Introduction
Bonhams celebrated the 10th anniversary of their annual auction in the Swiss jet-set ski-resort of Gstaad. Until last year the sale in the luxurious five-star Palace Hotel was reserved exclusively for Ferraris and Ferrari related automobilia. After allowing Maseratis in last year, the auction was now open to all cars as long as they were Italian. It sure is a stark contrast with a couple of years ago when highlights included Ferraris in multi million dollar range like a 250 GT Tour de France or a 250 GTO. The ever increasing prices and the dwindling dollar have made these cars too expensive to sell at auction, particularly considering the commission charged by auctioneers. This has made it very difficult for Bonhams to track down high profile (Ferrari) lots for the 10th anniversary sale. What has not changed was quality and scope of the forty odd available motor cars. All of them were in either top notch, carefully restored condition or highly original. Bonhams has also always tried to cater for a wide range of budgets. Last year a Maserati Biturbo found a new owner for a price that was (jokingly) compared with a cab-fare to the Geneva airport.
For the sixth year running we travelled to Gstaad and captured the Bonhams Auction in its entirety. All automotive lots have made it into our 90-shot slideshow.

Automobilia
At 2 pm the auction kicked off with a 140-lot automobilia sale, which already attracted a large crowd. The items available ranged from a Ferrari 60th anniversary commemorative racing bike to trophies won by Italian racing drivers Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi. Although there were fairly few bidders, many of the lots found new owners for reasonable prices. The Villoresi trophies fetched an impressive CHF 38,000*, but the CHF 26,000 offered for the Ascari ones was insufficient. Things got really interesting when sales brochures of the 500 Mondial and the 750 Monza were offered. Both were estimated to sell for well under CHF 1,000. There were two enthusiasts that had other plans and to the amazement of all, early bids of around the estimates were quickly eclipsed by a sudden leap to CHF 20,000. Both bidders got one each for CHF 21,000 and CHF 28,000 respectively. It looked set to become a successful afternoon.

Motor Cars
An absolutely packed ball-room of the Palace Hotel witnessed the start of the car auction at 4 pm. It started off well with a 365 GTB/4 Daytona fetching CHF 275,000, despite not having run for over six years. Another early top seller was a beautiful Maserati Mistral Spyder, once owned by the factory museum, was sold for a better than estimated CHF 270,000. One of the absolute highlights of the auction was an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS, which had been stored for over thirty years. It was only discovered recently and carefully brought back to life without damaging any of its highly original patina. Once the most expensive new car available, it was hammered down for CHF 40,000 over the top estimate at CHF 360,000. One of most interesting lots of the sale was a Ferrari 250 GT Coupe powered by an engine specifically prepared to competition specification for Enzo Ferrari. It was sold for CHF 370,000, which was well within the estimate and an impressive result for a type of Ferrari that not long ago was often butchered to build 250 GTO and 250 TR replicas.
The first and only time seven figures graced the bidding screen was for a freshly restored Ferrari 275 GTB 6C. It was sold to a anonymous phone bidder for CHF 1,120,000. Bidding in the room for the fabulous example had stopped at CHF 1,100,000, which was also its top estimate. Unfortunately this was one of only very few of the CHF 500,000+ lots to find a new owner, although bidders came close at several occasions. At CHF 720,000 and just shy of its top estimate, the next best seller was a Ferrari 275 GTS. Auctioneer James Knight used all his talents to conclude the sale with a fabulous result; he managed to drag a low mileage, original 512 BB to CHF 200,000; 25% over its top estimate.

Conclusion
Thanks to a flying start, this Wednesday afternoon turned out to be quite successful for Bonhams. Several of the cars that were initially passed were sold after the auction. The packed room was filled with many prominent collectors and dealers. Bonhams� staff was also kept busy with telephone bidders. Together they ensured the 10th anniversary sale was a success.
Before the auction it has been suggested that it could be the last Gstaad auction, but hopefully the results of the 10th anniversary auction will encourage Bonhams to continue with the great season finale in Gstaad.
To conclude our report we must add that the snow around Gstaad was absolutely fantastic this year and well worth the trip alone.

#	Description	Estimate	High Bid	Remarks
201	1974 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona	250,000 - 280,000	275,000
202	1965 Fiat 500 Transformabile Saloon	16,000 - 20,000	19,000	No Reserve
203	1963 Lancia Flaminia 2.8L 3C Touring	40,000 - 50,000	27,000
204	1967 Ferrari 330GT 2+2 Series II	100,000 - 130,000	125,000
205	1971 Ferrari 246 GT Dino	170,000 - 190,000	160,000
206	1969 Maserati Mistral Spyder	200,000 - 250,000	270,000
207	1954 Ferrari 250 Europa	650,000 - 750,000	630,000	No Sale
208	1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Cabriolet	220,000 - 320,000	360,000
209	1976 Ferrari 512 BB	130,000 - 180,000	116,829
210	1990 De Tomaso Pantera GT5S	160,000 - 220,000	135,000	Last Pantera
211	1954 Lancia Aurelia B20GT	120,000 - 140,000	105,000	No Sale
212	1963 Autobianchi Bianchina Eden Roc	22,000 - 28,000	22,000
213	1971 Maserati Ghibli SS	110,000 - 130,000	105,000	No Sale
214	1958 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe	360,000 - 400,000	370,000
215	1992 Ferrari F40	420,000 - 500,000	430,000
216	1969 Ferrari 365 GTC	360,000 - 410,000	350,000	No Sale
217	1975 Ferrari 308 GTB 'Facetti'	420,000 - 580,000	340,000	No Sale
218	1970 Maserati Ghibli Spyder	310,000 - 350,000	332,000
219	1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/2 6C	1,000,000 - 1,100,000	1,120,000
220	1968 Lancia Flaminia 3C 2.8 Zagato	200,000 - 250,000	150,000	No Sale
221	1965 Ferrari 275 GTS	640,000 - 740,000	720,000
222	1930 Lancia Lambda	80,000 - 130,000	72,500
223	1924 Alfa Romeo RM 4WD Half Track	350,000 - 450,000	300,000	No Sale
224	1960 Lancia Appia Cabriolet	32,000 - 36,000	16,000	No Reserve
225	1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Touring	80,000 - 130,000	67,000
226	1974 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona	420,000 - 480,000	410,000
227	1990 Ferrari 328 GTS	130,000 - 150,000	125,000	99km from new
228	1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider	550,000 - 650,000	520,000	No Sale
229	1952 Siata 208 CS Bertone Berlinetta	450,000 - 550,000	380,000	No Sale
230	1962 Maserati 3500 GT	80,000 - 100,000	90,000
231	1974 Lancia Stratos HF Stradale	250,000 - 320,000	245,000
232	1937 Maserati 4CM	Upon Request	760,000	No Sale
233	1967 Lamborghini 400 GT 2+2	230,000 - 260,000	238,000
234	1971 Alfa Romeo 33 TT3	860,000 - 960,000	760,000	No Sale
235	2003 Ferrari 550 / 575 GTC	680,000 - 780,000	570,000	No Sale
236	1952 Siata 300BC Barchetta	160,000 - 200,000	135,000	No Sale
237	1972 Ferrari 246 GT Dino	170,000 - 200,000	185,000
238	1960 Ferrari 246 F1 Dino Replica	1,000,000 - 1,200,000	900,000	No Sale
239	1978 Ferrari 308 GTB	75,000 - 90,000		Withdrawn
240	1983 Ferrari 512BBi	130,000 - 180,000	129,400
241	2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta	250,000 - 300,000	210,000	No Sale
242	1980 Ferrari 512 BB	140,000 - 160,000	200,000

*All prices listed are in Swiss Francs and without taxes and commission.