Bonhams sold the ex-Tazio Nuvolari 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo C 8C-35 ‘50013’ – Scuderia Ferrari at Goodwood for £5,937,500.
At the Goodwood Revival, British auction house Bonhams sold a 1935 Alfa Romeo that once belonged to the Ferrari team for £5,937,500 (US$9,427,600). This was the highest price ever achieved at auction for an Alfa Romero car and also the second highest price ever paid for a car at auction in Europe. Other cars achieving over a million dollar top prices at the Bonhams auctions included a 1931 Invicta, a 1972 Lamborghini Miura (first-owned by Rod Stewart) and a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT cabriolet.
[Note: a new record of $19,800,000 was set at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2016 sale for a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider.]
Most Expensive Alfa Romeo Ever
The 1935 Alfa Romeo that achieved almost £6 million at the Bonhams Goodwood Revival auction on September 14, 2013 is of course a very special car. This 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo C 8C-35 ‘50013’ raced as part of the Scuderia Ferrari team in the 1935 and 1936 seasons. It may have been the very car that Tazio Nuvolari drove to victory in the 1936 Coppa Ciano.
The Ferrari team sold the Alfa Romeo Tip 8C-35 Monoposto to Hans Rausch in September 1936. A month later the Alfa Romeo was driven to victory at the Donington Grand Prix by Rausch and Dick Seaman. As a private entry, the Alfa Romeo won 7 Grand Prix in 1937. Rule changes made it ineligible for races in the 1938 season.
Dennis Poore acquired the car in 1946 and drove it to victory in the 1950 RAC Hill-Climb Championship. He owned the car until his death in 1987. A year later, the Bonhams team sold the 1935 Alfa Romeo at a Christie’s sale in Monaco for $2,850,000.
According to contemporary sources, this Alfa Romeo was the car in which Tazio Nuvolari won the 1936 Coppa Ciano, the last event for which the car would have raced for the Ferrari team. During this race, Nuvolari’s car broke down on the second lap and Nuvolari was only able resume the race in a teammates car, seven laps behind the leaders.
The £5,937,500 was the highest price ever achieved at auction for an Alfa Romeo car. It is also the second highest price ever paid for a car at auction in Europe – only the Mercedes Benz W196R sold by Bonhams earlier this year for a world record £19,601,500 / US$ 29,650,095 achieved more.
Bonhams now holds the world records for the following marques at auction: Alfa Romeo (£5,937,500), Aston Martin (£3,200,000), Austin-Healey (£843,000), Bentley (£5,000,000), Jaguar ($4,955,000/£2,655,000), Lagonda ($1,382,000/£740,000), Lotus ($998,000/£672,000), Maserati (£4,033,500), Mercedes-Benz (£19,601,500), Rolls-Royce (£4,700,000) and Talbot-Lago ($4,847,000/£2,597,000).
Top Results at Bonhams Goodwood Revival Classic Car Sale
Other cars that achieved more than a million dollar price at the Bonhams Goodwood Revival auction include:
- £953,500 ($1,513,967) for a 1931 Invicta 4½-Litre S-Type ‘Low Chassis’ Sports with coachwork by Cadogan that competed as a works car at amongst others the Irish Tourist Trophy and Brooklands ‘Double Twelve’ driven by George Field and Dudley Froy.
- £919,900 ($1,460,617) for a 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV Coupé with coachwork by Carrozzeria Bertone. It was delivered new to Rod Stewart and is one of only seven right-hand drive examples.
- £707,100 ($1,122,733) for 1961 Ferrari 250GT Series II Cabriolet with coachwork by Pininfarina. As at other recent classic car auctions, 1950s and 1960s Ferraris attracted top prices – this Ferrari went over a million despite the engine requiring work.
See Classic Cars for other recent top auction prices.