RM Sotheby’s achieved its highest-grossing European auction to date in Paris, with its 2026 flagship sale realising a total of €81 million, the highest figure the Canadian auction house has ever recorded in Europe. Held beneath the Louvre at the Salles du Carrousel, forming a major part of the Rétromobile Week auctions – joined by Artcurial, Bonhams and official Rétromobile auction partner Gooding Christie’s.
The sale was led by a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, which sold for €14,067,500. Chassis 915GT was the third of 56 short-wheelbase examples built and one of just 39 delivered new with covered headlamps, and was supplied new to Paris and had benefited from more than 30 years of single-owner stewardship. Modern Ferrari ‘halo’ cars also delivered some of the sale’s most striking results, with a 2004 Ferrari Enzo achieving €8,105,000, while a 1997 Ferrari F50 sold for €7,598,750 – both offered from single ownership with notably low mileage and rare period accessories.
A 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO followed closely behind at €5,855,000 (although this paled in comparison to the €9,117,500 car sold byGooding Christie’s, full results to follow), continuing a run of strong global results for the model and reinforcing the market’s focus on originality and provenance.
Beyond Maranello, the sale saw a 2024 Bugatti Bolide appear at auction for the first time, selling for €3,998,750. A 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV achieved €3,717,500.
‘Our Paris sale is always a phenomenal success, but this year we have broken all records,’ said Augustin Sabatié-Garat, Director of Sales, EMEA. ‘We brought an incredible selection of cars to Paris, spanning all eras, and to see such demand across the entire offering is a very encouraging start to 2026. Numerous European auction records were broken, and it is the prices achieved for the modern era Ferrari supercars which are most striking, continuing the results we achieved for similar models in Arizona. The sale also demonstrated that the classics of the golden era, such as the 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, are as much in demand as ever.’
As always, a number of post-sale deals were key to the achieving the headline figure with the historically important 1956 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ selling privately for €12 million shortly after the hammer fell. That result was included within the overall €81 million total.
For full results, see rmsothebys.com
