The star
performer at this week's RM Auctions Battersea sale was
a rare, matching-numbers 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Tour de
France Berlinetta, chassis number 1039 GT, arguably one
of the most desirable competition-bred Ferraris in
existence.
Glistening under the auction lights, the beautiful red
and white 250 GT LWB Tour de France garnered spirited
bidding in the room and on the phones, achieving an
outstanding final sales price of £2,240,000
($3,606,400).
RM Auctions, the
world’s largest collector car auction house for
investment-quality automobiles, concluded its 2011 sales
calendar on a high note in London on Wednesday posting
over £13.3 million ($21,413,000) in total sales with a
solid 79% of all lots sold.
Attracting an
international clientele – bidders represented 22
countries from around the world - the single-day auction
catered to collectors of both automobiles and
motorcycles, presenting a roster of some
100 motor cars and 25 classic two-wheelers.
“The London sale is
always a highlight of our auction calendar, and as ever,
this year’s event has brought our 2011 auction season to
a spectacular close,” says Max Girardo, Managing
Director, RM Europe. “Battersea always attracts a large
international audience and the sale consistently brings
together a fantastic collection of very desirable cars.
The addition of 25 beautiful motorcycles to this year’s
event brought a valuable new element to the auction,
further enhancing RM’s reputation in the collectible
motorcycle market,” Girardo adds.
As well as this
Ferrari 250 GT LWB Tour de France, other top-sellers
included a beautifully-presented, matching-numbers 1965
Ferrari 500 Superfast, one of only eight
right-hand-drive examples, which fetched £644,000, and a
competition Autodelta Alfa Romeo 33TT3 from 1972, a very
rare car with Le Mans and Targa Florio history, which
went for £588,000.
There were in fact no
less than four Italian cars amongst the top-five sellers
at the auction, three Ferraris and an Alfa Romeo: 1st
(Lot 293) 1958 Ferrari 250 GT LWB ‘Tour De France’
Berlinetta - £2,240,000; 2nd (Lot 226) 1965 Ferrari 500
Superfast - £644,000, 3rd (Lot 280) 1972 Alfa Romeo Tipo
33/TT/3 - £588,000; 5th (Lot 214) 1964 Ferrari 250 GT
Lusso Berlinetta - £487,200.
Beyond the
automobiles, the sale also featured a significant series
of 25 classic motorcycles from the noted ‘La Collezione
due Ruote’. Generating over £247,455 in total sales, the
collection was headlined by an excellent 1973 MV Agusta
F4 1000 which achieved £49,140.
