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The highlight of auction house COYS recent
Legende et Passion sale at the Espace
Fontvielle in Monaco was a 1968 Lamborghini
Miura P400 that had had just one owner for the
past 30 years and was in excellent condition.
COYS once again successfully held to back-to-back auctions
in the same week at the end of May with their famous sales
at Monaco and at the Masters festival at Brands Hatch. Both
sales saw significant prices being realised with the Monaco
sale being particularly well supported. “Significant prices
were realised at both sales”, said Chris Routledge. “This
year is our 90th year and once again we were able to prove
that we are a truly international company running two sales
hundreds of miles apart within days of each other and
attracting interest from all around the globe.”
The first to be held was the Legende et Passion sale
in Monaco which saw not only cars and automobilia going
under the hammer but a significant number of important
motorcycles. The highlight of the glamorous sale was
undoubtedly the 232,000 euros that was paid for the
one-owner Lamborghini Miura P400. This particular example of
the Miura was finished in the most attractive and suitably
1970s colour of lime green, or, verde pistachio and,
charmingly, still featured the original dark brown vinyl
interior, which is on most cars sacrificed for leather. The
owner had possessed the sports car for the last 30 years
and, although he used this beast only sparingly, he always
maintained it to a very high standard. On a recent
inspection the car was on the proverbial button and made all
the right noises. Having had some sympathetic restoration
work in 1990, it was recently subject to a high quality
respray in the original colour. As a result, the owner
described the car as in good condition throughout with
excellent paintwork.
It is fair to say that before the Miura, Lamborghini
produced some outstanding Grand Touring cars which, despite
their superlative mechanical specifications, somehow lacked
a definable persona. All of this was to change on the 10th
of March 1966, when the Geneva Motor Show opened its doors
to the public. Sitting on the Lamborghini stand next to a
400 GT sat the very first Miura, completed only days before.
Finished in a striking orange-red hue, the car caused a
sensation. Its mid-engined V12 layout was in itself highly
innovative, but it was the extraordinarily flamboyant body
by Marcello Gandini of Bertone that provided the masterly
final touch. With 350bhp on tap, the car was capable of
nearly 180mph in the hands of the brave, which was more than
a match for any other road-going production car.
Output soon built up as it became a favourite among pop
stars, racing drivers and other wealthy playboys; after all,
the Miura was outrageously different and certainly more
sophisticated than its arch rival the Ferrari 275 GTB/4, or
even its successor the Daytona. Production for 1967 reached
111 cars, rising to a record 184 in 1968. This was, indeed,
the car in which to be seen in the 1960s, the very last word
in style, speed and outright sexiness; the sort of car that
made children weak at the knees, women swoon and traffic
stop in all directions when it passed. Alas, the Miura’s
heyday was to end with the disappearance of the Swinging
Sixties and the ensuing tendency towards greater moderation
in people’s tastes. Production ceased late in 1972 after a
mere 763 cars had been built, and they are today the most
highly prized of all Lamborghinis.
Close on the heels of the Miura was a 1934 Bugatti T57
Ventoux, in concours condition, which fetched £190,000. The
Bugatti had undergone a complete restoration costing in
excess of €100,000. £177,000 was paid for a Porsche 911
Carrera RS 2.7. One of the most famous Porsches ever built,
the 911 RS was in original condition with less than 50,000
km from new. Other highlights included £159,000 for a 1980
Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, £138,800 for a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2
and £131,744 for a 1950 Healey Silverstone.
Six days later saw COYS running the
famous Masters Series auction at Brands Hatch. Here two
Aston Martins stole the show. A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 which
sold for 190,000 euros and had been meticulously restored
over seven years and an Aston Martin DB4 which had only
covered 12,130 miles and sold for 132,200 euros. Other
highlights included 68,700 euros for a 1968 Ford Mustang
Shelby GT350 and 58,000 euros for a Ferrari 365 GTC/4. Chris
Routledge added: “There is no doubt that we are in a
downturn but people are looking to put their money into
classic cars and automobilia rather than other financial
investments.”
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