An ex-Graham Hill 1958 Lotus 16 Formula 1 car leads the Bonhams Monaco 2026 auction, set to take place during the Monaco Historic Grand Prix weekend on Friday April 24.
The Lotus 16 is the first single-seater raced by Hill, and it is presented in Formula 1 specification. Chassis 362 featured a modified engine installation in period, with its 1500cc Formula 2 unit mounted at a 17º cant to the left and angled across the chassis by 6.5º from right front to left rear. During the 1958 season, Team Lotus entered the French Grand Prix using interim Coventry Climax FPF engines. Cliff Allison drove a Lotus 12 fitted with a 2.2-litre unit, while Graham Hill used a 1.96-litre version in the Type 16, still in lay-down configuration.
At the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Hill drove chassis 362, which had been converted to accept an upright FPF engine. Both Lotus entries retired due to overheating. Allison then drove the car at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where he ran as high as fourth place despite the engine’s limited capacity, as a full 2.5-litre Formula 1-specification unit was not available until 1959. The race ended when a radiator failure caused coolant loss. The car had also sustained minor nose damage in practice.
During practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix at Oporto, Allison crashed chassis 362 heavily. The damage led to the chassis being set aside for later repair. It is understood to have subsequently formed the basis of a modified car supplied to private entrant Anthony Brooke for Formula 2 use in 1960.
Brooke’s campaign with the rebuilt car was limited. Appearances included practice at Oulton Park on April 2, 1960, testing at Snetterton on April 24 and Aintree on August 1, followed by a non-finish at Montlhéry on October 9 and a seventh place at Brands Hatch on October 14. The car passed to Don Burke in 1963 before being acquired in a dismantled state by Nigel Woollett and Brian Eckersley. It remained in storage until 1977, when it was purchased by Amschel Rothschild and restored by John Harper; ownership later transferred to Simon Phillips. It’s currently in F1 configuration with a 2.2-litre engine, and carries an estimate of €450k to €600k.
The Bonhams Monaco 2026 sale also includes a group of historically significant rally cars, led by two Audi Quattro Group B examples. The first is a 1983 Audi Quattro A2 Group B car, chassis number 38, estimated at €900k to €1.2m. Entered by Audi Sport, it was driven during the 1983 season by Hannu Mikkola, who secured victory at the Rally of Portugal. The same car finished fourth at the Monte Carlo Rally and led the Acropolis Rally before retiring due to engine failure.
The second Audi is a restored 1983 Quattro A1 Group B car known as Belga 2, offered with an estimate of €350k to €500k. Driven by Marc Duez, it achieved overall victory at the Boucles de Spa and the Lotto Haspengouw Rally in 1983, along with a fourth-place finish at the Ypres 24 Hours Rally.
A 1976 Lancia Stratos Group 4 rally car, chassis 1754, is also included, with an estimate of €700k to €900k. Delivered new in Italy and converted to Group 4 specification, it was campaigned between 1976 and 1982, including appearances at the Monte Carlo and San Remo rallies. The car is presented in the livery used by Jean-Claude Andruet during his victory at the 1980 Tour de France Automobile, and it has remained under the same ownership for more than four decades.
Further Lancia highlights at the Bonhams Monaco 2026 auction include an ex-Jolly Club Fulvia HF (€140k-€180k), a Maturo-tuned 1991 Delta HF Integrale Evo Martini 5 (€140k-€180k) and a 1994 Delta HF Integrale Evo II Dealers Collection (€100k-€140k).
Touring car entries include a collection of 1990s DTM machines from a single owner. Among them is the 1995 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI driven by Alessandro Nannini, estimated at €500k to €600k. Additional cars include a 1990 Mercedes-Benz AMG 190E 2.5-16 formerly raced by Klaus Ludwig, an ex-Steve Soper 1992 BMW M3 E30 and a 1989 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 driven by Armin Hahne. More details on these cars can be found in our previous article here.
Among the modern road cars there’s a 2024 Ferrari 812 Competizione Aperta with an estimate of €1.75m to €2m; it has covered 204km. However, the rarer option is a 2021 Lamborghini Sián (pictured above), one of 63 coupé examples produced. It’s covered 194km and carries an estimate range of €2.1m to €2.5m. Elsewhere, there is a 2019 Lamborghini Aventador SVJ LP 770-4 Coupé (€520k-€620k est), 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster (€710k-€790k) and a one-of-250 2016 Volkswagen XL-1 (€90k-€130k).
Among the classic road cars at Bonhams Monaco 2026 is a 1961 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, estimated at €1.18m to €1.35m. Originally supplied as a US-specification vehicle, it was later converted to European standards and registered in Sweden between 1987 and 2014, before moving to Germany.
Other highlights include a 1989 Lamborghini LM002 reportedly ordered new by Gaddafi (€300k-€350k), a 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT (€300k-€380k), a one-of-two specification 1991 Ferrari Testarossa (€280k-€320k), a 1998 Porsche 993 Turbo WLS2 (€270k-€350k) and a1957 Porsche 356A Speedster (€220k-€280k).
Further details
More details on the Bonhams Monaco 2026 sale can be found here.
