Featuring nearly 100 collectors’ motorcars, including 50 lots presented without a reserve, and four private collections, Artcurial’s auction ‘Automobiles sur les Champs’ is a must-see for collectors and enthusiasts alike. The French auction house’s sale is taking place on 24 October and celebrates the art of rallying, with three special cars that have played an important part in the history of this discipline. Exciting lots include a 1903 De Dion Bouton – which has remained out of sight since 1968 – rare Aston Martins, a collection of Citroëns and Kenzo Takada’s Bentley Continental, to name a few.
One of the highlights of the sale is undoubtedly this 1993 Subaru Impreza Prodrive 555. It was the first Impreza built by British genius Prodrive to win points in a round of the World Championship. This was during the 1000 Lakes Rally in 1993, driven by Ari Vatanen. It was raced four times during the 1993 and 1994 World Championships, by the three official Subaru drivers who have since become legends: Ari Vatanen, Colin McRae and Richard Burns. This makes it one of the most important Group A cars still in existence.
Two fabulous Aston Martins also star in the sale, which come from a collection of 16 cars belonging to a yearling breeder, all presented with no reserve.
The first is a Vanquish Zagato, one of just 99 coupés in the 325 Vanquish Zagato Concept series unveiled at the Villa d’Este concours in 2016. This example, number 20 in the limited edition, with just 3680 km on the clock, sports a particularly rare spec: ‘Rosso Corsa’, 20-inch black and bronze 15-spoke wheels with black calipers, bronze anodised side trim and gloss black window surrounds.
The second Aston in the collection is a Vantage GT8, one of 150 examples of the special limited edition inspired by the GT2 and GTE competition models developed by Aston Martin Racing to take part in the World Endurance Championship. This was the most radical road-going variant of the V8 Vantage family, lighter and with the 4.7-litre V8 engine from the Vantage S producing 446 bhp.
It was in this car that Jean-Claude Andruet fought his way to 6th place overall in the Rally Sweden. He recently had the chance to drive this car again, and told Artcurial that the hydraulic suspension gives the car exceptional handling on surfaces without much grip, for example off-road.
This authentic car is in impressively original condition, still looking as if it’s just completed the Acropolis rally in 1986. The number of genuine Citroën BX Group B factory cars can be counted on one hand, making this one of the last opportunities for collectors to acquire such a rare gem.
This Nissan 240 RS Group B is, incredibly, in original condition, still bearing the battle scars from various African rallies it took part in, with different layers of paint attesting to its successive sponsors.
In the expert hands of Alain Ambrosino, this car distinguished itself in the Ivory Coast Rally in 1986, a round of the World Championship when it finished 8th overall.
Having previously sold the two Mercedes 600s that belonged to Maria Callas, Artcurial Motorcars is now presenting two further examples of the limousine that enjoyed the longest production run of any Mercedes model. One was sold new to the Aga Khan and the other to actor Jean-Louis Trintignant, who was also the nephew of the famous driver Maurice Trintignant, the first to win a Grand Prix in the Formula 1 World Championship.
“Let’s celebrate the Automobile in the heart of Paris, with a line-up of the highest calibre. Automobiles with rare histories and provenance, many offered at no reserve,” says Matthieu Lamoure, Managing Director, Artcurial Motorcars.
