Silver dream machines

Bonhams has held a sale at Quail Lodge in California for 25 years. In that time it’s become one of the world’s most prestigious motor car auctions, says Robert Ross

A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta achieves $38,115,000 at Quail Lodge in 2014. Until August 2018, it remained most valuable car sold at auction

The year is 2014 and the energy in the auction tent palpable: a combination of excitement, wonder and the penetrating sense that a moment in automotive history would soon occur. Ferrari was the theme of the Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction that August, where outstanding results over two days realised ten world-record prices, with total sales exceeding $100 million. Far and away the glittering prize that evening was a red 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta. With its racing heritage, iconic V12 engine and tantalising Italian style, the Ferrari 250 GTO is perhaps the most coveted collectors’ car in the world, and Bonhams was offering the 19th of only 39 GTOs ever produced.

Opening at $10 million, the leaderboard instantly started to spool up in million-dollar increments, as the auctioneer fielded bids in the room and by telephone. Minutes later, with the gavel hovering, a gentleman in the room nudged his bid up one final time to become the Ferrari’s new owner, paying $38,115,000 and establishing the highest price ever paid for a car at auction – a record that stood until August 2018.

Every August, collectors and enthusiasts from across the world are drawn to California’s Monterey Peninsula, home to the best-attended, highestprofile events on the automotive calendar. Throughout the week, visitors can attend and participate in concours d’élégance, club gatherings, rallies and vintage racing. And, of course, there is the Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction – tranquil behind its white picket fence, with the Santa Lucia Mountains as a backdrop, on the lush grounds of Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel, California. Bonhams’ sale is Monterey Car Week’s longest-running auction, with the Motor Cars Department having sold more than 2,000 collectors’ cars, many of them realising world-record prices. This year the auction celebrates its silver anniversary – 25 years of notable sales.

A further focus of excitement is the exclusive and prestigious concours event held adjacent to the Bonhams auction tent. Founded in 2003, The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering features classic automobiles and motorcycles along with the latest concept cars and other new models, in a venue where guests and exhibitors can mingle, drink and dine amid the seemingly endless array of motor cars.

1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S Coachwork by Bertone Design by Gandini Chassis no.4170. Estimate: $1,750,000 - 2,250,000 (£1,350,000 - 1,750,000)

1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster Chassis no.198042-7500570. Estimate: $1,000,000 - 1,300,000 (£750,000 - 1,100,000)

“Bonhams has always valued its role as the official auction house of The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering,” says Jakob Greisen, Head of Bonhams US Motoring Department. Greisen lives in Los Angeles and is a veteran of Monterey Car Week. “We’re committed to our Quail partners because we like to stick with a good thing. Friday is the most auspicious day for our sale, which perfectly complements the day’s prestigious concours. Of course, both events have grown bigger over the years, and we outgrew our original location, moving to a larger venue on the western lawn in 2011. I recently went through all our catalogues from the past 25 years and marvelled at how our presentation of cars has evolved. Catalogue photos, written content and video have all improved, offering clients a more comprehensive understanding of the automobiles. But, throughout our time here, the quality of the cars has remained at the highest level.”

Another example of this was the 1931 Bugatti Type 51, a tiny blue Grand Prix racer offered in 2016. Powered by a twin-cam, supercharged straight-eight engine, the Bugatti was a technological tour de force of stunning originality. It had been purchased new by Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, and was raced at the time by Tazio Nuvolari. Of unequalled provenance, the Bugatti caused a sensation before and during the auction, selling to a private collector for $4 million which set a world record for the model.

At the forthcoming silver anniversary auction, Bonhams will be presenting some more very special automobiles. The lots crossing the ramp will include pre-war and post-war cars for road and track. Leading the sale is a perennial favourite of collectors: a highly desirable 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (estimate: $1,000,000- 1,300,000), previously owned by the racer Bob Akin, and then by the same family for 36 years. With only 1,857 examples of this model made, the Mercedes 300SL Roadster is at the top of the wish list for many collectors, and examples with a provenance as impressive as this rarely come to market. Akin, a businessman who raced successfully from the late 1950s through the 1980s, was known for his ethos of “speed with style”, an apt description of the 300SL. A classic motor car that offers both performance and comfort, the 300SL Roadster is brilliantly engineered, putting it among the best-made, highest-quality cars of the 1950s, eternally popular for being such a rewarding drive.

Italian sports cars have an eager global following, too, and Bonhams is offering at Quail Lodge a pair of superbly restored classic Lamborghinis from the carmaker’s first decade. These are representative of the superlative feats of engineering on which the reputation of the marque still stands. Eternally young, the Lamborghini Miura was the car that put the marque on the map, and it is widely regarded as the most beautiful car of its era.

Certainly Marcello Gandini’s svelte design for the coachbuilder Bertone – not to mention the car’s brilliant V12 engine, mounted amidships, behind the driver, and sounding like no other – is a landmark in the history of Italian sports cars. This 1969 P400 S Miura (estimate: $1,750,000- 2,250,000, with no reserve) is one of only 764 Miuras built, of which 338 S-model cars were made between 1968 and 1971. Less well known is Lamborghini’s first road car: the 350 GT. Wrapped in a curvaceous aluminum body styled by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, it wowed the public when it was launched in 1964. With about 120 examples built through 1966, this elegant two-seater coupé (estimate: $550,000-750,000) is, few would deny, the perfect expression of Ferruccio Lamborghini’s vision “to make a GT car without faults. Not a technical bomb. Very normal. Very conventional. But a perfect car.”

Nor are race cars absent from the upcoming auction. Chief among them is a rare and desirable 1975 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT 12 (estimate: $1,700,000- 2,200,000). It was conceived as a V8- powered race car in the early 1960s and saw continuous development through the 1970s, the most successful variant of the Tipo 33 being the TT 12, a 3.0-litre, flat-12 Group 5 competitor that won the 1975 FIA World Championship for Makes. With only five examples built, it remains one of the greatest – and most beautiful – competition cars. August’s Monterey Car Week is a paradise for car lovers. As has been the case throughout the past quarter-century, the Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction this year promises an experience not to be missed – for the cars, the atmosphere and the fact that history is sure to be made.

Robert Ross has been writing about motor cars for The Robb Report since 2001.