Ferrari leads record €88m Monaco car auction

RM Sotheby’s staged the highest-grossing multi-car collector auction ever held in Europe, with a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider selling for €16.7m as the Monaco sale reached almost €88m

RM Sotheby’s has extended its extraordinary run of form in 2026 with a landmark result in Monte‑Carlo, delivering what is now officially the highest‑grossing multi‑car collector auction ever held in Europe.

Staged on 25 April at the Grimaldi Forum, the biennial Monaco sale achieved a remarkable €87,967,385 in total sales and an impressive 90 per cent sell‑through rate, surpassing even the company’s own record‑setting €81‑million Paris Auction earlier in the year.

It was a sale defined by blue‑chip consignments, world‑class provenance and a string of headline‑making results that underscored RM Sotheby’s dominance at the top of the European collector‑car market.

The undisputed star of the event — and the car that seemed almost destined to lead a Monaco auction — was the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, a model long associated with Riviera glamour and the golden age of Italian grand touring.

This particular example, a beautifully restored covered‑headlamp car, eased past its upper estimate to achieve €16,655,000, setting a new world record for the model at auction. Its sale set the tone for the entire event: confident bidding, global interest and a clear appetite for the rarest and most significant Ferraris.

Indeed, Ferrari once again proved to be the marque of the moment. Eight of the top 10 lots wore the Cavallino Rampante, each selling for more than €3 million and demonstrating the continued strength of the Maranello market across eras and body styles. Among the standout results was the 2004 Ferrari Enzo, one of only nine finished in Argento Nürburgring and one of just five pairing that shade with a Rosso interior. It soared past its top estimate to reach €6,530,000, reaffirming the Enzo’s position as the most collectible of the 21st‑Century Ferrari hypercars.

Close behind came the 2018 Ferrari FXX‑K Evo, the ultimate expression of Ferrari’s track‑only XX programme, which achieved €5,180,000, followed by a particularly striking 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari finished in Signal Green — the only example ever delivered in that colour — which brought €5,067,500. The LaFerrari’s result was a reminder that rarity within rarity continues to command a premium, especially when paired with factory‑documented provenance.

The sale also featured a beautifully preserved 1989 Ferrari F40 showing just 1,799 kilometres from new, which sold for €4,336,250, a figure matched exactly by two other headline cars: the 1978 Ferrari 312 T3, formerly driven by Carlos Reutemann, and the 2024 Bugatti Bolide, both of which set record highs for their respective models.

The top 10 was rounded out by a 1991 Ferrari 642 Formula 1 car and a 1955 Aston Martin DB3S, each achieving €3,380,000, along with a 1990 Ferrari F40 Competizione by Harmann Motorsport, which comfortably exceeded its upper estimate to sell for €3,183,125.

While the motorcars dominated the headlines, the auction opened with a remarkable collection of Juan Manuel Fangio memorabilia, offered directly by the family of the five‑time Formula 1 World Champion.

The results were astonishing even by the standards of top‑tier automobilia.

Fangio’s 1955 Omega Tresor wristwatch achieved €204,000, nearly 10 times its estimate, while his Suixtil racing trousers brought €132,000 and his 1950 International Driving Permit reached €102,000, both far exceeding expectations. These intimate artefacts from one of motorsport’s greatest figures added a deeply personal dimension to the sale and demonstrated the enduring power of provenance.

Another unexpected star was the Lotus Esprit S1 film prop from The Spy Who Loved Me, one of the most recognisable screen cars of the 1970s. Estimated at €300,000, it nearly tripled that figure to reach €852,000, a result that reflects both the enduring appeal of the Bond franchise and the growing collectability of significant film vehicles.

Throughout the day, the atmosphere in the Grimaldi Forum was one of confident bidding and international energy. Collectors from across Europe, the Middle East, North America and Asia competed vigorously for the most desirable lots, with several cars drawing extended bidding battles that pushed prices well beyond their upper estimates.

The combination of Monaco glamour, exceptional consignments and RM Sotheby’s finely tuned presentation created a sense of occasion that felt entirely in keeping with the Riviera setting.

Reflecting on the sale, Augustin Sabatié‑Garat, RM Sotheby’s Director of Sales for EMEA, described the event as “truly something special,” noting that the results “speak for themselves, with several individual records contributing to the biggest multi‑lot collector car auction we have ever hosted in Europe, crowned of course by the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider — quite possibly the most glamorous car ever made.”

He added that the company looks forward to continuing its momentum at the upcoming Woodcote Park Auction in July.

The Monaco sale’s top‑10 list were:

1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider – €16,655,000

2004 Ferrari Enzo – €6,530,000

2018 Ferrari FXX‑K Evo – €5,180,000

2014 Ferrari LaFerrari – €5,067,500

2024 Bugatti Bolide – €4,336,250

1978 Ferrari 312 T3 – €4,336,250

1989 Ferrari F40 – €4,336,250

1991 Ferrari 642 – €3,830,000

1955 Aston Martin DB3S – €3,380,000

1990 Ferrari F40 Competizione by Harmann Motorsport – €3,183,125

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_{Main image: The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider. Photo: Supplied}