Ferrari 312 T4 RM Sotheby's

Scheckter Ferrari up for sale in Monaco

Scheckter Ferrari up for sale in Monaco

by | Mar 22, 2024 | Latest News

Jody Scheckter’s 1979 Ferrari 312 T4 will cross the block for an estimated €5,250,000 – €6,500,000 at RM Sotheby’s Monaco sale from 10th to 11th May.

Other highlights include a Kremer Racing Porsche 917, McLaren M23 and a McLaren Elva in a sale studded with motorsport and road car jewels.

The 312 T4 is one of a number of lots from the Jody Scheckter Collection and was Enzo Ferrari’s last F1 drivers’ championship-winning car. It won the Belgian, Monaco and Italian Grands Prix on the way to the constructors’ championship. This very chassis is the one that took the chequered flag at Monza to seal both titles.

Built by famed Italian designer Mauro Foghieri, the 312 was Ferrari’s first ground-effect car powered by a 3.0-litre flat-12 engine.

Bought by Scheckter in 1982, the car comes with its original bill of sale and is beautifully original, with heavily worn seat belts that are a testament to its success in the field. The car raced nine times in 1979 in total and has only ever been driven by Scheckter, including more recently at 2019’s Monza Grand Prix weekend.

We understand that every vehicle is unique, which is why our Agreed Valuation policies take the true value of your classic car into account.

Our next lot – a 1981 Porsche 917 K-81 – can claim similar pedigree to Scheckter’s Ferrari and is estimated to make €3,500,000 – €5,000,000.

In all, the 917 competed in just 23 world championship races, remarkably winning 15 of them before it was rendered ineligible in 1972. From there, the 917 secured consecutive titles in the 1972 and 1973 North American Can-Am Championships.

This particular 917 was built by Kremer Racing 12 years later after Group 6 regulations for the 1981 World Endurance Championship were relaxed. As a result, this car was the last 917 to race at Le Mans, with Bob Wollek, Xavier Lapeyre, and Guy Chasseuil behind the wheel.

Dubbed the 917 K-81, Kremer built the car to make the most of contemporary tyres and aerodynamics and had a Kremer-built aluminium space frame with additional triangulation reinforcement and thicker-gauge tubing to stiffen the chassis.

Nevertheless, short gearing and a draggy rear wing hampered the car’s qualifying run, and it could only manage 18th place on the grid. However, longer gears were installed for the race, with lead driver Wollek climbing to ninth overall. The car was retired after Lapeyre hit a kerb and broke an oil pipe, resulting in catastrophic engine damage.

The car’s second and final outing would prove more fruitful. It led at Brands Hatch during the final round of the 1981 World Endurance Championship – driven by Wollek and Henri Pescarolo – before suspension trouble forced it to retire on lap 52.

Since then, the car has competed in several show events, including the Le Mans Heritage Club Concours at the 2014 Le Mans Classic, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize.

With a rebuilt engine and a meticulous maintenance record, the Porsche 917 K-81 could be your entry ticket to a host of historic racing events.

Another car with a hefty price tag is this 1973 McLaren M23. Another lot from the Jody Scheckter Collection, it’s expected to fetch between €1,750,000 – €2,250,000.

Thought to be one of McLaren’s best Formula 1 designs, the M23 took the company’s first constructors’ championship in 1973 and two drivers’ championships in 1974 with Emerson Fittipaldi and 1976 with James Hunt.

Peter Revson used this car for much of the 1973 season, taking it to victory at the British Grand Prix. Entered into 63 races, it was part of McLaren’s factory collection before the Scheckter Collection bought it. The car is eligible for historic events, including the Monaco Historic.

Racing cars feature throughout the sale, covering a broad range of disciplines. Our picks include a 1991 Audi V8 quattro DTM car (€750,000 – €1,000,000), a 1998 Roock Racing Porsche 911 GT2 (€750,000 – €1,000,000), and a 1977 Tyrell P34 six-wheeler offered at no reserve.

The road car contingent is no less illustrious, spearheaded by a windscreen-less 2022 McLaren Elva that’s set to make between €1,100,000 and €1,500,000 – someone could make a steal, given that the car was originally bought for €1,515,301 back in 2022.

That’s particularly true as this car is chassis #001 of a production run of just 149 cars and comes with €90,000 worth of custom options, including Jet Black semi-aniline leather with contrast bronze embroidery and piping. One owner from new, it’s covered less than 5 miles.

Billed as McLaren’s most extreme road car – yes, it is a road car – the Elva weighs just 1,269kg and is powered by an 815PS (599kW) twin-turbocharged V8. As a result, it can go from 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds, 0-124mph in 6.8, and if the road rash doesn’t get you first – can hit 203 mph flat out.

That the McLaren makes our next lot – a 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS (€315,000 – €350,000), one of Porsche’s most hardcore road machines – look shy and retiring tells you all you need to know. While the GT3 is all about scalpel like finesse, the GT2 is a twin-turbocharged sledgehammer that harks back to a time when 911s had to be handled with kid gloves, and its all the more appealing for it.

Images courtesy of RM Sotheby’s.