Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 26, 2022
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The VT Roadster is one of the ultimate cars of the 1990s. RM calls it an example of Lambo’s “first production convertible,” which is kind of a half truth. One, it’s not really a convertible as it’s more of a targa. And Lambo had done targas before, namely the Jalpa and Urraco. But the difference is that the Diablo had an electronically retractable carbon-fiber roof panel, whereas the two earlier cars had a lift-off removable top panel.
At any rate, this facelifted Diablo features faired-in headlights instead of the earlier model’s pop-up units. It’s also powered by a 5.7-liter V12 rated at 529 horsepower. It also has four-wheel drive with front and rear limited-slip differentials.
Something like 100 of these roadsters were made for the facelifted model. The car could hit 200 mph and achieve sixty in under four seconds. As popular as these were 20-25 years ago, they seem few and far between today. Check out more about this one here.
Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 13-14, 2021
Photo – Gooding & Company
The original Miura debuted at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show and went into production in P400 guise later that year. In late 1968, Lamborghini upped the ante with the P400 S. It features some slight differences from the base Miura, including chrome window trim, power windows, and revised camshafts and intake manifolds.
These last two changes helped boost power from the 3.9-liter V12 to 365 horsepower. The S would remain in production until being replaced by the P400 SV in 1971. In all, 338 examples of the P400 S were produced.
This particular car is finished in a not-too-exciting shade of silver and was sold new in Spain. It was purchased by the late Neil Peart (the drummer for Rush) in 2014. The Miura is the original supercar, and even when finished in a disappointingly un-flashy color, it still rocks. It should sell for between $1,200,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Bonhams | Cheserex, Switzerland | June 20, 2021
Photo – Bonhams
The Diablo is the ultimate 90s supercar, and the model received a facelift in 1998 when the pop-up headlights were replaced. In 2000, the car also got a mechanical overhaul and some styling tweaks for the end-of-the-line Diablo 6.0.
But what we have here is a super rare track variant. Lamborghini sold 80 examples of the track-oriented Diablo GT road car between 1999 and 2000. Then they also built 40 GTR full-race variants. It was the last of a short line of Diablo race cars. It was basically a stripped GT with pneumatic air jacks, a big rear wing, and magnesium center-lock wheels.
The 6.0-liter V12 was also revised to produce 590 horsepower. The car was rear-wheel drive and featured a five-speed manual transmission. This is car #11 and it won the 2001 Lamborghini GTR Supertrophy series. It also competed in the 2003 French GT Championship. It’s now ready for some historic stuff, at a price of $890,000-$1,100,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Historics Auctioneers | Ascot Racecourse, U.K. | March 20, 2021
Photo – Historics Auctioneers
The Lamborghini Espada is an interesting car. They’ve never been as valuable as any other 1960s Lambo, and they feature a pretty polarizing design. It is kind of like someone smashed a Murena GT, an Iso Lele, and DeTomaso Mangusta into one four-seat, front-engine GT.
This rear-wheel-drive car is powered by a 3.9-liter V12 that was rated at 350 horsepower when new. The Espada was built in three different series between 1968 and 1978, with the Series 3 launching in 1972. Only 456 S3 cars were built, but they seem to be the ones that crop up most often (the S2 cars were actually more common).
This one has been restored and is finished in black. Some Espadas wear some pretty wild colors, so this one looks pretty restrained. The pre-sale estimate is $155,000-$175,000, which is expensive, but not Miura expensive. That said, this is not a cheap car to own. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Paris, France | February 13, 2021
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
This is the middle child of the Countach family. The Countach launched in 1974 in LP400 configuration. That was the cleanest, sleekest Countach: no fender flares, no boxy bumpers, no horrendous wing.
1978’s LP400 S started to get boxy. And 1982’s LP500 S (sometimes referred to as the 5000 S) continued that trend. The LP500 S was produced until 1985, and in total, 321 examples were built. It’s not the rarest variant, but not the most common either. Things would get even boxier by the time the 25th Anniversary model rolled out in 1988.
This car is powered by a 4.8-liter V12 rated at 370 horsepower. Top speed was 182 mph, a big jump from the LP400 S, and 60 arrived in 5.2 seconds. I’m sure owning one of these in the early 80s was a nightmare from a servicing standpoint, but the knowledge exists now, and this should make a fun, occasional ride for someone. You can read more about this one here, and see more from RM here.
Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | October 20, 2020
Photo – Osenat
The Islero was a pretty Lamborghini 2+2 that was the successor of the 400GT. It was actually sold alongside the Miura and the Espada (that’s right, they had three models at once in the 60s!). It was only produced for two years. A base trim was offered, as was an up-rated “S” model like the one shown above.
The S shared the same 3.9-liter V12 as the base car, but power was increased a bit, from 325 horsepower to 350. That boosted top speed to 161 mph, and 60 arrived in 6.2 seconds. The last one of these I saw in person was finished in light blue, and it was very striking in person.
Just 100 examples of the Islero S were built, making them just slightly rarer than the base car. This example was first registered in Venice, of all places, and it was restored about 15 years ago. It should sell for between $300,000-$350,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
The auction world started picking up steam in August, with most houses turning to online or partial-in-person sales. First up is Silverstone Auctions, where this 1972 Lamborghini Miura SV sold for $2,503,366.
Photo – Silverstone Auctions
The one-off RA4 Vanguard failed to sell, but the Zenos brought $26,506 and the Benova $41,231. More results are available here.
Next up is Gooding & Company, a sale from which we featured two cars. Both sold. The Duesenberg brought $1,012,000, and the VLF sold for an undisclosed amount, WHICH IS LAME. You should assume they paid $15,000 for it, and then refuse to buy it from (presumably) whoever is about to try and flip it for an insane profit (based off of that $15,000 number). The top sale was this 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose for $3,080,000. Go here for more results.
Photo – Gooding & Company
Bonhams’ “Quail” sale was held in Los Angeles this year. The cars with the four largest estimates all failed to sell (including the Offener Tourenwagen), leaving this 1959 Porsche 718 RSK Spyder atop the heap at $2,232,500.
RM’s Monterey sale also shifted to the internet (they called it “Shift/Monterey”). The top sale was a 2001 Ferrari 550 GT1 Prodrive for $4,290,000.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
To start, a BMW M1 Procar we featured a while back sold here for $913,000. The Duesenberg from this sale sold for $781,000, and the Fiat Wonderful Coupe brought $181,500. All of our feature cars actually sold, which I guess means they were well-selected. The Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 sold for $176,000, the Edwards America convertible $148,500, and I’m pretty sure a previously-featured Fiat 1100 Allemano cabriolet sold for $158,000. Complete results are available here.
H&H had another online sale this month, and two of the cars we featured from last month failed to sell again (see: Willys-Knight and Renault). The good news is that the Hupmobile found a new home for $32,396. The top sale was actually this 2007 Jaguar XKR (with crazy low mileage) for $36,814. More results can be found here.
Photo – H&H Auctioneers
Finally, the FAM cabriolet prototype was withdrawn from the otherwise all-motorcycle Bonhams auction.
Well, the world is a mess, and most auction houses have postponed or canceled more or less every scheduled auction that was scheduled to be held anytime in late March through… well I don’t even know yet. It’s mid-April as I begin typing this post, and the calendar has more or less cleared out through May and into June (Edit: it took until June to wrap this up).
But! There are still some results to cover, beginning with H&H Auctioneers’ late March sale, which was pretty much the last one to get in before everything went haywire. The top seller was this 1938 Lagonda LG6 Drophead Coupe that brought roughly $237,510 (this was the day that the markets tanked, so the exchange rate was at its lowest in a long time).
Photo – H&H Auctioneers
The Jensen CV8 we featured brought $46,980, and complete results are available here.
RM Sotheby’s shifted their entire Palm Beach sale to online-only, and the top sale ended up being this 1996 Porsche 911 GT2 for $891,000.
H&H also had a sale in late April, even after things were shutting down. The top sale at this abbreviated sale was this 1967 Ford Mustang GT, and it sold for approximately $75,277.
Photo – H&H Auctioneers
The Austin sedan we featured sold for $10,949. More results are available here.
Osenat was one of the first houses to hold a mid-COVID (“mid” because it ain’t over yet) sale. The Panhard we featured didn’t sell, but the overall top seller was this 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S that sold for $950,518. Click here for additional results.
Photo – Osenat
Bonhams held an online sale at the end of May that included a Frazer Nash, an Allard L-Type, and a Lamborghini Urraco that we featured. Only the Lambo sold (for $75,178), and the top sale was for this 1966 Aston Martin DB6 that brought $184,400. Complete results are available here.
Offered by Bonhams | Bicester, U.K. | May 30, 2020
Photo – Bonhams
The Urraco was Lamborghini‘s foray into the word of V8-powered sportscars, an arena in which they do not currently compete. In fact, they only produced two other V8 sports cars: the Silhouette and the Jalpa.
The Urraco was produced between 1972 and 1979 and is powered by a mid-mounted V8 available in three different sizes. The P300 model was the top dog with its 247 horsepower, 3.0-liter V8. Styling was by Gandini at Bertone, the powerhouse of Italian 1970s sporty design.
Only 190 examples of the P300 were built, and the seller of this car rates it on a scale of 99/100, which seems generous for any mid-engined Italian sports car from the 1970s. It’s expected to bring between $74,000-$86,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Essen, Germany | March 26-27, 2020
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
The Lamborghini Diablo was introduced in 1990, and by 1993 they were already offering different submodels and special editions. One such special edition was the SE30, which was launched to celebrate the marque’s 30th anniversary.
While the car shared the same engine, a 5.7-liter V12, it did receive a power increase to 523 horsepower. It was lighter than the stock version and featured rear-wheel drive. There were exterior revisions as well, including a deeper rear spoiler, a re-done front end, and side strakes. It got carbon fiber seats, a fire-suppression system, and racing harnesses inside.
Only 150 were built, and deliveries actually began in 1994. This one was sold new in Austria in 1996, thus why it is listed as a ’96, and it is finished in Titanium instead of the normal SE30 lavender metallic. Fifteen of the 150 were later converted to Jota specification, which made them even more extreme. Click here for more info on this car and here for more from this sale.
