A Ferrari driven by seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Michael Schumacher to win the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix has been sold for a record-setting €15,980,000.
Translating to a staggering A$27,965,000 in our dollar, the ‘F2001’ was marketed by auction house RM Sotheby’s as ‘The Schumacher Crown Jewel’.
The same V10 Ferrari, which carried chassis number 211, was driven to pole position and later victory by Schumacher in 2001 at the Hungarian GP, helping him score sufficient points to secure his fourth Driver’s crown.
Fittingly, the car was sold at a glittering event in Monte Carlo that coincided with this year’s running of the world’s most prestigious Formula One race through the streets of the Principality.
Sale of the Schumacher car came just two days after another significant RM Sotheby’s event held in Milan, where two of Schumacher’s driving suits sold for a combined €37,200. They were later joined on the Sold list by the handbook from a Ferrari F40 that realised €12,000.
These were the appetisers, though, for a range of exceptional collector cars. The list was headed by the auction’s main attraction – an early build Lamborghini Miura SV ordered by a US-based customer that was complete with its original 190mph speedometer.
After passing between several owners on both sides of the Atlantic, the Miura was restored to a standard high enough for it to be awarded ‘Best Lamborghini’ at an event held in conjunction with Monterey Speed Week in 2016.
At the RM Sotheby’s sale, it inspired a winning bid of €3,942,500 (US$4.48 million) which fell slightly short of the US$4.9 million record price for a Miura set in 2024.
Also requiring buyers to have a hefty seven-digit bank balance was the sale’s only Ferrari F40. It was originally delivered to Belgium before finding subsequent owners in Italy, England, and France. Along the way it recorded just 17,000 kilometres and was sold for €2.9 million.
Still in the arena of million-plus prices was a pair of Gullwing Mercedes-Benz 300 SL coupes (€1.8 and €1.298 million) which were immediately overshadowed by a 300 SL Roadster which sold for €1.9 million.
Other notable sales at the Milan event included two Alfa Romeo 6C Series Spiders: a 1930 model at €1.3 million and 1949 2500 with Pininfarina bodywork that reached just €295,000.
Sticking with open-top Italian classics, the sale delivered a Ferrari 250GT Cabriolet, again bodied by Pininfarina, at €1.13 million while a Porsche enthusiast spent slightly more (€1.298 million) on a one-off Porsche 959 Cabriolet conversion.
British models were understandably scarce at a sale that highlighted German and Italian brands, but a couple of Aston Martins did sneak into the listings.
Most expensive of these was a rare DB5 Volante convertible, believed to have been an Earl’s Court Motor Show display car. It was subsequently exported to Europe and converted to left-hand drive but may now return to Britain.
At a sale price of €770,000 it fell just short of the money secured by an original RHD Volante which sold in Britain during 2024 at £658,000 or around €784,000.
Please note: All figures quoted are Hammer Prices in Euros and do not include any applicable Buyer Premium or other charges.
