Bonhams returned to the Goodwood Festival of Speed for 2024 with 74 lots and found the going difficult, despite just under a fifth of the cars exceeding their top estimate. Look beyond the big-hitting sales, and nearly half failed to meet their lower reserve.
A sell-through rate of around 61 percent was down on last year’s rate, although it was the nature of the sales that was perhaps of note – the Martini Porsches were estimated fairly highly for a special edition that, while low in production number, perhaps lacks the ‘specialness’ of, say, an end-of-era Flachbau. We’ve taken a look at some of the notable results, both good and bad – what did you have your eye on?
The leading lot of the sale, a 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari, failed to find a new home against a £2.8m-£3.4m estimate, and the 1950 Aston Martin DB2 Team Car ‘VMF 65’ (pictured above) also returned to the vendor (est: £800k-£1.2m). A 1963 Aston Martin DB5 (est: £475k-£550k) and a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona (est: £380k-£450k) were also notable no-sales; a 1995 Porsche 993 GT2 got bid to around the £800k mark before time was called, some way short of its £1.1m-£1.5m estimate.
There was some good news, with Mercedes-Benzes responsible for much of it. The 1928 36/220 S-Type Four-Seated Sports Tourer pictured above (and detailed here) sold for £2.871m against a £1.6m-£2.5m estimate, while a 1968 Mercedes-Benz 280 SL Pagoda burst through its £80k-£120k estimate to land on £166,750. Of the two 300 SLs on offer, the 1955 Gullwing sold for £1.135m against a £950k-£1.1m estimate, and the 1962 Roadster sold for £1,045,400 against a £1m-£1.2m estimate.
Another notable result was the 1971 280 SE Cabriolet 3.5, which sold for £299k against a £180k-£260 estimate – another above-estimate result from Bonhams for this model in recent months. The Crown Edition version of the Mercedes-McLaren SLR, the ninth of ten built, blasted through its pre-sale estimate of £200k-£300k to land on £563,500.
Some of the most sobering results came in the competition car selection. The above MG Metro 6R4 rally car had been a privateer car in period, and wasn’t in that livery (aping the Marc Duez Belga livery from the 1986 Ypres Rally). At some point in its life it had been reshelled, although it had been subject to a €100k mechanical restoration four years ago. However, it wasn’t enough to entice buyers to bid anywhere near its £150k-£200k estimate, and sold for £80,500 via no reserve.
There was similar pain for a 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Super that sold for just £10,925 against a £25k-35k estimate (less than half what it sold for at the same sale last year), while the 1974 Geoff Crossley Buick Special garnered just £12,650 against a £30k-£50k estimate, via no reserve.
It wasn’t just the Mercedes-Benz badge that proved to be flavoursome for buyers. This ex-Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegence-entered 1932 Alfa Romeo 2300 Spider Corto sold for £608,600 against a £350k-£500k estimate, while a 2020 Ferrari 488 Pista Piloti sold for a roughly low-mid-estimate £408,250, as did a Lightweight-spec converted 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 Touring (£322k). A 1922 Bugatti Type 13 Brescia Sports also sold for £207k against a £180k-£220k estimate, and a 1954 Bentley R-type Continental Fastback Sports Saloon sneaked to £354,200, £4200 above its low estimate after fees.
Porsches didn’t do amazingly well at this sale, as exemplified by a brace of Martini-special-edition 911 Turbos. Just ten of these special editions were made, featuring special trim and extra kit, and the above car is unique among those ten – it was the only one in black. However, the allure of being one-of-one wasn’t enough to drag hands skywards – it sold for £184k against an estimate of £240k-£280k. The white Martini edition, the car that graced the 1978 Earls Court Motor Show, sold for £189,750 against an estimate of £200k-£250k.
Aside from the aforementioned 993 GT2 no-sale, a 1975 911S S/T restomod failed to fly against a £100k-£150k estimate, and neither did a 1984 Carrera 3.2 at £50k-£70k. A 1985 Carrera 3.2 in white sold for £48,300 against a £55k-£75k estimate, although a 3.0 RSR ‘R7’ recreation sold for £92k against £90k-£140k estimate.
Bargain of the sale? This 1971 Lotus Elan Sprint was being offered from an estate, and was only the second lot to be offered (always a good time to sniff out a bargain). Although little used since 2018, it had receipts pointing to regular care from marque specialists. Estimated at between £30k and £40k, it eventually sold for just £19,550 – a significant haircut for the vendor, who paid £43k for it. Elsewhere, a 1958 Jaguar XK150 3.4-litre coupé described as being extensively restored sold for £36,800 against a £45k-55k estimate.
On the subject of Jaguars, E-types failed to find owners. Three cars were offered – a 1962 Series I 3.8, a 1967 Series I 4.2 (pictured above) and a 1973 Series III V12 Roadster – carrying estimates ranging from a low of £50k (V12) to a high of £95k (SI 3.8). The SI 4.2 and SIII had received work in the past five-six years, but the SI’s estimate was perhaps on the punchy side – restored in 1981, it was finished in red with a cream interior, rather than its original Sherwood Green with a Suede Green interior.
We end with a high note – this 1971 Fiat Dino 2400 Spider came to auction with just two owners for the past 46 years, the last of which since 2003. Since coming to the UK in 1978, it was repainted Gunmetal Grey in 2004 and it received a new stainless-steel exhaust, fuel pump, bumpers front and rear and fresh tyres five years ago. Estimated at £80k-£120k, it sold for £132,250.
For more information on the sale, head here.
