Bonhams Goes Back-to-Back in Arizona and Paris

Bonhams is hitting the ground running in 2023, with its first U.S. and European auctions of the year taking place mere days apart. The action begins with the Scottsdale Auction in Arizona at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, where some 139 lots will cross the auction block. The following week all eyes will be on the City of Lights for Bonhams’ Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris sale happening on February 1 and 2.

The auction docket slated for Scottsdale is quite varied, with a 1912 Simplex 50hp 5 Passenger Torpedo Tourer among the oldest offerings. The matching-numbers Simplex was owned by American sportswoman Eleonora Sears for more than 25 years and retains its original JM Quinby and Company coachwork.

1950’s elegance will be on full display at the Westin including a 1958 BMW 507 Series II Roadster and a well preserved 1957 Chrysler Ghia Super Dart 400 from the John White Ramshead Collection. The silver over red 507 is fitted with desirable Rudge Wheels and is sold with a dark gray hardtop and BMW Classic Expertise book. The Super Dart — having covered less than 50k miles in its lifetime — has passed through the hands of only three owners and just received a Class Award at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the Postwar Preservation Class.

Bonhams is also offering a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTS finished in stunning Blu Ferrari 20-A-180 over an interior trimmed in Tobacco-colored leather. A matching-numbers example, it was delivered and sold new by Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti and Chinetti Motors in 1965. The 275 was restored in 2017 and 2018 by MPI Motion Products and includes a rare factory hardtop.

Headlining the modern automobiles in Scottsdale is an ultra-rare 2006 Maserati MC12 Corse. One of 12 755-hp, track-only versions built for Maserati’s most valued customers, it was derived from the highly successful GT1 MC12 race car. This example, chassis 003, has been driven only 123 miles.

Check out the Scottsdale catalog here.

In France, Bonhams has just added a no-reserve collection of 12 air-cooled Porsche 911 Turbos to the two-day Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris auction. The single-owner collection, crossing the block at the Grand Palais Éphémère, spans the entirety of the air-cooled Turbo line. The group includes a 1975 Porsche 930 Turbo 3.0, 1989 Porsche 930 Turbo 3.3 G50 coupe and a 1993 Porsche 964 Turbo S “Leichtbau.” Also included is an example of the final air-cooled Turbo, a 1998 Porsche 993 Turbo S.

A few of the non-Porsche vehicles headed for Paris are a 1937 Maserati 4CM Monoposto with in-period Grand Prix history, a 1932 Bugatti Type 55 cabriolet retaining its original Vanvooren body and 1988 Ferrari F40.

Fans of automotive oddballs will be interested in the 1952 Lancia Aurelia Pf200 Spider that was originally purchased by Italian film star Renato Runucci at the 1952 Turin Motor Show. As well as the 1947 Volkhart V2 Sagitta — a one-off aerodynamic marvel built on the chassis of a KdF Wagen Typ 60, the first iteration of the Volkswagen Beetle.

Click here to view the complete list of lots headed to Paris.