tame? In that case, you might need a Bolide – but with just 40 built, examples of Bugatti’s track-only hypercar rarely come to market. With an output of 1578bhp and a weight of just 1450kg, the Bolide can hit 60mph in 2.1sec and keep on going up to 230mph. In addition to the original £3.5m asking price, this one was equipped with a further £250,000 worth of optional extras – including an £85,000 paint job. But despite its bespoke finish, spectacular looks and eye-watering performance the car’s original owner clocked up a mere 215 miles. Must have got bored…
Iconic auctioneers
2004 Honda NSX
Sold by Collecting Cars, £95,501
First-generation examples of Honda’s Ferrari-bashing NSX appear for sale rarely these days – especially those that have been as scrupulously maintained as this (13 services in 56,000 miles).
RM Sotheby’s
2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0
Sold by Broad Arrow Auctions, £737,000
As the last GT3 RS model to feature manual transmission and with just 600 made, the ‘four-litre’ was always destined to be an appreciating modern classic. This fetched seven times its original price.
Collecting Cars
2016 Volkswagen XL-1
Sold by Bonhams, £25,900
No need to worry about the cost of fuel with one of these – the ultra-aerodynamic XL-1 combined a single-cylinder diesel engine with an electric motor to achieve 375mpg. Just 250 were made.
Hbonhams
2019 Alpine A110 Légende
Sold by Iconic Auctioneers, £27,030
With Alpine about to go all-electric, prices for ICE models are only set to rise, meaning this well-cared-for, low-mileage example of the more luxurious Légende version may have been a shrewd buy.
Broad arrow auctions
1965 MV Agusta 500CC
Sold by Bonhams, £967,000
Raced by Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini and then sold to John Surtees, this remarkable bike was always going to make a mint; it’s the second-most expensive motorcycle sold at auction.
2016 Healy Enigma
Sold by The Market, £18,399
With a Lexus engine and Mazda MX-5 underpinnings, the Healy Enigma carried hints of Mini and DB5. Powered by a V8, it offered a modern take on the Austin-Healeys of the past.
Forthcoming sale highlights
● Bonhams, Online, June 5-15
Run out of the Milton Keynes motorcycle storage facility, this online sale majors on more affordable, less exotic machines than some of the high-end lots that are generally offered at Bonhams live auctions. Plenty of chances to bag some two-wheeled fun for the summer, with multiple lots estimated at £1000 or less, and most falling below the £10,000 mark.
● WB & Sons, Newcastle, June 13
WB & Sons has cemented its reputation as a seller of interesting classics for the ‘real-world’ collector through its regular auctions on Tyneside. Often a source of the unusual, this sale will include a 1996 Land Rover Discovery V8 which is in unusually fine condition on account of being a Japanese import with fewer than 65,000 miles on the clock.
● RM Sotheby’s, Epsom, July 8
RM Sotheby’s teams up with the Royal Automobile Club to stage a sale at the genteel RAC concours in the grounds of Woodcote Park, its ‘country seat’ on the Epsom Downs. The auction will be replete with thoroughly British, pre-war offerings, including a 1932 supercharged Bentley, a 1934 MG K3 Magnette racer and a 1935 Frazer Nash TT Replica.
● Iconic Auctioneers, Silverstone, July 24-25
Iconic will stage a two-day sale at the BRDC Classic which takes place on the Silverstone circuit across the weekend. The first auction day will be dedicated to full-blown competition cars and the second to road-going collector’s models. This is the 16th year that Iconic has partnered with the celebrated home of the British Grand Prix.
1991 FERRARI 642
Sold by RM Sotheby’s. £3.3 M
This was one of five cars built for Ferrari’s lacklustre assault on the 1991 F1 championship, but only served as a spare for Alain Prost and Jean Alesi at the Brazilian and San Marino GPs. The buyer got a Prost seat insert thrown in.