RM Sotheby’s concluded its landmark auction in Abu Dhabi on Friday (December 5, 2025), marking one of the region’s most significant collector car auctions to date. The event was held outdoors, oceanfront, on the grounds of the picturesque St. Regis, Saadiyat Island Resort. The atmosphere was electric as the city was already excited about the ongoing Formula 1 weekend at Yas Marina, the final race in the F1 calendar.
Our coverage in October highlighted this sale as part of Abu Dhabi’s inaugural Collector’s Week, establishing the Emirati capital as a key hub in the prestigious global auction calendar. In our previous breakdown of the range, we highlighted the mix of modern hypercars, factory specials and competition-ready machines coming to market.
32 lots were originally delivered, but the Aston Martin One-77 was later withdrawn, leaving just over 30 cars in stock. An exclusive pre-auction preview at dusk gave us a close look at the cars on offer for sale and increased anticipation for the big evening. McLaren and Ferrari proved to be the dominant brands, both in terms of presence and final numbers.
Bidding was fierce, both online, by phone and in person, with a sell-through rate of 83 percent and sales of $84.7 million. The defining moment of the evening came when a 1994 McLaren F1, sourced from Brunei Royal and featuring the highly desirable High Downforce Kit (HDK, which mimics the rare LM cars) installed at the factory in 2007, finally crossed the street for $25.3 million (hammer price: $22.5 million). Chassis No. 014 of the 64 road-legal Mclaren F1s ever built was not only the highest sale of the auction, but also one of the most significant automotive transactions to occur in the collector car world this year.
Another highlight was McLaren’s Triple Crown offering, seen here. For those who don’t know, Triple Crown refers to winning the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. McLaren is the only manufacturer to achieve this feat so far, and CEO Zack Brown is aiming to do it again, this time in a single calendar year.
This is the first time ever that three Future Competition vehicles from the British brand went under the hammer. The 2026 Arrow McLaren IndyCar DW12 (Lot 428) realized $848,750. The 2026 MCL40A McLaren Formula 1 chassis (Lot 429), destined for either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri next season, cost $11.48 million. This was followed by the McLaren United WEC LMDh Hypercar 2027 (Lot 430), which brought in $7.59 million.
Other notable sales included a Pagani Zonda Riviera (Lot 417) that sold for $10.13 million. Originally a Zonda F, it was redesigned inside and out by Pagani with several notable additions, including a roof scoop, carbon fiber trim, a rear wing and an exquisitely crafted Riviera-style pearl white paint with blue accents. This was one of the earliest public sales of the GMA T.50 (Lot 431) with a closing price of $5.63 million. This is a car that follows Gordon Murray’s seven Cor principles and is a spiritual successor to the McLaren F1.
Ferrari showed a strong performance throughout the event. A former Alain Prost F40 from 1990 (lot 418) achieved a sale price of $3.88 million, a 2014 LaFerrari (lot 418) reached $3.38 million, while a Monza SP2 (lot 409), part of Ferrari’s Icona series, achieved $2.53 million. Other newer Ferraris such as the F12tdf, 812 Competizione and 458 Speciale A continued to post strong numbers, each confirming that limited edition exotics with Prancing Horse badges remain among the most liquid modern collectibles.
Outside Maranello, a Porsche 918 Weissach Spyder (Lot 419) brought $1.71 million. We saw exactly this example a few weeks ago at this year’s 2025 Icons of Porsche in Dubai. A 1 of 80 2011 Ferrari SA Aperta (Lot 407), which brought $1.56 million, rounded out the top 10 sales of the evening.
McLaren’s Triple Crown sale signals a growing interest in motorsport assets that are tied to future eligibility and not just historical provenance. Adding even more emotional weight was the presence at the entrance to the auction site of the legendary three-time Formula 1 world champion, Ayrton Senna’s McLaren Honda MP4/6/1, which won the 1991 Brazilian GP. Finished in the iconic white and red Marlboro livery, it reminded everyone of the Woking-based team’s motorsport heritage, which stretches back decades and is offered as part of the Sealed – Forever, Senna sell-out that ends in five days.
Collector cars are quickly becoming a lucrative alternative asset class for high-net-worth portfolios, which we covered in detail in the Boston Consulting Group study conducted in collaboration with Daily Sparkz Group.
But a key takeaway from Abu Dhabi is that collectors are increasingly moving toward modern icons, low-volume hypercars and cultural halo models from the 1990s and 2000s. Seven-figure bids are now as common for contemporary exotics as they once were for pre-war vintage beauties and 1950s/60s blue-chip classics. This is a trend we saw throughout the year at Villa d’este, Goodwood and Monterey, where the top sale was a Giallo Ferrari Daytona SP3 that went for $26 million.
Furthermore, this sale says a lot about the entire GCC region, not as an emerging market, but as a comparable player in terms of valuation scale, auction depth and global buyer engagement. Duccio Lopresto, Managing Director MENA, RM Sotheby’s, discussed this in detail last week during the 1000 Miglia Experience, the opening day of UAE 2025. Abu Dhabi’s growing influence in the luxury and auction segment is further supported by a historic $1 billion investment in Sotheby’s. Front row spectators at the auction included members of the Emirati royal family, prominent automobile collectors and CEOs, making the evening both a historic auction and a social gathering.
Images: Khris Bharath
