March 2020 - European auction previews
6 March, 2020
The single-owner Petitjean Collection has been consigned to RM Sotheby’s Essen sale, taking place during Techno-Classica from 26-27 March. The ex-racing driver’s collection comprises nearly 100 cars, all offered without reserve and headed by a 1958 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster with a guide of €800,000 – 1,100,000. The Roadster underwent an engine change prior to Marcel Petitjean’s purchase in 1976, and comes complete with Rudge wheels and original hardtop.
Highlights among the Lamborghinis in the collection include 1968 Miura P400, owned and stored by Petitjean since 1979 (estimate €700,000 – 800,000); a 1979 Countach LP400 S with a believed-genuine 13,800km on the clock (estimate €400,000 – 500,000); and a 1970 Islero S, one of only 100 ‘S’ examples produced (estimate €200,000 – 250,000).
A 1971 De Tomaso Mangusta that joined the collection in 1978 is listed at €200,000 – 250,000, while another car which has largely remained in storage over the past 38 years, a 65,000-km 1969 Maserati Ghibli 4.7, is catalogued at €150,000 – 180,000.
Elsewhere, a brace of pre-war Mercedes are set to go under the hammer on day two; with a recently restored 1938 320 Cabriolet B, originally owned by Swedish royalty, offered at €325,000 – 400,000, and a concours-winning 1937 540 K Cabriolet A, delivered new to the 14th Maharaja of Indore, entered with an estimate of €2,000,000 – 2,400,000.
Aguttes opens its 2020 calendar on 15 March with a sale in Paris featuring no fewer than 10 Facel Vegas, topped by a 1962 Facel II with an estimate of €290,000 – 340,000. A four-door 1961 Excellence Series 1, one of 153 built, is in the catalogue at €100,000 – 150,000, while the restoration projects on offer start at €8,000 – 10,000 for a 1963 Facellia Coupe – the final Facellia ever built.
Competition machinery dominates the top-tier entries, where the star attraction is a 1962 Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZ2 ‘Coda Tronca’ which was restored in 2012 by Alfaholics and is being offered along with a spare engine, axle and gearbox (estimate €550,000 – 750,000). Chassis 00197 finished 4th in class on its debut at the 1962 Paris 1000km, notably going on to compete in the following year’s Le Mans 24 Hours and the 1964 Targa Florio.
The first Alpine A310 V6 prototype, used by Mauro Bianchi to develop the model between 1974 and ’75, crosses the block with a guide of €300,000 – 400,000. Purchased from the factory in 1976 by Bernhard Decure, the car entered into Alpine folklore when Decure secured backing from the Dieppe Chamber of Commerce which saw it compete at the 1977 Le Mans 24 Hours in its evocative ‘Poisson Dieppois’ livery.
Other significant cars include a 1968 Chevron B8 which was campaigned extensively in period (estimate €230,000 – 280,000), and a 1963 Jaguar E-Type 3.8 Coupe, converted to competition spec by Equipe Europe in the late 2000s (estimate €200,000 – 260,000).
Osenat’s centre-piece at last month’s Rétromobile, a 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S, heads to auction in Fontainebleau on 21 March with a pre-sale estimate of €700,000 – 1,000,000. Owned by the consignor since 1982, the Miura is believed never to have been completely restored and currently displays some 54,550km.
Classic car auction price estimates for: Mercedes-Benz | Lamborghini | De Tomaso | Maserati | Facel Vega | Alfa Romeo | Alpine | Chevron | Jaguar
From leading auction houses: RM Sotheby’s | Aguttes | Osenat
Read through the rest of our classic car previews for more information about our auction collections. Check out our online resource for upcoming classic car auction events and classic car auction results around the world.