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AUTOMOBILEMAG.COMUCTIONS
12435PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF RM SOTHEBY'SMay 25, 2019
LAKE COMO, ITALYRainy affair
delivers a
mixed bag
of results
by
RORY JURNECKARM SOTHEBY’S ANNUAL Villa Erba auction is held
on the picturesque shores of Lake Como in Northern Italy,
a well-known spot for summer vacationers, just down
the shore from the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este.
This year, the auction house raked in $22,006,506 in total
sales, supported by a roster of high-end European classics,
a handful with designs by Italian coachbuilder Zagato. Still,
rainy weather likely helped contribute to a somewhat dour
atmosphere, which kept the all-important sell-through rate
down to 57 percent. Just 31 of 54 total cars met reserve,
with many highly publicized cars failing to sell. Here are
the sales—and the no-sales—that caught our eye:scoops and GTO-style rear fender
vents, and “interesting” front
valance. Beauty is in the eye of
the beholder, and this car had
just one beholder from new,
covering some 12,000 miles in
that time. Surprisingly, for not
being a pinnacle of either Ferrari
or Zagato’s potential, this 348 sold
at the upper end of its estimate,
helped along by its status as the
1991 Geneva show car.2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR
McLaren Stirling Moss
Not sold: $1,675,705
Mercedes built just 75 examples
of the SLR Stirling Moss, and
it’s not difficult to see why. The
retro design harks back to the
300 SLR that Moss and navigator
Jenkinson drove in the ’55 Mille
Miglia, but the diminutive
windscreen and near-total lack
of creature comforts relegate
these road racers to use on clear
roads under sunny skies. Never
offered in the U.S., this car was
delivered new to Europe, where
the previous two owners put some
5,000 miles on it before it ended
up on RM’s auction block. We’ve
seen cars with fewer miles listed
for as much as $3 million, but this
one couldn’t find a home under
rainy skies at half that amount. A
standard 2008 SLR Roadster also
failed to sell at $279,254.1954 Ferrari 500
Mondial Spider
Sold: $4,153,220
The event’s top seller was this
Ferrari 500 Mondial, a very
pretty sports racer that is one of
just five built with this “covered
headlight”-style bodywork from
Pinin Farina (then two words).
Mondials were four-cylinder
Ferrari race cars (engine designer
Aurelio Lampredi would go on
to design the famous Fiat four-
cylinder twin-cam engine), and
this one raced extensively from
new in Southern California.
More recently, the car received
a cosmetic restoration from
Ferrari’s Classiche department,
along with Red Book certification
of authenticity from the marque.RM
SOTHEBY’S
VILLA ERBA,
LAKE COMO,
ITALY
TOP 10 SALES
- 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider,
$4,153,220 - 1957 Porsche 550A Spyder,
$3,774,967 - 1965 Aston Martin Short-
Chassis Volante, $2,015,922 - 1955 Fiat 8V Zagato Coupe,
$1,978,544 - 1931 Bugatti Type 50 Roadster,
$1,576,160 - 2016 Ferrari F12tdf,
$885,331 - 1961 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder,
$740,628 - 1966 Ferrari 330 GTC,
$621,262 - 2019 Aston Martin Vanquish
Zagato Shooting Brake, $571,002 - 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS
2.7 Touring, $533,284
1955 Maserati A6G/2000
Berlinetta Zagato
Not sold: $3,105,398
One of the prettiest postwar
sports cars ever produced, this
Maserati had lovely Zagato-
penned panels, a jewel of a
2.0-liter straight-six engine
(with triple Weber carburetors),
and provenance that included
being driven by the legendary
duo of Stirling Moss and Denis
Jenkinson during practice for
the 1956 Mille Miglia (a race
the two won the year before in
a Mercedes 300 SLR). The car
went on to run the ’56 Mille in
the hands of an Italian team but
finished far back in the pack.
A lack of period motorsports
success, along with an extensive
rebody in more recent years,
likely kept interest down on
this example.1955 Fiat 8V Zagato
Sold: $1,978,544
Nearly $2 million for a Fiat?
You betcha. The Fiat 8V was
a groundbreaking car when it
launched in 1952, powered by
a 2.0-liter V-8 engine. Several
coachbuilders provided bodies
for the 8V range, but just 26
were styled by Zagato, as our
subject car is. Despite the 8V
being well known for its huge
racing success even after its last
year of production in 1955, this
example was kept away from
the track until the 1970s, when
it was vintage-raced for a time.
Despite that, the car lived a fairly
easy life that’s partly to thank for
its outstanding condition today.1990 Ferrari 348 TB
Zagato Elaborazione
Sold: $244,078
By the 1990s, Zagato had
largely moved away from the
elegant lines that graced many
of its ’50s and ’60s forms and
into what could be described
as a more avant-garde design
period. The Ferrari 348 TB
Zagato Elaborazione is a perfect
example of this, with its triple
circular taillights, added side