£1.9m Mercedes tops first RM Sotheby’s Essen sale

| 15 Apr 2019
Classic & Sports Car – £1.9m Mercedes tops first RM Sotheby’s Essen sale

A 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A was the top-selling lot at RM Sotheby’s inaugural Techno-Classica Essen auction on 11-12 April.

The hammer fell at €2,255,000 (c£1,945,400), bang in the middle of the car’s pre-sale estimate at a two-day event that achieved more than €18.7m (£16.1m) in total, and that saw 86 percent of the 229 lots find new homes.

Powered by a supercharged straight-eight and clothed in sweeping, two-tone bodywork, the restored Mercedes was delivered new to London, but came to the sale from a private collection in Switzerland.

It was the priciest lot by quite some margin – and one of only two to hit seven figures.

Classic & Sports Car – £1.9m Mercedes tops first RM Sotheby’s Essen sale

The other was a 1985 Lancia Delta S4 Stradale that absolutely smashed its €450-550,000 estimate when it sold for €1,040,000 (c£897,000).

That it was a highly original example that had done fewer than 1500 miles and was sold with the books and tools that have been with it since new probably didn’t hurt...

This one-of-200 car was one of three Lancia homologation specials consigned to the German sale, all of which ranked in the auction’s top 10 lots – and all of which beat their estimates.

The ’82 037 Rally Stradale sold for €770,000 (c£664,000) against a €350-400,000 estimate to become the sale’s fourth highest lot, while the €545,000 (c£470,000) achieved by the 1975 Stratos HF Stradale, surpassing its €480-520,000 estimate, made it the sixth most expensive lot.

Classic & Sports Car – £1.9m Mercedes tops first RM Sotheby’s Essen sale

And the leading car wasn’t the only three-pointed star to shine, either. A 1959 300SL Roadster fetched €893,750 (c£771,000) and was the third biggest sale, plus a ’55 300Sc Coupé reached €432,500 (c£373,000) – but that’s not all.

From the massive youngtimer collection, there was a new model world record for the 1979 Mercedes-Benz 500TE AMG that more than doubled its estimate when it sold for €143,750 (c£124,00) after more than 10 bidders battled to call it their own – and you can read more about it in our May 2019 issue.

A pair of SEC AMG ‘Wide-Body’ Mercs did well, too, the 1990 560SEC AMG 6.0 going for an estimate-busting €149,500 (c£129,000), while at €161,000 (c£139,000) the ’84 500SEC AMG 5.4 was also the subject of a flurry of bids and soared past its estimate to establish a new world record.

Here are the sale’s top 10 lots:

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

And to view the full results, please click here.


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