Bond cars, Gullwings and F1 stars lead Abu Dhabi sale

Stunning classics and modern marvels compete for attention in the UAE

Lewis Hamilton has already bagged this year’s F1 title but there are still some major prizes up for grabs at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

RM Sotheby’s has teamed up with Formula 1 to hold the region’s first major auction on the Saturday evening of the last race (30 November) and there are some top-level classics in the catalogue, scattered among the many spectacular modern supercars.

Here’s our pick of the lots.

1. 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL

Estimate: $1.4-1.8m (£1.1-1.4m)

No serious classic auction would be complete without a Gullwing and this one is particularly special.

Originally blue, it’s one of only 300 from a total production run of 1400 cars to feature the SL’s optional sports suspension and uprated NSL camshaft that boosted the injected straight-six’s output by around 20bhp.

2. 1973 Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona

Estimate: $500-700,000 (£386-541,000)

The Daytona was Ferrari’s last front-engined V12 two-seater for more than 20 years and is worth almost twice as much as the mid-engined 365BB that replaced it.

Finished in Marrone Metallizzato and complete with the all-important Ferrari Classiche certification buyers love to see, this late European-spec car comes with air-conditioning and wider 9in Cromodora rear wheels.

3. 1965 Ferrari 275GTS

Estimate: $1.6-1.8m (£1.2-1.4m)

Prefer your V12 Ferrari thrills to come without a roof? There’s no sign of any of the 122 official Daytona Spiders Ferrari built at the Abu Dhabi sale, but you’d hardly be slumming it if you settled for this stunning 275GTS instead.

Unlike the Scaglietti-styled 275GTB coupé, the GTS was the work of Pininfarina – and very nice it is too. This one was delivered to Prince Abdallah Moulay, brother of King Hassan II of Morocco, and finished in green to match the country’s official colours.

4. 1997 Ferrari F355

Estimate: $100-130,000 (£77-101,000)

The first owner of this striking green F355 was from Venezuela, rather than Morocco, so maybe he simply loved the colour. We don’t blame him. Only a handful of cars globally were finished in Verde Mugello, and on this evidence that seems a shame.

Though built in the year Ferrari introduced its revolutionary paddle-shift F1 transmission option, this car is fitted with the now more desirable six-speed manual alternative.

5. 1979 Lamborghini Countach

Estimate: $400-500,000 (£309-386,000)

Lamborghini incorporated the arch flares developed for F1 team owner Walther Wolf’s Countach when creating 1978’s LP400S.

Contemporary tests reported that optional boomerang rear wing cost 10mph at the top end, but if you’re going to step away from the clean lines of the original narrow-arch LP400, you might as well grab the bull by the horns and go large.

6. 2015 Jaguar C-X75

Estimate: $800,000-1.2m (£620,000-930,000)

The original C-X75 was a gas-turbine hypercar developed by Jaguar in conjunction with Williams Advanced Engineering and intended to rival the likes of the Porsche 918 and McLaren P1.

Unfortunately, the global financial crisis forced Jag to kill the project in 2012 – but three years later it caught the eye of the people behind the James bond film Spectre, who commissioned Williams to build six cars for stunt and promo work.

This example is number 001 and was used to film the actors at the wheel while the car itself was being controlled by a stunt driver housed in a pod on the roof.

7. 1973 Porsche 911 RS 2.7

Estimate: $700-850,000 (£542,000-£1.1m)

Examples of Porsche’s iconic ’73 RS crop up regularly at auction, but not often in this hue. In fact, only 87 of the 1580 cars built are thought to have been painted in this distinctive Signal Yellow.

Finished in roadgoing Touring spec, it’s as well appointed as a 911 2.4 S of the period. The spec on this example includes an electric sunroof and windows and an auxiliary heater. But with around 210bhp, versus 190bhp, it’s an altogether more serious machine.

8. 1993 Porsche 911 by Singer

Estimate: $800,000-1m (£619-770,000)

Like the idea of the ’73 RS but fancy something with a more modern twist? This exquisitely modified 964 is estimated to fetch more than the RS that inspired it, proving just how respected California-based Singer now is.

Known as the Fiona Commission, this example features Singer’s highest specification engine, a 4-litre flat-six pushing out 390bhp that pushes this 911 to 60mph in just 3.3secs.

9. 2001 BMW Z8

Estimate: $200-250,000 (£155-193,000)

Road testers may not have loved BMW’s retro Z8, but collectors certainly do – you could buy two Ferrari 360 Spyders for the price of one of these M5-engined bruisers.

They’re surprisingly stodgy to drive, but it’s hard to care when they look this good. And this one looks very good indeed in Topaz Blue, a shade it shares with only 138 of the 5703 Z8s produced.

10. 1990 Ferrari F40

Estimate: $1.5-1.75m (£1.2-1.4m)

Derived from the hardcore Evoluzione version of the 288GTO the F40 was the first production car to top 200mph – and with its wire door pulls and bare interior was the antithesis of the plush, four-wheel drive Porsche 959.

This one was rescued from long-term storage in Saudi Arabia and given a full restoration. The result is claimed to be sensational – though F1 champ Sebastian Vettel’s signature on the front wing won’t be everyone's idea of the perfect finishing touch.

11. 1996 Zagato Raptor concept

Estimate: $1-1.4m (£770,000-1.1m)

A mercifully handsome Zagato effort (remember, for every DB4 Z there’s a Bristol 412), the Raptor was based on Lamborghini Diablo V12 running gear.

Carbon double-bubble bodywork, including a flip-up cockpit canopy like something from a 1970s Nova kit car, made this ’96 Geneva Salon star around 300kg lighter than the Lambo, but this fully functional prototype was the only example constructed.

12. 2001 Lamborghini Diablo GT

Estimate: $700-750,000 (£542-581,000)

Like the Raptor on the previous slide, this Diablo’s carbon-intensive bodywork features more weave than a hairpiece. A Diablo GT, it’s the most aggressive of all road-going Diablos, and one of just 80 of these rear-wheel drive machines built.

In addition to the carbon bodywork, Lamborghini stretched its 5.7-litre V12 to 6 litres and fed it fuel and air through individual throttle bodies to produce 575bhp – and a noise like a dragster being sucked down a plughole.

13. 2001 Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 SE

Estimate: $500-700,000 (£386-541,000)

Last of our Lamborghini Diablos is, appropriately, the last of the Diablos – and quite possibly your last chance to buy a box-fresh example: this SE has covered an incredible 18 miles from new.

If there’s a catch, it’s that this barely used example is finished in brown on brown.

14. 1992 Benetton B192

Estimate: $825,000-1.1m (£638-850,000)

Michael Schumacher made his F1 debut driving a Jordan at the ’91 Belgian Grand Prix, stepping in to cover for Bertrand Gachot, who was being detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure after a fracas with a taxi driver. But it was behind the wheel of this ’92 Benetton that he really started to wow.

Schumacher drove this car to third place in the German and Italian Grands Prix, and fourth at Silverstone – helping him to an impressive third in the Driver’s standings in his rookie year.

15. 2012 Lexus LFA

Estimate: $500-700,000 (£386-541,000)

The owner of one of the greatest-sounding engines ever committed to a supercar, the LFA looks like a reinvented Supra but is so much more.

Built around a carbonfibre chassis, the LFA is powered by a naturally aspirated V10 that generates its peak power at 8700rpm. Only 500 were built.

16. 2005 Maserati MC12

Estimate: $2.6-3.5m (£2-2.7m)

For its first supercar since the Bora of the 1970s, Maserati looked to parent company Ferrari’s Enzo. The MC12 pinched the Enzo’s platform and running gear but wrapped it in voluptuous bodywork by Frank Stephenson.

Only 49 road cars were made, versus 400 Enzos, making it a rare sight on the road, but not the track, where it proved hugely successful in FIA GT racing.

17. 2006 Lamborghini Concept S

Estimate: $1.3-1.6m (£1-1.2m)

Lamborghini’s plans to build 100 Concept S speedsters were scuppered when the reality of the costs involved hit home. But it did manage to produce this fully driveable show car based on a V10 Gallardo.

The relatively standard cabin is divided by a spear of white bodywork reaching up the front bonnet between the two aero screens.

18. 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss

Estimate: $2.55-2.75m (£2-2.1m)

One of just 75 cars inspired by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR used by Stirling Moss to win the 1955 Mille Miglia, this roofless version of the modern SLR has covered just 311 miles from new – just a third of the distance Moss and co-driver Jenks completed.

It’s expected to fetch at least £2m in Abu Dhabi – which, presumably, is a fair bit less than the amount you’d have to spend on the original if it ever came up for sale.

RM Sotheby’s Abu Dhabi sale takes place on Saturday 30 November. You can view a full lot list here.