Skip to main content

Magazine

A glance at Bonhams’ Les Grand Marques À Monaco sale

Bonhams returns to the famous principality this weekend for the first time in four years for its Les Grandes Marques À Monaco sale, held during the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique 2016. The catalogue might be smaller than that of RM’s Monaco sale, but the quality looks to be very high throughout...

Headlining the sale is the ex-Ecurie Francorchamps Jaguar C-type (XKC 011) that was revealed by the Bond Street auction house way back in November. Though its history is perhaps not as stellar as originally believed, the C-type is wonderfully original, and has resided in the same family ownership for the last 53 years. It’s estimated to fetch 4-5m euros. 

Other cars at the sharp end of the 51-lot catalogue include the first Aston Martin One-77 to ever come to auction (est. 1.75-2.25m euros), a one-owner Ferrari 288 GTO (1.3-1.7m euros), and the ex-Glen Kidston 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix. Its current custodian, a Bugatti connoisseur, has owned the car since 1964, during which time its travelled around the world on various rallies and events. The estimate is 1.1-1.4m euros.

It was in the 1991 Benetton-Ford B191/191B (est. 220,000-280,000 euros) that Michael Schumacher scored his first podium finish at the Mexican Grand Prix, and the three-times Formula 1 World Champion Nelson Piquet completed his final race. In terms of unbridled beauty, we think the matching-numbers Alpine A110 (80,000-120,000 euros) ranks very highly in the catalogue, while the 1989 BMW Z1 (35,000-55,000 euros) may well be the perfect coastal runabout. You can find the full catalogue for Bonhams’ Monaco sale, taking place on 13 May at the Fairmont Hotel in Monte-Carlo, listed in the Classic Driver Market. 

Our 10 highlights from Bonhams in Monaco