The Goodwood Revival 2025 results for Bonhams provided another example of the regionality of the international auction market. While the Revival sale was not an abject disaster, sales volume was £5 million and the sell-through rate was 53 percent – the latter up just two percent from last year and the volume down 50 percent in two years.
There are a few factors to unpack: the Revival lot list was smaller than in previous years, with 72 lots up for grabs, and the cars were hardly of the kind that provided much of the business at Monterey Car Week 2025 – the closest we got to that was a 2011 Wiesmann GT MF5 that is somewhat niche, and didn’t sell. The majority of the models were pre-1980s, an area of the market under significant strain at the moment.
That’s how it played out on the day; of the 53 percent of lots that found new owners, just under 40 percent sold for lower than their pre-sale estimate. The auction wasn’t exactly brimming with spectacular-condition cars – indeed, several lots were deemed to require work according to the write-ups in our preview. Neither was the sale helped when one of the stand-out cars, the ex-Jim Clark Lotus Elan, was withdrawn. Nevertheless, there were some interesting results.
The leading car in the Bonhams Goodwood Revival 2025 sale results was the 1960-2000 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Sanction III Coupé, one of two built and offered from its first owner. Estimated at £700k to £1m, it sold for £1,079,000 including fees. The next highest result was the 1956 Maserati A6G/54 2000GT, which sold for £483k against a £500k-£750k estimate, while a 1951 Jaguar XK 120 Competition Roadster with Le Mans history sold for £316,250 against a £300k-£400k estimate. The 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona estimated at £325k-£375k yielded £309,350, while a 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 DHC sold for £207k against a £180k-£200k estimate.
The standout superhero among the Bonhams Goodwood Revival 2025 sale results was this 1948 Healey Elliott Sports Saloon. It took Giovanni ‘Johnny’ Lurani to class victories on the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio, and was being offered for sale for the first time since 1963. Estimated at £60-£80k, it blasted through that to land on £201,250 – a new record for the model. Other Healeys didn’t fair so well, however – the 1950 Healey Silverstone raced by Tony Brooks sold for £84,166.67 against a £95k-£115k estimate, while a 1957 Austin-Healey 100/6 BN4 sold for £34,500 against a £35k-£45k estimate. A John Chatham-tuned 1960 Austin-Healey 3000S Roadster failed to sell.
Other estimate-busting results included a 1962 Jaguar E-type Series I 3.8 Coupé that sold for £50,600 against a £40k-£50k estimate, a 1962/1970 Abarth Simca GT that went for £48,300 against a £30k-£40k estimate and a 1977 TOJ SC302 racing car with Rolf Stommelen history that sold for £356,500 against a £175k-£225k estimate.
A major aspect of the 53 percent sell-through rate at the Bonhams Goodwood Revival 2025 sale was the lack of no-reserve cars, indicating that seller confidence isn’t high in the UK right now. Unfortunately this wariness was justified with some particularly painful results, especially for competition cars. The above 1956 Jaguar Mark VII 3.8-litre Competition Saloon boasted Goodwood Revival racing history, including being driven at the first event by Mike Salmon, but it limped to £25,300 against an estimate of £40-50k. A one-owner Lancia Delta HF Integrale 16v in Martini warpaint sold for £20,700 against a £40-£50k estimate, and a 1979 Nissan Fairlady 280Z rally car estimated at £60k-£80k sold for £34,500.
With a little under half the cars failing to find new homes at the Bonhams Goodwood Revival 2025 sale, there were some big hitters that particularly disappointed. The above 1966 AC Cobra ex-Martin Colvill/Willment Racing/AC Cars – which we brought you in our preview – failed to sell against a £1.5m-£2m estimate. Also among those not troubling the DVLA’s registration service were the ex-Jeff Zwart Porsche 911 SWB (est £200k-£250k), a 1968 Ferrari 330 GTC (£310k-£360k), a 2002 Porsche 996 GT3 RS racer (£275k-£300k), a 1974 Ferrari 365 GT4 BB (£175k-£225k), the Earls Court Motor Show 1973 Aston Martin V8 S3 (£80k-£100k) and the ex-Peter Sellers 1960 Bentley S2 Continental DHC (£100k-£120k).
More details on the Bonhams Goodwood Revival 2025 sale can be found here.
