Bonhams at Bonmont: the 2025 sale

The Brits once again made their annual pilgrimage to the stylish Château de Bonmont estate, a 30-minute drive from Geneva Airport. The results were broadly in line with the low-key figures recorded by French rival Artcurial the previous day in St Tropez. This time, though, the headlining Ferrari 275 GTB/4 did find a new owner.

The four-cam came from almost 30 years in the same Swiss ownership, which was great, though earlier in its life it had made the inevitable trip across the Atlantic to the US, where it had been converted to a NART Spider replica. The Ferrari factory and top-level Italian specialist Bonini returned the car to original berlinetta specification in the 2000s. That said, some 10 years since completion, it looked an older restoration, with details such as modern seatbelts and markings on the glass that would not be acceptable today. They also take time, trouble and money to get right. At CHF 2,875,000 gross, that works out at around $3.6m – a fair price on the day, though somewhat boosted by the weaker dollar.

By comparison, RM Sotheby’s sold another 275 GTB/4 that had been chopped in the US and brought back to original for $5,395,000 in 2023. That was an ex-Steve McQueen car, though – and had been bought for $10,175,000 in happier times in 2014.

At a glance:

* Gross: CHF 5,704,575 (2024, CHF 7,902,800)
* Percentage sold by number, motor cars: 55% (2024, 69%)
* Top-selling car: 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 CHF 2,875,000 gross, CHF 2,500,000 net (est. ‘Refer Dept.’)
* Well sold? The 275 GTB/4, a car with a less-than-ideal history but very well restored by the best in Italy. Could easily have gone home unsold.
* Well bought? The CHF 92,000 gross F355 Spider. Manual gearbox the one to have, 88,000km unfashionably high, but nice, understated colour of dark grey made this one a modern, “will not make them again” Ferrari to put away for the future.

At just over half sold by number, the sell-through wasn’t great. That and the CHF 5.7m gross are the weakest recorded in six years of sales at Bonmont that started in 2019 with a CHF 36.7m blockbuster. Many cars were sold online, over the telephones or from absentee bids. The tent was swelteringly hot and emptied out progressively as the Swiss public left to get some air after all the big lots had come and gone. 

Other results of note. All prices gross:

* 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS, CHF 448,500. North American car restored to original colours of Celeste (light metallic blue) with blue hide. American side-markers and mph speedo lost in the process.
* 1988 Porsche 911 930 Turbo Targa 'Flat Nose', CHF 276,000. Estimated at CHF 170k to CHF 220k, the strongest result on a quiet day. A US car imported to Switzerland in 1990.
* 2022 Aston Martin Valkyrie, Not Sold. Another barely-used hypercar delivered new to Monaco for a former F1 driver, this time Nico Rosberg. Missed out on that? No worries, there will be another along next week. 
* 1936 Bugatti Type 57 Berline, CHF 230,000. Nice to see a simple Bugatti saloon receive some appreciation, selling over lower guide price. 
* 1956 Bentley S1 Continental, CHF 402,500. Great result for LHD, two-owner, Swiss car all its life.
* 1964 Aston Martin DB5, Not Sold. Nothing-special RHD car in ‘007 Silver’ with sketchy catalogue description. Just not good enough at CHF 650k to CHF 700k plus taxes if imported to Switzerland.

Next stop for Bonhams is Goodwood on 11 July, where the Bond St firm will offer 61 motor cars topped by a one-owner-from-new, 100-miles-only 2023 Mercedes-AMG ONE Coupé for £2.4m to £2.8m.

Bonhams at Bonmont, 29 June 2025 – results (2024)

Total gross cars: CHF 5,704,575 (CHF 7,902,800)
Number of cars not sold: 20 (17)
Number of cars withdrawn: 0 (0)
Total number of cars: 44 (54)
Number sold: 24 (37)
Percentage cars sold by number: 55% (69%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 46% (33%)
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 75% (54%)
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 92% (84%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 4% (5%)
Average value of cars sold: CHF 237,691 (CHF 213,589)
Average year of cars offered: 1981 (1990)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 27% (41%)

Photos by K500