The Sotheby’s-RM partnership not only has brought new customers to both auction houses, but an F1 Ferrari driven to victory by Michael Schumacher will be offered up for bidding, not at an RM Sotheby’s collector car auction but on November 16 at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art sale in New York City.
As well as its unprecedented offering at an art auction, the race car will be among the New York lots available for viewing September 28 to October 3 during Sotheby’s annual Hong Kong Autumn art auction week.
RM Sotheby’s termed the addition of the car to its art sale “a landmark moment for the partnership.”
“We are pleased to join Ferrari’s 70th anniversary celebrations by offering Michael Schumacher’s Grand Prix-winning Ferrari F2001 in November,” Gregoire Billault, head of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art, New York, said in the company’s news release.
“Ferrari and Schumacher are the greatest names in motor racing, with a place in the public imagination that is synonymous with the highest achievements in the field. It is therefore entirely fitting that we offer the car that represents the pinnacle of that success alongside the great names in Contemporary Art such as Warhol, Basquiat and Johns.”
Ken Ahn, president of RM Sotheby’s, added, “The Ferrari F2001 we are unveiling in Hong Kong is one of the most important and valuable modern Formula 1 race cars in history.
“This very car secured Ferrari their 11th of a record 15 Formula One Constructors’ Championships and Michael Schumacher his fourth of an unmatched seven Drivers’ Championships, placing it among the best of the best in the world of motorsport.
“It is our great pleasure to offer this car during Ferrari’s 70th anniversary year, a year in which the legendary marque also won its first Monaco Grand Prix since Schumacher secured his final Monaco victory in 2001 in chassis 211.
“Its presentation in New York this November not only represents the first time RM Sotheby’s has displayed or offered a motor car as part of a Sotheby’s art sale, but also further evidence of RM Sotheby’s leadership in the market for important Ferraris at auction.”
RM Sotheby’s expects the car, F2001 chassis No. 211, to sell for more than $4 million.
“The ultimate culmination of the Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s partnership, the presentation of the F2001 represents the first time a collector car will be offered at a Sotheby’s art auction since the two companies joined forces in February 2015,” the company said.
“Contemporary Art is a dynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts and subjects that challenge traditional boundaries, in much the same way as the Ferrari F2001 with its extraordinary combination of design and balance. The offering of a car of this unparalleled historical significance at one of the most important Contemporary Art sales of the year will bring together collectors of the world’s most sought-after pieces in both categories.
“The F2001, perhaps the ultimate iteration of ‘useable art,’ can still today be piloted in historic racing and at full capability.”
The auction houses said Ferrari “can house the car in Maranello and transport it worldwide for pre-arranged Corse Clienti events as well as private track days.”
It also noted that the acquisition of a Ferrari F1 car driven by Schumacher is a rare opportunity, and more so with a car that won two F1 races and helped win both the driver’s and constructor’s championships.
