Paris-based Artcurial Motorcars will offer a docket of 254 collector cars and motorcycles, as well as airplanes and yachts at its annual Retromobile auction. Or perhaps we should say “auctions” because there’s the official sale February 9, the Guelon collection and Broual collection being offered on February 10, and the “Racing, Flying & Yachting Sale” on February 11, all at Salon Retromobile at Expo-Porte de Versailles.
You may recall that in 2016, Artcurial stunned the collector car world when it sold the 1957 Ferrari 335 S from the Pierre Bardimon collection for $35.93 million (hammer price) at its Retromobile auction. It was the highest price paid at auction since a 1962 Ferrari GTO sold for $38.1 million at Bonhams’ Quail sale in 2014.
Artcurial has another car from the Bardinon collection to headline its 2018 Paris sale, the 1964 Le Mans-winning Ferrari 275P.
“Along with this car, collectors will discover a wide range of vehicles covering
all periods in automobile history,” Artcurial said in its news release. “This includes a Bugatti 57C Atalante from the Golden Age, competition cars with outstanding racing provenance such as the Abarth 1000 SP that competed in the 1969 Targa Florio, legendary models such as a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, and more modern supercars such as a Ferrari F40, an Enzo and an FXX.”
Like Mecum in the United States, Artcurial is doing quite well in selling car collections.
“The auction house has established a reputation for selling important private
collections. Not only do these collections showcase fabulous pieces
assembled with dedication and passion, they also tell the stories of the men
and women who have spent their lives searching, accumulating,
maintaining and conserving these machines,” Artcurial noted.
“It is the relationship between the collector and his collection that Artcurial Motorcars will promote this year, with no less than seven private collections presented in Rétromobile 2018.
Those seven are:
• The Jean-Claude Miloe Collection, with four “important” Porsches, including a 1964 904 GTS that raced in the Tour de France.
• The Volante Collection, celebrating French coachbuilder Vancooren.
• The Guelon Collection, featuring motorcycles from the 1930s.
• The Reinders Collection of Citroens, including a 1974 DS 21 Palm Beach cabriolet, and Chapron-bodied cars.
• The Broual Collection, 47 vehicles from the founding family of the Briare museum.
• Plus two other private French collections, including the J-G Roger Collection of four vehicdles — an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS III series Zagato, a Rene Bonnet Aerodjet LM6 that raced at Le Mans in 1963, an ex-Agostini Alpine 1600 S Group 4 competition car, and the 1954 Maserati A6 GCS/53 Spyder driven by Attilio Buffa in the 1955 Mille Miglia.
Racing machines on the docket include a 1955 Maserati A6G/2000 berlinetta Allemano/Zagato that raced the Mille Miglia in 1956 and the 1952 Gordini Type 16 Formula 1 car that Jean Behra drove to victory in the 1952 French Grand Prix.
The list of Ferraris includes a 2006 FXX, 2007 Enzo and 1990 F40.
Among the automobilia on offer is a wire-framed sculpture of a Ferrari 250 GTO.
