Nine good deals at Parisian auctions. This is collecting!
24 February 2024 3 min read 9 images
Photo credit: Artcurial, Bonhams, RM Sotheby's
The record sales at Retromobile's auctions, namely Artcurial, Bonhams and RM Sotheby's, should not overshadow the fact that there are many affordable bargains passing under the gavel. Here is an assorted list of nine that make you regret not being there. Last week we looked at the market through the eyes of economists, this time we look at the cars through the eyes of enthusiasts. In the following is a Here are the most interesting cars that were sold under 100,000 Euro, in chronological order, from oldest to newest.
The oldest one was sold by Artcurial and has a magnificent history. It is a 1912 Delaunay-Bellville H6B Coupé Chaffeur bought in 1919 by the grandfather of the current owner. Indeed, the car has been in the same family for 105 years! The oldest one was sold by Artcurial and has a magnificent history. It is a 1912 Delaunay-Bellville H6B Coupé Chaffeur bought in 1919 by the grandfather of the current owner. Indeed, the car has been in the same family for 105 years! Since 1923 it has been stored in a garage until a few years ago and has never been restored. The price? The car was estimated at € 150-250,000 and went for € 113,240, a little above our € 100,000 bar. Still, that can be expected, as this was no ordinary car.
Moving on to the next car that slightly exceeds the bar. It is the 1946 Delahaye 135M Coupé bodied by Van Leersum. It's a real bargain as it was estimated at €160,000-250,000 without reserve. From its design it looks like a car worth millions: Looking at it from three quarters rear it looks like a millionaire Alfa Romeo 8C 2900. Then you read Delahaye and think it was made by Figoni & Falaschi, a Talbot-Lago, to be precise. Yet the bidding stopped at € 109,250. No reserve, sold! Congratulations to whoever brought it home.
Moving onto 1955 with the fantastic Alfa Romeo Autotutto Romeo Campervan. Many think of Alfa Romeos as sports cars, but coming out of the war, they did everything to sell, including commercial vehicles. Born as a van, the following year it was transformed into a campervan by a local craftsman. A genuine and perfect one-off. How much did it cost? Estimated at € 90,000-110,000 without reserve, it went for € 75,900.
In destroyed and impoverished post-war Germany, microcars flourished. An Irish collector brought eight of them to auction, but the favourite was undoubtedly the 1958 Zundapp Janus 250. It had a 250cc motorbike engine with two cylinders and was the only four-seater in its class. Why the name Janus? Because like Janus, an ancient Roman god with two faces, it features identical front and rear. A rather rare specimen estimated at €25,000-28,000 but very well sold for €39,100
The 1968 Aston Martin DBS Vantage is not James Bond's DB5, but it does have a connection: The first owner was a real secret agent. Bon vivant, pre-war racing driver and during the war head of the Dutch section of MI6, the British 'spies'. After the war, having retired to Provence, the former agent bought the DBS. The € 70,000-100,000 estimate was justified, in fact it required an overhaul, and the € 80,500 price was perfectly correct.
Another British icon of the 1960s is the Jaguar E-Type. In this auction, however, it was the less desirable third series. What's more, it was a coupé in white and in need of restoration, but the manual gearbox and left-hand drive pulled up the price. The experts at Artcurial believed it would fetch between €25,000 and €35,000 and in fact it closed at €29,800. Not bad at all.
Moving onto the 1987 Fiat 126 Giannini GP650. Everyone knows the Fiat 500 Abarth from the 1960s and the price tag of around €50,000 proves it. Few are familiar with the elaborations of the Roman tuner Giannini. Even fewer his unlucky 126. Giannini has its engine pumped up to 30hp and completely restored to 700cc and 35hp. Estimated at €15,000-25,000, it went for €21,456. Totally worth it.
In the 1990s, the Jaguar XJR-S was a supercar with a 328hp V12. Don't forget that the XJS-R had a very special engine compared to the original 235hp 4-litre. At auction, it made the difference: € 20,000-30,000 estimated by the auction house. The marked said €40,250.
Entering the new millennium with a hot hatch? Meet the 2004 Renault Clio V6. A 255hp Phase 2 with just 28,000 km. Beautiful and rare is the Nero Nacre Doré colour that shows off the air intake on the rear wing and the fuel filler neck. These days these are highly sought after and the estimate of €70,000-110,000 was right. It sold for €80,500.
SUPERMIND TRIVIA