Online Only: The European Sale Totals €19.2M, Becoming RM Sotheby’s Highest Grossing Online Sale

200612 2020 Porsche 935 ‘Martini’ (Credit – Raphael Belly © 2020 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s) (3-678)

LIMITED-EDITION PORSCHE 935 ‘MARTINI’ HEADLINES RESULTS AT €1.32 MILLION

ONLINE ONLY: THE EUROPEAN SALE ALSO SETS A NEW BENCHMARK FOR RM SOTHEBY’S EUROPE WITH 91 PERCENT SELL-THROUGH RATE

PETITJEAN COLLECTION ACHIEVES €7.3 MILLION

  • RM Sotheby’s Online Only: The European Sale featuring the Petitjean Collection closed for bidding 10-11 June totalling €19.2 million in sales with 91 percent of all lots sold
  • The auction was the first European-based sale held exclusively via the company’s proprietary Online Only platform
  • Final sale total across all lots of €19,246,540 makes it the highest-grossing Online Only sale in RM Sotheby’s history
  • Results led by the incredible 2020 Limited Edition Porsche 935 ‘Martini’ selling for €1.32 million
  • Sales from the Petitjean Collection alone totalled €7.3 million on 10 June, with a stunning 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster leading the sale prices at €759,000
  • Complete auction results now available at rmsothebys.com

LONDON, ENGLAND – June 12, 2020 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) –  RM Sotheby’s has closed yet another record auction with Online Only: The European Sale featuring the Petitjean Collection, which opened for bidding on 3 June and closed this week across 10-11 June. Overall, Online Only: The European Sale featuring the Petitjean Collection amassed €19,246,540, making it RM Sotheby’s highest grossing online collector car auction thus far. Headlining the results was a stunning Limited Edition 2020 Porsche 935 ‘Martini’ which sold for a final €1.32 million after a flurry of late bidding before the lot closed.

With close to 1,000 registered bidders, the sell-through rate was a staggering 91 percent across all lots offered with bidders registered from 48 countries across the globe, demonstrating RM Sotheby’s unrivalled ability to connect buyers and sellers throughout the world. This also represents the highest number of registered bidders for any RM Sotheby’s Online Only sale to date, 41 percent of which were first-time clientele.

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.”

200612-1939-Bugatti-Type-57-Cabriolet-by-Gangloff-(Credit-–-Remi-Dargegen-©2020-Courtesy-of-RM-Sotheby's)-(2)
1939 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Gangloff

200612-1981-Lancia-037-Stradale-(Credit-–-Remi-Dargegen-©2020-Courtesy-of-RM-Sotheby's)-(3)
1981 Lancia 037 Stradale

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.

200612-The-Lamborghini-lineup-offered-from-the-Petitjean-Collection-(Credit-–-Diana-Varga-©-2020-Courtesy-of-RM-Sotheby's)-(4)
The Lamborghini lineup – Petitjean Collection

200612-1958-Mercedes-Benz-300-SL-Roadster-(Credit-–-Diana-Varga-©2020-Courtesy-of-RM-Sotheby's)-(5)
1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster

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.

The 1964 Porsche 904 GTS was another top lot of the sale, achieving a final €693,000. Offered from 27 years of single ownership, the 904 GTS was the first of a line of mid-engined Porsche sports cars that finished with the lauded 917 and was also the final design penned by F A Porsche for his family’s firm. Following appropriate preparation, the car sold today would be highly eligible for many top historic racing events.

RM Sotheby’s Online Only: The European Sale Top Ten

1. Lot 409 2020 Porsche 935 ‘Marini’ #WP0ZZZ99ZKS199102 €1,320,000
2. Lot 359 1939 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet #57731 €770,000
3. Lot 168 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster #198.042.8500087 €759,000
4. Lot 128 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 #3111 €715,000
5. Lot 186 1964 Porsche 904 GTS #904-062 €693,000
6. Lot 399 1997 RUF CTR2 Sport #W09BC0364VPR06011 €682,000
7. Lot 408 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Volante #DBVC/3623/LC €627,000
8. Lot 177 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S #1121066 €451,000
9. Lot 331 Lancia 037 Stradale #ZLA151AR000000014 €451,000
10. Lot 361 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster #80524 €357,500

RM Sotheby’s continues its Online Only summer auction calendar this month with its support of the FIA’s #RaceAgainstCovid Auction, from which all proceeds will benefit the IFRC’s global COVID-19 response (15–22 June), closely followed by Pedal Power, presenting 53 museum quality pedal cars entirely without reserve (17–24 June). RM Sotheby’s will also present A Lifetime of Porsche Memorabilia via its Online Only platform, offering more than 450 desirable Porsche collectibles entirely without reserve across two sales (22–30 June & 21–29 July). Additional auctions will be announced in the coming weeks.

Complete results from RM Sotheby’s Online Only: The European Sale featuring the Petitjean Collection as well as additional information on upcoming auctions are available at rmsothebys.com. RM Sotheby’s Online Only Summer 2020 Calendar is also available via the Media Center.

EDITOR’S NOTES

  1. Results are listed in EURO and include buyer’s premium (10 percent of the hammer price for all motor car lots, 20 percent of the hammer price for all memorabilia and non-motor car lots).
  2. Results include select transactions that occurred immediately following the sale.

FOR MORE NEWS FROM RM SOTHEBY’S: #RMSothebys #RMOnlineOnly

About RM Sotheby’s

RM Sotheby’s is the world’s largest collector car auction house by total sales. With 40 years of proven results in the collector car industry, RM’s vertically integrated range of services, from auctions (live and online) and private sales to estate planning and financial services, coupled with an expert team of Car Specialists and an international footprint, provide an unsurpassed level of service to the global collector car market. RM Sotheby’s is currently responsible for six of the top ten most valuable motor cars ever sold at auction.

RM Sotheby’s launched its Online Only division in 2019, providing consignors and bidders an easy-to-use, proprietary platform that allows faster transactions to take place while still harnessing the level of service and global reach for which the RM Sotheby’s team is known. For further information, visit rmsothebys.com.

Source: RM Sotheby’s

RM online only logo

####