The illustrated results of RM Sotheby's and Bonhams Paris sales ....

The European auction season kicked off this week in Paris with three major sales and the results for the first two are in. First up, on Wednesday, was RM Sotheby's 7th annual Paris sale. As can be seen in our 60-shot gallery from the preview, the 98-lot strong sale included an eclectic mix of machinery. The headlining D-Type failed to sell, and instead the sale was topped by this BMW 507 that was part of the 'Poster Car Collection' and found a new owner for just shy of €2 million. Doing surprisingly well was this replica of the legendary Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 'Red Pig', which doubled its top estimate at €432,500. At the end of the day, the British/Canadian auctioneer sold 75% of the lots for a combined total of €16.5 million. These figures do include several lots that were sold immediately after the auction.
Next up was British rival Bonhams with their annual Grand Palais auction, which was held on Thursday afternoon. In the ever imposing building, which hosted the Paris Motor Show for many years just over 100 automobiles crossed the block. Just 65% of the lots eventually managed to sell and the best result was for this one-off Bugatti Type 55 Figoni Roadster. Offered from the estate of the late Geoffrey St John, it found its first new owner in over 50 years for €4.6 million. Despite the lower sell through rate, Bonhams did eclipse RM with a total just shy of €20 million. This was the auctioneers best ever result in this fantastic venue.

Enjoy the links:

[URL="https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/auction/254/2020-RM-Sotheby-s-Paris.html"]2020 RM Sotheby's Paris[/URL]

[URL="https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/auction/243/2020-Bonhams-Grand-Palais.html"]2020 Bonhams Grand Palais[/URL]