The Grand Prix de Monaco Historique is set to roar into life again on May 10-12 2024, as the principality welcomes back Historic racing to the famed streets of this famous location. Organised every two years by the Automobile Club of Monaco (ACM), the racing spans pre-war Grand Prix cars and voiturettes right up to Formula 1 cars of the mid-1980s.
The track action begins on Friday, May 10, with free practice, followed by qualifying on Saturday. The racing begins on Sunday at 8am sharp
The track action for the 14th Grand Prix de Monaco Historique begins on Friday, May 10, with free practice of 30 minutes per category, followed by 25-minute qualifying sessions on Saturday. The racing begins on Sunday at 8:00am with front-engined Grand Prix cars built before 1961, followed by pre-war Grand Prix cars and voiturettes. Rear-engined 1500cc F1 Grand Prix machinery (built between 1961 and 1965) and F2 cars (built between 1956 and 1960) will then take over.
The first of the 3.0-litre F1 races starts at 11:15am for cars that competed between 1966 and 1972, followed by 1973-1976-era F1 machines. The action then moves to front-engined sports racing cars built between 1951 and 1957, before the action returns to F1 with two separate races covering the 1977-1980 and 1981-1985 eras. This is followed by a prize-giving ceremony and a gala dinner.
However, there’s more to the Monaco Historique weekend than just the racing; Artcurial, Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s are hosting sales around the event. Below are a few interesting temptations. What are you bidding on?
Artcurial
On May 9, Artcurial is auctioning a 44-strong Swedish collection consisting largely of Ferraris and Porsches. Estimated at €35m, they are all being offered at no reserve. The above 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Spyder California LWB is chassis 1057 GT and the 12th car built. Originally delivered to Luigi Chinetti in New York, its first owner was Robert Gumper, who kept it for ten years. It then moved to California in 1970 with its second owner, Robert Ramlose. From 1974 the car was stored before being purchased by an Australian enthusiast, who retained it until 1988. It was then taken to Germany, where it had four successive owners and, in 2003, was sold to a French collector, who registered it in England.
Staffan Wittmark bought the 250 GT in 2011; at the time, it was finished in red with a black interior and thought to have been restored twice. Wittmark had the car bare-metal restored by leading Modenese workshops such as Toni Auto, Brandoli, Carrozzeria Cremonini and Luppi Tappezzeria. The engine block was replaced with a new unit (along with new pistons) from Ferrari Classiche, which has also certified the car. As the original colour was unknown, it is now finished in Canna di Fucile. It is estimated at between €7m and €10m.
This 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta SWB (3169 GT) was displayed on the Pininfarina stand at the 1962 New York Auto Show, and was originally sold to a Dr Anderson from Jacksonville in Florida, even though it was originally ordered for someone else. Anderson had the car repainted and kept it until 1979, selling it to Walter Hawkins Jr, who also lived in Jacksonville. By this point it had covered 100,000 miles, and it would be repainted in red by its next owner, Harald Javetz from Savannah, in the US state of Georgia. After having the engine restored, it was sold to car dealer Ron Spangler, from Prancing Horse Farm in Maryland (its mileage was now reading 30,000 miles).
Swiss collector Peter Heuberger bought the car in 1990, and sent it to Oldtimer Reparatur in Toffen, where the engine, transmission, chassis, electrical system and bodywork were restored to ‘semi-competizione’ spec, with a set of six Weber 38DCN carburettors. In 1993/1994 it was sent to Egidio Brandoli in Modena for another restoration, with beige upholstery and competition-type seats supplied by Luppi Ermanno & Romano from Modena. The engine and gearbox were rebuilt by the Letzi Garage Robert Fehlmann, at Altendorf in Switzerland, and the car was then used in several Historic race meetings.
Carlo Vögele acquired the car in 1998/1999, before selling it to Engelbert Stieger in 2000; it then passed to Klaus Troche from Lauf-an-der-Pegnitz, near Nuremberg in Germany. Troche then restored the car to its original condition, including the paintwork. Klaus Troche passed away after suffering a heart attack in the car in 2019; the Ferrari was passed to Franck Troche, who sent it to Carrozzeria Quality Cars near Padua, in Italy, to be completely restored in its original and unique Blu Tigullio colour, which also allowed it to meet the requirements of Ferrari Classiche. It was while these works were being done at Carrozzeria Quality Cars that the vendor acquired the car. It was awarded the prize for the best restoration at the Cavallino Classic Concours d’Elegance in Modena in May 2023. It’s estimated at between €8.5m and €12m.
Other Ferrari highlights include a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB (€1.9m-€2.5m), 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS (€1.8m-€2.2m), 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS Hardtop (€1.5m-€1.8m), 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso (€1.4m-€1.8m), 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC (€600k-€800k) and 1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS (€500k-€700k).
This 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL roadster (chassis 198.042-10-0031980) is of the last 210 300 SL roadsters built, and is a rare version with disc brakes and aluminium engine block. It was delivered new in England and first registered there on May 24, 1963, and it had two owners there before it moved to continental Europe. In 1979, it was bought from Friedhelm Merznich, who lived on Majorca, by one of his friends, Dr Alexander Bell, from Cologne in Germany. Bell kept the car for 41 years. Between 2021 and 2023, the Mercedes-Benz underwent a complete restoration from HK-Engineering at a cost of more than €600,000. It is estimated at between €2.4m and €2.9m. There are two other 300 SLs in the sale: a 1955 Gullwing (€1.4m-€1.8m) and a 1957 Roadster (€900k-€1.2m).
Other highlights in the sale include a 1963 Porsche 356 C Carrera (€500k-€700k), 1972 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring (€350k-€550k), 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280 SE Cabriolet 3.5 (€280k-€400k), 1965 Porsche 911 (€220k-€280k) and 1956 Porsche 356 A Speedster (€220k-€260k).
Bonhams
Bonhams’ Les Grandes Marques À Monaco takes place on May 10, and is led by the above 1960 Ferrari 250 GT coupé featuring one-off Drogo bodywork. A total of 152 lots, including automobilia, are set to be auctioned. More details on this car can be found here. Instead, we begin with a car well versed in Monaco Historique, as well as in F1 history…
This 1978 Tyrrell-Cosworth 008 Formula 1 car is one of five built, of which three remain. This is chassis 008-3, and it was Patrick Depailler’s regular first choice from the year’s South African Grand Prix at Kyalami – round three of the series – to the end of the season. Depailler finished second at Kyalami, first at Monaco, fourth at the British GP at Brands Hatch, second at the Austrian GP and fifth at the Canadian GP. After the season it was sold to the British-based Melchester racing team, which ran the car for Desiré Wilson. She contested the 1979 Formula 1 Aurora-AFX Championship race series, finishing 11 of the 14 events entered and nabbing a brace of podiums. The Tyrell was stored until 1982, when it was acquired by John Foulston, and entered into British national and early Historic Formula 1 events for a couple of years. It was then acquired by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, before being sold into American ownership. It is estimated at between €1.1m and €1.4m.
Other competition car highlights include the ex-Louis Chiron, Monte-Carlo Rally-winning and Carrera Panamericana-competing 1950 Delahaye 175 S Coach (€450k-€650k), a 2002 Toyota TF102 Formula 1 car driven by Mika Salo, Allan McNish, Stéphane Sarrazin and Alan Briscoe (€300k-€400k), 1957-58 Lotus-Climax Type 12 Formula 1 and 2 driven by Graham Hill on his F1 debut (€290k-€390k) and an ex-Adrian Sutil 2010 Force India-Mercedes F1 car (€150k-€200k).
This 1956 Allemano-bodied Maserati A6G/2000 was first bought by an American living in Europe, Richard ‘Dick’ Cicurel, who had his mind set on using the car in rallying. He therefore instructed Maserati to implement a suitable specification, with items such as Marchal foglamps, special back-up lights, competition differential, large fuel tank with quick-fill cap, Halda Speedpilot, a folding armrest and map light for the navigator, Becker Europa multi-band radio and extra instruments. It turned out to be the most expensive Maserati road car ever built at the time; it also features a Jaeger-LeCoultre chronograph.
Cicurel rallied it on a few occasions, but after it was damaged in a road accident he sent it back to Maserati for repair. When finished, its chassis was renumbered by Maserati from the original 2144 to 2147. Finished in its current red-over-black colour scheme, the car was used in marque advertising and brochures. It had two further Italian owners before it was exported to the US in 1976, where it entered the Rosso et Bianco collection of Peter Kaus in 1988. It was then acquired by Evert Louwman in the Netherlands in 2004, before it was sold alongside its present engine, from the A6G Gran Sport Spider by Frua. It has since been restored by experts in Italy to original Maserati rallying specification. It’s estimated at between €825k and €925k.
Other Italian highlights include a 2015 Touring Superleggera AERO3 (€600k-€900k), the ex-Turin Motor Show 1963 OSCA 1600 GT2 Cabriolet (€350k-€400k), a 2015 Touring Superleggera Sciàdipersia Cabriolet (€350k-€380k) and a 1992 Ferrari 512 TR (€200k-€250k).
This 1951 Jaguar MkVII Coupé Meteor is a one-off Stabilimenti Farina creation exhibited at the 1952 Brussels Motor Show. Joska Bourgeois, the Jaguar importer for Belgium, told Jaguar’s Sir William Lyons that his range missed a cabriolet and a coupé. Lyons authorised the production of 50 models based on three prototypes envisioned and named by Mrs Bourgeois: the Flying Jaguar, the Golden Arrow and the Jaguar Meteor. Three would-be prototypes were sent to Italy, but production didn’t follow.
Based on a design by Giovanni Michelotti under the supervision of chief designer Franco Martinengo at Stabilimenti Farina, the Meteor was displayed at the 1952 motor show and soon found an owner – F1 and endurance driver Lucien Bianchi. It later passed to Roland Urban, president of the French Jaguar Drivers’ Club and author of Les Métamorphoses du Jaguar (published in 1993), in which this car stars. The current owner has had the Jaguar since 2005, and had it restored in 2012. It’s estimated at between €250k and €350k.
Other British highlights include Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren P1 prototype (€1.5m-€2m), the first Aston Martin One-77 (€800k-€1.2m), a 2013 Aston Martin V12 Zagato (€400k-€450k) and a 2016 Aston Martin Vantage GT12 (€225k-€275k).
RM Sotheby’s
RM Sotheby’s is offering 122 lots across its two-day sale, held on May 10-11. The leading car in the sale is the above ex-Jody Scheckter 1979 Ferrari 312 T4, which we’ve previously discussed here. However, it’s not the only big-draw competition car, or even Ferrari, as we’ll find out below.
1981 Porsche 917 K-81 is the final factory-blessed 917 built, and the last of the model to compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours. As the Group 6 regulations were relaxed for the 1981 World Endurance Championship ahead of the implementation of Group C a year later, Kremer collaborated with Porsche to build an updated Group 6 version of the 917. It featured a Kremer-built aluminium spaceframe chassis similar to the original, but with additional triangulation and thicker-gauge tubing for better torsional stiffness. The brakes, suspension and running-gear components developed for the Can-Am programme were also utilised.
Two original Type 912 engines – a 4.5- and a 5.0-litre – plus a Type 920 five-speed transaxle were used, and the body was heavily revised with side skirts to enhance ground effect. A rear wing was fitted, too. Bob Wollek, Guy Chasseuil and Xavier Lapeyre were charged with driving duties for Le Mans, but the car would prove uncompetitive and would eventually retire. The car’s second and final race outing was at the Brands Hatch 1000km, the final round of the 1981 World Endurance Championship. Wollek was partnered with Henri Pescarolo, and the short, twisty track played to the car’s strengths. It ran as high as second before suspension failure scuppered its chances.
The car was retained by Kremer for several years before being sold to Bill Bradley, of 1960s Porsche 906 and 910 race fame. The current owner acquired the car in 2011, and had it maintained by Porsche specialist Crubilé Sport of Gazeran, France, which has rebuilt the 5.0-litre engine. It is estimated at between €3.5m and €5m.
Other competition car highlights include a 1954 Ferrari 625 F1 (€2.5m-€3m), 1953 Siata 208S Spider (€2.1m-€2.5m), 1973 McLaren M23 (€1.75m-€2.25m), the ex-Derek Warwick 1991 Jaguar XJR-15 (€1.4m-€1.6m), the ex-Sascha Maassen, Claudia Hürtgen and Stéphane Ortelli Roock Racing 1998 Porsche 911 GT2 (€750k-€1m), the ex-Hans-Joachim Stuck 1991 Audi V8 Quattro DTM (€750k-€1m), the ex-works 1979 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 rally car (€800k-€1m) and the ex-Markku Alén 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Rally (€800k-€1m).
This 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I, chassis 0849 GT, leads the road car sales. The 23rd of 40 built, it features one-off coachwork with covered headlamps, front bumperettes and unique side vents. It was first sold to Enzo Paoli Tacchini of Lodi, Italy, who kept the car for two years before selling it to Mario Fano of Milan. In 1964, Paris resident Claude Guillaux became the Ferrari’s third owner, before the car moved through three more French owners prior to moving to the UK, having been acquired by Keith Sohl of Woking, England, in the early 1980s.
It returned to Paris via a German owner in the late 1980s, before make its way through several American owners in the mid-1990s. The last of these was Dennis Pobiak of Scottsdale, who owned it between 1996 and 2007. The next 14 years of the Ferrari’s life were in the care of a French collector, who was able to locate the matching-numbers engine, 0849 GT, which had been installed in the 250 Europa GT number 0367 GT. Carrosserie Lecoq in France was commissioned to undertake a full restoration four years later. The 250 GT was bought by the vendor in 2021, who refinished the car in a colour tribute to its original Bianco. It received Ferrari Classiche Red Book certification in 2024. It’s estimated at between €4.5m and €5m.
Other classic-era cars of note include a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spyder (€2.8m-€3.2m), 1962 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso (€1.5m-€1.75m), 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series II (€1m-€1.2m), 1955 Porsche 356 Carrera 1500 GS Speedster (€850k-€950k) and 1967 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada Alloy (€750k-€850k).
This 2022 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4 is one of only five out of the 112 built finished in Luci del Bosco, and the sole example with a Bianco Leda interior. Originally sold to Germany, the interior features Nero Ade accents and Bronze contrast stitching. It shows just 110km on the odometer, and is estimated at between €1.9m and €2.3m.
Other modern hypercar highlights include a 2020 McLaren Senna GTR LM 25 by Lanzante (€1.4m-€1.6m), 2022 McLaren Elva (€1.1m-€1.5m) and 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series (€650k-€750k).
Further details
For more details on the Monaco Historique, head here.
The Artcurial W Collection sale takes place at the Fairmont Monte Carlo hotel on May 9. More details are available here.
The Bonhams Les Grandes Marques à Monaco sale takes place Villa La Vigie on May 10. More details are available here.
The RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale takes place at the Grimaldi Forum on May 10-11. More details are available here.
