RM at Villa Erba 2017: The market takes a break at Lake Como

Excluding the extraordinary €582.4k ($650k) paid for a 1961 Jaguar E-type with interesting period racing history, tonight’s sale can only be viewed as ‘soft’ – based on provisional results, the sell-through by number was 58%. In 2015 it was 87%.

What you need to know:

* €24,203,200 gross for motor cars, 58% sold by number (2015: €26,714,080/87%)
* Top-selling car the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Goutte d’Eau by Figoni et Falaschi for €3,360,000 all-in (€3m hammer vs €3.2m to €3.8m estimate)
* Surprise of the sale: ex-Angolan racing E-type hammered at €520k against €250k to €300k estimate
* Non-event of the sale: much-hyped, ‘box fresh’ 1993 Porsche Carrera RSR, after lacklustre bidding, sells under low estimate (€1.8m hammer vs €2.0m to €2.2m. €2,016,000 with premium)
* P1 GTR, Enzo, LaFerrari and F12TdF not sold on the night
* Only two cars beat top estimate, nearly two-thirds sold below low estimate

The weather was glorious, the open grandstand at Villa Erba bustling. Buyers from the UK were – understandably, given the weak pound – thin on the ground, while North American visitors were, in the main, collectors taking in the concours held half a mile up the road at Villa d’Este. The usual crew of US dealers and serious private high-rollers were few and far between. So it was down to RM’s now regular auctioneer Maarten ten Holder to sell a catalogue of average quality to a mostly mainland European audience.

And no longer at his side was former RM head man in Europe, Peter Wallman. In a surprise move, the popular Englishman left the company 10 days ago to pursue new interests. We wish him well.

The motorcycle section was held at a slow pace, grossing around €1miilion. Ten Holder conducted the sale in English, and when the cars started to cross the block it was hard going.

During preview days, two cars stood out: the E-type and the practically new RSR. The Jaguar was a fine car with romantic racing history in period, but few thought it would surpass the $528k Gooding achieved for an early S1 Roadster in August 2014. With furious bidding in the room and on the phone, it added the equivalent of another $120k to that – surely the most expensive non-Lightweight E-type ever sold.

Given the level of pre-sale publicity and interest, the grimy RSR still in its protective wax was a disappointment. What should a buyer do? Clean and polish it, and by doing so lose its raison d'être? And of course it doesn't run, so it needed a push over the block… and will require an expensive rebuild should the new owner wish to drive it.

Of the modern road rockets, only the ‘Weissach’ Porsche 918 Spyder found a buyer, selling mid-estimate for €1.3m hammer. None of the other entries that put the ‘hype’ in hypercar – the P1 GTR, LaFerrari and F12TdF – sold on the night. There seemed little bidding on any of them.

And moving back a few decades to the 1930s, things weren’t much better. Ten Holder put the wonderful Saoutchik Mercedes out of its misery many millions away from the reserve, while a single €3m bid on the Talbot-Lago bought it on the spot. These models need the very biggest stage to sell. Plus, the German car had been on the market for a while.

It was a quiet sale, far removed from the barnstorming successes of past events by the shores of Lake Como. And it maintained the trend seen at Bonhams’ disappointing Aston sale only a couple of weeks ago. Looking on the bright side, real can’t-buy-one-next-week stardust, that the Portuguese E-type had in spades, shined through once again. The salerooms will be hard-pressed to pack their Monterey Week catalogues with genuinely interesting entries – the alternative is clearly more at ‘No Reserve’.

RM Sotheby's at Villa Erba, 27 May 2017. Motor Cars Provisional Results (2015)

Gross: €24,203,200 (€26,714,080)
Number of cars not sold: 19 (5)
Total number of cars: 45 (39)
Number sold: 26 (34)
Percentage cars sold by number: 58% (87%)
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 41% (59%)
Percentage of cars met or sold below low estimate: 65% (24%)
Percentage of cars sold below avge of estimates: 88% (74%)
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 8% (21%)
Average age of cars offered: 1975 (1968)
Average price of cars sold: €930,892 (€785,708)
Number of cars offered at No Reserve: 3 (6)
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 7% (15%)

Individual (provisional) results incl. premium:

1989 Porsche 911 Speedster Not Sold
1952 Lancia Aurelia B52 2000 Coupé by Vignale €280,000
1985 Audi Sport Quattro Not Sold
1955 Austin-Healey 100-4 BN2 €78,400
1969 Ferrari 365 GTC by Pininfarina €582,400
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA by Bertone €252,000
1954 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster by Reutter €336,000
2004 Ferrari 360 GTC Not Sold
1961 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8-Litre Roadster €582,400
2006 Ferrari 575 Superamerica Not Sold
1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Cabriolet by Franay €1,120,000
1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.8 €2,016,000
1957 BMW 507 Roadster Series I Not Sold
1966 Ferrari 330 GTC by Pininfarina €604,800
1935 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante Prototype by Carrosserie Bugatti €3,024,000
1969 Ferrari Dino 206 GT by Scaglietti Not Sold
1988 Porsche 959 'Komfort' Not Sold
1953 Bentley R-Type Continental Sports Saloon by H.J. Mulliner Not Sold
1961 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder by Vignale €840,000
1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Spider 4th Series by Carrozzeria Sport S.A. Not Sold
2015 Porsche 918 'Weissach' Spyder €1,456,000
1965 Ferrari 275 GTS by Pininfarina €1,792,000
1928 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Torpedo-Sport Avant-Garde by Saoutchik Not Sold
1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta by Scaglietti €728,000
1985 Lancia Delta S4 'Stradale' €492,800
2014 Ferrari LaFerrari Not Sold
1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante Zagato €459,200
1961 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Series I by Pininfarina €448,000
1994 Lamborghini Diablo SE30 Not Sold
1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS 'Goutte d’Eau' Coupé by Figoni et Falaschi €3,360,000
2016 Porsche 911 R €358,400
2004 Ferrari Enzo Not Sold
1970 Maserati Ghibli 4.7 Spyder by Ghia Not Sold
1966 Lamborghini 400 GT 'Interim' by Touring Not Sold
2016 Ferrari F12tdf Not Sold
2016 McLaren P1 GTR Not Sold
1959 W.R.E.-Maserati €728,000
1964 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso by Scaglietti €1,428,000
1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 'Periscopio' by Bertone €817,600
1990 Ferrari F40 €1,064,000
1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato €380,800
1960 Ferrari 250 GT Coupé Series II by Pinin Farina €604,800
1987 Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV by Bertone Not Sold
2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina €369,600
1952 Alfa Romeo 1900C Coupé by Touring Not Sold

Photos by Thomas