A 1959 BMW 507 Series II Roadster sold for $2,441,600 as the top result at the Bonhams The Zoute Sale 2020 classic car auction in Belgium. The three top results were above a million dollar.
Bonhams The Zoute Sale 2020 Classic Car Auction
The Bonhams Zoute Sale 2020 was conducted as a traditional live auction, with the Bonhams auctioneer in the saleroom at the CWART in Knokke-Heist, Belgium, in accordance with current local COVID-19 guidelines, also live-streamed across the globe on 11 October 2020.
The auction realized a total of more than €8.4 million with a respectable sell-through rate of 75%.
Top Result at Bonhams The Zoute Sale 2020
Three cars sold for a million dollar at the Bonhams The Zoute 2020 sale:
| Year | Car | US$ | € |
| 1959 | BMW 507 Series II Roadster | 2,441,565 | 2,070,000 |
| 1963 | Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta | 2,192,458 | 1,782,500 |
| 1958 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster | 1,003,754 | 851,000 |
Sale in Euro. Results including auction premium
The top-ten results at the Bonhams The Zoute Sale 2020 were:
Royal Cars at Bonhams Zoute Sale 2020
Two of the top cars sold at the Bonhams The Zoute Sale 2020 came with royal provenance:
A 1959 BMW 507, first owned by King Constantine II of Greece, was the top lot at the Bonhams Zoute Sale 2020 selling for a mid-estimate €2,070,000 ($ 2,441,565).
The BMW 507 was one of the era’s most expensive and exclusive convertibles, with only 252 cars produced. King Constantine’s car, fitted with options fit for a king including a Nardi steering wheel, was fully and beautifully restored in the early 1990s and has since taken part in the world’s most prestigious motoring events.
Another regal ride, a 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 3.0-litre sports saloon, originally owned by King Baudouin of Belgium, successfully sold for €264,500 ($312,000).
The Aston Martin DB2/4 was also restored, in the early 2000s, to the original specification of King Baudouin, which included the aptly named ‘Royal Crimson’ coachwork with contrasting beige Connolly leather. Originally supplied by the Belgian Aston Martin concessionaire Mannès, the royal motor car was delivered to the Belgian embassy in Paris, for security reasons, and registered on diplomatic number plates.
Other Top Results at Bonhams Zoute 2020
Another strong performer at the Bonhams sale was the 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta. The subject of a Ferrari-certified concours-standard restoration in 2018, the Pininfarina-styled grand tourer achieved €1,782,500 ($2,102,458). The Lusso was the second most valuable motor car in the sale.
1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster with Hardtop, a rare ‘triple black’ liveried and fully restored example, sold for €851,000 ($1,003,758) — the third car to have achieved a million dollar at the auction.
1957 AC Bristol Roadster, which campaigned in the 1960 Le Mans 24 Hours, sporting number 57, for the Rambaux-Boutin team, sold for €454,250, a particularly high figure for this model, accounted for by its sporting provenance and unique specification.
A 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Coupé, one of 33 left-hand drive Park Ward derivatives produced and first owned by the ‘King of Hollywood’ Lew Wasserman, sold for €368,000.
Another motor car catching the interest of the bidders was an ex-Belgian Gendarmerie 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 MFI Targa, one of twenty ordered by the Belgian government. These Porches were the fastest police cars of their day with this example achieving €189,750.
The next Bonhams Motor Car Sale will be the Goodwood SpeedWeek Sale on Saturday 17 October 2020 at the celebrated Motor Circuit in West Sussex.