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8.1.2006
Since its creation in 1998 this uniquely enjoyable high-performance auction has developed into classic motoring’s most glamorous annual social event, the focal point of the holiday season for Ferraristi from around the world. Dominating the enduringly chic ski resort of Gstaad in the Swiss Alps, the fairytale Palace Hotel hosted a high-octane mix of leading Ferrari collectors, vintage car dealers and motoring personalities. The Gstaad Sale’s magnetic attraction within the Palace Hotel’s oak-panelled auction room is the sheer competitiveness of bidding for the twenty-six Ferraris hand-picked by the dedicated team of Bonhams for this most exclusive of all connoisseur car events. For the eighth consecutive year, Bonhams’ now traditional Ferrari Sale proved highly successful. Against a saleroom windows background of falling snow, this 2005 sale saw 81% of all cars and over 90% of all Automobilia not only sell but sell well. The sale total overall is CHF 7,943,400 and several car lots achieved prices well above top estimate. The auction was truly international with cars going to California, the U.S. East Coast, Romania, England, Central Europe, Greece, the Far East and even Gstaad, Switzerland. Star of the sale was Lot 211 – the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT ‘Tour de France’ Berlinetta - which realised CHF 2,013,821 to a young and secretive European collector. This gleaming rosso corsa liveried Competition Berlinetta had undergone a complete restoration in Italy. For many years chassis number 1039 GT had been the star of a renowned Swiss collection. It came with full Ferrari factory certificate of authenticity. Another highlight was Lot 218, the 1991 Ferrari F40 LM Berlinetta Competizione which was supplied new from Ferrari’s Maranello factory to none other than world-famous French cartoonist Albert Uderzo, creator of Asterix the Gaul. This extremely potent (900-horsepower) twin-turbocharged, bewinged chariot went to a new owner in the Far East for CHF 844,655. The two road-going F40s in the Gstaad auction did not sell, however. Lot 214 – the 1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Series 2 Coupe (third last of only 18 examples of this flagship Ferrari model built) also performed exceptionally well under the deft hand of the Bonhams (Europe) team – going to a new owner after a long and ferocious bidding battle with a bidder from Italy – the price achieved being a very strong CHF 723,420. A Californian bid of CHF 502,974 secured Lot 204 – the wonderfully charismatic Ferrari 212/225 Inter Berlinetta in which contemporary Milanese dealer-cum-racing driver Franco Cornacchia won the important Coppa Inter Europa race for sports and Gran Turismo cars in 1953 at Monza. The car is bodied by Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale, race ready and eligible for every car event in the world. For CHF 381,729 a much more recent Ferrari of particular significance also found an enthusiastic new owner – Lot 226 being a quite remarkable example of the 400-horsepower Ferrari 288 GTO Berlinetta, built in 1984 and being offered via Bonhams at Gstaad as a rare one-owner example. What’s more, its original owner was offering this long-cherished 288 GTO for sale on the 21st anniversary of the day he collected it, back in 1984. There was a second 288 GTO in the sale, owned by McLaren (now Red Bull) Formula One designer Adrian Newey, but that car didn’t sell. Another of the 26 fine Ferraris presented in Bonhams’ long-anticipated annual Christmas extravaganza high in the Swiss Alps was Lot 210 – the 1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ Spider conversion - which sold to an enthusiastic American bidder for CHF 225,000, while Lot 227 – the unique and startlingly styled 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Shooting Brake – was sold to the Far East for CHF 337,722. This is the super exclusive ex-Chinetti, Garfinkle-designed and Panther Westwinds-built black Daytona Station Wagon. The range of Ferrari Automobilia offered by Bonhams in support of these mouth-watering high performance motor cars also attracted energetic bidding both by telephone and from visitors in the Palace Hotel Saleroom. Most valuable Automobilia Lots sold were: • An outstandingly high-quality 1:10-scale scratch-built model by Michele Conti of a 1959 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sports-racing car – CHF 24,150. • A beautiful 1:5-scale hand-built model of a Ferrari 250GTO finished in Swedish owner-driver Ulf Norinder’s livery blue and yellow – CHF 20,700. Yet again the Palace Hotel at Gstaad reverberated not only to the buzz of excitement, anticipation and eager bidding within the Saleroom on Sale day, but had also seen Christmas being celebrated to the full in a Bonhams (Europe) and Krug Champagne cocktail party the previous evening, full of festive cheer…… and ‘Flaming Ferraris’. Auctioneer and President of Bonhams (Europe) SA, Simon Kidston summed up the sale thus: “This was the busiest Gstaad sale yet, and has become as much of a social occasion as an auction event. Assembling a quality line-up of Ferraris is increasingly difficult as most owners perceive the market is rising. We were very pleased that we were able to source a selection of cars fresh to the market, and to achieve strong prices across the board for them.” One thing is clear: Ferrari is a cult. People from all over the world travelled to Bonham’s annual Ferrari auction at the Palace Hotel in Gstaad. This annual pre-Christmas sale was definitely the most glamorous and prestigious auction of the year. N.B. 1 Swiss franc = 0.44 British pounds or 0.65 Euros on the above date.
Click here for a full list of the lots and prices achieved. © Marcel Massini 19/12/05 Click here to return to the Ferrari Happenings page.
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