Djet III

1964 Rene Bonnet Djet III

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Artcurial

Fun fact: the Rene Bonnet Djet was the first rear-mid-engined production car. There were four series of Djet produced by Bonnet before production was taken over by Matra in 1965. They would continue producing various versions for the next few years.

The Djet III was produced between about 1962 and 1964 and featured power from a Gordini inline-four that in this example has been rebuilt to 1.1 liters and is capable of 105 horsepower. This car features a tubular trellis frame and is one of 15 Djet IIIs produced. Other series of cars had more conventional frames.

Bodywork is fiberglass, and this one was restored about 15 years ago, with the work apparently fresh enough that the engine still requires break in. It now has an estimate of $85,000-$110,000. Click here for more info.

Duesenberg J-346

1931 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia, Island, Florida | February/March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Can we talk about how good this car looks painted silver with green wire wheels and wide whitewalls? What a combo. This is a Murphy-bodied Model J, and it has known ownership history back to new.

But what makes it interesting is that it was repainted, and the interior refreshed, in 1951. It remained with one owner for 61 years and appears to have been somewhat recently acquired by its current owner. The car was offered privately late last year but went unsold. There is a document on their website tracing the car’s history, but it is somewhat confusing.

In any case, this is what you’d call a “driver”, which is the best kind of car, much less a Model J. Not only that, but it’s a highly desirable Murphy-built body style. There are plenty driver-level Model J sedans, but most open cars have been [over] restored. It has a 6.9-liter straight-eight capable of 265 horsepower, and more info can be found here.

Delaunay-Belleville HB6

1912 Delaunay-Belleville HB6 Coupe-Chauffeur

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Artcurial

Based north of Paris, Delaunay-Belleville was one of France’s – and the world’s – most lauded marques prior to WWI. These were top-tier luxury cars that sat at the very top of the market. Many of their cars were coachbuilt, including this one, with the body here thought to have been produced by Audineau.

The company’s fortunes dipped during the 1920s and they lost some of their brand cachet. Somehow, the company survived WWII and even offered cars up until 1950, presumably on a by-order basis.

The HB6 (not to be confused with cross-town rival Hispano-Suiza’s later H6B), was a pre-WWI model powered by a 4.5-liter inline-six rated at 25 taxable horsepower. Just 1,308 examples were built from 1911 through 1914. This one remained unsold until 1919, when it was purchased new by the current owner’s grandfather, who used it during his wedding four years later. The car was then laid up in stables for 90 years. It now has an estimate of $162,000-$271,000. Click here for more info.

Voisin C30 S

1938 Voisin C30 S Coupe

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 2024

Photo – Gooding & Company

Gabriel Voisin was a visionary designer – of both automobiles and aircraft. But brilliance doesn’t necessarily transfer over to business skills. By 1937 Avions Voisin had been reorganized under SADAV, and the new heads of the company tapped Voisin to design a new car.

It would be his final pre-war design. Long known for their use of Knight sleeve-valve engines, Voisin would shift away from them for the C30 and move to the (likely) 3.6-liter supercharged Graham inline-six. Only about 30 C30s were built before the war put an end to production.

This is said to be the only “C30 S” Coupe produced. It bounced between two owners between 1945 and 1998. For the next 10 years it resided with one owner and was sold in 2008, presumably into the Mullin collection. You can read more about it here.

The Guidomobile

1939 Guidobaldi Guidomobile

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Artcurial

If someone said “Guidomobile” to you, chances are this is not what you pictured. This car was built – from scratch – by Francois Guidobaldi, an inventor and former cycling champion. After winning a cycling championship in the 1900s, he went on to patent a carburetor, a gas generator, and and more into the 1970s. But in 1939 he was working on this, which very much looks like a period Auto Union grand prix car.

Most incredibly, he built the engine from scratch. And it is an eight-cylinder two-stroke unit measuring 1,357cc in displacement and shaped like a star. It has dual ignition, two Roots-type superchargers, and a self-designed carburetor. It is said to have been capable of 180 horsepower. It resides right behind the driver.

Guidobaldi died in 1971, and the current owner purchased it out of a museum in 2009. It was only later, during a restoration, that the body was finally crafted in aluminum based on sketches by the original constructor. This one-off piece of madness has an estimate of $285,000-$395,000. More info can be found here.

Talbot-Lago T150C Roadster

1937 Talbot-Lago T150C Roadster

Offered by Osenat | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Osenat

There are versions of the Talbot-Lago T150C that are among the most expensive cars in the world and far and away the most expensive Talbot-Lagos. This isn’t one of them, but it is quite an attractive car. The T150 launched in 1937, and the “C” variant meant it had a competition chassis.

Power is from a 4.0-liter inline-six rated at 140 horsepower. There were racing variants of the T150C (hence the competition chassis) as well as very rare short-chassis “SS” models. It is unclear who did the body work for this car, but in the 1950s the front end was reworked with a modified grille and bumpers.

This car was on the show stand in Paris in 1937 and remained with its first owner for 40 years. The third and current owner purchased it in 2018. Originally red, it was painted black under original ownership. The current owner had it repainted red and black. It has an estimate of $650,000-$985,000. Click here for more info.

Phantom II Experimental Dual Cowl Phaeton

1930 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Dual Cowl Sports Phaeton by Whittingham & Mitchel

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Artcurial

The Phantom II was produced by Rolls-Royce between 1929 and 1935, upping the ante over the original Phantom and eventually being replaced by the Phantom III. Of the 1,681 produced, apparently nine were “experimental” chassis. This is one of those.

Powered by a 7.7-liter inline-six, this chassis was originally fitted with Park Ward limousine bodywork. It was later used as a factory test car before being sent back to the factory in 1933 to be modified to “normal” Phantom II specs. Later that year its next owner sent it to Whittingham & Mitchel of London to be re-bodied.

And that bodywork is striking and very unconventional for a Rolls. The low beltline, tiny rear doors, swept fenders… it’s a sporty Rolls for sure. The estimate here is $175,000-$260,000. More info can be found here.

M.A.S.E. Racer

1922 M.A.S.E. Type V Course

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Bonhams

It occurred to be as a wrote the headline for this that the crossover point on the Venn diagram for people interested in a bare chassis from Manufacture d’Autos, Outillage et Cycles de St. Etienne (M.A.S.E.) and people interested in Mase the rapper contains a number of people that can be counted on one hand.

M.A.S.E. the car company existed between 1921 and 1925 and they specialized in small cars. The company was founded by Gustav Eiffel’s grandson, Rene Le Grain-Eiffel. Power on this example is from either a 904cc or 1.1-liter inline-four (the catalog does not specify) that was rated at seven horsepower.

This car was actually raced when new and was later given to a M.A.S.E. employee in lieu of payment. It was raced again, historically, after the war. and has, essentially, no bodywork as it was intended for competition. The engine was rebuilt about 10 years ago, and it is road legal. The estimate is $76,000-$100,000. More info can be found here.

1909 Bobrie

1909 Bobrie Torpille

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 2024

Photo – Artcurial

Here’s a relative unknown. Leonce Bobrie was a mechanic who worked for Barre before building his “Torpille” between 1907 and 1909. The car is actually longer-looking than the photo above shows, and it has two left-side doors hinged in the middle. Seating is in tandem, and the car has one central headlight up front.

It’s a cyclecar in spirit, even if it predates the cyclecar craze. It’s thought that about a dozen were built prior to WWI, and this one has remained with the Bobrie family since new. Engines were sourced from Ballot and were four-cylinder units rated at either six or eight horsepower.

Even the Beaulieu encyclopedia doesn’t have an entry for this car. However, they do have an entry for Torpille, a French three-wheeled tandem-seater from 1920. This is the only Bobrie-built car left, and it has an estimate of $32,000-$54,000. Click here for more info.

Delahaye 235 Cabriolet

1951 Delahaye 235 Cabriolet by Chapron

Offered by Osenat | Paris, France | February 3, 2024

Photo – Osenat

Delahaye’s 135 model dated back to before the war. In 1951 the company introduced the 235, which didn’t outright replace the 135, but sort of complemented it as a more modern take on the car. Produced through the end of Delahaye in 1954, the 235 proved not enough to save the company.

Power is provided by a 3.6-liter inline-six that was rated at 152 horsepower. A top speed of over 100 mph was claimed, and body work was supplied by some great French coachbuilders, including Henri Chapron on this example.

Only 84 examples of the 235 were built. This was the third of those 84, and it was the first Chapron cabriolet. It was on the stand in Geneva and was first owned by Willy Breitling (and was later titled in his famed watch company’s name). It has not been restored and has an estimate of $142,000-$185,000. Click here for more info.