Brits offer good value in Paris
As the French capital bathed in warm sunshine on 8 April, some 64% of the 69 lots at Artcurial’s Champs-élysées sale found buyers, the French auction house raising a total of €2.5m at the event. The top price of the day went to a rebodied 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C-2500 SS that, although much modified, appeared particularly seductive with its two-tone yellowand-black Spider coachwork. Estimated at €200-300,000, it changed hands for €274,160.
Rather more utilitarian was a left-hand-drive 1976 Range Rover. Looking superb in period Bahama Gold, the restored two-door went to a new home for a hefty €71,520 (€50-80k). Lower down the offroader food chain was a ’73 Citroën Méhari that was comprehensively restored in 2017 and sold for a huge €23,840, against a pre-sale figure of €12-18k. Just as appealing – and providing a rather more sporting driving experience – was a pretty 1968 Simca 1200 S. Offered at no reserve, the rear-engined fastback sold for €26,224 – bang in the middle of its €20-30k estimate.
Other French coupés at the sale included a 1957 DB HBR5 that had competed on the Tour de France Auto in 1958 and ’59, and made €53,640. A special-edition Peugeot 205 GTI Griffe looked superb and went for a vast €48,872 (estimate €20-40k), reinforcing the growing appreciation for the hot hatch.
Alongside the Peugeot, a graceful 1937 Rolls-royce 25/30 sports saloon with coachwork by Hooper seemed conspicuously good value at €42,912 (€40-60k), while a French-market 1965 Vanden Plas 4 Litre R that had reputedly been modified in period by Harold Radford – including the fitting of a slightly incongruous Rolls-royce grille – raised €16,688 (€10-15k).