2019 Bonhams Paris Sale (Auction Results)

A 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A sold for €1,581,250 ($1,801,676) as the top result at the Bonhams Paris 2019 classic car auction.

1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A Front Quarter — © Courtesy of Bonhams

The top results at the Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais sale during Paris Rétromobile week 2019 were for two classic Mercedes Benz cars. The magnificent 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A offered by the Jordanian royal family achieved €1,581,250 ($1,801,676) as the most-expensive car sold during the auction. A 1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing sold for a respectable €1,207,500 ($1,369,908). The rare 1928 Bentley 6½ Litre Four Light Weymann Fabric Sports Saloon sold for €1,150,000 ($1,310,310).

Bonhams Paris Rétromobile Week Sale 2019

Bonhams scheduled its eighth annual Grandes Marques du Monde sale in the Grand Palais in Paris on 7 February 2019 during the annual Rétromobile Week.

In 2018, Bonhams achieved a total of €14,930,317 with 77% of lots sold. The sale included around 200 automobilia lots and 130 cars. In 2017, Bonhams’ top result in Paris was €2,012,500 for a 1935 Aston Martin Ulster Sports Two Seater

Top Bonhams Paris 2019 Sale Results

The top results at the Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais sale during Paris Rétromobile week 2019 were:

	Year	Car	Price ($)	Price (€)	Estimate (€)
1	1939	Mercedes Benz 540 K Cabriolet A	1,801,676	1,581,250	1,700,000 – 2,300,000
2	1955	Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing	1,369,908	1,207,500	1,100,000 – 1,500,000
3	1928	Bentley 61/2 Litre Four Light Weymann Fabric Sports Saloon	1,310,310	1,150,000	1,200,000 – 1,400,000
4	1950	Porsche 356 Split-Window ‘Four Digit’ Coupe	913,272	805,000	700,000 – 1,000,000
5	1931	Bentley 8-Litre Sports Tourer	893,702	787,750	600,000 – 800,000

Results as announced during the auction. Some cars might have sold post-hammer. Check against published results.

1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A — © Courtesy of Bonhams

Million-Dollar Cars at Bonhams Paris 2019 Sale

Three cars sold for over a million dollar at the Bonhams Paris 2019 classic car auction: two Mercedes Benz cars and a Bentley.

1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A

The magnificent 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A sold for €1,581,250 ($1,801,676) as the top result at the Bonhams Paris 2019 classic car auction.

This Mercedes-Benz has a known history from new and was offered by the Jordanian royal family. King Hussein bin Talal, who ruled Jordan from 1953 to 1999, acquired the 540 K in 1985. He famously loved cars, and Mercedes Benz cars in particular – he is apparently the only head of state to ever have visited the Mercedes Benz Classic Center in Stuttgart while in office.

The 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet A was restored in Germany in 1990, at which time it received its current color scheme of red and burgundy over cream.

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupé sold for €1,207,500 — © Courtesy of Bonhams

The 1955 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing sold for a respectable €1,207,500 ($1,369,908). This car is probably the only Gullwing fitted with a new factory supplied aluminium engine block when the original engine was replaced in 1965. The 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster failed to sell with a highest bid of €820,000.

1928 Bentley 6½ Litre Four Light Weymann Fabric Sports Saloon

The 1928 Bentley 6½ Litre Four Light Weymann Fabric Sports Saloon sold for €1,150,000 ($1,310,310). This car is a rare survivor of the closed “Big Six” Bentleys. It is a matching-numbers example with a known history from new. It had eight owners from new and covered only 42,000 miles in the past 90 years.

A rare 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sports Tourer with open coachwork in the style of Vanden Plas sold for a strong €787,750 (estimate €600,000 – €800,000). It is one of only 36 short-chassis examples out of a total 100 built.

Top Cars Not Sold at the Bonhams Paris 2019 Sale

Some of the top cars failing to sell at the Bonhams Paris 2019 classic car auction included:

A 1957 BMW 507 Roadster Series I failed to sell despite a highest bid of €1.4 million. The failure of the car to sell, as happened a day earlier at the RM Sotheby’s Paris 2019 sale with a Series II model, confirmed that it was the extraordinary provenance that led to the two spectacular BMW 507 results at Bonhams sales, including the marque record at Goodwood 2018 for John Surtees’ car.

A highest bid of €1,050,000 failed to buy a 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 4th Series Supercharged Gran Sport Spider. Although the car came with excellent provenance – it was a Scuderia Ferrari car at the team’s first race – it may be hard to repeat or better the bid in the near future.

1997 Ruf Porsche CTR2 Sport Prototype — © Courtesy of Bonhams

A highest bid of €1,050,000 was also insufficient to buy the 1997 Porsche Ruf CTR2 (€1,300,000-1,600,000) and probably set a new marque record. This car was the first Ruf CTR2 Sport prototype and the 11th CTR2 overall. It was for many years the fastest production vehicle in existence. It finished Pike Peak in 1997 second and has a very impressive racing record including 41 podium finishes (76% of races entered) including 22 first places (41%).

The 1928 Bugatti Type 43 Grand Sport Tourer that originally belonged to the Belgian royal family failed to sell with a highest bid of €1 million. For the smaller Bugatti budget, an extraordinary €13,800 was required to buy the 2018 Bugatti Type 35 Child’s Car, estimate €4,000 – €7,000) that was hand-built in Germany and is capable of 45 km/h.

The 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta with coachwork by Carrozzeria Boano was the only million-dollar Ferrari on offer at the Bonhams Paris 2019 sale but failed to attract much interest.