THE ZOUTE GRAND PRIX SECURES A BRIGHT FUTURE WITH ITS 15TH EDITION.
AN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL EDITION ATTRACTED A LARGE CROWD AND ENDED WITH THE WORLD’S MOST SUCCESSFUL CAR AUCTION IN 2024 FOR BONHAMS|CARS.
KNOKKE-HEIST, 6 OKTOBER 2024 | Over the past four days, the 15th edition of the ZOUTE GRAND PRIX took place in Knokke-Heist. And once again the event lived up to its reputation as the highlight of the autumn with which the seaside town finally waves goodbye to summer. Participants in the Zoute Rally by stow, the Zoute GT Tour and the many hundreds of thousands of day visitors were treated to a sun-drenched edition.
‘The entire team behind the Zoute Grand Prix and our suppliers put down a real tour de force!’ said Koen Van Hout, CEO Zoute Grand Prix. ‘None of the visitors or rally participants even noticed that the event's survival was hanging by a thread earlier this year. Behind the scenes, therefore, a lot of hard work has gone into making this 15th edition another top edition. The municipality of Knokke-Heist has also done its utmost for us, something for which we are very grateful. The future for the Zoute Grand Prix therefore looks very bright.’
A More Exclusive and Inclusive Edition
The new organisation's ambition to make the event more exclusive and at the same time more inclusive was certainly achieved. The 12,500 visitors who bought a ticket for the Zoute Grand Prix Gallery by EY, the 11,000M beach pavilion built on the Albertplein, were treated to a unique range of exclusive historic and modern cars. Seventeen of the most exclusive contemporary constructors showed off their latest models. But also on the Zeedijk in front of the pavilion and in the streets of the seaside resort, the event was more lively than ever. Eye-catcher was the 500-metre-long Car Boulevard between the Albertplein and the Wielingen. More than 30 (dream) cars were displayed here, grouped in themes such as ‘Past meets Future’, ‘Let's Dream’ and ‘Electric Avenue’.
The highlight of the weekend obviously remained the arrival and departure on the Zeedijk of the 225 historic cars of the Zoute Rally by stow on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and the 161 contemporary dream cars during the Zoute GT Tour on Sunday.
The Zoute Sale Becomes Bonhams|Cars' Most Important Auction of the year, worldwide
The Zoute Grand Prix is another fixture in the autumn calendar of prestigious auction house Bonhams|Cars. For the 12th edition of the Zoute Sale, a unique selection of cars was once again gathered, which went under the hammer on Sunday.
Some highlights of the auction:
- An impressive sales ratio of 94%, meaning almost all cars were effectively sold.
- The return of the iconic 1956 Porsche 550RS Spyder, a racing car of the ‘Equipe Nationale Belge’, to Belgium. The car was bought by a private collector from Belgium, who himself was present in the hall.
- The much more modern but no less exclusive 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss exceeded all expectations and achieved an impressive hammer price of €3,220,000.
In total, the 12th edition of the Zoute Sale by Bonhams|Cars raised over €22 million, making it the world's most important auction for the 2024 auction house.
