From high-profile auctions to Top Marques weekends, the city-state hosts some of the most exciting luxury car events in the world and is the biggest market for automobile manufacturers.

 

Jaguar C-type, Courtesy Bonhams Motoring

 

Supercars and the Principality of Monaco are names that are synonymous with each other. Among the pleasures derived by travellers heading to Monaco you could include watching glamorous supercars zip pass its glitzy roads.

But even for Monaco, this is big news. A totally original Jaguar C-type, raced at Le Mans in 1954, has been sold for £5,715,580 in Monaco during an auction organised by Bonhams at the Grand Prix Historique race meeting in the principality. James Knight, International Group Director, Bonhams Motoring, said: “The Jaguar was not a combination of the chassis from one car, the body from another. It really is the 1953 Belgian-entered Le Mans car, still bearing its original chassis number ‘XKC 047’ and complete ‘K 1047’ body.”

Top Marques SuperCar

 

At the same auction, a 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO Coupé achieved £1,433,431. Among the other highlights of the auction at which Bonhams sold about £12 million worth of cars: a 1925 Bugatti Type 35 Grand Prix racer, first owned by “Bentley Boy” Glen Kidston, and a 1991-1992 Benetton-Ford B191/191B Formula One car raced by Michael Schumacher and Nelson Piquet, which sold for four times its estimate, achieving £834,656.

But the sales shouldn’t come as a shock, because the Principality of Monaco rates as the biggest car market in the world. That’s perhaps the reason why it hosts the biggest SuperCar party at the end of April: the Top Marques Monaco sale and exhibition. This year was no different: from Aventador SV’s, a Koenigsegg, McLaren P1, Ferraris…the biggest names in luxury automobiles headed to Monaco for the terrific weekend.

Co-owner of the Monaco auto show, Manoj Bairstow said that the 13th edition had been one of its best yet. “It had an unprecedented number of sales both in the SuperCar Hall and the Watches Pavilion.” Over 42,000 people attended the 13th edition and the highlight of the show was ArcaBoard, a ‘flying carpet’ which allows you to, well, fly anywhere. The ArcaBoard is a machine lifted by 36 high power electric ducted fans, with a maximum thrust of 430 lbs. It has in-built stabilization unit and its navigation can be controlled by your phone.

 

ArcaBoard, the highlight of the show

 

Top Marques allows VIP visitors the chance to test drive the world’s most bespoke cars on the Monaco Formula 1 track. While supercars are certainly the show’s raison d’être, Top Marques Monaco encompasses all aspects of a luxury lifestyle. So you can explore the world of exclusive timepieces, precious jewels and luxury products inside the Grimaldi Forum’s Watch Pavilion. And there is a line-up of the biggest and the best superboats on the Esplanade, which are also available to be test driven in the waters off Monaco.

Monaco has one of the largest car markets in the world, and the supercar segment is led by Mercedes, Audi and Porsche. According to the Statistic Bureau of Principality of Monaco, in the last six months, about 3,000 luxury cars have been sold in Monaco, a spike of 17 per cent since 2014. Most auction houses, like Sotheby’s and Bonhams sell the world’s most exclusive and luxurious cars in regular auctions in the country. Held at the glamorous Le Sporting, a venue synonymous with the principality’s most prestigious events, RM Sotheby’s biennial Monaco auction takes place alongside the legendary Grand Prix de Monaco Historique, making for a weekend ripe with automotive excitement. The 2015 auction resulted in an incredible €41 million in sales, the company’s strongest European result to date.

Ferrari, Courtesy Bonhams Motoring

 

Monaco is the richest country in the world with a GDP per capita of $176,676. Experts tell us that it has over 35,800 cars for 35,986 inhabitants! In Monaco there are an estimated 2,000 millionaires and 50 billionaires. The Monegasque model of car buying is rather eclectic: it has a mix of posh minis, small enough to be parked anywhere in the city-state, extravagant SUVs and classy sedans. Porsches, Bentleys, BMWs, Audis and Mercedes are volume models, and minis are for the ones who like to be trendy.