1949 Georges Irat Cabriolet Prototype by Labourdette

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2016

Photo – Artcurial

This car, which looks like a toy, was built by Georges Irat, a company that sold its first car in 1921. They built less than a thousand cars up until World War Two broke out. During the war they turned to electric cars but never got very far.

After the war, Georges Irat wanted to get back into auto production. They showed a prototype in 1946 and another in 1949. This is that second car. It was powered by a 2.0-liter straight-four. The body was designed by coachbuilder Labourdette. After the 1949 auto show, production never resumed, though the company tried building smaller cars in Morocco for a few years.

Years later, the body of this car was discovered in the old Georges Irat factory. To make it show-worthy, a chassis from a Simca 8 was thrown under the car, so, you know, they could actually drive it. Pretty – and very unique – this end-of-the-line prototype from little-known Georges Irat should bring between $55,000-$110,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $64,109.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Monaco 2021, $85,980.