Artcurial: surprises at Le Mans

Cliff Goodall’s view

There are two Le Mans events. The first is the classic endurance race: a full-throttle 24-hour battle where car manufacturers showcase their cutting-edge technology (and aggressive marketing). On the other hand, there’s the Le Mans Classic: a reunion of cars that participated in the old editions of the competition. Two events, two auctions: RM organized a small auction for millionaires during the first event (see last week’s __Roarington__), while Artcurial, as always, remained faithful to the traditional version.

Here are the numbers from Artcurial’s sale on 30th June: 116 cars offered, 76 sold (65.51% success rate), €16,854,000 offered, with €9,222,504 changing hands. When comparing these figures to last year’s results (94 cars sold for €11,506,156), some may be tempted to make negative comments. However, it’s important to consider a few factors. Firstly, in 2022, there was no competition from RM, so potential buyers might have been momentarily “distracted”. Secondly, last year’s top lot alone fetched a staggering €3.4 million, whereas this year’s top lot went for €1.3 million (resulting in a difference of €2.3 million). Lastly, due to publication timelines, we do not yet have the post-auction sales data for this year, and the final result could potentially be even better than anticipated.