Bonhams Goodwood FoS 2025 turned out to be another good sale for the auctioneer, indicating it is getting back to its better days after a difficult few years.
The glorious weather of the Goodwood Festival of Speed weekend was reflected in some of the results – several cars shone far beyond their high estimates, including a Bugatti Veyron and a Fast and the Furious-starring Mazda RX7. There was also a new record for the highest price paid at a UK auction for a vehicle registration number – JB 1 from the Jack Barclay collection. The overall sell-through rate was 80 per cent, with £10.2m in total sales on the day, though several cars have sold since.
The top result at Bonhams Goodwood FoS 2025 was for the above AMG One. Showing just 100 miles on the clock and yet serviced twice in that time, it duly hit its marks. It sold for £2,456,600 against a pre-sale estimate of £2.4m-£2.8m.
Other well-guided cars to sell within estimate included a 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster (£866,200), a 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Series V Vantage (£345k), a 1992 Jaguar XJ220 (£310k), an ex-McAlpine family 1928 Bentley 4½-Litre Tourer (£304,750), a rare fuel-injected 1970 Aston Martin DB6 (£178,250, no reserve) and a 1998 AC Cobra 427 MkIII Roadster (£172,500).
With the first ten lots showing three cars selling way below low estimate and three no sales (more on those later), some in attendance at Bonhams Goodwood FoS 2025 might have been fearing the worst. However, lot ten proved to be very different. Perhaps inspired by the Cartier Style et Luxe’s celebration of the Bugatti Veyron’s 20-year anniversary just outside, the result for this 2007 Veyron 16.4 confounded all expectations, selling for three times its pre-sale high estimate at £1.527m.
Estimated at £500k to £800k due to it not having a service in 13 years and being in need of another one (hardly a minor undertaking even if you can afford the entrance price), it had spent much of its life on static display in Switzerland. It set a new auction record for the model, and here’s the kicker: if the buyer was from the UK, he or she would have to add 20 per cent in tax and import duty of 10 per cent to the hammer price…
It takes something special to upstage a Bugatti Veyron and an AMG One, but few expected it to be a bodykitted Mazda RX7. This was no normal Mazda RX7, however…
One of two surviving cars built for The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, this 1992 car was sent to Veilside Co Ltd by Universal Studios to be fitted with the Fortune widebody kit that leaves just the roof and tailgate of the original car’s design. Unused in any of the drifting scenes, in the movie the car is used by retired drift racer Han, played by Sung Kang, featuring in many close-ups and static shots.
Many original Universal Studios production markings remain on the car, including ‘#71 HANS’ labels on the passenger door, engine bay, and scuttle, along with traces from camera mounts used during filming. Prior to shipping, the RX-7 underwent a thorough overhaul, receiving a new clutch, brakes, coil-over suspension, and a Blitz Nur-Spec exhaust system. Its engine was rebuilt by tuner RE-Amemiya and remains close to stock specification, delivering approximately 280bhp. The car had covered just 5000 miles since the refurbishment. It was acquired by the UK vendor in summer 2008 via New Era Imports, and had been checked over by rotary engine specialist Hayward Rotaries prior to the sale. Estimated at £250k to £350k, it eventually sold for £911k after a three-way bidding battle.
We’ve previously suggested that there’s a shift in Hollywood reference points away from McQueen and towards the Fast and the Furious franchise, and its stars. It does beg the question – what could be next?
Another car to confound expectations at Bonhams Goodwood FoS 2025 was the above 1998 Ferrari F355 F1 Spider. The F1 semi-automatic gearbox is largely viewed negatively in comparison to its three-pedal brethren, which explained its £50k-£70k estimate, despite having covered just 15,800 miles from new and 394 miles between 2009 and 2022. While low-mileage can be king, we’ve seen that small miles alone can be a disincentive, especially if it’s a Ferrari that needs recommissioning. However, the critical part of the pre-auction write-up stated that it had just been serviced by Ferrari main dealer Meridien – hence a £97,750 result.
Very much a result down to an individual car, rather than an overwhelming surge for Maranello V8 machines as a 2002 360 Modena F1 and 1975 Dino 308 GT4 sold for within estimate (£55,200 for the former and £32,200 for the latter), while a US-spec 1998 F355 manual failed to sell at a £60-£70k estimate.
While there were some good results for no reserve cars, there were also some notable casualties – especially early on. A 1969 Lotus Elan +2S sold for £9775 against a £15k-£20k estimate, while the above 2010 Morgan 4/4 with Danish artist Kristian Hornsleth paint sold for just £10,925 against a pre-sale estimate of £35k-£55k. A 2004 Bentley Continental GT limped to £16,100 against a £25k-£35k estimate, and later in the sale a 1974 Ford Escort RS2000 racing car only made £27,600 against a pre-sale estimate of £40k-£60k. Has no reserve lost its auction allure for buyers? It’ll be fascinating to watch over the coming year…
Competition cars also struggled at Bonhams Goodwood FoS 2025: the above 1972 Datsun 240Z IMSA Competition Coupé with IMSA, SCCA and Trans-Am history sold for £32,200 against a pre-sale estimate of £65k-£85k, while there were notable no-sales for an ex-Colin McRae MG Metro 6R4, the last Ford C100 Group C racing chassis, a 1972 Datsun 240Z rally car and the ex-RV Marchant/Bill Hill 1965 Lotus-Rotorvic 23B 1.5-litre V12 prototype.
The auction malaise surrounding Jaguar E-types continues. Bonhams Goodwood FoS 2025 saw two flat-floor examples up for sale; the above example had covered just 100 miles since a professional restoration and didn’t sell against a £140k-£180k estimate. Number 49 off the line, also a roadster, also failed to sell against a £120k-£160k estimate, and a 1962 Series 1 3.8 FHC failed to sell against a £65k-£75k estimate.
However, there was better news for a 1965 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 with Coombs trimmings, which sold for £50,600 against £47k-£52k estimate, and a 1953 XK120 originally sold to the UK but resident in Australia for a long time sold for £63,250 against a £55k-£70k estimate.
One of the more controversial sales prior to kick-off was the above 1995 BMW M3 E36, on account of its pre-sale estimate of £80k to £100k. It had covered just 2900 miles thanks to quite a back story – ordered new by an Italian living in London, he didn’t have long to enjoy it before he was redeployed to Singapore for work. He drove the car back to Alassio in Italy, where it was stored in a private garage yet meticulously looked after. Despite this history, there was much scoffing on social media about the pre-sale estimate – but in the end the pre-sale estimate proved to be entirely accurate. It sold for £86,250.
Ferrari Testarossa prices have been a hot topic over the past 18 months or so, with increasing values and notable above-estimate results. The above 1991 Testarossa was estimated at £60k-£80k, which is remarkably cheap – but then this left-hand-drive ex-Japan car had been off the road since 2017 and last serviced in 2016; it was also a finance repossession and on later 512TR wheels. All this didn’t deter strong interest – on the day it smashed through its pre-sale estimate to land on £92k.
And so to the record-breaking number plate ‘JB 1’. Offered for sale as part of a wider selection of lots from the Jack Barclay archive – the famous London car dealer and racing driver – this number plate adorned many of Jack Barclay’s cars, and that of the family. Estimated at £200k-£300k, it sold for £608,600 – a new UK record for a registration plate.
Further details
For more details on the Bonhams Goodwood FoS 2025 sale, click here.
