Artcurial Automobiles sur les Champes - Auction Preview

 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 .

Bonhams Zoute Sale - Review of Sale

 As we reach the back end of the year, the auction calendar is thinning out as many of the main events such as Monterrey and the Goodwood events have concluded but despite the weather getting colder and car events becoming more sparse, there are still a few auctions that can blow any petrolhead away. Bonhams recently held a sale in Belgium at Knockke-Heist which had a couple of heavy hitting sales as well as some more interesting cars that don't often cross auction blocks, plus some cars that have truly hit future classic status with some of the prices they are reaching. This piece will go through each of these categories of sales cars, giving some in depth detail into some of the lots. 

Beginning this article we have to start with the two top sellers which are two iconic supercars from the 1990s. The first of these cars is the 1994 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport which was for a brief period of time, the fastest car in the world with a top speed achieved of 218mph. The EB110 came at a funny time for Bugatti as they had recently resurfaced thanks to the endeavours of Romano Artioli of bringing back the Bugatti brand. It was launched in 1992 as a fresh start into the supercar market and the Super Sport was the third model in the EB110 line up following the standard car and the GT. The EB110 Super Sport launched in 1993, a mere six months after the initial models with over 600hp thanks to new fuel injectors attached to the ECU. The horsepower figure of this car was 611hp and with weight being decreased by 202kg due to carbon fibre bodywork and magnesium BBS wheels. Speed wise, the EB110 SS could get from 0-60mph in 3.14 seconds and up to a top speed of 220mph. This specific EB110 is finished in Grigio Chiaro and had just under 30,000km on the odometer before the sale. When taking into context that the new price of an EB110 SS was £380,000, a price which would later lead to Bugatti going bankrupt until VW saved them in 1998, the sale price of this car was £1,900,630. EB110 prices have been increasing a lot over the last five years and soon I would predict these cars reach the same price status as 90s rivals such as the Ferrari F50 or the Jaguar XJR-15. The second top seller is a car that always stars at auctions and seems to be a staple of every top auction, being the 1989 Ferrari F40. The car that is regarded as the prettiest supercar of all time, the most complete supercar of all time. Built to celebrate 40 years of Ferrari manufacturing sports cars and was the final Ferrari car to be approved personally by Enzo Ferrari before his death. It is therefore seen to be the ultimate Ferrari supercar, the first car to breach the 200mph barrier, albeit only by one mile per hour, all finished in Rosso Corsa and in left hand drive. The 3.0 quad cam V8 is seen to be one of the best engines that Ferrari ever made and due to that engine's success, they even took the F40 racing in the BPR World Series where they would often challenge top spec McLaren F1 GTRs and sometimes even the Porsche 911 GT1s. The final sale price of this F40 was £1,559,492 which is a high price for an F40 but due to the fact it was initially sold to Garage Francorchamps, the legendary racing team which ran 512BB/LMs and significantly a 250 GTO at Le Mans. It also had only 1,790km from new which would have helped with the value. 

The next category of cars featured in the Zoute sale are the cars that did not sell via not meeting their reserve prices. There are a few big cars that did not sell to the surprise of many people especially some of the classic cars and a few modern classics. The first of these cars is the 2018 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Speedster. This is the rarest version of the Vanquish Zagato series made up of the Coupe, Volante, Speedster and Shooting Brake, with all versions having 99 examples except the Speedster with only 28. It is believed that 99 of the Speedster variants were planned but only 28 of these 99 were completed. This example is finished in Solar Bronze Satin and is number 25 of the 28 built. With a new list price of just over £1,000,000, plus this version being a collaboration with German bicycle manufacturer Storck to create the Vintage Edition of the Zagato Vanquish series with only three being made, it was thought that this car would reach its estimate of £720,000 to £1,100,000. However this car did not hit this reserve as the Zagato Vanquish series are still to live up to their high list price at auctions. The main manufacturer that did not sell too well at the Zoute sale was Lancia, with four of their cars not selling at reserve price. Two of these cars were estimated at over £700,000 being the 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America at a top estimate of £1,000,000 and the 1959 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato with a top estimate of £700,000. Both of these cars are usually desirable classic cars that often sell but with the luck of the auctions they both did not unfortunately sell. There were two other Lancias that failed to sell, being another Aurelia, the smaller and more pedestrian B20 model which failed to sell with the top estimate of £300,000. The final Lancia that failed to sell was a very early Lancia being the 1949 Lancia Aprilia which failed to sell at a top estimate of £120,000. Other cars which failed to sell in the Zoute sale were the 1957 Alfa Romeo 1900C Super Sprint, two Facel Vegas being an FV1 Cabriolet and an FV2 Coupe, a 1954 Jaguar XK120 SE Roadster and the 1937 Lagonda LG45 Rapide Tourer Replica.

There was another car that failed to sell at the Zoute sale but I did not include as it would feature in the future classic and interesting car section. That car is the 1990 Alfa Romeo 75 Turbo Evoluzione IMSA racing car, which was the first Alfa Romeo works team to race in the Italian Superturismo Championship. This championship would race under Group A rules and so would host the likes of BMW M3s, Audi A4 Quattros and the occassional BMW 320i. This particular car was raced by a host of Italian drivers such as Gianni Morbidelli and Nicola Larini who was racing for Ligier in F1 in the 1990s. This car had good results winning five races in the 20 race campaign in 1990 and managed to finish third overall in the standings. Unfortunately this car did not sell especially finished in an incredible Martini livery, but that's the way of the auctions but it had a fairly high reserve of £160,000. The next interesting car to cross the block was a 1991 BMW Z1. The Z1 is most memorable for it's doors, as some cars are, but the Z1's doors don't go up or go out, they go down. The BMW Z1's party piece is that the doors move down into the chassis and disappear into the body of the car. An incredibly unique car which is also fairly rare, with only 8000 examples made. This particular car is finished in Magic Violette metallic and only shows 16 kilometres on the odometer making it one of the lowest, if not the lowest mileage BMW Z1's on the market. Low mileage aside, the price this car sold for is utterly ridiculous price of £89,321 which is close to Ferrari F430 money. This car may be a future classic but with prices such as that, it is unimaginable where the prices will go. The final interesting car is a very very special car as it's a barn find. There's nothing more incredible than finding an amazing classic car in a vegetative state especially a car as special as this one. The car in question is the 1956 Paris Motor Show Jaguar XK140 by Ghia. This is the exact car shown by Jaguar at the 1956 Paris Motor Show and is one of only four Ghia bodied XK140 Coupes produced making it even more special. The state of the car is fairly poor but also very beautiful with rust affecting all of the exterior body elements, but compared to images in period it looks sad. Jaguar in the 1950s sent many coachbuilders XK140 bodies to redesign their car and Ghia and Bertone are possibly the most famous of these coachbuilt cars. The sale price for a rusted XK140 by Ghia was £242,000, which is a decent price considering the restored cars can go for £450,000.

January Auction Previews

 2020 was a tough year for auctions given the coronavirus outbreak affecting the standard auction layout. However, auction houses managed to flourish with their online platforms, making the online auction an entertaining way to sell cars. Now as 2021 begins, and with auction houses continuing an online sales variant, there are some incredible auctions taking place which have caught the attention of many car fans. These sales range from Mecum Auctions, RM Sotheby's, Gooding and Company and Bonhams and each house features incredible highlights which will be shown below.

Mecum Auctions are based in the US and typically feature American muscle cars and very few else but for their Kissimmee auction this month, there are some interesting highlights. The first two highlights that caught my eye were close to delivery mileage Ford GTs. One of which is a '67 Heritage Edition finished in the red and white livery based on the Mk4 Ford GT40, the other in a yellow and black livery and a standard 2017 GT. Both cars are set to sell for around £1 million. The next few highlights come from a few boutique manufacturers of which I am a fan. The first manufacturer is De Tomaso who have four cars in the sale, the first being the Mangusta Shelby Prototype as well as a standard Mangusta sports car. The Mangusta raced in period against the legendary Shelby Cobra, and the De Tomaso Mangusta was named somewhat after the Cobra because in nature, the Mongoose eats the Cobra, and hence they tried to replicate that with the cars. In 1969, Carroll Shelby commissioned a De Tomaso Mangusta to be modified by Shelby to potentially race against the Ford GT40. This car is estimated for around £350,000 and the standard Mangusta has a price upon request. The other De Tomaso's are can-am sports racers which were adapted by Shelby to once again take the fight to the Ford GT40 at Le Mans. Both are estimated for around £2 million. The second manufacturer is Iso, who are responsible for the beautiful Grifo sports car. This example is one of only 20 AC/3 sports cars modified by Bizzarrini to race against the Ferrari 250LM and it is also a 2013 Concours D'Elegance winner. This should sell above its £1 million estimate. The final highlight lots come from Ferrari and many of these are beautiful classics. Starting with a 1952 Ferrari 340 America finished in the French Racing Blue livery which was used for racing in the 1950s and ended up finishing in 5th place at the 1952 Le Mans. It has no estimate at the moment but based on previous results it should reach at least £5 million. Other featured lots include a Ferrari 275 GTS, two Ferrari 330 GTCs, a 300SL Gullwing and Roadster, a Mercedes-Benz 6x6, two Shelby GT350s and a Shelby GT350 R. The Mecum auction features over 2800 lots which should be an incredibly good showing. 

Gooding and Company don't have auctions as big as they used to given the new platforms, so this section will cover the few cars in the Scottsdale auction as well as the European Sporting and Historic Collection. The first car from the Scottsdale auction is a 1926 Bugatti Type 37 Grand Prix bought initially by Peter Larkin of Broadway and kept in his ownership for six decades until this auction.This car replaced the legendary Type 35 in Bugatti's racing models, featuring the same 1.5 litre four cylinder engine which is good for 90mph. It is thought this is the longest private ownership of a classic Bugatti and the last example of a Type 37 to sell at auction sold for £640,000 but given the significance of this car, this could reach up to £800,000. Next is a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Long Nose styled by Scaglietti and recalling earlier styling cues from earlier cars such as the 250 Tour De France and GTO. This example holds 40,000 miles from new and is unique in that it has never been restored, displayed or offered for sale since new Finished in Rosso Chiaro with a red leather interior, it is a very desirable spec and should sell for its estimate of around £2.4 million. The next cars will come from the European Sporting and Historic Collection which will sell a few weeks after the Scottsdale cars. The first highlight is a 1961 Aston Martin DB4 GT which is one of only 30 left hand drive examples presented in black pearl over dark blue. It also features matching engine and chassis numbers. Due to the auction being a way off, there isn't much information on each car so each car will only have small information snippets. The next car is a 1963 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible, one of only 123 convertible DB5 Convertibles made with initial Scottish ownership. This also features matching numbers which means its entirely original. Other standout lots include a blue Ferrari 275 GTB/4, a Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Sports Tourer and a yellow Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster. 

Much like Gooding, Bonhams features a smaller lot list than usual for its first auction of the year at Scottsdale. However this does not mean that the quality of the cars for sale is anything less than expected. The first lot is always a big seller at auctions being the 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special, a 1973 Pebble Beach Best in Show winner and known for being one of the most sophisticated automobiles to exist. One of the most beautiful cars ever built, the 540K features a 5.4 litre Inline 8 engine to give it a rowdy 180bhp. 540Ks much like 500Ks always do well at auction, so much so the last example sold for £4.5 million. The next lot is a 1959 BMW 507 Series 2 Roadster which is one of the most collectable BMWs of all time with only 253 examples being made. It can also be considered as one of the initial grand touring supercar, as the 3.2 litre V8 gave it 150bhp with a low slung and beautiful body. When the 507 launched it was £9000 which was more than a Mercedes 300SL and twice the price of a Jaguar XK120s or two Chevrolet Corvettes in the US market. Though the high cost, the 507 became a celebrity favourite with Fred Astaire, John Surtees and Elvis Presley being notable owners. Currently 507s are topping the £2 million mark but the estimate for this example reaches up to £2.3 million which could be a stretch. The final notable lot for this sale is one of the most modern cars of the auction being a 2018 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Volante. With this car being a collaboration between Zagato and Aston Martin, much like the previous collaborations, the car is very special. The Vanquish Zagato collection is made up of four model variants, the coupe, volante, speedster and shooting brake with 99 examples of each except the speedster which has 28 examples. This Volante has to be one of the most elegantly specced examples with BMW Orient Blue over Centennial Tan leather interior with plenty of optional extras such as the steering wheel from the Aston Martin One-77 and over £40,000 more in options. When this car was initially sold, it had a retail value of over £900,000, though second hand prices are falling below initial value. After only 1400 miles, this car is valued to sell for £700,000 as a top estimate. This would be a high price for Zagato Vanquishes but with all these extras I can see it selling for that price. Additional cars in the auction that are interesting include a Lamborghini Islero 400 GT, a Porsche 911 GT3 Touring, a Lancia Delta Evo 1 Martini 6 and a Mercedes-Benz 300Sc Roadster.

RM Sotheby's once again is the king of auctions and their Arizona auction is no different. There are so many interesting and unique lots which will cross the block, so much so I won't be able to cover them all in one section. With a combination of the best modern hypercars, 90s forgotten classics and vintage legends, this auction has it all. Beginning with the most expensive lot to sell, being a 1955 Jaguar D-Type, chassis XKD 518 finished in red with matching interior trim. The D-Type is one of Jaguar's most legendary racing cars with Le Mans success, and this one is rumoured to have been painted red to break into the Italian racing privateer market ahead of Ferrari. Bought new by Peter Blond and later sold to Bernie Ecclestone for £3,500 but was later owned by Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant. Being a well documented example, it has an estimate to sell for around £7.5 million. The next car is the first of its kind to sell at auction being a 2020 McLaren Speedtail. A reimagined legacy of the McLaren F1 in the 21st century and the new fastest McLaren model with a 250mph top speed, the Speedtail is finished in dark blue over tan and is a three seated masterpiece. With only 106 examples created as a tribute to the F1, this example is highly modified by MSO and features only 30 miles from new. This car will most likely sell for £4.5 million which is the top estimate. Next is another new car to cross the block being a Koenigsegg Regera. The replacement for the long lived Agera model, the Regera is one of only 80 produced in four years of production finished in crystal white over clear carbon. Powered by a 5.0 twin turbocharged V8 which produces an insane 1500bhp, taking the car to 255mph and holding the world record for 0-250-0mph which takes just over 31 seconds which is incredible. The interior is gorgeous with full carbon fibre trim accented by 24k gold leaf details built into the carbon and the car features £217,000 worth of optional extras, and with that many extras it has a top estimate of £2.9 million. The next car is the extraordinarily rare Cizeta V16T from 1993, one of only nine examples produced and had an interesting history as it was owned by the Sultan of Brunei and the Brunei Royal Family. The Sultan of Brunei has one of the greatest hidden car collections in the world, with very few cars escaping the collection but this Cizeta being an example of an escapee. The Brunei Royal Family ordered three of the nine Cizeta's via Hong Seh Motors in Singapore. Powered by a 6.0 V16 engine, the Cizeta has 533bhp and got to 60mph in 4.5 seconds which for 1993 was incredible. Due to the exclusivity of the car, the top estimate is £750,000 and I think it will achieve the estimate. The auction is so incredible that it is easier to list the other cars rather than explain them. Other cars to cross the block include a Bugatti Type 57SC Tourer, Ferrari 375 America Coupe, Ferrari Enzo, Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante, Ferrari 250 GT Alloy Coupe by Boano, McLaren Senna, Ford GT Lightweight, Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster, Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring, Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe Continuation, RUF Turbo R, Shelby GT350, Ferrari 550 Barchetta, the Homologation Collection, Shelby GT40 85th Commemorative Edition and a Porsche 911 Carrera RS N/GT.

The follow up piece to this will cover the results of all the cars that have been mentioned here, whether they sell or not, and for what price they sell for if they do.