Bonhams and Formula 1® landmark partnership establishes Bonhams as the Official Auction Partner of the prestigious Formula 1 Paddock Club ™. Over the next three years, Bonhams and Formula 1® will align their global network of motorsport enthusiasts with the world’s most exciting series of car auctions. The first sale announced will be staged on the Formula 1™ grid at the spectacular Yas Marina Circuit, home of the season-closing Formula 1® Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
The auction will be conducted on the track in front of a live audience including Formula 1® executives, VIP Formula 1 Paddock Club™ guests, and registered bidders, as well as streamed online to Bonhams global network of collector car buyers and broadcast by Formula 1® TV. This sale will feature a curated selection of the world’s most sought-after collector and racing cars and promises to be the most high-profile collector car auction of the year.
“Everyone at Formula 1, along with our global community of fans, has a passion for cars, old and new. The Bonhams name stands for heritage and history which makes it the perfect auction partner for our Paddock Club platform, our partnership will deliver a unique auction platform to showcase classic cars alongside the world’s most technologically advanced machinery. The partnership adds another dimension to the Formula 1 experience across our racing calendar.”
Bonhams Collector Cars & History of Motorsport
Bonhams is a global network of auction houses with a dedication to its local market relationships and commitment to the complete collecting category that welcomes all price points. With hundreds of years in the auction business collectively, the Bonhams Network is recognized for its experienced connoisseurship, enhanced by its global platform that reaches a greater client base in the US, Europe, Asia, and around the world. With more salesrooms than any other auction house, Bonhams’ presents over 1,000 sales annually, across 60 specialist categories, including fine art, collectables, luxury, wine & spirits, and collector cars.
Since 1989 Bonhams has been established as the most experienced and consistently successful house in the international Collector Car, Motorcycle, and Automobilia Auction market. Bonhams has dedicated motoring departments in London, Paris, Los Angeles, New York, and Brussels, and thus has a larger presence and greater specific expertise than any other European or American Auction house. Worldwide, Bonhams conducts around 17 live Auctions each year and offers more than 1,500 Motor Cars, selling in excess of 85%. Bonhams is regularly appointed by Collectors, Banks, Financial Institutions, Museums, and other professionals to value, advise, and handle significant property ranging from individual collector cars to entire collections.
Bonhams rich history in motorsport extends to the grid—having successfully sold several of the most important Formula 1® racing cars and other motorsport campaigners including the ex-Juan Manuel Fangio, SWISS and GERMAN GRAND PRIX winning 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196. This iconic racing car achieved £19.6 million ($29.6 million) at Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale in 2013, becoming the most valuable Formula 1® car to be sold at auction, a record that still stands.
‘Black Beauty’ Mario Andretti’s 1978 Formula 1 World Championship-winning
John Player Special Lotus-Cosworth Type 79
One of the most important and evocative World-Championship-winning Grand Prix racing cars of all time, the 1978 John Player Special Lotus-Cosworth Type 79 driven by US racing superstar Mario Andretti will be offered in Bonhams’ inaugural sale at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 23 – 26 November.
Known as ‘Black Beauty’ after its streamlined good looks and distinctive black-and-gold ‘JPS’ sponsor livery, Team Lotus’ Type 79 was introduced to the Formula 1 arena for the 1978 season.
This historic machine – chassis 79/4 – was the car that Andretti memorably crushed all opposition to win the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and then claim his 1978 Formula 1 Drivers’ world title in the subsequent Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
