The top six sales at Bonhams|Cars Bonmont sale
A Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta topped Bonhams|Cars Bonmont sale, with another two Ferraris making the top six. They were joined by a Bugatti, a Bentley and a Porsche in a spread of cars that ranges from 1936 to 1922. Here’s our run-down on the top bids from the recent Swiss sale.
1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta
Sold for £2.6million including premium
This 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta was listed in the catalogue without an estimate, and turned out to be the star of the sale, its high value reflecting its matching numbers and restoration that was carried out by Ferrari itself.
And it was quite a machine in its day. The 275 succeeded the celebrated 250 line, with Pininfarina tasked styling the newcomer. It incorporated a built-in spoiler and elongated nose that reflected Ferrari racing cars of the time, and has independent rear suspension for the first time on a Maranello road car. A rear-mounted five-speed transaxle also improved weight distribution and the Colombo engine was upped to 3.3 litres.
For their £2.6million the new owner has a 275 GTB/4 Berlinetta that’s as good as new with Ferrari Classiche certification.
1956 Bentley S1 Continental Sports Saloon
Sold for £370,000 including premium
Of the 431 Bentley S1 Continental Sports Saloons built, very few are left-hand-drive, which would have made this example all the more appealing at the sale in Switzerland.
Where Bentley’s regular R-Type had a standard steel body, the Continental models had traditionally formed bodywork. The fastback silhouette of the HJ Mulliner body is considered by many the definitive style for the grand tourer. A fast one, too; its 120mph top speed would have been respectable for a sportscar of the day.
The Continental sold at the Bonmont sale had only two Swiss owners in its lifetime of nearly seven decades and probably never left the country. In the last couple of years, it underwent a partial restoration which involved a mechanical overhaul and a complete interior retrim. All of which was enough to see it bid to £370,000 in the Bonhams|Cars sale.
2022 Ferrari 812 GTS
Sold for £423,000 including premium
When the Ferrari 812 GTS was announced in 2019, it was the first series production Ferrari with a convertible roof and a V12 engine since the 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider.
The 812 is a technical tour de force, its 6.5-litre engine producing 800PS (588kW) and 718Nm (530lb ft) of torque – all with natural aspiration and no hybridisation. It also has the rear-wheel steering from the limited-run F12 TDF. It deserves to be driven, then, so let’s hope that’s what its new owner has in mind. As sold, it has just 170km on the clock having spent the entirety of its short life in Switzerland.
The second owner paid £423,000 including premium for this as-new 812 GTS. Time to put some more kilometres on that thus-far untroubled odometer.
1974 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS
Sold for £412,000 including premium
Another Ferrari, another GTS. Clearly the idea of hearing a sonorous V12 or V6 via an open roof appealed at the Bonmont sale. Maybe it was the romantic notion of hearing the sound echo around the valleys in the Alps.
Having originally been delivered new to the United States, this Ferrari Dino 246 GTS is one of only 29 to have been finished in Celeste Metallizzato which contrasts with the blue leather interior. At one stage, it was refinished in red over black but has since been returned to its original, rare colour scheme.
The respray was part of a bare-metal restoration which included the deletion of the Federal spec side markers, and the car returned to the road in 2023. It has been under the same ownership for two decades and at the Bonmont sale was bid to £412,000 including premium.
1936 Bugatti Type 57 Berline
Sold for £211,000 including premium
Bugatti first showed the Type 57 in 1933 as a four-door saloon dubbed Galibier. There were 38 production cars in addition to three prototypes built by the end of 1934 before Bugatti rested the chassis until 1936. In the interim, Bugatti buyers who wanted a Type 57 saloon had to engage the services of coachbuilder Vanvooren. The French artisans built 13 examples that year and another three in 1936, of which the car here is one. It’s one of what is believed to be only five survivors.
The car comes with a detailed history outlining its ownership from new and throughout the war when owner Otto Graf was arrested as part of the Resistance and deported to Germany. He returned to France in February 1945 and sold the car later that year. Subsequent owners are known, including Dr John Bayard Britton who kept the car for 40 years. It now has all its original mechanical parts while the coachwork appears to be unmodified.
Now Swiss registered, the car achieved a winning bid of £211,000 including premium in the Bonhams|Cars sale.
1988 Porsche 911 930 Turbo Targa ‘Flat Nose’
Sold for £254,000 including premium
Rounding off our top six is this 1988 Porsche 911 930 Turbo Targa ‘Flat Nose’. The more aerodynamic nose treatment was initially offered by Kremer (as it has been a development of the 935 race car) but later became a factory option.
Only 19 cars combined the Flat Nose with a Targa roof, and this is one of them. It also has some choice options, including a limited-slip differential and heated sports seats. A Porsche Certificate of Origin confirms the cars has matching numbers.
Sold new to America in 1988, it was imported to Switzerland in 1990 and has had only three owners. With just 63,000km on the clock, it still has three keys, the original tool kit and a service book that’s stamped up to date in 2025. The owner’s manual also contains the rare ‘Flachbau’ supplement. Its fourth owner bagged all of that for £254,000 including premium.
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