Astons & Porsches Set New Records At RM Sotheby’s London Sale

RM Sotheby’s completed its 10th annual London sale late last week, setting a number of new records particularly for classic European sports cars.

Top lot of the day was a 1960 Aston Martin DB4GT, one of just 75 made, which sold for an impressive £2.4 million – or approximately $3.18m at current exchange rates. Another DB4 convertible joined it, fetching the same £952,000 (~$1.3m) as a 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C to tie for fifth place among the day’s top sellers. Yet another DB4 (a Series II coupe) sold for £515,200 ($685k).

Impressive as the Astons were, though, a collection of 1990s-era Porsche 911s – all from the same owner – each set a new record for their respective models. A ’95 GT2 sold for £1,848,000 ($2.45m), or a good million pounds more than ever previously paid for that model. A ’93 Turbo S Lightweight went for £974,400 ($1.3m) to emerge as the most valuable 964 ever sold. A Carrera RS (also from 1993) garnered £716,800 ($950k), or nearly half a million more than ever before. And a ’95 Carrera RS Clubsport set another record for its type at £403,200 ($535k).

A 1960 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet sold for nearly £1.3 million ($1.7m), and an F40 for £924,000 ($1.2m), but an Enzo failed to reach its reserve price. That ’52 Alfa Romeo off-roader and 1956 Austin Princess once owned by John Lennon also fell short. But all three of those Black Series Mercedes sold, and that barnfind Iso Grifo far eclipsed its pre-sale estimate range of £30,000-£50,000 to bring in an impressive £128,800 ($170k).

All told, the auction house moved 86 vehicles (or 76 percent of those consigned) at the event to net a total in excess of £21.65 million ($28.7m) in sales.