No country has produced car designs with greater style than Italy, with many of the world’s most spectacular cars coming from the drawing boards of Italian design houses. RM Sotheby’s is delighted to announce a remarkable offering of Italian design icons coming to the Grimaldi Forum from 10-11 May 2024 for an impressive two-day auction. The sale will be RM Sotheby’s largest presentation of fine motor cars in Monaco since the inaugural auction in 2010.
One of the standout consignments of the sale is a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider by Scaglietti. Classiche certified, this is a beautiful example of one of Ferrari’s most iconic V-12 grand tourers. This Daytona has been subject to cosmetic restoration by Carrozzeria Zanasi with mechanical work overseen by Joe Macari. The car is one of just 19 made in left-hand-drive for the European market and is further accompanied by a copy of a Ferrari Certificato d’Origine and a history report by marque expert Marcel Massini (Estimate: €2,800,000 – €3,200,000 EUR).
Also on offer is a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso by Scaglietti. A stunning example of Ferrari’s achingly pretty Berlinetta Lusso, this is just the fifth made from a production run of only 350 cars. Ferrari Classiche certified, it was restored in 2006 and had its engine rebuilt by a Swiss workshop in 2013. More recently, it was exhibited at Ferrari’s 70th Anniversary Concours d’Elegance event in Fiorano, Italy in 2017 (Estimate: €1,500,000 – €1,750,000 EUR).
Another example from Ferrari’s iconic 250 series is a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Series II Cabriolet by Pinin Farina. The 40th of just 200 examples built, it retains its matching-numbers engine, gearbox, rear axle, and body, and was owned for nearly 27 years by one of France’s most respected collectors, Marcel Petitjean. This fine Rosso Cordoba over Nero interior example is estimated to sell for between €1,000,000 – €1,200,000 EUR.
For fans of Pinin Farina’s work, there’s also a 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Passo Corto Super Sport Cabriolet. Boasting fascinating history from new including being supplied new to the sugar conglomerate Eridania Zuccherifici Nazionali in 1949, this 6C has known ownership from new, and is powered by its matching-numbers 2.5-litre DOHC six-cylinder engine (Estimate: €400,000 – €500,000 EUR).
The original Lamborghini Countach redefined supercar styling when it was unveiled at the 1971 Geneva International Motor Show, and 50 years later that design was celebrated and reinterpreted in the Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4. The 2022 example on offer in Monaco is one of only 112 produced and shows a mere 110 kilometres on the odometer. It is made all the more special by being one of just five finished in Luci del Bosco, and the sole example with a Bianco Leda interior. Built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Countach, this futuristic design pays homage to what is still one of the most legendary supercar designs of all time (€1,900,000 – €2,300,000 EUR).
Italian design meets American muscle in the 1967 Bizzarrini 5300 GT Strada Alloy, a paradigm of design and performance. Monaco will feature one of 86 desirable alloy-bodied examples produced, and a car that has undergone an extensive multi-year restoration completed in 2021 by Rebellion Motors of Lausanne, Switzerland, with work totalling in excess of 246,000 CHF (Estimate: €750,000 – €850,000 EUR).
But if Italian design and German power are more your thing, then the Giugiario-penned BMW M1 should be high on your shopping list. This 1981 example retains its matching-numbers 3.5-litre inline straight-six engine, and remains one of the icons of the BMW M division’s long-lasting road car legacy. It will be offered without reserve in Monaco (Estimate: €400,000 – €500,000 EUR).
Continuing the theme of Italian design and American muscle, are a 1967 Iso Grifo GL Series I ‘Custom’, a 1970 De Tomaso Mangusta by Ghia, and a 1967 De Tomaso Vallelunga by Ghia. The Iso Grifo is estimated to sell for between €260,000 – €340,000 EUR, while the De Tomasos are estimated at between €180,000 – €240,000 EUR and €150,000 – €200,000 EUR, respectively. Both are offered without reserve.
