Paris quite expensive and surprisingly cheap
Paris, and the Rétromobile in particular, is a place of contrasts. While an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Touring Berlinetta from 1939, which the last owner bought 43 years ago for the equivalent of around EUR 10,000, was auctioned off for EUR 16,745,600 (hammer price EUR 14,600,000) at Artcurial in the basement yesterday evening, the fair organizers had set up an area further back (as they did last year) with vintage and classic cars up to EUR 25,000. And there were some very attractive offers.
There were more than half a dozen Fiat 500s to choose from, with prices ranging from high four-digit figures to EUR 17,000.
A Range Rover Classic or a Porsche 928 S could also be found here, an Austin-Healey Sprite "Froschauge" was asking EUR 23,000, a pretty Fiat 850 Coupé was available for as little as EUR 10,500, and there was a choice of various affordable MGBs as well as an Alfa Romeo GTV6 or a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 (manual gearbox).
What particularly caught our eye, however, were two special bodies, namely a four-door Fiat 128 by Francis Lombardi, which was available for EUR 14,500 ...
... and a Fiat 600 with a pretty Vignale coupé body, which was priced at EUR 18,000. You couldn't buy a Concours entry ticket on four wheels for much less.
Which also proves that Paris does not necessarily have to be expensive, even if around 98 percent of the exhibition square meters would have you believe otherwise.
Incidentally, the Rétromobile Paris is still open until tomorrow evening (Sunday).
And our reports on the three auctions by RM/Sotheby's, Bonhams and Artcurial, as well as on the fair itself, will of course be live on Monday at the latest.
