Artcurial is not an auction business that I cover very often as they are fairly niche compared to some of the more mainstream auction houses such as RM Sotheby's, Bonhams and Gooding and Co. This is their Car of Champions auction which is one of their flagship sales of the year alongside their Paris sale in February. In previous years they have sold cars such as Mercedes-Benz 300SLs and Ferrari F40s but this year their sale features a lot of very special cars plus some that I believe could exceed their estimate prices and potentially become a future classic. The estimate prices listed will be the top estimate to show the highest price the seller expects the car to be at, just for clarity.
Starting with the top cars in the auction beginning with a motorsport legend. The first car in the auction is a 1993 Subaru Impreza Prodrive which is nothing but one of the most important rally cars of all time, being an ex-McRae and Burns car. It is restored to full group A specification having had a full racing history and being the first Impreza to score points in the World Rally Championship with another legend at the wheel, Ari Vatanen. In the 1993 season, Subaru began by entering Legacy RS rally cars which won the Lake Como 1000 with Colin McRae at the wheel, but Prodrive had entered an Impreza Turbo into the race and this exact car came an incredible second place. After this achievement, becoming the first Prodrive Impreza to score points, Prodrive dressed this car in the famous blue and yellow 555 livery and was given the infamous plate of L555 BAT for the 1994 season. The estimate on this car is £650,000 which for a rally car of this significance, I believe is entirely possible to reach that estimate, if not exceed it, as Audi Quattro S1s and Peugeot 205 Evos are nearly £1,000,000 now. Sticking with the theme of rally cars, another highly anticipated car to cross the auction block is a Group B car not many people would know about. The car in question is the 1986 Citroen BX 4TC Evolution which has an interesting history. This is before Citroen took off with stage rallying, with their peak coming in the mid 2000s in the Sebastien Loeb era. It was built by Citroen with limited resources because of a limited budget. With the 380hp four-cylinder turbocharged engine from the Peugeot 505 Turbo as well as transmission from a Citroen SM. Due to these elements, the BX did not race many rallies with no success but it is still a very unique car. The estimate for this car is £350,000 which in my opinion is a bit high as it had no success but maybe the uniqueness of it will add to the value. The other cars expected to sell for a high price include a 2018 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Coupe with a top estimate of £600,000, a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider Conversion also with an estimate of £600,000 and a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 with an estimate of £450,000.
The next category of cars to be detailed are cars that interest me personally be it that they are special in my eyes or just unique and to be looked out for. The first of these is the 2017 Aston Martin Vantage GT8. This car is the V8 version of the stripped out track focused Aston Martin GT series which consisted of the V12 powererd GT12 and this, the V8 GT8. One of only 150 produced, the GT8 is the most powerful and lightest Aston Martin Vantage ever made with a baritone roar of an engine note to go with it. Initially the series were inspired by Aston Martin's racing cars with the GT12 being a version of their GT3 winning Vantage, but the GT8 was inspired by the lower class of Aston racing car being the GT2/GTE series. This example is finished in Ferrari Rosso Corsa and has the desirable manual transmission option with six speeds and this car is practically brand new with only 25km from new. This car is number 67 of the 150 produced and is offered at no reserve but the estimate predicts it should sell for £240,000 which is certainly achievable. The next car that caught my interest was the 1969 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow 'Travel Estate' which certainly falls under the category of unique. This car was ordered new to New York in 1969 but the owner wanted it to be more exclusive than the standard Rolls Royce and so commissioned it to be transformed into a Shooting Brake estate model of the Silver Shadow by a coachbuilder. It was later sold on and auctioned off in 2006 by its second owner. The third owner wanted to take the Silver Shadow to the next level and so added a folding picnic box to the car as well as a mini fridge powered by the car, a 25 litre water tank with a shower head and even a gas stove with a bottle hidden in the boot. This incredibly custom Rolls Royce has an estimate price of £150,000 mainly due to the customisations fitted to the car so hopefully it sells. The final car that caught my attention is an overlooked supercar from Lamborghini's history that sadly many people seem to forget about. The glamorous styling of the Lamborghini 400 GT Espada Series III especially finished in such a glorious shade of green is always a sight to behold. Inspired by the Marzal concept, the Espada is designed as a 2+2 GT to rival the more successful Ferrari 365 GTC but powered by the V12 of the legendary Miura SV. With much fewer numbers than the 365 GTC, the Espada is a rare car especially the Series III of which there were just over 1000 produced but at the time it was the highest selling Lamborghini car between 1968 and 1978. This car has travelled just 1300km from new and has an estimate of £130,000 which again is reachable but Espada's do not have a great record at auction so this could be a no sell.
The final group of cars are examples I think will exceed their estimates due to them being potential future classics. The first is a odd car among the car world as some love it and some hate it based on its fairly outlandish design and that is the 1972 Alfa Romeo Monteal. Originally conceived as a concept only to show the best car that Alfa Romeo could make, and so they made it. It was planned to have the same 1.6 litre engine as the Giulia Ti from the time but by production it received an upgrade to a big V8 from the T33 prototype racing car. Regarding the styling some regard it as a bit of a pig much like how the later Alfa Romeo SZ was classed as a marmite car among aficionados but I believe the Montreal is a staple of 1970s styling especially with the Lancia Fulvia inspired rear end. This car has an estimate of £65,000 which is a good value but classic Alfa Romeo's such as this one have been steadily rising in price the last few years and given the condition of this car, it could probably exceed the estimate. The next car has a lot of history and accolades backing up why I believe it will exceed it's estimate price and the car itself is special as is, as it is a 1991 Alpine A610. The A610 is one of the rarest cars that Alpine ever made and it is connected to a legend in Alpine's history. Jean de Alexandris was an Alpine test driver and former pilot for the team, having raced the original A110 as well as later Alpine cars such as the A310. The fact he owned it from new to the date of this auction should add a significant amount to the value of the car, and with a £50,000 estimate, I believe the car should exceed that margin. The final car is one of the most interesting cars I would suggest was ever made being the 1973 Studebaker Avanti II. The Studebaker story has always been strange due to financial burdens but it is on record that since it's inception in 1962, the car has never ceased production but has instead had updates to constantly improve on the car. However so few have been produced and sold that people struggle to notice. This is the second generation built between 1966 and 1983 based on a fibreglass body shell which made it fairly unreliable plus the massive 6.5 litre V8 from the Corvette at the time, but the fibreglass body did make it light compared to other muscle cars with a kerbweight of only 1450kg. Visually it's a true American barge with a three spoke steering wheel, wood on the interior but not a massive length which you'd see on cars such as the Buick Riviera or Cadillac Eldorado, this has the styling similarly to British sports cars such as, surprisingly, the Triumph GT6. The price on this car is said to be £24,000 which quite honestly should be easily exceeded.
The Artcurial Automobiles sur les Champs auction will take place on October 24 2021 in Paris and is sure to provide a really entertaining auction. To see the other cars at the auction, follow the link to https://www.artcurial.com/en/sale-4164-automobiles-sur-les-champs .
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