There aren’t many moments we feel as proud as when we see a car we curated being used as intended, especially when the car in question is an old Ferrari. You can then imagine that showing up at this year’s Ferrari Cavalcade and seeing four cars very close to our hearts eating up the miles in Italy was almost tear moving. Four very special Ferrari’s we found new caretakers for were back in their birth country, and they didn’t skip a beat while driving up the dolomites.

We are of course talking about 3409GT, 5061GT, 06601, and 14857. One of our favourite collector pieces we have ever sold, chassis 3409GT, is a Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta we imported from the United States and have had the chance to sell twice in Germany. Born as a steel version in May 1962 and delivered in native Italy through Crepaldi in Milan, it was imported to California in 1970, and received a state-of-the-art restoration at Paul Russell and Company. It received several awards, naley Best in Show and Best in lass at the Lime Rock Concours and Amelia Island Concours, and won Platinum Award at the Ferrari Classiche Concours d’Eleganza at the Finali Mondiali in 2016. We bought the car from America in 2018 and sold it to one of Munich’s and Germany’s most important Ferrari collections at the time. We sold it once more, in 2020, to its current caretaker who has enjoyed driving it this summer, a lot.

5061GT is a rare 330 America, often mistaken for a 250 GTE but actually a completely different animal. Fifty of them were ever made, and it is believed that a lot less are still alive today. But more than its excellent power delivery, it is the specification of this very car that made it one of our favourite to handle: take a moment to appreciate its Azzuro Acrilico body on its Blu leather interior. Absolutely stunning. We found a new home to 5061GT a few years ago and it’s been the current owner’s favourite car he ever owned.

We have a soft spot for the 275 GTB, arguably Ferrari’s prettiest and most complete car from the 60’s. We had the chance of handling an early 275 GTB/2, chassis 06601, which we’ve sold in 2019 to a great friend who’s been using it since at every Cavalcade Classiche. Sold new through Luigi Chinetti in New York in 1964, it wasn’t until in the early 2000’s that this 275 came back to Europe. We curated the car from a collection in South Germany and found a new German home for it.

And least but not least, we recently handled the stunning Daytona Spider chassis 14857, finished in Grigio Ferro over a Pelle Rossa interior. The new owner didn’t waste time and had the car up and ready for its first big outing.

The Daytona Spider and the 330 America are maintained by our Engineering department and received an inspection before and after the Cavalcade. Our mechanics listen to the needs of these technological masterpieces and make sure they perform flawlessly so that no bad surprises invite themselves during the event. We transport the cars from our storage in Munich to Italy and back, and make sure the customer drives his car with the mind at peace.

Retromobile Paris 2023: finally back to its former glory

After last year’s disappointing event (Corona be damned), this year’s Retromobile was back to its full glory, with thousands of cars spread out on several auction venues and the main event itself. The star of the event was arguably the Ferrari 250 LM which would be auctioned at the Artcurial sale on Friday, and which unfortunately didn’t sell, with the high bid reaching 19 million Euros.

Known names of the industry were present at this year’s Retromobile, resuming business-as-usual after a long absence from the show. Kidston, Girardo, Lukas Hüni, Axel Schütte, Fiskens, and more, all had a beautiful selection of blue chip car.

The first auction on Wednesday was RM Sotheby’s and marked their most successful yet in Paris. The highlight of the sale was the one-off, Bugatti Chiron Profilée, with an estimate between 4.2 to 5.5 million Euros, which ended up being sold on the phone for incredible 9,792,000 Euros all-in and excluding VAT, a record braking auction sale for a new car. The other 85 car didn’t all sell, at only 68% of the lots selling, 18% less than the previous year, and of which several sold for low estimate. Probably due to the high estimates and some of the cars being not as good as one would hope, such as the Porsche 904 which was closer to being a replica than a genuine car. Still, the auction grossed a total of 46,368,800 Euros, almost double what it scored the year before. Other results included a silver 275 GTB/4 which was offered on and off for sale for many months, selling for close to 3.1 million Euros, and an F40 with history selling for just over 1.9 million Euros.

Bonhams was next on Thursday, with a beautiful display of cars at the stunning Grand Palais Ephémère. With an incredible 145 lots offered, the percentage of sold cars was, at 78%, higher than RM’s. With the star of the lot, a Ferrari F40, selling for 2,185,000 Euros all-in, there was something for everyone, with several 80’s and 90’s curiosities such as the Gemballa 911 and Koenig Special 512BBi, a Pagani Huayra Roadster (which didn’t sell), several Porsche 911 Turbos from a collection, and a black on Ascot Carrera GT. The sale grossed at 28,579,899 Euros.

Probably the most anticipated auction in Paris was happening at Artcurial on both Friday and Saturday, with the highlight of the sale on the first day being the 250 LM, and on Saturday the SLR McLaren Stirling Moss. Unfortunately, neither sold. Other sale highlights included a high-mileage Porsche 959 Komfort, a red Carrera GT, a Ferrari 340 America Barchetta which went for a whopping 5,580,000 Euros all-in, and a beautiful original Countach LP400 which went for a “cheap” price in our opinion. In total, the auction grossed 23,189,280 Euros on Friday and 14,049,400 Euros on Saturday, amounting to a total of 33,336,800 millions for both days.

The auctions in Paris showed that the passion for cars is still very much alive and that the latest price peaks (Monterey and Miami) have stabilized and consolidated at values situated just below, instead of plummeting as some expected.