Six cars from the estate of reclusive collector Jean Serre, all to be offered at ‘No Reserve’, are early entries in Artcurial’s June 13 ‘Automobiles sur les Champs Elysees’ sale.

Although the redoubtable Monsieur Serre died some years ago, the location of his carefully selected car collection has been hidden until only recently, when Artcurial unearthed such gems as two Hispano-Suizas (a 1935 K6 cabriolet by Letourneur et Marchand for 200,000 – 300,000 euros and a 1937 J12 with coupé Chauffeur coachwork by Franay at 100,000 – 200,000 euros) and a 1931 Bugatti 46 - known as 'la Petite Royale' - with bodywork by Vanvooren. The latter is estimated at 250,000 – 400,000 euros.

All have lain untouched since 1974. In addition to these superb pre-War entries, another ‘No Reserve’ car once in Serre’s ownership is the 1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 (top), delivered new in France and carrying an estimate of 500,000 – 700,000 euros.

Other Italian exotica which will be sold to the highest bidder include a 1969 Maserati Ghibli 4.9 SS (30,000 – 40,000 euros) and a 1966 Maserati Mistral (below) for 20,000 – 30,000 euros.

And other pre-War gems include a restored Bugatti 57 Ventoux coming from a large Italian private collection and a 1928 Invicta 4.5 Litre ‘Skiff’ (150,000 – 250,000 euros) which has been in the same family ownership since 1975. There’s also another car delivered new to France, the LHD 1958 Aston Martin DB Mk III, and an early entry to a ‘Cabriolets sur les Champs’ sub-category in the form of a totally restored Citroën DS 21 cabriolet.

In all, around 60 cars will be catalogued; magnifique!

For further information, see www.artcurial.com.

Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Artcurial