Ferraris dominate RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba auction

Eight of the top 10 prices achieved at RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba sale in Italy on 23 May wore the prancing horse badge.

Spanning 50 years of production, they ranged from a 1952 212 Barchetta to an Enzo that was the 2002 Paris Motor Show car.

Highest price of the day - £6.5 million - went to a restored 1960 250GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione that was one of 45 original aluminium-bodied racers.

The 1952 Touring-bodied 212 Export Ferrari was not far behind, achieving £4.8 million. Having competed in the Targa Florio in 1952 and ’53, and the 1956 Mille Miglia, it’s eligible for major historic events.

Other top-10 sellers included a 1971 Lamborghini Miura, which sold for just over £700,000. It had been recently refurbished and had covered only 30,000 miles from new.

Just behind the Lamborghini was a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7. A rare lightweight Sport version, it was a four-owner car with the correct engine and chassis that had just been restored by a Porsche specialist.

Another rarity snapped up at the Italian sale was a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II drophead coupe. The 1962 car had been specially ordered by American WW2 hero Boyd Calhoun of South Carolina. He came to England to collect the HJ Mulliner conversion and took it home on the Cunard liner HNS Queen Elizabeth. The Rolls sold for £267,675.

The lot with the most well-known previous owner was a beautifully restored Riva Florida boat that was originally bought by French film director Roger Vadim for his wife Bridget Bardot in 1959. It was sold for just over £100,000.

Visit Classic Car Price for the full sale results.