February 2023 - Paris previews
26 January, 2023
The first week in February sees the start of the major European sales with Artcurial, Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s returning to Paris during Rétromobile. Artcurial’s two-day sale is hosted at the show’s venue, led by a 1964 Ferrari 250 LM. Although chassis 5901 joined Luigi Chinetti’s N.A.R.T. racing team as a spare for the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, its services were not called upon and it remains as one of only two cars from the 32 examples built which were not raced at any point. Restored by renowned marque experts DK Engineering in the late 1990s, the LM is set to go under the hammer on 3 February, with an estimate on request.
Artcurial’s roster features 17 cars with million euro-plus estimates, highlights include a 1975 Lamborghini Countach LP400 in a preserved original condition, stored for the majority of the past 20 years and owned by the consignor since 1983 (estimate €800,000 – 1,200,000); a 1951 Ferrari 340 America Barchetta which raced at the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans (estimate €5,000,000 – 8,000,000); and a 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante that competed in Rallye des Alpes (estimate €2,000,000 – 3,000,000).
[ Artcurial Rétromobile Sale – auction catalogue here ]
Hypercars dominate the big-ticket entries at RM Sotheby’s on 1 February. A unique pre-series 2022 Bugatti Chiron Profilée, the very last brand-new Bugatti with a W-16 engine to be sold by Bugatti, carries a pre-sale estimate of €4,200,000 – 5,500,000. RM’s French-delivered 17,474-km 2003 Ferrari Enzo finished in Nero over Pelle Nera is guided at €3,800,000 – 4,200,000; and a barely-used one-owner 2020 McLaren Speedtail with only 114km is €2,200,000 – 2,600,000.
Italian machinery tops the classics on offer, with a matching-numbers 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 expected to fetch €3,100,000 – 3,300,000. One of 330 four-cams built, it emerged from a three-year restoration in 2015 and comes with Ferrari Classische certification.
[ RM Sotheby’s Paris Sale – auction catalogue here ]
The 1991 Jordan 191 in which Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut at the Belgium Grand Prix is one of the star attractions at Bonhams. Originally the race car for team mate Andrea de Cesaris, Schumacher used chassis 06 in the first practice session, winding up ahead of de Cesaris with the 8th fastest time (estimate €1,400,000 – 2,000,000).
Notable late model limited production cars include a 28,000-km 1993 Porsche 911 Turbo S Leichtbau, one of only 86 (estimate €1,000,000 – 1,200,000) and an equally rare 2005 Mercedes-Benz CLK DTM AMG, delivered new to Japan and now showing 18,000km (estimate €400,000 – 500,000).
[ Bonhams’ Paris Sale – auction catalogue here ]
[ Dr Peter and Ulrike Bühner Collection – auction catalogue here ]
Classic car auction price estimates for: Ferrari | Lamborghini | Bugatti | Jordan | Porsche | Mercedes-Benz
From leading auction houses: Artcurial | RM Sotheby’s | Bonhams
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