A 1957 BMW 507 Series I Roadster and a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L Lusso were the top results at the Bonhams Zoute 2022 sale in Belgium.
Bonhams achieved eight million-euro results at the Bonhams Zoute Sale 2022 as its most successful of ten classic car auctions held in the Belgian beach resort Knokke-Heist. A very rare 1957 BMW 507 Series I Roadster was the only result above €2 million when the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO failed to sell. Several cars sold for well above the pre-sale estimate including a striking blue 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 and a 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster that both sold for double the estimate.
Bonhams The Zoute Classic Car Auction 2022
The Bonhams Zoute Sale on 9 October 2022 was the 10th edition staged as part of the Zoute Grand Prix in the Belgian resort of Knokke-Heist. It was by far the most successful Zoute sale when €25 million was earned with a sell-through rate of 95%. 75 lots were offered ranging from the classic to the contemporary era.
Million-Euro Results at Bonhams Zoute Sale 2022
The following eight cars achieved results above a million euro at the Bonhams The Zoute Sale 2022 in Belgium:
| Year | Car | Price ($) | Price (€) | |
| 1 | 1957 | BMW 507 Series I Roadster | 2,040,430 | 2,093,000 |
| 2 | 1963 | Ferrari 250 GT/L “Lusso” Berlinetta | 1,657,150 | 1,700,000 |
| 3 | 2004 | Porsche Carrera GT | 1,345,340 | 1,380,000 |
| 4 | 1955 | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing | 1,345,340 | 1,380,000 |
| 5 | 1962 | Aston Martin DB4 Series IV Special Series GT-engined Coupe | 1,205,200 | 1,236,250 |
| 6 | 1986 | Lamborghini Miura P400 | 1,087,176 | 1,115,500 |
| 7 | 1961 | Ferrari 250 GT Series II Cabriolet | 1,064,760 | 1,092,500 |
| 8 | 2009 | Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster | 986,300 | 1,012,000 |
Note: Auction in euro, conversion at €100 = US$97.32
Million-Dollar Results at Bonhams Zoute 2022
With the euro at historic lows against the US dollar, only seven cars sold for more than a million dollars at the Bonhams The Zoute Sale 2022, while the eighth probably cost the owner a million dollars too depending on the bank conversion rate.
The top result in the sale was €2,093,000 paid for a rare 1957 BMW 507 Series 1 Roadster. BMW produced only 252 of the 507 of which only 34 are Series I versions. The car retained its original interior and finished third in class in the Pebble Beach concourse in 2013. The BMW spent most of its life in Switzerland but an interesting footnote in the auction catalog noted that the car has only 6,000 km recorded on the odometer and thus may incur a New Means of Transportation VAT liability in many countries.
Ten days earlier, the top result at the Bonhams Audrain Sale 2022 in Newport, Rhode Island, was $2,315,000 for a highly original 1957 BMW 507 Series II Roadster that spend 40 years in a garage for no clear reason.
The finest Ferraris always perform well at Zoute with a fully matching numbers 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L ‘Lusso’ Berlinetta, which was displayed that year at the 50th Paris Motor Show, making €1,700,000. Its stablemate 250 GT, a Ferrari Classiche certified 1961 Series II Cabriolet, the rarest and one of the most desirable of the 250 variants, sold for €1,092,500. However, the top Ferrari and the most expensive car offered in the sale, the 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO originally delivered to Walter Wolf, estimate €3.7 to €4.1 million, failed to sell.
However, it was another Sixties Superstar which really set the saleroom on fire, doubling its pre-sale estimate. A 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400, offered in its original colour scheme of Blue Miura over Gobi (beige), which had spent the past 17 years on static display in a private collection, sold for €1,115,500.
Its rival modern supercar – a rare European-specification 2004 Porsche Carrera GT, which sold for €1,380,000, surpassing its top pre-sale estimate. With 20,300 km on the clock, this is a high-mileage car compared to the Carrera GTs that sold for around $2 million in the USA earlier in 2022.
Top Mercedes-Benz Results at Bonhams Zoute Sale 2022
The top Mercedes-Benz result at the Bonhams Zoute Sale 2022 was for a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupé that sold for €1,380,000. This Gullwing was the subject of a spectacular specialist restoration and offered with competition history (not in the 1950s though) including participating in the 1989 Mille Miglia Storica.
The more spectacular Mercedes-Benz results were (for cars that could possibly also incur new vehicle VAT liabilities):
A single-owner, 182-km 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster, an example of the limited edition (150) commemorating the marque’s 1955 Mille Miglia victory, achieved €1,012,000, twice its pre-sale estimate. Depending on the exchange rate, the result is just more or just less than a million dollars but surely a model record. Two of the more exclusive 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren “Stirling Moss” editions sold for more: $2.6 million at Bonhams Mercedes-Benz Stuttgart 2016 and $3 million at Artcurial Paris 2019.
The monstrous 2014 Mercedes-Benz AMG G-63 6×6, sold for €759,000, exceeding its top estimate of €500,000. This one-owner example of the ultra-rare and luxurious off-roader had covered fewer than 200 km from new.
A 2009 Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series, sold for €335,000, more than double its top estimate of €140,000. One of only 350 largely carbon fiber fixed-head coupé Black Series supercars, with a power output of 670 bhp. The one-owner car had covered a mere 80 km from new.
Further highlights which had their moment in the sun include:
1959 Cadillac Series 62 De Ville Convertible, sold for €253,000, also surpassing its top estimate of €170,000. Previously owned by Albert Uderzo, creator of the world-renowned cartoon character Asterix the Gaul.
1997 Porsche 911 Type 993 Turbo ‘X50’ Coupé, sold for €278,000, twice its pre-sale estimate. This example of the last air-cooled engine variant of the 911 had been built to Gulf Cooperation Council specification, and its power upgraded to 430bhp.
