While outside on the Sarthe circuit, a racing history of around one hundred years was doing the rounds to fine-tune training times and set-up, the auction house Artcurial auctioned off a selection of 116 collector's cars with a total value of 19.2 million euros, 50 of which had no reserve price.
Young against old
Alfa Romeo cars were both the oldest and the youngest car on offer. While the 6C 1500 Spider from 1928 stopped at EUR 195,000, a GTAm from 2021 found a new owner for EUR 237,800. They had been priced exactly the same.
On average, the cars were almost 44 years old, with only three cars from the pre-war period, of which only the 1934 Aston Martin Ulster with Le Mans history sold for EUR 986,000, slightly below expectations, while the 1934 Singer 1 1/2 LItre Le Mans Sports, which had also left its mark in the Le Mans history books, stopped at EUR 165,000.
Of the 30 cars of youngtimer age or younger, 24 vehicles were sold. The most expensive car in the auction, a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 from 2007, was also among them; the new owner paid EUR 1.324 million for it.
Alfa Romeo in front
As Artcurial was breaking up an Alfa Romeo collection at its auction in Le Mans, it came as no surprise that the Milanese brand was by far the most represented with 26 cars. Cars from Ferrari (16) and Porsche (11) were also offered in double figures.
With an estimated price of 3000 to 5000 euros, an Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint "Grand Prix" from 1988 was the cheapest car in the catalog. However, the bidders were somewhat more optimistic, and the car was sold for EUR 6380.
On average, 72% of the median estimate was bid for the Alfa, 20 of them were sold, while six were left standing.
An Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider Touring from 1960 was very well valued, finding its way into a new garage for EUR 133,400 at an estimated value of EUR 70,000 to 100,000, while a 2600 Spider Touring from 1963 was sold for just EUR 32,480, or significantly less than half of expectations. Other Alfas were also available at bargain prices.
Porsche 962C did not live up to expectations
The Porsche 962 C of the "Alpha Racing" team, in which Tiff Needell, David Sears and Anthony Reid finished third overall in the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans, was estimated at between 1.5 and 1.8 million euros.
The bidders did not want to go that far, the 962C was not sold at EUR 1.28 million.
A Renault 8 Gordini 1300 was also on offer with a racing history, but at a much lower price. EUR 40,000 to 60,000 was the estimate. The blue riot box, an original Cup car from 1969, was finally sold for EUR 74,240.
The 1984 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL, once driven by none other than Bébel alias Jean-Paul Belmondo, also fetched more than its price. The very dark blue, almost black saloon with an equally dark leather interior and contemporary AMG accessories was sold for EUR 34,800 (above the estimate of EUR 20,000 to 30,000).
The surprising Renault Megane
As a demonstration model and therefore not quite complete, nobody expected a particularly brilliant result from the 2008 Renault Sport Megane Trophy V6. The estimate was EUR 10,000 to 20,000, but the bidders obviously saw more in the yellow coupé.
In the end, the highest bid was EUR 46,000, and the sale price (including commission/surcharge) was as high as EUR 53,360.
A Porsche 968 from 1995 also made a good showing, with the new owner paying EUR 58,000 for the four-cylinder coupé instead of the expected EUR 25,000 to 45,000.
A Citroën 2 CV 6 Spécial from 1961 and a Lotus 61 from 1969 as well as a Land Rover were also able to outperform their estimates, while others had already been mentioned previously.
Overall, the bidders in Le Mans were somewhat selective; a sales rate of 67 percent seems solid, but Artcurial had certainly hoped for a little more in view of the high no-reserve percentage. Because some of the expensive cars were left behind, the sales achieved ultimately only amounted to around half of expectations.
Offered and Sold Vehicles
The following table lists all offered and sold vehicles with estimated prices, highest bids, and sale prices. The price conversion was made at the exchange rate valid on the auction day. All information is provided without guarantee.
| Lot | Car | Year | EUR Est from | EUR Est to | EUR HP | EUR SP | CHF SP | % Est | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 033 | Volkswagen Coccinelle 1302 LS Cabriolet Karmann | 1972 | 20'000 | 30'000 | 14'000 | 16'240 | 15'915 | -35.04%
|
V |
| 034 | Land Rover Discovery 300 TDi Camel Trophy Mongolie | 1997 | 30'000 | 50'000 | 75'000 | 87'000 | 85'260 | +117.5%
|
V |
| 035 | Porsche 944 Rothmans n°38 / 100 | 1984 | 25'000 | 35'000 | 28'000 | 32'480 | 31'830 | +8.27%
|
V |
| 036 | Porsche 968 | 1995 | 25'000 | 45'000 | 50'000 | 58'000 | 56'840 | +65.71%
|
V |
| 037 | Citroën 2CV 6 Spécial | 1991 | 10'000 | 20'000 | 20'000 | 23'200 | 22'736 | +54.67%
|
V |
| 038 | Citroën SM Automatique | 1973 | 35'000 | 50'000 | 30'000 | 34'800 | 34'104 | -18.12%
|
V |
| 039 | Talbot Lago Record T26 Berline | 1950 | 40'000 | 60'000 | 30'000 | 34'800 | 34'104 | -30.4%
|
V |
Möchten Sie alle Auktions-Ergebnisse sehen?
All information is provided without guarantee.
Legend: Column S = Status (V = Sold, N = Not sold, Z = Withdrawn, U = Under reserve)
Est = Estimate, HP = Hammer Price, SP = Sale Price
