RM Sotheby's Auction Returns to the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique

In many ways, the 1960s was a decade of style. Following the austerity of the post-war ‘50s, this is the era in which things loosened up. Cinema was becoming more experimental, while the evolution of rock music saw The Rolling Stones and the Beatles take hold. In Britain, sub-cultures used clothes as a means of expression, while screen stars like Steve McQueen and Paul Newman portrayed a new form of masculinity in America. And then there were the cars. A decade of unbridled creativity saw the rise of the Mini as well as the creation of the supercar in the Lamborghini Miura. But one car stood above the rest in the style stakes: The Aston Martin DB5. It was, of course, James Bond’s steed of choice, first appearing in Goldfinger in 1964. But it was more than that. It was an emblem of Britain, a car that marked the island out as a nation of taste and automotive excellence. See one on the roads today and it’s a stop-and-stare experience. 

Just over 1,000 were made between 1963 and ’65, and today they typically command prices of over £1m. But thanks to RM Sotheby’s and its annual Monaco sale, you can have one for an estimated €360,000 - €420,000. Look a little closely and you’ll see why. The blue Connolly leather seats are cracked and the centre console unit, which Bond used as a radar, is hanging off. The car is a restoration project, representing the rare opportunity to bring a DB5 back up to scratch. It’s one of many intriguing machines that’ll go under the hammer on the 10th and 11th May in Monaco, an event that takes place on the same weekend as the Historic Grand Prix. 

That is apt as there are a selection of classic Formula One cars available in the sale as part of the Jody Scheckter collection. From the private garage of the South African world champion is a series of iconic machines in their original race-prepped condition. Chief among them is the 1979 Ferrari 312 T4, the very chassis in which Scheckter won the Belgian, Monaco and Italian Grand Prix, along with the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship of that year. It was Ferrari’s first full ground-effect F1 car, with an aerodynamic underside linking it to the current 2024 cars, and it’s one of the best-looking, purest designs of all time. Scheckter is the only man to have ever driven it since it left the factory in Maranello, and he purchased it directly from Ferrari in 1982. It can be yours for an estimated price of €5,250,000 - €6,500,000. 

Other cars offered from Scheckter’s collection include a 1973 McLaren M23, which won the team its first Constructors’ Championship in that year, and was raced by Scheckter twice; a 1975 Tyrrell 007, driven by the South African throughout the ’75-76 season, and a 1977 Tyrrell P34. This is the legendary six-wheeler, a baffling, cartoonish looking Elf-sponsored car that’s perhaps the most radical Grand Prix car ever. This particular one was built in the 2000s on an original chassis that was unused in period. It’s eligible for historic racing including the Monaco Historic GP, if you fancy entering next year and have a spare €650,000 - €900,000. 

It’s not just old metal that’s available in the sale. New, rare machines include a 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4, which is being sold alongside its equally striking older cousin, the 1988 Countach 5000 QV. There’s also a 2022 McLaren Elva, the lightest road car ever built by the Woking outfit. Chassis no ‘001’ of only 149 units, the car’s odometer reads just 8km, meaning that, rather sadly, its previous owner never got behind the wheel. With a guide price of €1.1 - €1.5 million, it’s essentially a brand new car.

There are other, cheaper ways to spend your money. A 2004 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale is up for €220,000 - €250,000, placing it in the same ballpark as a new Ferrari 296. The latter will be quicker, but the 360 is one of the best sounding cars ever made. Then there’s a 1965 Citroën 2CV 4x4 ’Sahara’, an exceptionally rare, off-road edition originally built for regions in the then French North African empire in the late ‘50s (€100,000 - €120,000). 

Elsewhere, a 1972 Porsche 911 S (€50,000 - €75,000) offers a slice of the McQueen look, albeit in pale yellow rather than the King of Cool’s preferred Slate Grey, a colour he specced several of his Porsches in. But perhaps the biggest bargain of the sale is the 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT ‘step nose’. It’s difficult to discuss classic Alfas at the moment without mention of Alfaholics, a company that’ll restomod your GT for upwards of £500,000. But this GT, fresh off a €27,000 restoration back to factory spec, is valued at a tenth of that at between €50,000 - €60,000. It’s a relative steal, and proof again that the ‘60s produced the most beautiful, desirable cars of all.  

AUCTION LOCATION
Grimaldi Forum Monaco
10, avenue Princesse Grace
98 000 - Monaco

SCHEDULE (CET)
FRIDAY, 10 MAY 2024
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
PREVIEW
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
COCKTAIL
5:00 pm
AUCTION
SATURDAY, 11 MAY 2024
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
PREVIEW
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
COCKTAIL
5:00 pm
AUCTION

For more information and to view all the lots of the RM Sotheby’s Monaco auction, click here.