Lightweight Porsche makes £830,300 at Festival of Speed sale

A rare 1973 Porsche 911 RS Lightweight sold for an astonishing £830,300 auction. The car was the big seller at Bonhams Festival of Speed sale, which was held at Goodwood on Friday, 30 June.

German marques did well across the sale, with a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster being hammered away for £897,500. A much earlier example from Mercedes also achieved a top price A 1911 Mercedes Simplex 28/50hp ‘Roi des Belges’ Tourer sold for £359,900 having been in single family ownership for the past 60 years.

Indeed, vintage cars were successful throughout the sale, with a 1914 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Silver Ghost Open Tourer, originally the property of his Highness the Maharana Sir Fateh Singh Bahadur of Udaipur, achieving £550,300 - well above its pre-sale estimate.

British marques were well represented at the sale. Star lot here was an original 1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sedanca de Ville, which sold for £779,900. Aston Martins were also popular, with the one-of-a-kind 1957 Aston Martin DB2/4 MkII Coupé Design Project 193 (DB Mark III Prototype) achieving £337,500 and the 1959 Aston Martin DB4 ‘Series 1’ Sports Saloon realising £326,300.

1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ Berlinetta sold for £539,100.

Ferrari, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, saw some of its most famous models up for sale at the auction. The 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ Berlinetta was one of the first offered, and set the standard when it achieved £539,100. Widely considered one of the most elegant Ferraris, a 1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GT Spyder finished in striking orange sold for £253,500.

Other highlights included a 1936 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Supercharged Special that realised £253,500. And a 1973 Iso Grifo 5.8-Litre Series II Coupé sold for £208,700 to a telephone bidder.