Five things to take away from the 2018 Monaco sales

The post-sale negotiations have been done and, footsore from a long weekend walking the hilly Principality to seal that final deal, the auction house staff have finally called it a wrap.

You can download all results sorted by make and model HERE.

Here’s the K500 take on this year’s biennial auctions held at the same time as the Monaco Grand Prix Historique.

1. Location, location, location Part 1. The iPhones were out in the business class lounge at Nice airport on Sunday night. All the talk was of steps taken and storeys climbed. “Just popping over to see what’s going on at the auction” does not happen in Monaco.

Bonhams’ Villa La Vigie base was so out of the way, potential bidders really had to plan a visit and make a conscious decision to attend. Happily, it was held on Friday night, so nothing else was on.

2. Location, location, location Part 2. The stars aligned when Bonhams offered a car in which Ayrton Senna won his last-ever Monaco Grand Prix, at the scene of some of his greatest triumphs. The right car, the right place.

3. Timing. A nigh-on 90-car catalogue takes a while to sell. RM kicked off at 2pm and finished around the 8pm mark on Saturday, taking out half a day that could also be spent watching the cars on the circuit, having an extended lunch or taking a swim in a sunny pool.

4. Big cars. For the fourth significant auction weekend running this year, the headliners – ex-Senna, ‘Refer Dept’ McLaren aside – failed to sell. This time both were 1950s racing Ferraris, perhaps a reflection on changing tastes.

5. The lure of ‘matching numbers’. Surely one reason for the extraordinary €356,500 paid for the Michelotti-bodied XK 140 was the fact that its engine might well have come from the heavily crashed Jaguar C-type XKC 016? Marry the two together and the total is most certainly more than the sum of its parts.

The 2018 Monaco Sales – Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s Combined (2016)

Total gross cars: €37,193,040 (€42,696,780)
Number of cars not sold: 40 (49)
Number of cars withdrawn: 2 (1)
Total number of cars: 139 (149)
Number sold: 99 (100)
Percentage cars sold by number: 71% (67%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 54% (40%)
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 63% (52%)
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 79% (71%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 12% (22%)
Average age of cars offered: 1976 (1967)
Average price of cars sold  €375,687 (€426,968)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 33% (36%)

Bonhams in Monaco, 11 May 2018 (2016)

Total gross cars: €14,369,965 (€15,267,400)
Number of cars not sold: 12 (17)
Number of cars withdrawn: 0 (0)
Total number of cars: 53 (41)
Number sold: 41 (24)
Percentage cars sold by number: 77% (59%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 69% (59%)
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 63% (42%)
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 85% (67%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 5% (25%)
Average age of cars offered: 1974 (1973)
Average price of cars sold: €350,487 (€636,142)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 36% (10%)

RM Sotheby’s in Monaco, 12 May 2018 (2016)

Total gross cars: €22,823,075 (€27,429,380)
Number of cars not sold: 28 (31)
Number of cars withdrawn: 2 (1)
Total number of cars: 86 (108)
Number sold: 58 (77)
Percentage cars sold by number: 67% (71%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 48% (34%)
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 62% (56%)
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 74% (71%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 14% (19%)
Average age of cars offered: 1978 (1964)
Average price of cars sold : €393,501 (€356,226)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 31% (46%)

Top Ten Cars by Value, Monaco 2018

1. Bonhams 1993 McLaren Cosworth MP4/8A Formula One €4,197,500
2. RM 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB €2,142,500
3. RM 2015 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse €1,720,625
4. RM 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Pininfarina Cabriolet Series 2 €1,692,500
5. Bonhams 1984 Toleman-Hart TG184 €1,610,000
6. RM 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight €1,242,500
7. Bonhams 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster €1,219,000
8. RM 2018 RUF CTR3 Clubsport €1,107,500
9. RM 2006 Ferrari 575 Superamerica €860,000
10. RM 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Coupé by Boano €848,750