On October 24, Artcurial Motorcars will be in Paris hosting the Automobiles sur les Champs sale. On the event, Artcurial Motorcars will offer three special cars that played an important role in the history of rallying.
Barn-find enthusiasts should keep their eyes out for the 1903 De Dion Bouton that has not been seen since 1968! Two rare examples are on offer for Aston Martin collectors While there will be around nine cars for the double chevron marque including the Méhari, 5HP Trèfle, a traction IIBL, and a DS.
Early in the year, Artcurial also sold some of inspirational designer, Kenzo Takada’s items. For the upcoming event, his own personal car, a 2008 Bentley Continental Flying Spur will also be on offer.
Artcurial Motorcars has already previously proven than they can get record prices for rally cars in the Manoir de ‘Automobile de Lohéac collection. This time Artcurial Motorcars will be offering the last two Group B cars in the same collection. The cars were sourced by Michel Hommell and Olivier Quesnel back in the 1980s, and since then the cars have been preserved in original condition.
The museum has decided to part with the cars so that they can give more space to rallycross cars that are more connected to the history of Lohéac.
1986 Citroën BX 4TC Gr B
In Rally Sweden, Jean-Claude Andruet was driving the example when he fought his way to 6th place. Recently, Andruet drove the car again and he shared that the car had exceptional handling on surfaces without much grip, like off-road due to its hydraulic suspension. The car has been kept in its original condition and it looks as if it just finished the Acropolis rally in 1986. There are very few genuine Citroën BX Group B factory cars that they can be counted on one hand. So this is a really rare chance to acquire an extremely rare collectible item.
1986 Nissan 240RS
In 1986, the Nissan 240RS Group B example set itself apart in a round of the World Championship, in the Ivory Coast Rally, when Alain Ambrosino drove it to finish 8th overall. The example is still in original condition, still brandishing the battle scars that it received from the different African rallies it took part of at the time. The different layers of paint is the testament of the different sponsors it has.
1993 Subaru Impreza Prodrive 555
This Subaru Impreza Prodrive 555 sets itself apart as it is the first Impreza that the genius British preparer Prodrive made that won points in a round of the World Championship. With Ari Vatanen at the wheel, he got those points at the 1000 Lak Rally in 1993. The example was raced for a total of four times during the 1993 and 1994 World Championships. The example was driven by official Subaru drivers and future race legends: Ari Vatanen, Richard Burns, and Colin McRae. It is arguably one of the most important Group A cars that has survived.
1903 De Dion Bouton
Artcurial Motorcars team has seemed to have become pros at barn-finds. For the upcoming event, they will be offering a 1903 De Dion Bouton that has recently been discovered. The car was rebodied during the 1910s. Since the 1930s, the De Dion has stayed with the same family ownership. The example was in running condition until 1968 and it was part of a parade during the village festival. It was then tucked away and didn’t emerge from the barn until fifty-three years later, in an exceptional well-preserved condition.
Vanquish Zagato Concept Coupé and the radical Vantage V8
There will be two fantastic Aston Martins on offer, and both comes from a collection of 16 cars and are both presented with no reserve.
The first car is a 325 Vanquish Zagato Concept series of which only 99 units were produced. The Vanquish Zagato made its debut in 2016 at the Villa d’Este concours. The example is car #20 in the limited edition run, and only has 3,680km on the odometer. It has a rare Rosso Corsa spec, 20-inch black and bronze 15-spoke wheels with black calipers, gloss black window surrounds, and bronze anodized side trim.
The Vantage GT8 is the second Aston Martin car on offer. One of only 150 units created of the special limited edition that took its inspiration from the GT2 and GTE competition models that Aston Martin created for the World Endurance Championship.
The example was the most radical road-worthy model from the V8 Vantage family. It is equipped with a 4.7-liter V8 engine from the Vantage S, it can produce 446bhp. It only has 25km on the odometer with a manual gearbox. The example is #67 in the series and is a real special future collector’s item.
Mercedes 600
Artcurial Motorcars have already previously sold two Mercedes 600s owned by Maria Callas. In the upcoming event, there will be two more examples of the Mercedes model that enjoyed the longest production run. The first example was sold new to Aga Khan. The other example was sold new to the nephew of the first Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix winner Maurice Trintignant, Jean-Louis Trintignant.
Artcurial Motorcars Managing Director Matthieu Lamoure shared, “Let’s celebrate the Automobile in the heart of Paris, with a line-up of the highest caliber. Automobiles with rare histories and provenance, many offered at no reserve.
