London, ENGLAND — RM Sotheby’s registered its highest grossing online collector car auction with the European Sale, featuring the Petitjean Collection, achieving more than $21.7 million in total sales.
Photo: Raphael Belly ©2020 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The auction attracted close to 1,000 registered bidders hailing from 48 countries and boasted a sell-through rate of 91%. Lots offered were originally set for RM Sotheby’s second annual Essen auction, which was cancelled alongside the Techno Classica Essen motor show due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the change of sale format, the European Sale became the auction house’s first-ever European car auction held via its proprietary online platform. Lots saw an average of 25 bids, up to a high of 70 for a single offering.
The Petitjean Collection, a group of nearly 100 cars and a selection of collectibles assembled by lifelong enthusiast and ex-racing driver Marcel Petitjean, was offered entirely without reserve, generating more than $8.2 million of the overall sales total.
Top 10:
- 2020 Porsche 935 ‘Martini’: $1.493 million
- 1939 Bugatti Type 57 Carbriolet: $871,428
- 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster: $858,979
- 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400: $809,183
- 1964 Porsche 904 GTS: $784,285
- 1997 RUF CTR2 Sport: $771,828
- 1967 Aston Martin DB6 Volante: $709,584
- 1979 Lamborghini Countach LP400 S: $510,402
- 1981 Lancia 037 Stradale: $510,402
- 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster: $404,587
