Whether you’re a Formula 1 fanatic or a follower of vintage motorsport events such as the Goodwood Revival, there’s nothing cooler to add to your garage than a classic racing car. RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale on 10-11 May is a standout opportunity to add a period competition car to your collection, with dozens of racers ranging from Formula 1 Ferraris and DTM touring cars to Le Mans endurance legends set to go under the hammer. We’ve gathered 10 of the most tempting racing cars from the Monaco auction that are sure to have you reaching for your wallet.
David vs Goliath – 1981 Porsche 917 K-81
Of all the endurance sports cars to take on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, none are more iconic than the Porsche 917. Immortalised on film by Steve McQueen and hugely successful on track, the racer understandably sits among the most desirable competition cars ever produced. This particular car has a more interesting story to tell than most.
The Porsche 917’s era of dominance was short-lived, winning the International Championship of Makes in 1970 and 1971, along with the 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans. Changing regulations quickly overtook the model, and while it continued in Can-Am for slightly longer, by the middle of the decade the all-conquering 917 had largely been put out to pasture. Until, that is, 1981, and a narrow window that saw rules relaxed before the introduction of Group C the following year, with the door left slightly ajar for the aging Porsche racer.
Kremer Racing saw the opportunity, and with some support from the factory in the form of schematics and a pair of new engines, the team set about creating a 917 for the modern day. The unique 917 K-81 featured a strengthened spaceframe chassis, several components borrowed from the model’s time in Can-Am, and a suite of aerodynamic revisions, including a huge rear wing and side skirts designed to take advantage of ground effect.
With limited time to test before the 1981 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Porsche 917 K-81’s performance fell short of expectations and the new bodywork scrubbed off enough top-end speed to make the car uncompetitive. Despite the failure, Kremer had written one of the great underdog stories, having breathed new life into one of the most celebrated sports cars of its generation. This car isn’t just one of the most interesting 917s ever raced, its pre-sale estimate of €3,500,000 - €5,000,000 also makes it one of the most keenly priced in recent memory. If there’s a cooler car to take back to Le Mans, we’d love to see it.
Le Mans Legend – 2008 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2
Certain combinations of cars and liveries become almost instant icons, and that’s certainly the case with the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 and the Gulf design that adorned the cars during the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. Only 10 of these cars were built by Aston Martin Racing between 2008 and 2011, each based on a reinforced road car chassis and a 450-horsepower dry-sump version of Aston’s legendary 4.5-litre V-8. Of the handful built, this example is arguably the most desirable, having served as the factory development prototype.
The car took part in the 2008 FIA GT Championship, taking class wins at Nogaro and Zolder, but its greatest achievement came four years later when it was promoted to the factory squad for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. Crewed by the all-Danish lineup of Allan Simonsen, Christoffer Nygaard, and Kristian Poulsen—and finished in the team’s iconic Gulf livery—the car qualified 3rd in class. The team rose to 2nd in class before accident damage forced the car’s retirement after 31 laps.
Following its outing at Le Mans, this car remained on display at Prodrive before being sold to a collector in 2021. It was bought by the current owner later that year and was handed over to Pursuit Racing of Bicester, UK where it was completely restored and returned to race-ready condition. That included everything from a new engine to rebuilds of the gearbox, differential, and suspension, with total works amounting to some £360,000. That makes its €750,000 - €950,000 pre-sale estimate look like a bit of a bargain….
1953 Siata 208S Spider by Motto
If you like your racers of a vintage flavour, you won’t want to miss this incredible 1953 Siata 208S Spider. The diminutive Italian barchetta was the first of 35 production examples off the line, as well as being the first fitted with aluminium coachwork. But this car is so much more special than its stunning looks, Tipo 104 V-8 engine, and five-speed competition gearbox.
This car’s first owner was none other than Ernie McAfee, the legendary importer and driver who made his name racing in Southern California during the 1950s. McAfee raced this car 10 times, and in March 1954 it starred on the cover of Road & Track. McAfee was so impressed with the car that he entered it in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana, where it performed well. At one point the car led the race, prior to a minor brush with a cement marker post that put it out of contention.
The Siata would go on to be raced and further modified before the bodywork and running gear were eventually split from the chassis, which had fallen into disrepair following a life of competition. The car’s constituent parts were eventually reunited in 2007, and by 2014 it had been perfectly restored to its period-correct Carrera Panamericana configuration. Now expected to sell for between €2,100,000 - €2,500,000, this super rare Siata would make the ultimate entry for the 3,900-kilometre Mexican epic.
The Magic of Monaco – 1991 Jaguar XJR-15
Perhaps the only thing better than a Group C Le Mans car is a Group C Le Mans car for the road, and that’s exactly what Tom Walkinshaw Racing and JaguarSport created when they built the Jaguar XJR-15. Inspired by the endurance racers that brought Jaguar such success at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the XJR-15 was a cruise missile of a car that owed more to TWR’s race programme than it did anything else.
Indeed, the competition DNA was so strong that engineers first started working on the carbon fibre tub from the XJR-8 that had survived Win Percy’s crash at Le Mans in 1987, though the final design offered a much roomier cabin and was a lot simpler to build. With 450 horsepower on tap from the thunderous 6-litre V-12 engine, the XJR-15 boasted true supercar levels of performance in a car bristling with race-proven technology.
Only 52 XJR-15s were built, and of those an even smaller number were race-prepared and earmarked for the JaguarSport Intercontinental Challenge. Among them was this example, which was campaigned in the series by TWR Works driver, Derek Warwick. Incredibly, this very car was driven to victory in the opening round of the championship, taking the first win of the series on the hallowed streets of Monte-Carlo—precisely where it is set to be sold. Presented in its 1991 championship livery, it could be yours for between €1,400,000 - €1,600,000.
A True Game Changer – 1976 Porsche 934
Few cars changed the game quite like the original Porsche 911. Arguably the next biggest leap came in 1975 when the new 930-generation 911 Turbo became the fastest roadgoing Porsche the company had ever built. Inevitably, it wasn’t long before Porsche decided to take the new Turbo racing, and the model was quickly earmarked for Group 4 competition, which demanded removal of the standard seats, air conditioning, and pretty much anything else that wasn’t required to keep it moving.
The bodywork had to stay broadly the same, but beneath the skin, the 934 was significantly improved over the road car, with Bilstein suspension, centre-lock BBS rims, and stronger hubs and brakes borrowed directly from the legendary Porsche 917. Chassis 0172 is one of a handful produced and was first raced in the 1976 Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft and took a win at Kassel-Calden later in the year. It went on to be upgraded to 934/5 and then 935 specification and was driven to 16 overall and class victories before being returned to Group 4 specification.
Today, this hugely successful circuit racer is presented in its original specification and in very original condition. “The car is as good as it gets and virtually totally original,” reckons specialist Andy Prill. “Probably the only surviving example of this quality.” It could be yours for €750,000 - €900,000.
Gallic Flair – 1999 Prost AP02
Motorsport fans could argue forever about the greatest period of Formula 1, and you could certainly make a case for the late 1990s. Not for the racing—it was, after all, the beginning of Michael Schumacher's impressive yet predictable period of total dominance—but for the cars themselves. The V-10 era ran from 1998 until 2005 and provided some of the best-sounding cars to ever grace a grand prix circuit, especially when compared to the high-pitched whine of the current crop.
Getting into one of these specialised cars can be tricky, with the best examples—including Schumacher’s Ferrari F2003—comfortably changing hands for eight figures. That makes this 1999 Prost AP02 look like very good value for money, especially given its competition history. The car was raced four times by Olivier Panis during the 1999 Formula 1 season, during which it was driven to a 6th-place finish at the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Most impressively, this car was fully restored by grand prix specialist LRS Formula between 2022 and 2024 and was refinished in its correct 1999 livery. It is reportedly ready for immediate use. We can’t think of a better soundtrack than that 3-litre Peugeot V-10 howling at 18,000 rpm—or a more exciting ride for historic demonstrations and track days.
Formula 1 Royalty – 1954 Ferrari 625 F1
The Ferrari legend stretches back to the earliest days of Formula 1, and one of the most magnificent cars from that time was without a doubt the 625 F1. The secret to the 625 F1 lay in its simplicity, from its reliable four-wheel drum brakes and de Dion rear end to its four-speed manual transaxle and minimalistic bodywork—but it was Aurelio Lampredi’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine that gave the car its edge.
It's hard to imagine a four-banger in a Formula 1 car, but in the 625 F1, it made perfect sense. The engine was not only more powerful and with greater torque than the 12-cylinder engine it replaced, but it was also 50 kilograms lighter and featured 65 percent fewer moving parts. That simplicity resulted in reliability in an era where making it to the end of a race was almost as hard as winning it.
The Ferrari 625 F1 was the more developed sibling to the car that took Alberto Ascari to two Drivers’ World Championships in 1952 and 1953, while this particular car was the first Ferrari campaigned by Ecurie Francorchamps before being sold to the Marquis Alfonso de Portago in 1955. De Portago was, quite simply, one of the coolest drivers to ever live. He excelled at everything and was one of the great playboys of his generation. To own the only ever Ferrari monoposto raced by the Formula 1 and sports car ace would be to possess a true piece of Maranello history, which makes its €2,500,000 - €3,000,000 estimate seem like incredible value for money.
Ready to Race – 2019 Aston Martin Vantage DTM
Aston Martin was a very late entry to the 2019 DTM season—so much so that HWA managed to turn the firm’s Vantage flagship into a fully-fledged racer in less than 100 days. Five cars were built for the season, each boasting 650 horsepower, a six-speed semi-automatic gearbox, trick pushrod suspension, and carbon-ceramic disc brakes.
This example was raced by Spanish ace Daniel Juncadella, who had by the end of the season clocked up seven top-10 finishes including a 6th-place finish at the Norisring, and is offered directly from the race team. Buy it and you’ll follow in the footsteps of former Formula 1 Drivers’ World Champion Fernando Alonso, who recently acquired the sister chassis to this very car.
The Aston Martin is expected to sell for between €470,000 - €650,000, and for that you don’t just get the racer. It also comes with a huge spares package, including a backup engine and gearbox, front splitter, dampers, carbon disc brakes, and spare wheels. And that isn’t all—HWA will also throw in a two-day on-track familiarisation session, making sure its next owner is brought fully up to speed and ready to go racing.
A Revolutionary Design – 1977 Tyrrell P34
Now for a piece of Formula 1 history, and perhaps the wildest grand prix car designs of the post-war period: the famous six-wheeled Tyrrell P34. The bonkers concept was dreamt up by engineer Derek Gardner, and though it seemed needlessly complex, on closer inspection the new design made a lot of sense. By swapping the huge front wheels for four smaller wheels the car became much more aerodynamic. Incredibly, the reduction in drag was equivalent to a 40-horsepower boost in engine power, giving the P34 a huge advantage over the competition.
The P34’s crowning achievement came at the 1976 Swedish Grand Prix, when it was driven to a 1-2 finish by Jody Scheckter and teammate Patrick Depailler. The result followed a 4th-place finish in Belgium and a 2nd-place finish in Monaco, the trio of results helping Tyrrell to 3rd in the Constructors’ Championship. The car made a huge impression on Scheckter, to the point that he added this example to his personal collection.
This P34 began life as chassis number 8 and remained in unused tub form until 1995, when it was built into a road-ready car by RM Motorsports’ Bud Bennett. It finally took to the track at the 2008 Monterey Historics and returned to Laguna Seca in 2010 before being bought by Scheckter. It is now being offered directly from his collection and will set you back €450,000 - €650,000.
The Crown Jewel – 1979 Ferrari 312 T4
For petrolheads, there’s nothing more likely to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end than the scream of a Ferrari grand prix car—and for pure theatre, there’s little to touch the 3-litre flat-12 of the 312 T4, a car that wrote the Scuderia into the history books.
Far more than just a Formula 1 car, this particular Ferrari 312 T4 is the very machine that carried Jody Scheckter to victory at Monza in 1979, clinching the South African ace his first and only Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship. It was the last Prancing Horse-badged car that Enzo Ferrari saw win a Formula 1 title, and the last to taste ultimate victory in the top-flight of motorsport until Michael Schumacher more than two decades later. It is nothing less than a piece of history.
The chance to acquire such a significant Ferrari doesn’t come around very often, and this car is even more special. It was bought by Scheckter directly from Ferrari in 1982—the bill of sale accompanying the car—and has been retained by the driver ever since. During that time, it has only ever been driven by Scheckter, and you only have to look at the car to realise its incredible state of preservation. Even the seatbelts have remained unchanged over the decades. But that isn’t to say it’s a museum piece—quite the contrary. The engine was fully rebuilt by Ferrari ahead of the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, and it’s been regularly exercised by Scheckter ever since, including hot demonstration laps at the 2019 Italian Grand Prix at Monza and several outings at CarFest.
To quote Ferris Bueller: “If you have the means (€5,250,000 - €6,500,000), I strongly recommend picking one up.”
