Exotic supercars from four decades will be presented when RM Sotheby’s holds its first auction at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles on December 8, starting with what is considered to be the first modern supercar to the technologically advanced hypercars of today.
The auction will offer 70 select collector cars at the iconic and recently redesigned museum in downtown LA. RM Sotheby’s last auction of the 2018 season is headlined by a historic Ferrari race car, the 1959 290 MM by Scaglietti, one of four built and piloted by a who’s who of the greatest racing drivers of the era. The restored roadster is valued at an over-the-top $22 million to $26 million.
The supercar docket represents a veritable history of the dramatically styled and exquisitely engineered exotic cars that comprise the top efforts of Europe’s sports car manufacturers.
“Nothing thrills an enthusiast quite like the supercar they worshipped as a youth,” Alexander Weaver, car specialist for RM Sotheby’s, said in a news release. “Technological advancements and a drive to be the best have been at the forefront of supercar battles since the birth of the word, and we’ve assembled a lineup of cars that captures some of the most radical and important achievements in supercar development across more than 40 years – sure to speak to collectors of all ages.
“Interest in high-performance supercars has been consistent throughout our calendar sales, and we’re delighted to bring another fresh-to-market group to the Petersen Museum.”
The exotics lineup starts with the original, a 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV that is one of the few delivered in striking Bleu Medio over Pelle Bleu interior and one of just five single-sump SVs sold new to the United States equipped with optional air conditioning, according to the auction description.
The 385-horsepower Miura, which boasts “a superb concours restoration,” the description says, has a pre-auction value estimate of $2.1 million to $2.5 million.
The 1980 are well-represented by a “true battle of the brands between the diametrically opposed 1989 Ferrari F40 and the 1987 Porsche 959 Komfort,” the release says.
“While the F40 was all about the engine and a stripped down, spartan driving experience, the 959 was one of the most technologically innovative cars ever built, with numerous pioneering advancements,” according to the release.
The F40 was originally owned by Italian socialite Stefano Casiraghi, a gentleman racer and second husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco. The Ferrari is described as well-cared-for with 4,000 miles from new, and valued at $1.2 million to $1.6 million.
The 959 is an early Komfort model, one of the few federalized and registered for street use in California. The one-owner Porsche, which RM Sotheby’s describes as “highly original and professionally maintained,” is valued at $950,000 to $1.1 million.
Getting into the new millennium, RM Sotheby’s presents another pair of exotic favorites, an 8,800-mile 2005 Porsche Carrera GT in Basalt Black with Terracotta leather interior, and an essentially undriven 2006 Ford GT showing just six miles on its odometer,
The two-owner Carrera GT is valued at $700,000 to $900,000 while the Ford GT, in Speed Yellow with a full stripe, has a value of $300,000 to $350,000, and is offered without reserve.
The supercar evolution is completed by two of today’s most-spectacular hybrid-powertrain exotics with combined gas/electric horsepower and top speeds that defy imagination: a 2015 Porsche 918 ‘Weissach’ Spyder driven just 279 miles in the desirable lightweight package, and a 2015 McLaren P1 with just 350 miles showing.
The 918 Spyder, which boasts 887 horsepower, a 0-60 time of just over two seconds and a top speed surpassing 200 mph, is presented with a factory-applied Matte Black wrap with Martini livery. The value estimate is $1.5 million to $1.7 million.
The McLaren gets 903 horsepower from its turbo V8 and electric motor, pushing the streamliner to a top speed of 217 mph. Fitted with a number of McLaren Special Operations features, the P1 is valued at $1.3 million to $1.7 million.
For more information on RM Sotheby’s Petersen Automotive Museum Auction, visit the auction website.
