A 2014 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster sold for a record $8,337,182 as the top result at the Bonhams Bonmont 2019 collector car auction in Switzerland.
Bonhams had some spectacular results with supercars at a special auction held at Bonmont near Geneva on 29 September 2019. The top result was a marque record $8,337,182 for a 2014 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster while a 2015 Koenigsegg One:1 sold for $4,631,767 – twice upper estimate and a record for the brand at public auction. A 2003 Ferrari Enzo and a 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder achieved the highest results for these models in nearly two years while a Ferrari LaFerrari and a McLaren P1 sold for the lowest prices recorded for these models at public auction.
Bonhams Geneva 2019 Classic Car Auction
The motorcar department of Bonhams returned to Geneva, Switzerland, for the first time in years on Sunday 29 September 2019 for a very special sale, featuring around 75 supercars, hypercars and luxury motor cars. The sale took place in the 12th-century Bonmont Abbey on the shores of Lake Geneva.
The sale centered around the 25 luxury cars confiscated by Swiss authorities from the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea. These cars were sold without reserve with the earnings going to charities working in Equatorial Guinea. Many of these cars are on Equatorial Guinean number plates and many new owners are likely to face another tax bill upon registering the cars for the first time elsewhere.
Million-Dollar-Plus Cars at Bonhams Geneva-Bonmont Sale 2019
The following ten cars sold for over a million dollar at the Bonhams Geneva-Bonmont 2019 sale:
| Year | Car | Price ($) | Estimate | |
| 1 | 2014 | Lamborghini Veneno Roadster | 8,337,182 | 5,200,000 – 6,200,000 |
| 2 | 2015 | Koenigsegg One:1 | 4,631,767 | 1,800,000 – 2,300,000 |
| 3 | 2003 | Ferrari Enzo | 3,126,443 | – |
| 4 | 2015 | Ferrari LaFerrari | 2,200,089 | 2,600,000 – 2,800,000 |
| 5 | 2010 | Lamborghini Reventon Roadster | 1,968,501 | 1,700,000 – 2,000,000 |
| 6 | 2015 | Porsche 918 Spyder | 1,563,221 | – |
| 7 | 2011 | Aston Martin One-77 Coupe | 1,563,221 | 1,200,000 – 1,600,000 |
| 8 | 2010 | Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 Coupe | 1,320,000 | 600,000 – 800,000 |
| 9 | 2014 | McLaren P1 | 1,273,736 | 1,300,000 – 1,600,000 |
| 10 | 1993 | Porsche 911 Type 964 Turbo S Leichtbau | 1,157,941 | 1,100,000 – 1,300,000 |
Note: The auction was held in Swiss franc – US $ conversion as published by Bonhams directly after the sale.
2014 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster
The top result at the Bonhams Bonmont sale set a new marque record when a 2014 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster sold for $8,337,182, well above the $5,200,000 – $6,200,000 estimate. This was the most-expensive Lamborghini ever sold at public auction.
This car was the seventh of only nine Veneno Roadsters produced and originally had a list price of $3.3 million. (Only three Veneno coupes were ever produced and had an even higher list price of $4 million. One is rumored to have sold privately for $9.5 million.)
The Veneno Roadster is finished in off-white over beige. It is in an “as new” condition with only 325 km on the clock.
2015 Koenigsegg One:1
Another marque record was set when a 2015 Koenigsegg One:1 sold for $4,631,767 – Koenigseggs rarely make it to auction. Following a public spat with the manufacturer about the presale estimate of only $1,800,000 to $2,300,000, Bonhams had to eat humble pie. The original list price was $2,85 million and Bonhams claimed in the catalog that it would be a wonderful opportunity “to acquire a pristine example of this ultimate supercar at a substantial saving over its cost new.” Seeing that the commission was also more than double pre-sale expectations the embarrassment was probably bearable.
The 2015 Koenigsegg One:1 is one of only six produced, of which one was apparently already destroyed in a crash. This example is finished in blue/black carbon with beige leather interior and has covered a mere 597 km.
Further Top Results at the Bonhams Bonmont 2019 Sale
Further results at the Bonhams Bonmont 2019 sale failed to give a clear indication of what direction the market is heading, especially concerning the prices of hypercars.
Four cars finished (or re-finished) in yellow from the Equatorial Guinean collection:
A 2003 Ferrari Enzo sold for $3,126,443 – the first time since 2016 that an Enzo achieved over $3 million at public auction and one of the best Enzo results ever. This Enzo was the penultimate of 400 produced – the final one was gifted to the Pope and sold for just over $6 million at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2015 sale. The Enzo at Geneva had only 21 km on the clock (but still had an $80,000 service in 2016!)
A 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder sold for $1,563,221 – the highest result for the model in 18 months. This European specification model was the 251st of 918 produced and has done only 582 km since new.
In contrast, two further supercars from the Equatorial Guinea collection achieved the lowest results on record for these models sold at public auction: a 2014 McLaren P1 with 973 km since new sold for only $1,273,736 while a 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari achieved only $2,200,089. The LaFerrari result was more than a million-dollar below most previous results and possible only the second LaFerrari to achieve less than $3 million at public auction.
The 2011 Aston Martin One-77 Coupe sold for $1,563,221 – at previous auctions, higher bids failed to buy a One-77 but this car was offered like all others from the Equatorial Guinean collection without reserve.
At recent auctions, Bugatti Veyrons struggled to achieve bids above a million with few reaching reserve margins. Despite a low pre-sale estimate, the 2010 Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 Coupe at Bonmont sold for a relatively strong $1,320,000. The $1,968,501 result for the 2010 Lamborghini Reventon Roadster was also well above previous Reventon results.
