Aguttes and Osenat. French-style Ratatouille.

The world of French cars has always been special. The auctions are unsurprisingly the same way. Therefore, after last week's article about the British auction market, we spotlight the French market this week. On March 10, Aguttes offered 59 cars worth €4,210,000 in Paris. On March 25 Osenat, based in Fountainebleau, presented the same amount of cars (59), however, estimated at about half the value: €2,329,500.

Based on these numbers, their performances looked like photocopies: 41 cars sold by Aguttes (69.50 percent) and 45 by Osenat (76.27 percent) with a total revenue of €3,517,755 for Aguttes and just under half for Osenat (€1,701,310). Average prices were quite far apart: €85,799 for the Parisienne and €37,807 for the "City of Kings".

Let's start with the "bungled" Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Zagato which is an interesting example in any case, regardless of whether it was Aguttes' top notch. In 1931 it was sold as a Gran Turismo Serie 5 but later converted in the 1970s in England through one of those typical "maneuvers" of the time: Shortening the chassis, changing the engine and adding the supercharger. In 1987 it even participated in the 1000 Miglia. Times, fortunately, have changed considerably since then. Originality now has a much higher value and it's doubtful that it would still be accepted at the 1000 Miglia. The valuation took this into account: 400,000-500,000 € which is a fraction of the value of a "real" 6C 1750. Congratulations to the Aguttes team that placed it at €465,300.