After 14 years, the international auction house Bonhams has returned to Gstaad: and more than 50 collector items were auctioned at the Gstaad Palace on Sunday, 3 July. The highlight was the extraordinary Lamborghini Reventon, whose shape is reminiscent of a jet. But the highest bid was CHF 1,95 million for the 1991 Ferrari F40.

Aston Martin, Maserati, Porsche, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini: the range was diverse, as were the vintages of the cars. The oldest model at the auction was an Alvis Speed 20 SC DHC built in 1934, while a two-year-old Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport was the newest.

Among the cars were also treasures of the Swiss coachbuilding industry of the 1950s and examples of the former Swiss company Monteverdi, which produced its own road sports cars and luxury vehicles.

A Ferrari stole the show.
After the three-hour auction, it was clear that the 1991 Ferrari F40 was the winner. It was sold for CHF 1,95 million, the highest bid at the auction. It thus displaced the Lamborghini Reventon Roadster from 2010, which had been marked as the auction highlight in the run-up with an estimated value of CHF 1,85 to 2,2 million, but it ended up not being sold.

Every two years
Earlier, Bonhams organised an annual Ferrari auction at the Gstaad Palace, and now they have returned with a new format called The Gstaad Sale. Three years ago, they started auctions in Switzerland again, and it was a success – and when they decided to return to Gstaad, it could, of course, only be to the Palace. From now on and every second year, the auction will take place in Gstaad. “The news made my heart beat faster," says Andrea Scherz, owner of Gstaad Palace, about the return of the car auction. “I used to organise the auction with Bonhams from 1998 to 2008 at the Palace, and it really was my baby, so to speak. Bonhams arrived with a diverse selection of car brands and vintages, which made the event even more exciting”, he said.

MADE IN SWITZERLAND
At The Gstaad Sale, there was a unique selection of cars featuring Swiss craftsmanship. The body of the first post-war Alfa Romeo – 1900C Super Sprint Barchetta – was made by Carrosserie Ghia Aigle in Locarno. The unique feature: The body is built in one piece, and the design is inspired by the boats of the Italian company Riva.

The Bentley Mark VI is one of the most sought-after and rarest vehicles of the Swiss coachbuilder Graber. Among the auction models, there were also cars from the former Swiss company Monteverdi, such as the 375S Coupe from 1969 and the 375/4 from 1974.

BASED ON AVS/JOCELYNE PAGE

If you want to dig deeper in the catalogue, here is the link to the Gstaad Sale