ITALIANS TO CAUSE A STIR IN PARIS

The Rétromobile week auctions will kick off in the French capital on 31 January, also the celebrated showʼs opening day, with the first of four sales held by RM Sothebyʼs, Bonhams, Artcurial and Osenat respectively. At the nearby Les Salles du Carrousel, RM Sothebyʼs will offer a wealth of modern supercars, as well as a wild 1991 Porsche 962C racer, estimated at €1.2-1.5m (£1-1.3m), a 1956 Ferrari 250GT coupé Boano prototype, guided at €1-1.4m, and the sole surviving example of the 1958 Fiat 500 Spiaggina Boano. First owned by Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli, this quirky, open-topped ʻbeach carʼ is expected to fetch €270-290,000.

On 1 February, at the Grand Palais, Bonhams has its own Fiat star, a 1948 1100S Berlinetta Mille Miglia ʻGobboneʼ (above) with race provenance and a €400-450,000 estimate, while the Artcurial Motorcars sale a day later will take place at the Salon Rétromobile itself, in Hall 2.2. There, a 1975 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 TT12 sportsprototype (above right) is likely to be the auction highlight, of the same type that won that yearʼs World Championship for Makes.

Driven by Derek Bell and Jochen Mass to two Interserie victories, this example is expected to sell for €1.2-1.6m. It will be joined by a roadgoing 1965 Ferrari 275GTB, with period rally provenance, estimated at €2.2-2.7m.

There will be pre-war gems aplenty on offer at Artcurial, too, among them a rare 1913 Delaunaybelleville Type HB6 chauffeur coupé, a 1909 Léonce Bobrie Torpille and a group of Bugattis including a Type 57 Galibier.

Details of Osenatʼs 3 February sale hadnʼt been published at the time of writing; look out for updates at osenat.com