Koenigsegg is none too happy with Bonhams for what the automaker believes is a dropped deuce on the auction house’s valuation of a One:1 hypercar. The specific One:1, which once belonged to Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea and the son of Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who happens to be the President of the same country, is part of a ridiculous collection of supercars that were seized by the Geneva Police after the veep was charged with money laundering and unfair management of public interests. In addition to the One:1, the seized collection, which will be auctioned off by Bonhams, also includes a McLaren P1, a Bugatti Veyron, a Lamborghini Veneno, and more than 20 other models. Koenigsegg, though, isn’t concerned as much for the other cars as it is in the auction house’s valuation — $1.8 million to $2.4 million — of the mighty Swedish hypercar. Is the Koenigsegg One:1 worth more than Bonhams’ valuation, knowing that it was probably purchased using dirty money? That might depend on who you ask.

Again, it depends on who you ask, but coming from an unbiased point of view, I do see why Koenigsegg is upset and I also see why Bonhams would value the hypercar at those prices.

First, let’s look at it from Koenigsegg’s point of view. Knowing what we know about the One:1’s price — brand new models cost $2.9 million back in 2015 — Bonhams’ valuation is curiously cheap. The price difference alone is staggering, and, if you’re Koenigsegg, actually insulting.

Not surprisingly, the Swedish automaker went scorched earth on the auction house with a blog post on its website titled “Bonhams — should you trust their appraisals?”

I’m not going to mention every detail of the post, but all of you definitely have to read it. Not only did Koenigsegg slam Bonhams for its low shockingly low appraisal of the One:1, it also flat-out questioned Bonhams’ credibility as a serious auctioneer. Holy smokes. This goes way beyond petty arguments, folks. This is next-level serious stuff. Here’s a section of Koenigsegg’s blog post:

“Auctioneer Bonhams is about to auction off an extremely rare Koenigsegg One:1 at no reserve,” the post said. “At the same time, Bonhams has put an estimate for the car that is way under market value. For some reason, not understood by us, Bonhams are uninterested in giving a correct starting point or accurate estimate for the One:1, as they have shown complete lack of interest in trustworthy facts and figures presented to them. At the same time, they are unwilling to substantiate their estimate to us with any facts or findings whatsoever.”

Wow.

The Swedish automaker added that it actually submitted offers that were “substantially higher” than Bonhams’ own price estimate for the hypercar, only for the auction house to decline said offers. “They did not even use these relatively low firm offers as reason to correct their estimate to that level,” the post went on to say.

If you think about it, it’s not even about the One:1’s appraised value. It should sell for way more than $2.4 million. It might even fetch double that, at least when you consider the going rates for auctioned Koenigseggs these days. Last year, a used One:1 reportedly sold for a whopping $7 million. Keep in mind, too, that there are only six One:1 hypercars in the world, not including the prototype model that was used in testing and development sessions. It’s rare enough to see a One:1 on the road. It might be even rare to see one up for auction. Who knows, we might not see another One:1 in this setting for at least another five, maybe 10 years. That’s in play. That’s how rare the One:1 is.

That’s why Koenigsegg is upset at the low appraisal. It reflects poorly on the status of the One:1 and, by extensions, on Koenigsegg, as well. It doesn’t matter if it sells double, triple, or maybe even quadruple when all is said and done. Bonhams’ low appraisal effectively reflects on how the auction house values Koenigsegg and its place in the supercar and hypercar markets. “Bonhams are simply not doing their job or living up to their reputation as a serious auctioneer,” the post said.

This is speculation on my part, but perhaps Bonhams’ estimate is where it is because of who owned the One:1 before it was seized by the Geneva Police. Was this Koenigsegg One:1 bought using dirty money that Obiang Mangue allegedly siphoned off the people of Equatorial Guinea? I don’t know that for a fact, but the bread crumbs lead somewhere, right? Look at how the other cars’ from this seized collection are priced and you’ll notice that the One:1 isn’t the only one that you can argue as being undervalued. The Bugatti Veyron, for example, is only valued between $720,000 to $920,000 when used versions of the Veyron can still command a price in excess of $1 million.

Who knows, maybe Koenigsegg just antes up and buys it at a higher price than its original offer?

What is important to remember is that the collection is actually now the property of the State of Geneva and that all the proceeds that are made from the auction of these high-value performance cars will benefit citizens of Equatorial Guinea, specifically a “social program in the territory.”

Koenigsegg may be justifiably upset at Bonhams’ low valuation of the One:1, but, at the end of the day, interested buyers should have no problem stepping up to the plate and throwing caution to the wind once bidding starts of the One:1.

It is, after all, the One:1.

Koenigsegg One:1 drivetrain specifications

Further reading

Read our full review on the Koenigsegg One:1.