Alfa Romeo 8C To Star At Bonhams Quail Motorcar Auction 2020
The Bonhams Quail motorcar auction on the 14th August 2020 is to feature a rare Alfa Romeo 8C Decapotable.
This perfect example is highly original and is to be the top lot in the auction, with an estimate of $6,500,000 – 7,500,000 USD or £4,900,000 – 5,700,000.
The 8C was Alfa’s frst 8 cylinder model and has agreat reputation on the race tracks in the early 1930s. Especially Le Mans, with successes at the 24 hours. They won four times in a row from 1931 to 1934 and has become a highly desirable car to own.
The car on offer is from the last year of production, 1934. It is also one of only seven road cars to have bodywork by coachbuilders Figoni of Paris. Long regarded as the most attractive and authentic of the cabriolets stlyed by Figoni. It retains the low profile windscreen and the two tone paintwork and importantly matching chassis and engine numbers.
The bespoke bodywork was commissioned at an extraodinary price of 21,750 Francs from Figoni by its first owner Roaul Calvayrac, heir to the Dos Estrellas mine in Mexico. They were the world’s leading producer of gold in the early 20th Century and could obviously afford it.
With only five owners from new starting with Calvayrac the car has lived a relatively quiet life. It’s fate could have been completely different had it been discovered during the Second World War. On the Calvayrac estate in France the car was ‘hidden in the hay’ during the German occupation.
Thankfully having survived undetected, the car was later sold to an American who imported it from Cannes to New York. It has remained in the USA ever since.
The Alfa was sympathetically restored in 2005, keeping its ‘crackle’ finish dashboard and original chassis and engine plates. The car stunned the judges at the prestigious Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in 2018, awarding it ‘Best in Class’.
A nice period photograph of the 8C with Raoul Calvayrac leanining on his Alfa, with his friend Jacques de St-Pierre at the wheel.
(credit: Pierre-Yves Laugier)
The Alfa will be available to view by appointment at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles from August 12-14, before the 23rd Quail Auction which takes at Bonhams Los Angeles saleroom. The venue having changed from Quail Lodge due to the current pandemic situation. Those who cannot attend can use Bonhams ‘virtual viewing’ platform to make an appointment for condition reports and a one-to-one bespoke ‘walkaround’ inspection with a specialist.
Thanks to Bonhams for the images.