Christie’s this week announced their final call for consignments to their annual sale at Rétromobile in Paris, which this year will be divided into Automobilia on Friday 16th and Motor Cars an Saturday 17th February. The firm have clearly been pulling out all the stops to ensure that their flagship European auction is an event to remember.

Already grabbing headlines is the extraordinary sale of the most complete and original Auto Union known to exist. It was in this car, a 1939 D-Type with twin superchargers and a humbling 485bhp, that Müller won the Grand Prix at Reims and Nuvolari at Belgrade before war intervened to consign the era of the Silver Arrows into the annals of history. It may well be that this car creates history once again; watch this space...



There are many more big-money stars gilding the consignment list, but more on those later. On a more “real-world” plane there is plenty to fascinate and entertain the enthusiast and the collector, beginning at the dawn of the Motoring Age with a most remarkable steam-powered De Dion Bouton & Trepardoux that dates from c.1890 (€120.000-180.000).



There are many unique machines, such as the last remaining Derby K4 Low Chassis Roadster, a rakish and charismatic car formerly of the Serge Pozzoli Collection (€110,000-160,000). Also featured is the only Barchetta built by the Dutch rally ace Maurice Gatsonides, and the only car to survive out of the ten constructed under his name (€90,000-130,000). For the lover of the subtly different there is the 1974 Citroën DS23 IE Décapotable which is the only Décap ever to be supplied new with a fully-automatic gearbox (€90.000-130.000).



There are so many interesting, collectible machines on the list that it is difficult to know where to look – the two F1 cars? The road-going Ferraris from a private collection? Or, at the other end of the scale, the stately elegance of the six-cylinder, chain-driven 1908 Panhard Levassor Y Type Limousine with coachwork by J.Rothschild & Fils (€160,000-200,000)..?

Indeed the sale caters for every taste, and promises to be a magnificent affair. If you are considering the sale of a collector’s vehicle then Christie’s specialists would be delighted to discuss market values with you, in complete confidence and without any obligation.

Please contact them by email to [email protected], or by telephone: Philip Kantor- +32 (0)2 289 1333; Rupert Banner- +44 (0)20 7389 2133; Jack Patrick- +33 (0)1 40 76 83 76.

Text: Classic Driver
Photos: Christie's