The highlight of COYS recent Legende et Passion sale at in Monaco was a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 that unusually had had just one owner for the past 30 years and was in excellent condition. Photos: COYS.

The highlight of auction house COYS recent Legende et Passion sale at the Espace Fontvielle in Monaco was a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 that had had just one owner for the past 30 years and was in excellent condition.

COYS once again successfully held to back-to-back auctions in the same week at the end of May with their famous sales at Monaco and at the Masters festival at Brands Hatch. Both sales saw significant prices being realised with the Monaco sale being particularly well supported. “Significant prices were realised at both sales”, said Chris Routledge. “This year is our 90th year and once again we were able to prove that we are a truly international company running two sales hundreds of miles apart within days of each other and attracting interest from all around the globe.”

The first to be held was the Legende et Passion sale in Monaco which saw not only cars and automobilia going under the hammer but a significant number of important motorcycles. The highlight of the glamorous sale was undoubtedly the 232,000 euros that was paid for the one-owner Lamborghini Miura P400. This particular example of the Miura was finished in the most attractive and suitably 1970s colour of lime green, or, verde pistachio and, charmingly, still featured the original dark brown vinyl interior, which is on most cars sacrificed for leather. The owner had possessed the sports car for the last 30 years and, although he used this beast only sparingly, he always maintained it to a very high standard. On a recent inspection the car was on the proverbial button and made all the right noises. Having had some sympathetic restoration work in 1990, it was recently subject to a high quality respray in the original colour. As a result, the owner described the car as in good condition throughout with excellent paintwork.

It is fair to say that before the Miura, Lamborghini produced some outstanding Grand Touring cars which, despite their superlative mechanical specifications, somehow lacked a definable persona. All of this was to change on the 10th of March 1966, when the Geneva Motor Show opened its doors to the public. Sitting on the Lamborghini stand next to a 400 GT sat the very first Miura, completed only days before. Finished in a striking orange-red hue, the car caused a sensation. Its mid-engined V12 layout was in itself highly innovative, but it was the extraordinarily flamboyant body by Marcello Gandini of Bertone that provided the masterly final touch. With 350bhp on tap, the car was capable of nearly 180mph in the hands of the brave, which was more than a match for any other road-going production car.

Output soon built up as it became a favourite among pop stars, racing drivers and other wealthy playboys; after all, the Miura was outrageously different and certainly more sophisticated than its arch rival the Ferrari 275 GTB/4, or even its successor the Daytona. Production for 1967 reached 111 cars, rising to a record 184 in 1968. This was, indeed, the car in which to be seen in the 1960s, the very last word in style, speed and outright sexiness; the sort of car that made children weak at the knees, women swoon and traffic stop in all directions when it passed. Alas, the Miura’s heyday was to end with the disappearance of the Swinging Sixties and the ensuing tendency towards greater moderation in people’s tastes. Production ceased late in 1972 after a mere 763 cars had been built, and they are today the most highly prized of all Lamborghinis.

Close on the heels of the Miura was a 1934 Bugatti T57 Ventoux, in concours condition, which fetched £190,000.  The Bugatti had undergone a complete restoration costing in excess of €100,000. £177,000 was paid for a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7.  One of the most famous Porsches ever built, the 911 RS was in original condition with less than 50,000 km from new. Other highlights included £159,000 for a 1980 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, £138,800 for a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 and £131,744 for a 1950 Healey Silverstone.

Six days later saw COYS running the famous Masters Series auction at Brands Hatch. Here two Aston Martins stole the show.  A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 which sold for 190,000 euros and had been meticulously restored over seven years and an Aston Martin DB4 which had only covered 12,130 miles and sold for 132,200 euros. Other highlights included 68,700 euros for a 1968 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 and 58,000 euros for a Ferrari 365 GTC/4. Chris Routledge added: “There is no doubt that we are in a downturn but people are looking to put their money into classic cars and automobilia rather than other financial investments.”