£500k Ferrari 599 GTO tops Silverstone’s £8.7m March 2021 sale

A 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO – one of two offered – took top spot at Silverstone’s first auction of 2021. As usual, a combination of accurate estimates and an extensive catalogue of appeal to today’s sub-£125k buyer produced the goods: a sell-through of exactly 80 per cent.

The event was branded 'Race Retro', and the cars were on view at Stoneleigh Park, but as the annual historic motor sport show did not take place proceedings were conducted live in front of cameras. The auctioneer’s engaging style, and amusing wordplay with online and telephone bidders, made for an entertaining afternoon in front of a tablet or computer screen.

The year of cars offered averaged 1980 – with no pre-War entries and not many older than the 1960s. There were few opportunities, then, for potential bidders to be turned off by parts of the market they were unlikely to be interested in.

At a glance:

* Gross, motor cars: £8,697,712*
* Percentage sold by number: 80%*
* Top-selling car: 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO £500,625 gross, £445,000 net (est. £440k to £500k)

Joining the red-grey 599 GTO was an almost identical, Japan-market car that was initially declared sold for £406,125 with Silverstone’s standard 12.5% buyer’s premium. A later revision to the results revealed the deal had not gone through. A red 308 GTB ‘Vetroresina’, estimated at £120k to £145k, was hammered at £105,000. That’s £118,125 gross.

The Aston Martins all sold at today’s prices for average cars, including £331,875 for a DB6 Mk 2 Vantage; £354,375 for a DB4 Series 5 – both values with premium. Some realism has entered the E-type market, with a ‘flat-floor’ FHC achieving an over-estimate £140,625 gross. A 1965 E-type Series 1 Roadster 4.2 (est. £60k to £70k) went for £64,500 net, £72,562 all-in.

Now that the novelty of anonymous week-long online sales is wearing off, conducting a two-day event live clearly works, particularly with more modern cars today’s British buyers actually want to own.

*Silverstone Auctions, 27-28 March 2021 - results (amended 12 April 2021)

Total gross cars: £8,291,587
Number of cars not sold: 28
Number of cars withdrawn: 1
Total number of cars: 134
Number sold: 106
Percentage cars sold by number: 79%
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 66%
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 51%
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 63%
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 18%
Average value of cars sold: £78,223
Average year of cars offered: 1980
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 6%

Photos by K500