A 1991 Ferrari F40 and 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster topped the results at the RM Sotheby’s Munich 2022 classic car auction.
RM Sotheby’s last European auction for 2022 had strong results including six cars selling for over a million dollar each. The top result was $2,420,830 paid for a 1991 Ferrari F40. The next most expensive cars were two German classics: a 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540 K fitted with a recreated Special Roaster body and a 1958 BMW 507 Roadster Series II. BMW cars generally performed very well in the auction.
RM Sotheby’s Munich 2022 Classic Car Auction
RM Sotheby’s closed out its European auction year with its first sale at Motorworld in the heart of Munich on 26 November 2022. The auction earned €23,500,610 and achieved an impressive 90.5% sell-through. The auction is only the second sale RM Sotheby’s has conducted in Germany and has become the highest-grossing collector car auction to ever take place in the country.
Auction highlights included:
- 74 lots were offered
- Bidders came from 44 different countries
- 46% of bidders were new to RM Sotheby’s
- German bidders represented 37% of total
- Six lots exceeded €1,000,000
- Total auction grossed €23,500,610
- Bavarian Legends Collection grossed €7,725,625
Top-Ten Results at RM Sotheby’s Munich 2022 Sale
The top ten results at the RM Sotheby’s Munich 2022 classic car auction were:
1. 1991 Ferrari F40 | €2,311,250 |
2. 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster in the style of Sindelfingen | €2,007,500 |
3. 1958 BMW 507 Roadster Series II | €1,917,500 |
4. 2008 Lamborghini Reventón | €1,748,750 |
5. 2017 Ferrari F12tdf | €1,208,750 |
6. 2005 Porsche Carrera GT | €1,062,500 |
7. 2010 Ferrari 599 GTO | €860,000 |
8. 2018 Ford GT | €815,000 |
9. 1980 BMW M1 | €792,500 |
10. 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’ | €578,750 |
Million-Dollar Cars at RM Sotheby’s Munich 2022
Six lots at the RM Sotheby’s Munich 2022 sale exceeded €1,000,000. The top result was for a 1991 Ferrari F40, a lovely and well-maintained example of what remains one of Maranello’s hottest properties. Retaining matching-numbers body, chassis, engine, and gearbox, and with only 9,400 recorded kilometers, it brought €2,311,250.
The 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster in the style of Sindelfingen sports a stunning recreation of the special roadster body on a factory 540 K Cabriolet B chassis which retains its matching-numbers engine. This stunning car deserved its €2,007,500 selling price, exceeding its high estimate, but still a great saving over the price an original Spezial Roadster would command.
From within the Bavarian Legends Collection, the 1958 BMW 507 Roadster Series II achieved an excellent €1,917,500 and is one of just 252 built. A sought-after Series II car, it has a matching-numbers chassis and engine.
The 2008 Lamborghini Reventón, one of only 20 examples produced, had a mere 106 kilometers on the clock and sold for €1,748,750. Rounding off the five top sellers of the sale was the 2017 Ferrari F12tdf, part of the stunning Driver and Rider Collection, which sold for €1,208,750.
A 2005 Porsche Carrera GT achieved just above the million euro mark — prices for the Carrera GT seem much softer than the exorbitant prices paid earlier in the year but still well above prices realized two years ago.
Bavarian Legends Collection
The sale was notable for including the remarkable Bavarian Legends Collection, offered entirely without reserve and featuring some of the greatest models ever built by BMW, spanning from the pre-war period all the way through to the 21st century.
The truly outstanding collection of 32 cars and motorbikes was largely made up of rare and low-mileage BMWs from across seven decades of the marque’s history and was offered entirely without reserve. The collection delivered some of the most remarkable auction results seen in 2022, with a number of cars selling for prices that far exceeded their high estimates, and which have set world records for many individual models.
Beyond the top-selling 1958 BMW 507 Roadster Series II, it was no surprise that the 1980 BMW M1, a car delivered new to the head of the BMW M1 project, Jochen Neerpasch, and uniquely finished in Grey over Brown, sold for €792,500. The iconic 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL ‘Batmobile’ was one of the best results of the night, selling for €578,750 against a pre-sale high estimate of €220,000. The collection delivered exceptional prices for many lots, with 19 of the 32 lots more than doubling their low estimates. Typical of the incredible results achieved across the board is the 1997 BMW M3 Evolution; a desirable 3.2-liter variant of the BMW E36 M3 and finished in Dakar Yellow over a Black interior, the car had only 2,752 kilometers on its odometer and sold for an astonishing €286,250, more than seven times its pre-sale high estimate.
Worthy of note was the 2022 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E PERFORMANCE, offered by Mercedes-Benz as a one-off commemorative model designed in collaboration with Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer. With all proceeds going to charity, the car sold for an exceptional €212,750.