Retromobile postponed but Artcurial still stages Paris auction — and posts $22 million in sales

1972 Le Mans-winning Matra race car tops sale at $8.3 million

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1972 Matra MS 670
Le Mans race-winning Matra MS 670 tops Artcurial Motorcars Paris auction | Artcurial photos

The annual Retromobile classic car week in Paris may have been postponed until early June, but Artcurial Motorcars went ahead with its collector car auction, Parisienne 2021. The sale, held at the 

Hôtel Dassault, posted $22,005,970 in sales, the auction company reported. 

The star of the event, which featured cars with racing history, was the 1972 24-Hour of Le Mans-winning Matra MS 670 that sold for $8,305,735. (Prices include buyer’s fees.) The price was a record paid at auction for a car by the French automaker.

“All glory to competition!” exclaimed Matthieu Lamoure, Artcurial Motors managing director. “Artcurial held, by itself, the international automobile week in Paris this year. The record price achieved for the Matra is a tribute to the engineers who designed it and (t0) Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill, the drivers that steered it to victory. 

“This race car has left a museum to join a private collection and we expect to see it return to action once more on the track.”

The docket also featured a collection of Group B rally cars, according to Artcurial “the first time such a line-up has been offered at auction.”

A 1988 Audi Sport quattro S1 sold for $2,424,900, more than twice its pre-sale estimate and, Artcurial added, “the highest price paid at auction for a rally car.”

Another of the so-called Killer Bs, a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Evolution, went for $1.175 million, a record amount for a Peugeot 205.

A 1986 Lancia Delta factory rally car in Martini livery sold for $974,678. A 1985 Renault 5 Maxi Turbo brought $802,676, most ever paid for a Renault 5; a 1985 Lancia 037 sold for $659,341; and a 1986 Ford RS200 factory rally racer went for $458,672.

1959 Aston Martin DB4 GT

Also selling for more than $1 million were a pair of Aston Martins, with another very close to that plateau. 

A 1959 Aston Martin DB4 GT went to its next owner for $1,632,961; a 1965 Aston Martin short-chassis Volante, not only with left-hand drive but the only one of a dozen Volantes done in Autumn Gold color, sold for $1,392,466; and a DB5 Vantage commanded $974,678.

The auction also featured the automobilia collection of the late Guiseppe Neri, friend of and restauranteur for Enzo Ferrari. In total, items from that collection sold for a combined $1,091,105, twice the pre-sale estimate.

Among individual objects, the last Ferrari F1 V12 engine sold for $203,628, two sections of bodywork from Alain Prost’s Ferrari 641 went for $172,301; a type 056 F1 engine went for $50,124; and Formula 1 racing car models went for as much as $31,328.

A second set of automobilia, primarily from an enthusiast collector’s workshop, including spare parts, mechanic’s overalls and manuals, sold for a total of $13,314.

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