Football champ’s Porsche 911 scores top sale at Bonhams Paris auction

A 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 convertible originally owned by famed footballer (soccer player) Diego Maradona received a strong celebrity boost Wednesday, selling for €483,000 ($575,860) at the Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde auction of Paris.

The Paris sale was Bonhams’ first all-online auction, reaching total results around €4 million ($4.77 million), including auction fees.  The bidding ran for seven days, from March 3-10, and was considered a resounding success by the UK-based auction company.

Tying the Maradona Porsche as top seller was a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series II sports sedan that also achieved €483,000.  The Aston’s all-aluminum Superleggera bodywork is by Touring and it is the first model to be powered by the 240-horsepower 3.6-liter inline-6 engine.

The Porsche, a special-edition Type 964 Carrera 2 convertible works turbo-look that was bought new by the internationally known Argentinian football champ — who died in November 2020 of heart disease — sold for more than double its pre-auction estimated high value.

“The decision to offer some of the leading motor cars of the season in our first-ever digital-only auction proved to be an excellent choice,” Paul Darvill, Bonhams European auctions manager, said in a news release. “We doubled the number of registrants and attracted bidding – and buyers – from 37 countries; 47% of our bidders were new clients to Bonhams. It shows great resilience of the market and enduring enthusiasm.

“We anticipate online-only sales will become an important part of our calendar from now on.”

The Paris auction included 75 vehicles, including five mini-motorcycles, a Lambretta scooter and a racing hydroplane watercraft, with 48 of them going to new owners. 

The top-10 sales for the Paris auction, according to the Bonhams, were:

1. 1992 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 convertible, at €483,000 ($575,860)

2. 1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series II, at €483,000 ($575,860)

3. 1959 Porsche 356A T2 1600 Super Convertible D, at €253,000 ($301,770)

4. 1987 Ferrari 512BBi coupé, at €184,000 ($219,470)

5. 1971 Citroën DS21 I.E. Décapotable (convertible), at €172,000 ($205,150)

6. 1951 Jaguar XK120 drophead coupe, at €126,500 ($150,883)  

7. 1928 Salmson GSS sports tourer, at €115,000 ($137,700) 

8. 1955 Aston Martin DB2/4 sports sedan, at €115,000 ($137,700)

9. 1974 Porsche 911 3.0-liter Carrera RSR replica, at €109,250 ($130,308)

10. 1955 Jaguar XK140 SE drophead coupe, at €109,250 ($130,308)

(All results include auction fees)

Bonhams announced Wednesday the appointment of Roger Bell-Ogilby as its Global Business Director for Motoring, a newly created role based at the headquarters in New Bond Street, London.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Bell-Ogilby has held several business leadership positions at Sotheby’s and was instrumental in strengthening that auction company’s partnership with RM Auctions in the US, which culminated in Sotheby’s acquiring an interest in RM.  

Upcoming events for Bonhams are the MPH March Auction on March 20 in Bicester, UK, and the Supercars on Sunset sale on April 10 in Los Angeles.  For more information, visit the Bonhams website.