Written by Rosemarijn Atalante Veenenbos
Let’s first finish the older selection with the Edwardians. How are those vehicles doing in the current market, and how wanted were they in the Grand Palais?
The 1914 Renault 22CV Type EE Limousine with coachwork by Letourneur et Marchand did not go for €180,000 – 240,000. That same year the 1914 Adler 35/80hp Phaeton was built, and it is a sole survivor of only four made! Not rare enough as it didn’t go for the estimate of €130,000 – 160,000. Again, from the same year was the 1914 Peugeot 14hp Type 144A ‘Coloniale’ Tourer, which sold for €34,500. But it was a no go for the 1906 Ford Model N Cabriolet. An estimate of €25,000 – 35,000 seemed too much. The 1912 Clément-Bayard AC4A 10hp Tourer had been owned since 1958 until the moment in Paris, when a new owner had €26,450 in his pocket and spent it. The 1913 Renault DG Tourer was again another woody goody in the wheels and did sell for €41,400, also a new owner after a long time… The previous ownership had been since 1968. Hard to tell if they are really that high in demand, since it was a bit of a mixed bag here… Anyway, I think they didn’t do too badly and fetched very reasonable prices.
Now the real treat for me, the prewar selection. One I really appreciated was the 1933 Lancia Artena Faux Cabriolet with coachwork by Carrozzeria Farina. Single family ownership for 77 years, that’s incredible! It sold for only €57,500, the new owner did a great deal. The 1925 Newton-Ceirano Type-S150 14hp Tourer is one of only a handful of surviving examples, but didn’t sell for the estimate of €45,000 – 55,000.
Delivered new in Paris and now not sold in Paris was the 1938 Citroën 11BL ‘Traction’ Cabriolet (estimate of €150,000 – 180,000). The rare Sir Bunny, the 1915 Delage D6 Tourer, did not sell (estimated €160,000 – 190,000), even though it was two for the price of one… The fancy luggage trailer was included. The super cute 1938 BMW 320 Cabriolet with coachwork by Autenrieth did not sell for the estimate of €75,000 – 95,000. That’s great, because I think this car would suit Mickey Mouse better anyway.
Now we need some special sound effects for the ‘Hanssome’ concours dandy, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance exhibited 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Berlinetta with coachwork in the style of Touring ‘Superleggera’. There was no new owner in the crowd for the estimate of €750,000 – 1.1 million.
Then yet another really fun and remarkable Alfa, the 1961 Alfa Romeo ‘Autotutto’ Romeo 2 Minibus. I mean this is real fun and sold for €63,250.
There was one thing I did not expect, €23,000 for a Stingray that has been owned from new by just one man, with 22,246 kilometres recorded mileage and in un-restored condition. It was not a fabulous split window, but I really expected the 1978 Chevrolet Corvette ’25th Anniversary’ Targa-Top Coupé to yield more.
Some white fun was created by the 1937 FIAT 1500 6C Barchetta that went for €92,000. But most of all by the white 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport Convertible that sold for €29,900. It is huge and just simply a sexy American maffioso toy, as I would imagine it. New delivered to Nigeria, yes the LWB 1960 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II Saloon with Division Coachwork by Park Ward Ltd. The toy for the more classy maffioso, but apparently they were not in the room as it did not sell (estimated €50,000 – 70,000).
It again becomes clear that you don’t need to be super rich to have some fun with a rare prewar toy… The 1934 Darmont Type V Junior is a very rare four-wheeled model. As the name already tells, it suits a junior driver, and this one sold for only €18,400.
You have seen a Traction, which is always fun, but there were also later Citroen icons. The 1967 Citroën DS 21 Pallas Saloon did sell for €27,600. The weird looking 1971 Citröen SM Coupé sold for €74,750.
And then a nice surprise for me, the mean ex 1967 Paris Motorshow 1967 Citroën DS21 Cabriolet ‘Le Caddy’ with coachwork by Henri Chapron. This one was our neighbor, and rival in 2014 at the Concours d’Elégance at Palace het Loo. My Hanssome dad and I were in the same class with our 1950 Delahaye 135MS Chapron cabrio, a 1950 Paris Salon car, and we were beaten by this DS21. So here you have it… still painful for me, this 1st in class at that concours. The new owner, who bought it for €264,500, made a very well-considered decision, since Pebble Beach is coming up next August and they feature coachwork by Henri Chapron. So I am sure the Chapron DS models are high in demand at the moment.
I should have mentioned this one earlier, the 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Coupé. This muscle car was race-prepared to FIA specification, and I just really love Mustangs. Have you ever seen the series of Louis de Funes with the Mustangs? If not, you really have to, or just CLICK HERE. This is where my love for the Mustangs started to develop. What is also an exiting Funes car is the 1962 Citroën 2CV Sahara 4×4 (did not sell for the estimate of €85,000 – 125,000).
Even more exiting was the 1985 March 85B Formula 3000 Monoposto, which was originally raced by Michel Ferté. With a 5th place in the 1985 Formula 3000 Championship it was clearly not impressive enough as it did not sell for the estimate of €80,000 – 120,000, perhaps because of the sponsoring name? Come on, smoking is still so 1985-ish. It was ready to participate in fine races, and it history is known from new. More ‘raring’ or racing was to be found in the 1950 Veritas Meteor Formula 2 Monoposto (a no sale for €210,000 – 240,000). This rare post-war German Grand Prix car made 2nd in class at Pebble Beach in 1992… this is wicked.
And even more racing… the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Coupé from 2000, what to say about this one. It is absolutely ugly, but also great because of that monster of an engine that is hidden under that ugly body. The Swiss man who has owned this car probably purchased it because it is a rare one out of 25 made, and the engine is a SL600-based 6.0-litre V12 producing 600bhp initially, 630bhp after further development. A no go for the estimated €1.8 million – 2 million.
Forget about the 2002 BMW Z8 Roadster, this is a rainbow eye and it did sell for €195,500.
Delivered new to Norway and only around 15,200 kilometres from new, the 1993 Lamborghini Diablo VT Coupé is damn fancy, but not for an estimate of €200,000 – 250,000 it seemed. And also not if it is delivered new to Belgium in a yellow color (estimated €250,000 – 300,000).
Look at this, another Mustang look alike Aston! The 1984 Aston Martin V8 Volante cabrio sold for €140,300. Or the epic 1965 ASA 1000 GT Coupé that went for €131,100. One thing I was sad about was the shiny chrome wheels of especially the E-Types, it is just too much, I like the old not so shiny ones way better.
There were also two red Maseratis I forgot, so here is some more red Italian. The 1963 Maserati 3500 GTi Coupé did not go for an estimate of €260,000 – 300,000. Though the yellow 1973 Maserati Bora 4.7-litre Coupé sold for €184,000. The red 1970 Maserati Ghibli 4.9-Litre SS Coupé sold for €235,750. Coachwork by Carrozzeria GhiaAnother fabulous classic was the 1964 Lancia Flaminia GT 3C 2.8-Litre Cabriolet and it did sell for €195,500. The Flaminia has great allure and is an icon to me.
More allure from Lancia… One of the Bonhams highlights was the 1955 Lancia Auralia B24 Spider with hardtop. I saw this marvel before, at the Brussels show Italian Passion, and I was fascinated by it. Let me tell you why I am again astonished by the fact that such a pearl did not sell:
•Oldest surviving B24S in the world
•Factory prototype and second chassis; special features and dimensions
•1955 Brussels and probably Geneva Motor Show car
•Continuous history and offered by renowned Lancia authority
•Fresh to the market from long-term private ownership
•Fully restored to original specification
So, tell me why it did not sell for an estimate of €900,000 – 1.3 million… please.
Its less glamorous coupébro, the 1952 Lancia Aurelia B20 GT 2nd Series Coupé with coachwork by Pinin Farina, did sell for €143,750.
So now the best for the last, the 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB Berlinetta. If this one wouldn’t sell, I would have eaten my shoes, so luckily it did, for €2,070,000. The rare and very desirable long nose, torque tube, and penultimate two cam model to leave the factory. It did look a bit purple in the Grand Palais, but I am sure outside it looks better, although a dark grey outfit would also not look too bad on this fine 275 GTB…
All prices include premium and tax.
Should we conclude from the Paris auction results that the market is slowing down, or even worse, going into its own ‘recession’? Or we want just to much for nowadays… Or will you hang on to the thought that demand in Paris was just a bit sluggish because of the Arizona auction circus the week before? Fact is that all three auctions, RM Sotheby’s, Bonhams as well as Artcurial, did not fetch the highest prices possible, and many cars sold below their lowest estimate. You could of course argue that this is an indication that the auction houses have gone too far with their estimates. But what is clear is that the shift in demand continues to more recent years of production, i.e. the 1980s and now even the 1990s and even later. What was also obvious, about the collection on offer by Bonhams, is that, having no mentioned all vehicles in this auction, the choice and the offering was huge! Many of the cars on offer were rare examples with long term ownership and also quite a few cars were eligible for fine events. Was this not enough to seduce the willing buyers? Apparently not in all cases.
Next up Hisso heaven…!
CRANKHANDLEBLOG 