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 underwent 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 collectibles from the much-buzzed-about Youngtimer Collection also
starred at RM Sotheby’s Essen sale, with results demonstrating 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, a1992 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 collectibles 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 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 collectibles – 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.
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