RM Sotheby’s 2023 Paris Auction was a day of Big, Big Numbers. Held inside the historically significant Louvre Palace Salles du Carrousel, the February 1 sale grossed an eye-popping $53.3 million, with a unique Bugatti Chiron Profilée (which finally sold for a record-setting $10,485,000 after an extended bidding contest) emerging the star of the show.
The Bugatti’s selling price, double the pre-sale estimate, makes the Chiron Profilée the most valuable new car ever sold at auction.
A single, bespoke-engineered version of Bugatti’s acclaimed Chiron hyper sports car, it was the first and only “pre-series” Chiron Profilée produced and is also the last Bugatti to be sold with the iconic W-16 quad-turbo engine by Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity.
Elsewhere, the Ferrari marque continues to demonstrate its strength across multiple segments of the market. Of the 14 Ferraris offered in Paris, the standout result was the 1991 Ferrari 643, chassis 127, the stunning, naturally aspirated V-12 Formula One car, which was offered for sale in full running order. Having witnessed a huge surge in values for modern-era F1 cars during 2022, the new year has continued to reinforce that trend with the sale of the 643. This particular example boasts an impressive racing CV in the hands of the great Jean Alesi and commanded an impressive $3.9M.
Another Ferrari lot worthy of note was the beautiful 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 by Scaglietti, which brought an excellent $3.3M, demonstrating that fine examples of the golden era of V12 Ferrari road cars are still very much in demand.
If the Bugatti Chiron Profilée was the ultimate example of a unique piece of performance engineering, then the 2020 McLaren Speedtail surely rates as one of the most desirable limited-production hypercars. The example sold in Paris was number 036 of the mere 100 produced and, with only 112 km on the clock, it deserved the $2.5M selling price.
Also worthy of a mention was a 1959 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster which boasted a $750,00, 5-year restoration. Presented in the rare color combination of Hellblau over Creme leather, and offered with full matching numbers, this 300SL brought in $1,872,350.
Others in the sales Top 10: a Ferrari F40 ($2,053,029), 2020 McLaren Senna LM ($1,715,765), 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S ($1,691,674); and 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Berlinetta Lusso ($1,643,494).
