Our Top Picks for the Upcoming RM Monaco Auction

On the weekend of May 10th, RM’s upcoming Monaco Auction will coincide with the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix Historique, both of which promise to be extremely significant gatherings of historic and vintage racing automobiles assembled anywhere on Earth. Located on the sunny Mediterranean, on the French Riviera, the Principality of Monaco will once-again play host to this biennial gathering. At RM’s Monaco Auction dozens of the world’s rarest and most desirable classic cars will go under the gavel. Below is a small handful of our favorites.

The 206 S Dino Spider debuted at the 1966 Paris Auto Show, almost 10 years after Dino’s death, alongside the 330 P. The Dino was designed for privateers because Ferrari wanted to challenge the Porsches for the Group 4 class. Featuring a two-litre V-6 that could spin up to a piercing 9,000 RPMs, the 206 S was the perfect car to do it. Not only was it beautifully engineered, but the slick, gorgeous lines of the Dino bore a striking resemblance to its big brother. By the end of its first season, the 206 S had proved its ability and consistency placing 2nd place in the Targa Florio, 2nd and 3rd at the Nürburgring, and scoring a 6th place finish at Spa.

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Photography courtesy of RM Auctions ©2014

This is the last Alpine M64 produced, chassis 1711, and it debuted on the world stage at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans. For the race, chassis 1711 was piloted by Mr. Henry Morrogh and Mr. Roger Delageneste. It began in thirty-sixth on the grid, but was the seventeenth car to cross the finish line. The car completed 292 laps and covered just under 3,921 kilometres, carrying Henry and Roger to a first in class finish for the team’s second outing at Le Mans. With an average speed of 163 km/h, the Alpine finished eighth in the performance index and first in “thermal efficiency,” the most fuel-efficient car over the course of the race, averaging around 21 mpg!

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Photography courtesy of RM Auctions ©2014

This original, well-preserved, accident-free black Facel Vega Coupé shows beautifully. The paint exhibits a deep shine, and the Dove Grey leather shows a pleasing patina. The Facel has just had a mechanical and cosmetic freshening that included a complete fuel service and carburetor rebuild. According to its current owner, it continues to run strong (as it should, it’s equipped with a 325 hp, 5.4L Chrysler Hemi engine) and shift and track properly. The car is equipped with power windows and steering as well as Chrysler’s famed Powerflite automatic transmission, making it a delight to drive. Additionally, the cosmetic attention lavished on it ensures that the engine and body still look sharp.

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Photography courtesy of RM Auctions ©2014

The Lamborghini Miura is essentially the world’s first supercar. It features a mid-mounted transverse V12, makes gobs of horsepower, and its looks are probably responsible for spawning the word ‘carporn’. But in spite of its world-beating performance it was never intended to be anything more than a very fast street car. However, Lamborghini test driver Bob Wallace, thought it could be much, much more and sought to prove it. He took an SV-spec Miura, and went through each component, discarding the unnecessary and lightening what remained turning it into the Miura ‘Jota’. Sadly, that car was destroyed in a wreck while testing a couple of years after it was built. This particular example though, began life as a Miura S, was later upgraded to SV spec and was recently restored and given the full Jota treatment by two Lamborghini specialists.

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Photography courtesy of RM Auctions ©2014

Before any production 959s could be built, Porsche fabricated a number of prototypes based on 930 Turbos pulled straight off the assembly line. Accordingly, twenty-nine of these chassis were assigned certain letter codes and numbers—F, N, and V—“for various final tests, media coverage, crush tests, and road tests”. This car, which features internal code V1KOM and registered as BB-PW481, is reportedly one of seven V-series prototypes that were used to develop Porsche’s anti-lock braking systems. Much of this testing was performed at high-speed facilities located abroad. In 1989, after the last 959s were assembled, this rare survivor prototype was returned to the factory for a complete refurbishment before it was sold to a customer. As it was one of the last 959s sold, the owner must have recognized its value and hence been reluctant to risk damaging it. The result is an as-new tri-color cloth interior, and under four hundred kilometers (!) on the clock.

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Photography courtesy of RM Auctions ©2014