Ferrari 340 America Touring Barchetta makes £5.7m at Monaco sale

A 1951 Ferrari 340 America Touring Barchetta stole all the headlines at RM’s Monaco sale at the weekend, selling for £5.7m.

Chassis number 0116/A is known as one of the first ‘big engine’ competition Ferraris. Boasting a strong competition pedigree, it was raced in the 1951 and 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours and entered in nine Mille Miglia road rallies from 1984 to 2006.

The second highest price paid on the night was for a 1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Evolution, chassis no. GT1 993-117. It is the only known road-registered example, and one of just 14 GT1 race cars in private hands.

The GT1 came to auction following a recent comprehensive restoration, passing onto its third owner for a record-breaking £2.2m. Rounding out the top three sales was an original 1966 Ferrari 275 GTS, chassis no. 07805, which realized £1.4m.

A packed crowd gathered in Monaco for the RM auction.

Earlier in the day, enthusiasts took their seats for the sale of the famous Italian Quattroruote Collection, which contained an eclectic mix of 37 cars, motorcycles and memorabilia, all offered without reserve.

The collection sale was headlined by a 1939 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet, chassis no. 57731, which exceeded estimate at a strong £516,152. The 1930 Hispano-Suiza H6B Coupé Limousine, chassis number 12306, was the second most valuable car in the collection, bringing a final £83,109.

Peter Wallman, managing director of RM Europe, said, ‘By any standards, we have enjoyed a successful sale this weekend with in excess of £21.5 million sold.

‘The Ferrari 340 America was the most expensive car sold in Monaco this weekend and a number of model-specific records have also been achieved. We remain broadly positive about the continued growth in certain areas of the market and are looking forward to a summer of strong sales.’

1997 Porsche 911 GT1 Evolution sold for £2.2m.

Proving that demand for modern era supercars remains strong, other notable sales included the 2004 Aston Martin DB AR1 for an auction record-breaking £262,450.

While the 1995 Lamborghini Diablo SE30 Jota also soared past high estimate to bring £524,884 – a record for a Diablo at auction. The 2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta Pininfarina was another notable sale, achieving an excellent, above-estimate £393,663.