Retromobile Paris February 2018, Artcurial Auction
One of the big thing to happen at Retromobile each year is the Artcurial Motorcars auction, where there is a fantastic selection of mostly expensive exotic machinery. I was expecting the usual mix of rare Ferrari, Lamborghini and other Italian machinery. So it was no surprise to find this year’s centrepiece was of course a 250 GT Cabriolet. This, a series 1 car built by Pininfarina in 1958, was stunning and with a guide price of €7 – 9,000,000 you would expect it to be.
The black over turquoise interior was a great combination, the condition of the car so good I’d worry about using it. This must have put off buyers as it failed to find one.
The gullwing Mercedes 300SL fared much better, reaching €1,158,270. This is the sort of thing that I’d love to use on European jaunts, it’s got such a lovely style and a very inviting cockpit, complete with folding steering wheel.
More desirable vehicles included the collection of Lamborghini Espada’s, one of the cars that’s been getting more and more desirable a time goes on. These could be had in good order for 20,000 or so not too many years ago. Anyway, we have a series 1 flanked by the aquamarine series 2 on the left and a series 3 on the right
The earliest car fetched the most money at €169,264, but there wasn’t much between the other two, with the newest being the cheapest, both selling for €77,720 and €73,080 respectively. For me the series 2 car retains the purity of the shape of the first car and would have been the one I wanted. The series 3 car still being fantastic, even with the extended nose. Besides, I was quite taken with the colour.
I found a few more Ferraris, a stunning early Monospecchio Testarossa, single wing mirror car. Word has it that it was a misinterpretation of European law of 100% rear visibility in the mirror. I like the unusual placement, certainly different and only lasted a couple of years. This 1986 silver on red example fetched a healthy €125,160 if not the €175,000 or so that some have made and at the lower end of it’s estimate. Still no more affordable if you don’t have it and besides, mine would have to be white on tan…
Of course there were a few high performance versions too, the F40 always being a favourite of mine. Carbon fibre, paint so thin you can see the weave through it. The single minded nature of the design still impresses today. It impressed its new owner enough to part with €953,600, which oddly sounds cheap.
There were some incredibly stylish forms of transport, mostly French of course, with this Hispano-Suiza J12. This being the largest and most expensive car they ever made, with a 9.4L V12 engine. It sold for a very respectable €643,680. I do always wonder who might drive something like this, a wealthier version of me perhaps.
The company originally being Spanish before eventually moving to French control, the car making subsidiary situated in Bois Colombes just outside Paris. The French govenment took over the Sanish company in 1937 after the Spanish civil war. Hispano-Suiza haven’t been in the car game for a long time, but are still in the aviation business, now owned by SNECMA. They were also responsible for the creation of SEAT in 1950, Spain’s first volume manufacturer.
Citroëns were plentiful and there were some very special examples in the sale. This Henri Chapron Decapotable was gorgeous, Messieur Chapron building some of the most wonderful bodies found on cars. The 1970 DS21 ‘Palm Beach’ sculptured below was part of the Reinders Collection which contained 12 Citroëns and a Lancia.
With an estimate of €400,000 – 600,000 it’s a very expensive, but very rare hand built car and unfortunately failed to find a buyer like much of the collection.
The beautiful 1965 Citroën DS 21 Coupé Chapron Le Dandy did at €262,240,
and so did the 1952 Traction 15/6 at €47,680. I’d be happy with an ordinary 4 cylinder car, I do see one in Jalopy’s future.
I must admit to being a bit rubbish on my pre-war cars, either war… But, this was unmistakably Renault, a 1914 EK. Over 100 years old, wow, and it doesn’t seem to be expensive at €19,072. Especially when you think that the mid mounted 5 Turbos were making €100,000+ and a Clio Williams over €41,000…. Makes this something of a bargain.
More bargain hunting to be had, as I always get excited of the possibility of things I could actually buy and own. Thankfully I get restrained and am made to leave empty handed or I could have ended up with one of these and a large credit card bill.
A small GT40 would be nice, and the transporter looked pretty handy to store it in. Someone very wealthy could have been playing 1970 Le Mans with this, it bearing a striking resemblance to the Steve McQueen film camera car. I bet whoever could afford it had enough of a scale Le Mans driveway, and a scale autoroute from Rouen to get there…
A couple more cars caught my eye, first up was a 1929 Amilcar type M . With an estimate of €3 ,000 -5,000 it seemed affordable, even if it was a project. I had visions of getting it running and using it. It appeared not to sell, just as well I didn’t make it to the actual auction…
But this was something special, I loved the elegance of the long nose, the low roof. Ok, it’s not as glamorous as some of the other offerings found at the front of the stand, but it’s got that Jalopy kind of feel, if not price tag. The 1931 Tracta Type D2 with its 18,000 to 25,000 € estimate and eventual €59,600 sale price… Wow. I’m going to have to learn far more about this curious marque and report back.
Lastly I couldn’t not include this…. Now I’m very kind about peoples old cars being enthusiastic about anything that gets cared for, maintained, preserved… But this time I just can’t. Quite what possessed someone to do this to a VW bus is beyond me, so was the sale price of €23,840.
Listed as a 1953/2014 VW Bay Window Custom all I could tell from it was that it’s going to take a lot of money to put it right…
Head to the Facebook page for more photos in the gallery
Thanks Artcutial, wonderful stuff again.
Simon
