Broad Arrow Auctions has revealed four historically significant competition cars that will cross the block at its inaugural Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este Auction on May 24-25, 2025. This quartet of motor sport legends will be offered alongside an eclectic mix of coachbuilt classics, modern classics and supercars at the event, which is expected to feature around 70 world-class consignments.
Broad Arrow’s inaugural Villa d’Este sale follows its 2024 announcement that it will replace RM Sotheby’s as the concours’s official auctioneer, following a partnership with event organiser and main sponsor BMW AG.
“Our Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este auction will offer some of the world’s finest cars,” confirmed EMEA vice-president of sales Joe Twyman, who joined Broad Arrow in 2024 after an eight-year stint with Gooding and Co. “I am delighted to announce four of these today, all with a special history within motor sport.”
The first of the four competition cars confirmed to be crossing the auction block at Villa d’Este 2025 is a 1990 Citroën ZX Rallye Raid. This particular vehicle contested three consecutive Paris-Dakar Rallies as a part of the factory-backed Works team.
In 1991, the car finished the Paris-Tripoli-Dakar Rally in sixth place with Alain Ambrosino, before finishing in seventh in both the 1992 Paris-Dakar-Cape Town Rally and the 1993 Paris-Tangiers-Dakar Rally. Consequently, chassis C05 played a significant role in Citroën Sport claiming the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallying.
After its period motor sport career, chassis C05 remained in the Citroën Heritage collection until 2011, when it was acquired by its first private owner. It then underwent a comprehensive two-year restoration, returning to its 1990 Pharaohs Rally specification, as driven by Ari Vatanen.
The car is accompanied by a comprehensive history file that includes authentic competitor information as well as documentation relating to its restoration and service work. The winning bidder will also receive two Citroën Sport racing suits from the car’s 1991 season. It is expected to fetch between €475,000 and €525,000.
Joining the Citroën ZX Rallye Raid in Broad Arrow’s inaugural Villa d’Este sale catalogue is a 1936 Fiat 570 Bertone Barchetta Special. This was the first car created by Nuccio Bertone after he inherited his family’s legendary carrozzeria from his father, Giovanni.
Nuccio bought the Fiat with his own money, transforming it from a 500 A Topolino into a stunning barchetta. He then campaigned the Fiat under the Squadra Corse Stanguellini banner in 1947, finishing a respectable 12th overall in his debut race at the Circuito di Vercelli.
The Fiat’s motor sport career continued until 1950, following four consecutive appearances in the legendary Mille Miglia. Its best result came in 1948, where it finished second in the Sport 750 class.
Decades later, in 1996, Bertone rediscovered Nuccio’s Fiat and began a full restoration. Although Nuccio passed away before its completion, the car remained in the Bertone family’s collection until it changed hands in 2021. Since then, it has appeared at various concours events, including Villa d’Este. Broad Arrow estimates it will fetch between €325,000 and €375,000.
From one historically significant Fiat race car to another: the 1965 Fiat Abarth OT 1300, a lightweight, rear-engined GT racer built to defeat more powerful rivals in Italy’s famous Targa Florio. The pint-sized racer features a raft of distinctive design features, including a roof-mounted periscope air duct to cool the driver, earning the car its ‘Periscopico’ sobriquet.
First registered in 1966, chassis 0047 competed in three Targa Florio races, claiming a class win on its debut and successfully finishing all three events. Enhancing its motor sport pedigree, chassis 0047 was owned in the 1970s by Vincenzo Osella, then head of Abarth’s racing division and later founder of the Osella Formula 1 team.
Chassis 0047 competed until the late 1980s, when it was sold and placed in storage in Italy – where it has remained for the past four decades. It is consequently being offered in ‘barnfind’ condition and will require recommissioning. The pre-auction estimate at Broad Arrow’s inaugural Villa d’Este sale is €400,000-€450,000.
The 1965 Elva BMW Mk 8 (chassis 80/09) is the only car of the four to be offered by Broad Arrow without reserve. Designed by Frank Nichols, who collaborated with renowned car manufacturers to create both road and racing cars, this unique machine is powered by a 2.0-litre BMW engine and paired with a Hewland HD5 transmission.
Chassis 80/09 made its competitive debut at the 1965 Road America 500, where it finished tenth overall with George Wintersteen at the wheel. It repeated the achievement in 1966.
The car later joined Dr Julio Palmer’s world-class collection before Historic racer Roger Wils brought it back to the UK to compete in events such as the Goodwood Revival, Goodwood Members’ Meeting and various European race meetings. It is set to compete at this year’s Members’ Meeting on April 12-13, 2025 before being auctioned at Villa d’Este, with a pre-auction estimate of €175,000-€225,000.
Further consignments for Broad Arrow’s inaugural Villa d’Este sale 2025 will be revealed in the coming weeks. For more information and to browse the auction catalogue, click here.
