Last month we alerted our readers to RM-Sotheby's "no reserve" Duemila Route auction, providing an extensive look at the largest private collection of cars, motorcycles, bicycles, hydrofoils and speedboats ever seen in Europe.
Formerly the property of Italian Security magnate Luigi Compiano, most of the non-automotive parts to his vast estate had already been auctioned by the Italian Government seeking back taxes, and there had already been some well-publicized sales of his personal effects including 12 Berkel meat slicers, his collection of 469 model cars, his collection of 243 model trains, and his collection of 2,187 porn DVDs and videotapes. (see the preview for the full story).
RM-Sotheby's finally got the gig to auction the boys toys after a hotly contested bidding process by the world's leading auction houses and when it finally got the go-ahead, it had to start from scratch and prepare the collection for auction in a 10 week time frame – 423 cars, 150 motorcycles, 60 boats and racing hydrofoils, 117 bicycles, bobsleds, and sundry toys all had to be sorted, photographed, cataloged, transported from Venice to Milan, housed and sold.
The magnitude of the task might not be evident but with that many cars and boats, the collection assembled from Compiano's various estates was housed by the Italian Government in 11 warehouses in Northern Italy, and just getting them to Milan required 100 transporters. When the collection was finally assembled in Fiero Milano, it covered 200,000 square feet – the equivalent of four football fields.
This all culminated on November 25-27, when 5,000 people turned up, with more than 3,000 people from 57 countries registering as bidders and five auctioneers rotated on the auction block for a total of 30 hours to sell the 817 lots.
The event at Fiera Milano was standing-room-only across all three sale sessions, and the new blood to the industry can be seen from 83 per cent of the 3,000 bidders were first-time RM clients, with many previously unknown collectors from emerging markets such as Russia, Brazil, Turkey, the Middle East and Asia. As much of the collection comprised "modern classics," the audience represented the next generation of collectors with roughly half the bidders under the age of 50.
While I can truly empathize with Compiano, the Italian Government too must have been delighted given that it was expecting just half of the final total of $54.4 million (€51.26 million). Moreso than Compiano and the Government though, there were still enough fantastic buys that the audience was the biggest winner.
The stand-out lots on the four-wheeled side of things were a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy (above) that fetched €3,416,000 ($3,623,011) and a 2004 Maserati MC12 (below) that sold for €3,024,000 ($3,207,255). The Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy was the first of just seven long-nose, six-carburetor, alloy body, torque tube 275 GTBs. The Maserati MC12 had less than 6,000 km on the clock and when it fetched €3,024,000, it broke the auction record for the model by a considerable margin.
The reason the deadlines were so tight is that the auction was scheduled to coincide with the massive Milano AutoClassica Classic & Sports Car Show, Italy's version of France's Retromobile and Germany's Techno-Classica.
RM-Sotheby's Augustin Sabatié-Garat said of the new venue, "we have ... achieved results that nobody could have anticipated. The auction venue alongside the Milano AutoClassica was busier than we have ever seen in a sale room." The sale proceeded on all the normal fronts (room, phone and internet), but the volume was unprecedented. There were more than 1,000 internet bidders, and some lots involved over 20 active telephone bidders.
As the auction was a no-reserve auction, the highest prices self-select the highlights, so here are the top 50 most valuable cars sold during the three day marathon.
Beyond the automobiles, a 2008 Ducati Desmosedici topped the sales of 155 motorcycles (we'll be listing the top 50 motorcycles sold at auction in a separate article) at €70,200 and the Jaguar D-Type Children's Car above was the subject of a bidding war which saw it sell for €30,420 ($32,263).
It's worth noting that these strong results extended across all price points, and as a category, rally cars of the 1980s and 1990s achieved some outstanding prices such as the 1992 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Group A "Jolly Club" which fetched €336,000 and the 1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16V "Ufficiale" that sold for €246,400.
Buyers of several marques expected bargains and they were right. Conversely, strong bidding was seen for the best of each breed. The sale contained almost 60 Porsche 911 variants, with a 1996 Porsche 993 GT2 topping that contingent with €616,000. There were also no less than 21 Jaguar E-Types, with the best price being secured by a 1963 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 3.8 OTS at €173,600 (pictured above).
RM Sotheby's Duemila Ruote Top 50 Car Sales
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/6C Alloy
€3,416,000($3,623,011) | Auction Link
2004 Maserati MC12
€3,024,000($3,207,255) | Auction Link
Ferrari F40
€1,030,400($1,092,843) | Auction Link
1988 Porsche 959 'Komfort'
€1,008,000($1,069,085) | Auction Link
1969 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta 'Plexi'
€873,600($926,540) | Auction Link
1991 Lancia-Ferrari LC2 Group C
€851,200($902,783) | Auction Link2005 Porsche Carrera GT
€761,600($807,753) | Auction Link
1969 Ferrari 365 GTC
€739,200($783,996) | Auction Link
1994 Bugatti EB110 GT
€616,000($653,330) | Auction Link
1996 Porsche 993 GT2
€616,000($653,330) | Auction Link
2007 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
€537,600($570,179) | Auction Link
1952 Aston Martin DB2 DHC
€504,000($534,543) | Auction Link
1989 Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversario
€436,800($463,270) | Auction Link
2006 Ferrari 575 Superamerica
€403,200($427,634) | Auction Link
1959 Ferrari 250 GT Coupé Pinin Farina
€392,000($415,755) | Auction Link
1953 Alfa Romeo 1900 C Sprint Touring
€358,400($380,119) | Auction Link
2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina
€358,400($380,119) | Auction Link
1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT
€358,400($380,119) | Auction Link
1995 Porsche 993 Carrera RS
€341,600($362,301) | Auction Link
2005 Ford GT
€336,000($356,362) | Auction Link
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA
€336,000($356,362) | Auction Link
1951 Lancia Aurelia B20
€336,000($356,362) | Auction Link
1987 Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo Evoluzione IMSA 'Ufficiale'
€336,000($356,362) | Auction Link
1992 Lancia Delta HF Integrale Group A 'Jolly Club'
€336,000($356,362) | Auction Link
1977 Ferrari 512 BB
€330,400($350,422) | Auction Link
1992 Porsche 964 Carrera RS
€313,600($332,604) | Auction Link
Other cars above €200,000
1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 | €308,000($326,665) | Auction Link
1971 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SS | €302,400($320,726) | Auction Link
1970 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SSXFZ | €302,400($320,726) | Auction Link
1946 Alfa Romeo 412 Spider Vignale Replica | €302,400($320,726) | Auction Link
1961 Lancia Flaminia Sport 2.5 Zagato | €291,200($308,847) | Auction Link
1989 Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 Speedster | €291,200($308,847) | Auction Link
1995 Porsche 993 Carrera RS | €280,000($296,968) | Auction Link
1967 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series II | €257,600($273,211) | Auction Link
2008 Porsche 997 GT2XFZ | €257,600($273,211) | Auction Link
1964 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Series I | €252,000($267,271) | Auction Link
1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16V Group A 'Ufficiale' | €246,400($261,332) | Auction Link
1948 Lancia-Paganelli 'Siluro' | €246,400($261,332) | Auction Link
2003 Dodge Viper GTS-R | €240,800($255,393) | Auction Link
1998 Lamborghini Diablo SV | €235,200($249,453) | Auction Link
1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Touring Coupé Aerlux | €229,600($243,514) | Auction Link
1967 Maserati Mistral 4.0 Coupé | €224,000($237,574) | Auction Link
1995 Ferrari F512 M | €224,000($237,574) | Auction Link
2004 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale | €224,000($237,574) | Auction Link
1993 Porsche 964 Turbo 3.6 | €218,400($231,635) | Auction Link
2003 Ferrari 575M Maranello (Manual) | €212,800($225,696) | Auction Link
2007 Porsche 997 GT3 RS | €212,800($225,696) | Auction Link
2008 Ferrari 430 Scuderia | €207,200($219,756) | Auction Link
1964 Maserati Sebring 3500 GT Series II | €201,600($213,817) | Auction Link
1962 Maserati 3500 GTI Coupé Touring | €201,600($213,817) | Auction Link
1973 Maserati Bora 4.7XFZ | €201,600($213,817) | Auction Link
2004 Porsche 996 GT3 RSXFZ | €201,600($213,817) | Auction Link