Written by Rosemarijn Atalante Veenenbos
The last spectacle of the Parisian week starts with a little war… The day before the Bonhams auction in the Grand Palais the party already took off, and since Mr. Brown ‘from London town’ and his wicked friends chose this auction over the RM one, so I followed. However, before we arrived at the Grand Palais we ended up in a taxi war. Since the fake Uber taxis are not appreciated by the official ones, the official taxis parked their cars in the middle of the roads, and left them there as a protest. Were we glad that we were fit enough to simply walk and not spend hours in a taxi!
The Grand Palais is incredible, just look at the view of the roof construction. I saw something even better then stars, because of the reflection of the cars in the roof glass. This legendary building was the perfect surrounding for such an event. As we all know those famous photos from the past of the annual Salon de l’Auto, I tried to make some present day ones.
The collection that Bonhams had assembled here was huge, with a nice prewar selection, but mostly classics, including a good red line up of Testarossas. There was also a sale of motorcycles and automobilia, but my focus was on the automobiles. Sadly no rumway this time, I mean runway, because there were no pirates. Get ready for my madness, because yesterday I didn’t, so today a double dose.
Let’s start off with a Brit that looks like an American, the 1974 Aston Martin V8 Series 3 Coupe. Let’s say this is Aston’s Mustang equivalent and an original car, which went for €126,500. FACEL: even cooler was the VÉGA bro of all the other ones we saw in the other auctions, a 1961 HK500 Coupe which fetched €143,750. It seems that Facels have something with unrestored original condition and stay in at the same family for a very long time.
I probably should have saved this honest 1967 Maserati Sebring 3.7 Litre series II Coupe for the last, but I just couldn’t wait. I give this Maserati the Best of Show award, because I like the preservation class and this one satisfied my expectations completely and was not even expensive, selling for €230,000.
I am not really a Veteran enthusiast (shame on me), but the 1899 De Dion-Bouton VIS-À-VIS TYPE D, which had been in the same family ownership since 1985, was a fine example of this era. You still have a chance to participate in the London Brighton run, because it did not sell. €65,000 – 95,000 was the estimate, but perhaps it did not sell because driving all the way from London to Brighton will be quite a challenge in this one I suppose…
I told you, the Alpine rally cars pop up everywhere. The 1972 Renault Alpine A110 1600S Coupe went for €94,300. Who does’t love a Dino, so let’s love the Fiat Dino too. The 2400 Spider from 1970 was clearly not loved enough as it did not sell for an estimate of €150,000 – 200,000. The 2.0 hardtop Spider from 1967 did’t get enough love either (did not sell for the estimate of €90,000 – €140,000), so it is up to you, the blue or the grey one?
When looking for an eligible and rare car for many international events, the Giulietta SZ type is a great choice. Sounds like a perfect car, but remarkably the 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ2 Coda Tronca Coupe ( estimate of €600,000 – 800,000) as well as the 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ Berlinette Coda Ronda (estimate €450,000 – 650,000), didn’t sell.
Something very remarkable was about the Rolles Silver Cloud… The 1964 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III Cabriolet did sell for €425,500, but the 1965 Rolls Silver Cloud III Saloon didn’t. Such a difference in price was realized by the fact that the Silver Cloud cabrio was once built to the order of Dutchman Abraham van Leeuwen, the Prince de Lignac. Add to this that it is a cabrio and it is worth 5 times the price of the usual Silver Cloud in saloon form.
More Aston, and one that was on my list of fave cars. The 1933 Aston Martin Le Mans 1½ Litre 2E series tourer LWB did not sell with an estimate of €400,000 – 450,000. If you were a bidder, then shame on you! You just said “no” to the Mille Miglia in a fabulous black beauty. Clearly the later Aston was more in demand, because the 1961 Aston Martin DB4 series IV coupe sold for €609,500.
Bonhams gave us a lot of red fun. The 1987 Ferrari Testarossa Coupe (not sold for an estimate of €135,000 – 175,000), but its bro, the 1985 Ferrari Testarossa Coupe sold for €149,500. Yet another bro, the 1990 Ferrari Testarossa Coupe, was left behind for an estimate of €130,000 – 160,000.
My goal is to make you crazy and dizzy of the color red so, we carry on. The 1990 Ferrari F40 Berlinetta (a no for an estimate of €950,000 – 1.1 million). The 1996 Ferrari 512 M Coupe sold for €207,000. The 1993 Ferrari 512 TR Coupe, which went for €132,250. The 2001 Ferrari 550 Maranello Coupe sold for €120,750. The 1992 Ferrari 512 TR Coupe went for €200,000 – 250,000 back to its present owner. The less exiting GTO, the 2010 Ferrari 599 GTO, sold for €425,500. The 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello Coupe left for €113,333.
We can breathe again, or wait a minute, there was some more red. The 1970 Maserati Ghibli 4.9-Litre SS Coupe went for €235,750, and the 1968 Maserati Mistral Spyder Conversion Project sold for €69,000. These Maseratis are heroes, but let me ask you, do you still like red cars? Please forgive me for this dream of nightmare, but red just started to blur my eyes.
To satisfy the prewar enthusiast after this red profusion, here are some old ones for you. The 1929 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp Phantom I Roadster is a special one, because of the single family ownership since 1963! This cooly woody left Paris for only €74,750. Goody woody stuff was also to be found in the wheels of the 1911 Renault Type CC Tourer, but it did not sell for the estimate of €140,000 – €160,000.
The ultimate playboy car was the 1933 Auburn 12-161 Convertible Coupe. The proof that there were playboys in the room is that it did sell for €143,750. Still in the same league, but a bit more gentleman like, was the 1930 Cadillac V16 Series 452 Dual-cowl Phaeton, which sold for €230,000. Then the real deal, a 1926 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Twin-screen Torpedo; of course it sold for €224,250, what else?
I am not really attracted that much by this era, which should just be within the Edwardians (shame on me again), but the 1914 Renault 22CV Type EE Limousine looked gorgeous, and surprisingly it did not sell for an estimate of €180,000 – 240,000.
All prices include premium.
I am not allowed to do this, but I can tell you that there were two Bentley replicas in the auction, shocking! The 1939 Bentley 4¼-Litre Drophead Coupe was a Vanden Plas replica (sold, but price is a secret). And then there was the 1939 Bentley 4¼-Litre Drophead Coupe, which was not even a real Bentley, and its body was inspired by the famous Figoni Dropheads. As it was also sold, for €483,000, I assume that I should conclude that the replicas are not as unpopular as I thought.
I think we need a split up, so tomorrow we continue with the last part and I promise I will be a nice girl, so some non red and replica automobiles on the planning. Btw the prewar selection in not complete yet, one of many which has not been mentioned yet is the Alfa 6C 2300B…
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