Bonhams' latest Bonmont auction grosses CHF 7.9m

The Bond St firm’s annual visits to the smart Bonmont Golf & Country Club, a 25-minute drive from Geneva airport, usually prove successful and this year was no exception despite fewer entries at No Reserve.

Top-selling car on Sunday turned out to be the vibrant 2015 McLaren P1 (top) which was hammered sold for CHF 840,000 against its CHF 700k to CHF 1.2m estimate. That’s CHF 966,000 with 15% buyer’s premium, around $1,075,000. The man at the rostrum yesterday was past head of motoring at Bonhams James Knight, now a consultant to the company, the safe pair of hands who was in charge at the British firm’s debut event at the Swiss venue in 2019. He was joined by new generation auctioneer Richard Stafford who introduced the lots.

Five years ago, a catalogue that included modern supercars confiscated by Swiss authorities from the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea grossed CHF 36,702,775. Things have moved on, but the location is still great and the event now has a momentum of its own for selling modern, limited-edition super-and hyper-cars. As always with Swiss auctions, buyers should be prepared to negotiate a potential minefield of extra taxes and import/export duties dependent on the origin of the lots and their eventual destination.

Some of the more expensive cars did not find owners, but a new realism in the McLaren market saw the P1 moved on, joined by a CHF 920,000 gross 2021 Elva.

There were fewer (six vs. twenty-seven in 2023) cars from Bonhams’ familiar source in the Middle East and all sold well. Things did not go quite so smoothly for 1930s and ’40s classics, but a 1928 Bugatti Type 43 (CHF 500k to CHF 800k) found a new owner at a pragmatic CHF 454,250 all-in.

Next stop the Goodwood Festival, where a total of 73 motor car entries will be offered by Bonhams on Friday, 12 July.

Bonhams at Bonmont, 30 June 2024 – results (2023)

Total gross cars: CHF 7,902,800 (CHF 11,731,115)
Number of cars not sold: 17 (5)
Number of cars withdrawn: 0 (1
Total number of cars: 54 (60)
Number sold: 37 (55)
Percentage cars sold by number: 69% (92%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 33% (68%)
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 54% (42%)
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 84% (56%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 5% (27%)
Average value of cars sold: CHF 213,589 (CHF 213,293)
Average year of cars offered: 1990 (1988)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 41% (77%)

Photo by Bonhams