Best of Bonhams

2013

The Ex-Juan Manuel Fangio, Hans Herrmann, Karl Kling, German and Swiss Grand Prix Winning
1954 Mercedes-Benz W196R Formula 1 Racing Single-Seater

Automotive history was made at the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale in 2013 when the car that took five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio to the second of his Formula 1 world titles achieved a record-breaking figure of £19,601,500.

This legendary Grand Prix car, in which Fangio won both the 1954 German and Swiss Grand Prix races, became the most valuable motor vehicle ever sold at auction, beating the previous record of £10,086,400 set by a Ferrari in 2011.

2014

1954 Ferrari 4.9-Litre 375-Plus Sports-Racing Two-Seat Spider Competizione

This outstanding example of the biggest-engined, most powerful and most important sports-racing Ferrari model was built purely for works team use at the outset of the 1954 International motor racing season.

Painstakingly restored in Italy, the Ferrari was offered at Goodwood "on the button" and ready to run, resulting in a spirited battle between bidders at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale in 2014.  

The brutally fast 1954 Ferrari 375-Plus fetched £10.7 million, setting a World Auction Record for a Ferrari Sports racing car.

2018

1961 Aston Martin 'MP209' DB4GT Zagato Grand Touring Two-Seat Coupe

In 2018, Bonhams celebrated its 50^th ever auction at Goodwood with the Festival of Speed Sale, achieving a total of £32,046,159, with several world records broken in the process.

The best-known and most charismatic of all Aston Martin DB4GT Zagatos, this competition coupe was essentially a development prototype – sharing a near-identical new chassis structure to the DP214 works-run 'Project car' design then forthcoming for the Aston Martin factory team's revival in 1963.

While there were 19 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato entities manufactured overall, only three of them were to this ultimate 'MP 209' specification – known internally at the Feltham factory as the 'Super Lightweight' or 'GTSL'.

This exquisite '2 VEV,' ex-Essex Racing Stable, 1961 Aston Martin 'MP209' DB4GT Zagato achieved a staggering £10,081,500, making it the most valuable British car ever sold at a European auction.

2018

1957 BMW 507 Roadster with Hardtop

Also in 2018, Bonhams was thrilled to offer the rare, one-owner 1957 BMW 507 Roadster directly from the estate of the late John Surtees CBE, at the Festival of Speed Sale in Goodwood.

A one-owner beauty offered for the very first time at public auction, the 1957 BMW 507 Roadster realised £3,809,500 against a pre-sale estimate of £2,000,000-2,500,000 after a tense and lengthy bidding exchange, setting the world record for the most valuable BMW ever sold under the hammer at auction.

2015

1935 Aston Martin Works Ulster 'LM19' Mille Miglia, RAC Tourist Trophy, French Grand Prix, Le Mans 24-Hours Competition Sports Two-Seater

A pre-war 'Works' racing car of excellent provenance, the Ulster was built to compete at the highest level of endurance racing, with appearances at Le Mans, the Ards TT, the Mille Miglia, the RAC TT, and with the additional cherry on the cake being the 1936 French Grand Prix outing, driven by none other than the brilliant Dick Seaman.

In 2015, the ex-Works Racing Aston Martin Ulster Team Car, LM19, sold for £2,913,500 at the Festival of Speed Sale. This was one of the highest amounts ever achieved for a pre-war British sports car and smashed the existing record (held by Bonhams) for a pre-War Aston Martin.

2019

1992 Williams-Renault FW14B Formula 1 Racing Single-Seater

Designed by celebrated Formula 1 engineer Adrian Newey, The FW14B is considered one of the most sophisticated, dominant and important Formula 1 racing cars of all time, featuring state-of-the-art technology, including 6-speed semi-automatic transmission, ride-levelling active suspension and cutting-edge aerodynamics, powered by Renault's RS3 3.5-litre V10 engine.

After a tense three-way international bidding battle the Williams-Renault FW14B Formula 1 car, in which legendary British racing driver Nigel Mansell won a record-setting five Grand Prix races (all from pole) in his Championship-winning 1992 season, set another world record in by achieving the highest price ever paid at auction for a Williams Grand Prix car - £2,703,000.

2015

1961 Porsche RS-61 Spyder Sports-Racing Two-Seater

One of the greatest racing drivers of all time, Sir Stirling was without doubt the standard-setting racing driver of his era, and was a multiple winner of World Championship Grand Prix and Sports Car races during his glittering frontline career.

Sir Stirling described the Porsche RS60/61 series as having been "Just super cars – beautifully balanced and simply tailor-made for such races as the mighty Targa Florio around 440 miles of Sicilian mountain roads. That was one morning when I woke up and really could say to myself, 'For today's race you have got the ideal car'."

Owned by none other than 'Mr Motor Racing' himself the 1961 Porsche RS-61 Spyder sold for £1,905,500 at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale.

2015

1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster

When Mercedes-Benz first unveiled its CLK GTR Roadster in 1998 it sold for an astonishing $1.5 million dollars, making it the most expensive production car ever, a figure only recently exceeded by the Ferrari FXX.

The very first example ever built and the only one of the six roadsters to be finished in black, this Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Roadster sold for an incredible £1,513,500 having only had a mere eight kilometres on the odometer.

2021

The Ex-Corrado Cupellini
Ferrari Dino 246/60 Formula 1 Racing Single-Seater

Prancing horses were first past the post at the 2021 Festival of Speed Sale, with a Ferrari Dino 246/60 Formula 1 single-seater recreation fetching £967,000 on the auction block.

This well-presented 2.4-litre Ferrari Dino 246/60 was campaigned in major historic racing events of the 1980s, including the Monaco Historic Grand Prix, by leading Italian classic car dealer Corrado Cupellini.

An extremely competitive front-engined Grand Prix car ideal, the Dino was sold together with a spare Dino 246/59-spec chassis, providing an opportunity to revive a long-lost Grand Prix racing car.

2015

1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster with Hardtop

Bonhams celebrated the 25^th anniversary of its Festival of Speed Sale with a fantastic range of motor cars, totalling over £10,000,00.

German marques thrived throughout the sale, with the perennially appealing 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster attracting the interest of the room and the car's newest (and indeed only its fourth) owner securing the car for £897,500.