The RM Sotheby’s Milan sale, which takes place just prior to the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este weekend, sees a 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Lungo Cabriolet by Pinin Farina lead 37 lots to be auctioned at Fonderia Carlo Macchi, a former metal foundry-turned-fashion show hotspot.
At the time of writing the final lots were being confirmed but very rare racing Porsche 911s are a key theme, though it’s a diverse lot list that incorporates a little something for all tastes. Here are ten of our favourites set for sale on Thursday, May 22?
This 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Lungo Cabriolet by Pinin Farina was first deilvered to His Royal Highness Prince Filiberto of Savoy-Genoa, Duke of Pistoia and Genoa. He exhibited the car in period at the 1933 Monte Carlo Concours d’Elegance. It was later acquired by racing driver Vittorio Belmondo, who commissioned this bodywork in 1937.
In 1949, chassis 2211075 was owned by Louis Pierre Jean Leinns, a diplomat for the United Nations who registered the car on Geneva plates. After passing through the hands of English broker Nobby Spero, it was acquired by Ken Eckersley of Farnham in Surrey at the age of 21. He’d spent all his money (£100) on the car, leaving little left for his honeymoon. Indeed, it’s reported the couple had to cut the trip short as their last pennies were spent on fuel. The couple retained the car until Ken’s passing in 1998, and since 1999 it’s been in a prominent Italian collection. It’s estimated at between €3.5m and €4.5m.
The next two highest-estimate cars at RM Sotheby’s Milan sale are a brace of Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs: a 1956 Gullwing with a factory-fitted NSL engine and Rudge wheels offered from 37 years of ownership (est: €1.8m-€2.2m); and an alloy block/disc brake 1962 Roadster in blue (€1.8m-€2.2m) that’s had just two owners.
However, this 2008 Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 also caught the eye. The last chassis to be built by Prodrive, it was campaigned by Fischer Racing as Young Driver AMR for the 2010 GT1 World Championship season with Tomáš Enge, Stefan Mücke and Christoffer Nygaard behind the wheel. Its first race at Abu Dhabi ended in a DNF, while a run at the Silverstone Tourist Trophy netted fifth place after a disqualification.
The car’s competitive career came to an end at the 1000km of Spa; on lap 82 it spun into the tyre wall and destroyed the front end. Fischer Racing kept this chassis, number 109, and its other DBR9, to build a jig. The front bulkhead was replaced in late 2011 and a Gulf livery applied. In 2014 it was repaired by Prodrive and sold to its current owner in 2015. It currently wears a livery reminiscent of the 2006 Le Mans 23 Hours, and it has a new data-logging system, in-built air jacks and a water pre-heater. It’s estimated at between €1.5m and €1.8m.
It’s not the only racing Aston Martin from this era in the sale; there’s also a 2007 Aston Martin DBRS9 (a GT3 version of the DBR9) first delivered to BMS Scuderia Italia and estimated at between €260k and €290k.
On the subject of racing machines, this 2001 McLaren MP4-16 is one of seven cars designed by Adrian Newey and Neil Oatley for the 2001 season. David Coulthard took second and fifth at the San Marino and Spanish GPs respectively, before taking victory at the Austrian Grand Prix. After Coulthard took fifth at the Monaco Grand Prix, it was driven to third place at the Canadian Grand Prix by Mika Häkkinen. It retired from third place at its last outing, the German Grand Prix, with engine issues. It was kept as a standby car for the rest of the season, and retained by McLaren until 2020. It then entered private ownership minus a running engine. It’s estimated at between €1.4m and €1.6m.
This 2010 Lamborghini Reventón Roadster is one of 15 built, and was first delivered to the Swiss Lamborghini Porrentruy dealership. It was acquired by a German owner in 2018 and has covered just 4102km. It’s estimated at between €1.3m and €1.6m.
Other 00s cars of note include a 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG Coupé (est: €325k-€375k) and a Cabriolet (est: €275k-€425k).
This 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C Gran Sport Spider Series IV by Zagato is the 64th out of 102 built. Its early life is unclear, but by the 1960s the car was owned by Keith Hellon of Mundelein, Illinois. He’d sell the car to Colorado-based car collector Jackson Brooks in 1974, who later sold the car to Silicon Valley venture capitalist Thomas Perkins in 1981.
After featuring in Perkins’ Classic Supercharged Sports Cars book, Perkins sold the car back to Brooks, who had Phil Reilly & Co prepare the car for racing. Art Valdez of Los Angeles acquired the car and kept it for 11 years, enjoying it on the Mille Miglia four times. It then passed through two California residents before being acquired by a Portugal-based collector. In 2023 it was taken to the Jim Stokes Workshop for an inspection and service. It is estimated at between €1.3m and €1.5m.
Before we get to the 911s at the RM Sotheby’s Milan sale, there’s this unicorn: the 959 ‘Speedster’. It originally started life as a silver 1987 959 Komfort, delivered new to racing driver Jürgen Lässig, winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1995 and runner-up at Le Mans in 1987. After an autobahn crash in 1988, he sold the car to Porsche racer Karl-Heinz Feustel.
Feustel ran a specialised workshop near Cologne, and spent more than 4000 hours crafting this, the 959 ‘Speedster’, finished in Grand Prix White. It had an electrically operated soft top and a removable hard top, and was displayed at the Frankfurt and Essen Motor Shows in 1989. It was sold to Dr Berg Klaus of Karben, who kept the car until 2008. The current owner has had it since then, and it is estimated at between €1m and €1.5m.
The Milan sale is largely dominated by The Stuttgart Collection, a collection of five Porsches and one 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing in black. The highlight of the Porsche selection is this 1974 911 Carrera RS 3.0, one of just 55 built to homologate the 3.0-litre RSR for the 1974 endurance racing season. It features a detuned RSR engine with Silumin crankcase, single-plug ignition, and a road-legal exhaust system, plus brakes sourced from the 917. It also had lightened body panels, a new front aero package and more tweaks besides: it produced 230bhp in 900kg.
This particular car was first sold to a Mr Byker of Düsseldorf, who kept it just a year before selling to clubman racer Antonino Guagliardo, who alongside Libero Marchiolo took on the challenge of the Targa Florio. The car failed to finish, and with Guagliardo moving to 930 Turbo power, its competition career was over. He kept the car for three decades, and in short order ownership passed through France and Belgium before joining The Stuttgart Collection in 2015. It’s estimated at €1m-€1.5m.
Other highlights from The Stuttgart Collection include a 1997 993 GT2 R (est: €500k-€700k), a 993 Cup 3.8 RSR (est: €450k-€550k) and the aforementioned black 300SL Gullwing (est: €1.15m-€1.5m).
This 1956 Maserati A6G/54 Coupé is one of 21 bodied Allemano, and was first delivered to Mr Catullo Del Monte of Rome. Chassis 2175 was exported to the USA in 1958 and by the late 1980s it had ended up in the stewardship of Joe Alphabet of Los Angeles. At around this time it lost its engine to a Zagato-bodied car he also owned. In 1996 it was acquired by the consignor, who reunited the car with its correct engine as part of an extensive restoration. It’s estimated at between €870k and €1.2m.
This 1965 Aston Martin DB Short-Chassis Volante is one of just 37 cars built using the shorter DB5 chassis with some of the styling features of the new DB6. It was also the first time the word Volante was used for an Aston Martin droptop.
First displayed at the 1965 British Motor Show, its first owner was a Joseph S Bath of London, and optioned with chrome wheels, a Motorola radio, three-ear hubcaps and seven pints of anti-freeze. After a prang in 1967, it was repaired by Aston Martin. Originally finished in Platinum over Blue Connolly Vaumol leather, it was later finished in dark green over beige leather and converted from right to left-hand-drive and imported to Kuwait; it’s described as being in need of recommissioning. It’s estimated at between €675k and €725k.
A personal favourite of RM Sotheby’s Milan sale is this 1989 Lancia Delta HF Integrale 8V Group A rally car. Chassis 458689 was built for the 1989 season, winning on its debut at the Portugal round with Miki Biasion and Siviero Tiziano behind the wheel. It retired from its next outing at the Costa Smeralda round of the European Rally Championship with Markku Alén, before Mikael Ericsson and Claes Billstam took victory an the Argentinian round of the World Rally Championship.
It rounded out the year with Alén, taking third in Australia. It would then be used in several national events, before returning to the World Rally Championship in 1991 with the Astra Racing team. Gustavo Trelles and Ricaro Ivetich took eight place in Argentina and Michel Gregis and Claudio Giachino’s run at the San Remo ended prematurely. Its last period outing was the Valais round of the European Rally Championship later that year, ending up with third place for Philippe Roux and Paul Corthay.
The Delta was acquired by the vendor around 25 years ago and maintained and restored by an Abarth mechanic, and is presented in 1989 Portugal WRC specification. It’s estimated at between €485k and €550k.
Further details
For more details on RM Sotheby’s Milan sale, head here.
