RM SOTHEBY’S ACHIEVES MORE THAN €18.7 MILLION AT INAUGURAL GERMAN SALE AT TECHNO CLASSICA ESSEN

RM SOTHEBY’S ACHIEVES MORE THAN €18.7 MILLION
AT INAUGURAL GERMAN SALE AT TECHNO CLASSICA ESSEN

MERCEDES-BENZ 540 K LEADS TWO-DAY AUCTION AT €2.25 MILLION

LANCIA RALLY GREATS AND YOUNGTIMER COLLECTION COMMAND RECORD PRICES

• RM Sotheby’s totals €18.7 million in sales with 86 per cent of all lots sold at inaugural Essen, Germany auction
• Handsome 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A by Sindelfingen tops the sales list at €2.255.000
• A trio of Lancia rally greats and cars from the Youngtimer Collection draw exceptional interest and record prices
• Complete results from Essen now available at rmsothebys.com
• RM Sotheby’s continues auction calendar with Guyton Collection, 4-5 May, and Villa Erba, 25 May

ESSEN, Germany (12 April 2019) – Today at Messe Essen during the renowned Techno Classica Essen fair, RM Sotheby’s wrapped up the company’s first-ever German auction, reaching total sales of €18.7 million with 86 per cent of all 229 lots on offer finding new homes. The two-day sale represents one of the most successful and significant collector car auctions ever held in Germany in terms of both total value and number of cars sold. The auction took place in a packed room on both days and drew bidders from 46 countries, with more than 40 per cent of participants being first-time RM Sotheby’s clientele.

The Thursday session was led by the top result of the entire sale when a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A offered from a Private Swiss Collection, achieved €2.255.000 to fall squarely within its pre-sale estimate. Featuring outstandingly handsome coachwork by Sindelfingen, the supercharged 540 K was presented in Essen having undergone a high-quality restoration and retaining its original chassis, engine, gearbox and bodywork.

Stealing the spotlight during the Friday sale session was a trio of legendary Lancia rally greats, which sold one after the other at Messe Essen, each exceeding pre-sale high estimates. The remarkably well-preserved, Azzurro-painted 1975 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale was first up. Offered from just three owners and showing a mere 11,800km from new, the Stratos surpassed high estimate to a final €545.000 (est. €480/520k). The 1982 Lancia 037 Rally Stradale came under the gavel next. Another exceptionally original car and surely one of the lowest mileage examples in existence with just 3,500km from new, the 037 soared to a final €770.000, nearly doubling its high estimate (est. €350/400k). Finally, a 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Stradale, a very original, 2,200km-example of Lancia’s iconic Group B homologation Special, shattered its pre-sale estimate of €450.000 - €550.000 to achieve a final €1.040.000 to applause from the Essen crowd. Both the 037 Rally Stradale and Delta S4 Stradale achieved world-record prices by a significant margin with RM Sotheby’s, over any examples previously sold.

Another 85 modern and emerging collectables from the much-buzzed-about Youngtimer Collection also starred at RM Sotheby’s Essen sale, with results demonstrating an additional strong interest in this segment further to what was witnessed in Paris, Amelia Island, and Fort Lauderdale. On Thursday, a highly desirable 1990 Mercedes-Benz 560 SEC AMG 6.0 ‘Wide-Body’ surpassed its pre-sale estimate to bring a final €149,500. Increasingly popular with collectors, a 1992 Land Rover Range Rover with only 24,000 on the clock, doubled its low estimate bringing €40,250. Continuing the trend witnessed in Amelia Island and Fort Lauderdale, a highly original 1992 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo from the Youngtimer Collection sold for a final €32,200 to eclipse its high estimate. The bidding competition continued Friday, when perhaps the most highly anticipated lot of the Collection, a 1979 Mercedes-Benz 500 TE AMG, saw more than ten bidders raising their paddles for the pre-merger wagon, which eventually exceeded all expectations and made an astonishing €143.750, more than doubling pre-sale estimate of €60/70k and establishing a world record price for the model. Similarly, a 1984 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC AMG 5.4 ‘Wide-Body’ also ignited a bidding battle, bringing a final €161.000, and far exceeding pre-sale expectations and establishing a new world record.

We are thrilled with the success of our first ever auction in Germany and feel privileged to have been a part of Techno Classica Essen.  Further, we are thankful for the warm welcome the RM Sotheby’s team received from the German collector car community,” said Kenneth Ahn, President, RM Sotheby’s, following the sale. “This was the most successful collector car sale Germany has seen in some time, and we consider Germany to be an important part of our growth strategy in Europe given the size of its economy, significant wealth, and the number of active car collectors. Our inaugural Essen auction has been a noteworthy event for us as it has not only extended the RM Sotheby’s brand in continental Europe but has also extended the RM Sotheby’s experience to collectors at a wider variety of price points in Europe. We look forward to returning next year and to expanding business with German collectors.”

Maarten ten Holder, Head of Europe, RM Sotheby’s adds: “The last two days in Essen have proven that the collector car market is strong in Germany across a variety of segments. From well-pedigreed pre-war greats like the Mercedes-Benz 540 K, through to Lancia rally legends and rare modern collectables from the Youngtimer Collection, fresh-to-market, exceptional examples continue to bring top prices. We were pleased to see strong interest from new collectors at this inaugural sale, especially across the much-loved Youngtimer Collection which has appealed to a slightly younger generation of collector, and we look forward to further refining the Essen experience next year.”

RM Sotheby’s Essen Top Ten Sales

1. Lot 134	1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A	€2,255,000
2. Lot 257	1985 Lancia Delta S4 Stradale	€1,040,000
3. Lot 158	1959 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster	€893,750
4. Lot 256	1982 Lancia 037 Rally Stradale	€770,000
5. Lot 268	1970 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Berlinetta	€635,000
6. Lot 255	1975 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale	€545,000
7. Lot 132	1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 Sc Coupé	€432,500
8. Lot 149	1962 Aston Martin DB4 Series IV	€387,500
9. Lot 267	1970 Ferrari Dino 246 GT	€331,250
10.= Lot 131	1930 Avions Voisin C23 Conduite Intérieure	€275,000
10.= Lot 274	2005 Ferrari Superamerica	€275,000

RM Sotheby’s continues its auction calendar with the offering of The Guyton Collection, 4-5 May in St. Louis, Missouri. This unrepeatable sale features more than 60 Veteran, Brass, and Classic Era automobiles alongside hundreds of pieces of automobilia and collectables – offered entirely without reserve – from the collection of the late Mr Fred Guyton, a prominent car collector, renowned architect, and well-known fixture of St. Louis. RM Sotheby’s European calendar continues with the company’s biennial Villa Erba sale on the shores of Lake Como, Italy, the official auction of the revered Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. The exclusive sale will lift the gavel on 40 of the world’s most sought after pre-war, sports, and racing greats. Stay tuned for the complete digital catalogue, coming soon.

All images credited to Tom Gidden © 2019 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s