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| 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GT - Sold for 165,116 euros |
Nearly eight million euros was traded at Artcurial Motorcars’ latest Paris sale, held on the Friday of the Rétromobile exhibition.
The impressive total, plus an 80 per cent sell-through rate, was a satisfying result for the new team headed up by Matthieu Lamoure. With auctioneer – and ex-racing driver - Maître Hervé Poulain on the rostrum, for more than eight hours, the 2000-strong saleroom saw one lot after another selling well.
The 1937 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante (580,000 euros) just beat the 1931 Invicta Type LS 4.5-litre (535,000 euros) as the top-selling car. Other significant sales included the 15,300-euros 1953 Citroën 2 CV, 417,624 euros for the 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, and the 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series III, one of several Astons in the sale, achieving 182,508 euros.
World records tumbled when the 1983 Lancia Rallye 037 was finally sold for 221,573 euros, and the 1973 Lamborghini 400 GT Espada doubled its estimate, selling for 71,943 euros.
A ‘British Johnny Hallyday’ he might not be, but Essex-based groover, hat enthusiast and car fanatic Jay Kay of Jamiroquai turned up to buy the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE for 190,300 euros – a strong figure for these cars that were once considered only fit to be 250 GTO replica donors.
The US-restored (in 2010) 1956 Porsche 356 A Coupé sold over estimate, at 80,199 euros, while one of our pre-sale tips, the 1979 BMW M1, changed hands for 129,734 euros. I still think that will look cheap in years to come.
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| Hervé Poulain in action, with 'Les Championnes, 1955, oil on panel' behind him. It sold for 19,126 euros. |
The Belgian Maserati collection fared less well, with neither the Mexico nor the Ghibli, nor indeed the 3500 GT Spyder Vignale finding new owners. You can’t win them all.
The ‘state cars’ section of the sale was fun, and General De Gaulle’s 1960 Simca Presidence V8 Cabriolet by Henri Chapron was sold to a patriotic Frenchman, for 117,940 euros, who proudly declared that the big car will remain in France.
Just watch out for whoever purchased Lot 205 s’il vous plait, monsieur, the 1964 Alfa Romeo 1600 Giulia Spider (37,741 euros). If an athletic Englishman, with a suspicious-looking walking-stick drove it away, he might have more than car-collecting on his mind...
Please click HERE to see the full results.
Text: Steve Wakefield
Photos: Cathy Dubuisson
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