1959 DB HBR4 Coupe

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 7, 2020

Charles Deutsch and Rene Bonnet built cars under the Deutsch-Bonnet marque until 1947 when they shortened it to DB. Their HBR5 model was sold between 1955 and 1961, with both road cars and race cars constructed.

The HBR5 was powered by an 848cc flat-twin. Cars with the smaller 747cc flat-twin were dubbed “HBR4,” such as this one here. It was purchased new as a road car and modified by its first owner, Jacques-Edouard Rey, for competition use.

It was successful its first time out, so much so that Rene Bonnet ended up building 10 factory examples. The interesting competition history for this car includes:

• 1960 Rallye Monte Carlo – DNF (with Andre Guilhaudin and Jacques-Edouard Rey)
• 1961 24 Hours of Le Mans – 20th (with Guilhaudin and Jean-Francois Jaeger)

The car remained in Rey’s possession until 1989, and it was restored in 1994 to its 1961 Le Mans configuration, which is how it sits today. How many cars have competed in the Monte Carlo Rally and Le Mans? This one should sell for between $155,000-$200,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial in Paris.

Update: Sold $190,176.