High expectations, fully met 

It was only the second auction held by Bonhams at the Zoute Grand Prix in Knokke-Heist – but it proved a very worthwhile event for the British auction house. Almost all of the 38 cars on offer were sold to collectors from around the world, with total proceeds of $3.8 million euros. As Philip Kantor of Bonhams summed it up, “We’ve enjoyed another great sale at Zoute, achieving nearly double last year’s total.” The highest sum paid for a single car was 690,000 euros for the Ferrari F40 once owned by Formula 1 legend Nigel Mansell: but that was no surprise, as the estimate sat at 600,000 to 800,000 euros. Meanwhile the Lamborghini Countach 5000 S solidly fulfilled expectations when it sold for 333,500 euros. It was followed by a 1965 Flaminia Super Sport 2.8-Litre 3C ‘Double Bubble’ coupé (299,000 euros), a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 Berlinetta (287,500 euros) and the 1962 Porsche 356B Cabriolet 1600 ‘Rijkspolitie’ (235,750 euros). Fetching just under 200,000 euros was the 1969 Maserati Sebring 3700 (193,200 euros, to be exact). Also worth mentioning were the identical sale prices of 178,250 euros each for the 1967 Citroën DS21 décapotable and the 1973 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Limousine. So which of these two classics would you choose to own at this price?