The Biggest Motorsports Auctions
Auctions are where dreams come true. Having the dough to purchase that gorgeous, exclusive piece of machinery that holds a special place in your heart? Sounds good doesn’t it? As we know, there really is no shortcut or “budget” way to race cars and subsequently, collecting these cars has got to be one of the most expensive hobbies out there. In this article, let’s have a look at car auctions that shocked the world both because of how expensive acquiring “dream cars” are and their exclusivity. That said, let’s jump right into the biggest motorsport auctions ever.
The auction of a 1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Evolution 1 Group B
The Peugeot 205 T16 ‘Evolution 1’ marked Peugeot’s entry into top-level rallying dominating the WRC ‘Group B’ with raw speed. Between famed drivers Ari Vatanen, Bruno Saby, Tim Salonen and Juha Kankkunen the Evolution 1 contributed to 13 wins between 1985 and 1986 before its eventual ban in 1987 on the grounds of safety issues. The car’s clever mid-engine packaging, low weight and all-wheel drive capabilities gave the car immense handling performance while a transversely mounted 1.8 litre turbo-charged 4 cylinder engine provided firepower of 350+bhp and 332lb.ft of torque which was linear enough to prompt some drivers to complain of tunnel vision. In 2020, a version of this car was sold for the equivalent of around 373843 Euros (415730 USD) making it one of the biggest, most expensive Peugeot auctions till date.
The most expensive Subaru ever auctioned: 1996 Impreza WRC 97
The Subaru Impreza WRC97, piloted by legendary rally driver Colin McRae,in its Blue and Yellow livery was an iconic sight. Chassis 001 of the car, that never really saw any rally action, but was the lab rat on which Colin and his Prodrive Team, a Subaru Rally partner company, spent hours behind the wheel perfecting the tricks and techniques that would lead to Subaru winning the 1997 Rally Monte Carlo, the first rally of the season and eventually the overall 1997 season manufacturer’s championship. The 2.0-liter boxer engine pushed out over 300bhp, while the chassis was made stiffer and made able to accommodate cleverer suspension. Subaru’s famed four-wheel drive system was also heavily modified to push out championship winning performance. The chassis 001 was sold in 2017 for about 255448Euros (284070 USD) which makes it the most expensive Subaru ever sold.
The 'Stop Cancer' Helmet Auction
A pink-painted AGV helmet signed by 12 motorcycling stars, both retires and active was put on for auction as part of a fundraising project to raise funds for charities that fight cancer. The ‘Stop Cancer’ helmet was painted pink to represent the official color of anti-cancer campaigns and in addition to the signatures of the 12 superstars including Giacomo Agostini, Angel Nieto, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Márquez, Dani Pedrosa, Wayne Rainey, Loris Capirossi, Alex Criville, Wayne Gardner, Scott Russell and Randy Mamola, the helmet also contained the seal of approval from the CEO of Dorna Sports, the official rights holder for MotoGP. By being sold at a staggering 225000 Euros (250210 USD), it is the most expensive helmet sold till date.
The auction of Michael Schumacher's Ferrari F2001
The Ferrari F2001 was a legendary machine that the iconic Michael Schumacher piloted to dominate the 2001 Formula 1 World Championship. This particular F2001, bearing the chassis no. 211 gave Schumacher his final win at Monaco during the Monaco Grand Prix in 2001. In the early 2001, Ferrari were at their zenith and Schumacher was in his prime making the car a prize jewel for any collector. When sold, the car was in full working condition with the 3.0 liter V-10 that pushed out between 800 and 900 BHP at an RPM of over 18,000! and was obviously gorgeous enough to be described as “usable art”. The car was sold for around 7.5 million Euros/USD, in the biggest auction ever for a Formula 1 car, with part of the proceedings going towards the Keep Fighting foundation established by Schumacher’s family after his debilitating Skiing accident from 2013.
The auction of the Vicent Black Lightning sets the motorcycling world ablaze
Vincent Motorcycles, a British Manufacturer of motorcycles who gained popularity in the middle of the first half of the 1900s, built the 998cc Black Lightning models at their Stevenage factories with the bike’s claim to fame coming through the hands of Jack Ehret who broke the Australian speed record in 1953. The ultra-exotic, lightweight, racing version of the more familiar Vincent Black Shadow was once the world’s best superbike and was originally built for Australian racer Tony MacAlpine but was then famously used to set the aforementioned speed record hitting a top speed of 141.5mph. Since only 33 Black Lightning Models were ever made, this makes the bike ultra-rare and justifies its sales price of around 835397.85 Euros (929,000USD) which makes it the biggest auction of the motorcycle world.
The biggest, baddest auction ever: Ferrari 250GTO
The GTO in Ferrari’s 250GTO stood for “Gran Turismo Omologato”; Italian for “Grand Touring Homologated”. With only 36 of the 250GTOs being manufactured between 1962 and 1964, it is safe to say that these cars are ultra-rare and highly sought after by classic car collectors. One of the prettiest cars of all time (subjective, of course) was also the dominant GT car of its time and brought Ferrari three consecutive championships from 1962-64. The 250GTO was powered by a 3.0L carbureted V12 with a power output of around 300BHP at a redline of 7500rpm and 217 lb. Ft of torque and was enclosed in a highly aerodynamic body bathed in the popular bright red “Rosso Cina”. A 250GTO was sold for around 70Million Euros (70Million USD) making it the most expensive sports car ever sold and thus the biggest auction ever.
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