A 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS sold for $1,651,420 as the top result at the Bonhams Goodwood SpeedWeek 2020 classic car auction.
The top three results at the Bonhams Goodwood SpeedWeek sale on 17 October 2020 were all Ferraris. A 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS sold for £1,269,400 ($1,651,420), as the only result above a million dollars at the classic car auction. A 1969 Ferrari 365 GTC achieved £531,300, while a 1974 Dino 246 GTS Coupé went for £300,000. The registration number ‘RR 3’ sold for £126,500. Most of the top cars on offer failed to sell.
Top-Ten Results at Bonhams Goodwood SpeedWeek Sale 2020
The top-ten results at the Bonhams Goodwood SpeedWeek Sale on 17 October 2020 were:
Top Cars Sold at the Bonhams Goodwood SpeedWeek 2020 Auction
1967 Ferrari 330 GTS
A 4-liter 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS – one of only 100 spiders produced – was the most-expensive car sold in the Bonhams Goodwood SpeedWeek Sale when it achieved £1,269,400. The result was within estimate but in no way spectacular and towards the lower end of what was paid for similar cars at auctions in recent years.
The 330 GTS was subject to lengthy “tactical and strategic” bidding by two determined bidders, one online and the other linked by telephone. Their battle was likened to a boxing match, as the increments rose and fell, by the sale’s auctioneer, James Knight, Bonhams Motoring Group Chairman.
Claimed in the period by Ferrari to be the ‘world’s finest convertible two-seater’, the 330 GTS remains one of the Maranello-marque’s rarest soft-top V12 models. This example was luxuriously appointed with leather seats, electric windows, and optional Borrani wheels.
1969 Ferrari 365 GTC
Second only to the GTS in the Bonhams auction was another rare example of its successor, a 4.4-liter 1969 Ferrari 365 GTC, one of only 22 right-hand drive variants, which sold for £531,300.
The 365 GTC offered yet more power and performance, yet attained the unmistakeable Pininfarina-styling of its predecessor. This well-traveled example had been owned in Italy, Canada, and the USA before arriving in the UK and professionally restored in the 1990s.
A third Ferrari which caught the attention of the bidders was another Pininfarina-styled model, a 1974 Dino 246 GTS Coupé which sold for £300,000. This late ‘chairs and flares’ example, featuring Daytona-style seats and flared wheel arches, had been recently restored to 100-point concours-standard.
Top Pre-War Car Results
Pre-war motor cars also proved popular at the sale, including two W.O Bentley designed Lagondas, among the most sophisticated and exclusive motor cars of the period.
A 1939 Lagonda V12 Drophead Coupé, offered from the estate of Michael Patrick Aiken MBE and previously owned by another successful businessman, Eric B Fox of Fox’s Glacier Mints, sold for £230,000. This example was professionally restored and was a class-winner at Pebble Beach in 2007.
A 1938 Lagonda V12 ‘Le Mans’ style Sports Tourer achieved £207,000. This example had had its chassis shortened in the 1950s for hill climbing purposes, then was further refurbished in 1994 to Le Mans specification by the vendor.
Other Results at Bonhams Goodwood SpeedWeek 2020
One figure familiar to the circuit, the late John Surtees MBE, was celebrated in the Bonhams saleroom. Offered directly from the estate of the only world champion of both Formula One and Motorcycle Grand Prix was a rare 1957 BMW 503 Cabriolet, which sold for £230,000.
Surtees was only the second owner of the 503 – one of just three right-hand-drive examples and used this BMW as his personal car for nearly 30 years.
Another Goodwood related car that took the chequered flag was a 1961 Emeryson 1.5-Litre Formula 1 Single-seater, originally raced by the Écurie Belge team and campaigned at the circuit in period, which raced away for £161,000.
As ever, the Bonhams automobilia auction generated much interest. Notable sales included the registration number ‘RR 3’ which sold for £126,500, while a collection of seven pre-war Romeo P2 clockwork tinplate toys, modeled on the successful 1924 racing car designed by Vittorio Jano, brought out the competitive spirit in bidders, racing past their estimate to achieve £30,062.
The next auction to be staged by Bonhams Motor Cars is the Golden Age of Motoring Sale for veteran, vintage, and post-vintage motor cars on Friday 30 October 2020 at the New Bond Street saleroom in London, UK.
