RM Sotheby’s announced the sale of The Oscar Davis Collection of 27 vehicles valued at $100 million — several cars including the 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Bügelfalte are heading for Monterey 2022.
RM Sotheby’s announced that it was entrusted by the estate of Oscar Davis to sell the famed Oscar Davis Collection of 27 cars valued at over $100 million. The focus of the collection is European cars and it includes fine examples of amongst others Alfa Romeo, BMW, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati, and Talbot-Lago. The majority of these cars are expected to be offered for sale in the RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2022 classic car auction.
The Oscar Davis Car Collection
The Oscar Davis Collection is considered one of the finest private collections of automobiles ever gathered by a single owner. Oscar Davis was a singular enthusiast that built a global reputation, known for acquiring some of the most impeccable examples of the world’s finest cars, beautifully maintained and presented, and with unmatched provenance.
The primary focus of the collection centers around the great Italian marques, with many of the finest examples of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Maserati, all featured within his beautifully curated collection.
With its emphasis on fine European cars, you will find Maseratis, Alfa Romeos, and multiple historically significant Ferraris, including a 1953 Ferrari 375MM Spider. The Maserati marque is represented by its golden era of 1950s cars, including a 450S Spider and an A6G/54 2000 Spyder, both considered to be among the best cars of the era.
Oscar Davis Collection Cars at RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2022
Most of the cars from The Oscar Davis collection are likely to be offered for sale at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey classic car auction in mid-August 2022 in California, USA.
Highlights from the Oscar Davis Collection include:
| Car | Estimate | ||
| 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B | $2,000,000 – $2,500,000 | ||
| 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Bügelfalte | $9,000,000 – $10,000,000 | ||
| 1958 BMW 507 Roadster Series II | $2,200,000 – $2,600,000 | ||
| 19XX Bugatti Type 57C Aravis | $1,500,000 – $2,400,000 | ||
| 1953 Ferrari 375MM Spider | $10,000,000 – $12,000,000 | ||
| 1936 Lancia Astura Cabriolet Series III | $1,500,000 – $2,000,000 | ||
| 1955 Maserati A6G/54 2000 Spyder | $4,000,000 – $5,000,000 | ||
| 1957 Maserati 450S Spider | $10,000,000 – $13,000,000 | ||
| 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS Teardrop Coupe | $8,000,000 – $10,000,000 |
1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Bügelfalte
The Collection is not all about Italian pedigrees, though. One of the most significant cars to be offered is the 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Bügelfalte, the Mille Miglia Class-Winning car with unique streamlined lightweight bodywork. This BMW won its class in the 1938 Mille Miglia race and received the famous streamlined body only for the 1939 race, where it finished sixth (behind other BMWs).
The 1939 Mille Miglia was held in bizarre circumstances where teams from Britain, France, Germany, and Italy competed although Britain and France had already declared war on Germany (but the actual shooting hasn’t started yet), and Italy was still to declare war on France a bit later. The BMW was used by Albert Speer during the Second World War and confiscated as war reparations by the Soviet Union after the war. It ended up in Riga, which has a fantastic automobile museum largely financed by the Auto Union V16 Type C/D it sold to Audi after the end of the Cold War.
RM Auctions failed to sell the 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Bügelfalte at the 2010 Sporting Classics of Monaco sale despite a highest bid of €4.2 million — it was sold post hammer to Oscar Davis for an undisclosed sum. The BMW auction marque record is $5,031,683 paid at Bonhams 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed for the 1957 BMW 507 that racing legend John Surtees owned from new until his death in 2017.
One of the most exciting sales of 2022 is likely the Fangio 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster — unfortunately, the result of the sealed-bid auction will not be published.