Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | March 21, 2021
Photo – Aguttes
Ernest Zurcher and Herman Luthi founded Zedel in Switzerland in 1896. In 1903, they set up a second manufacturing location in France, and it was successful enough that the Swiss location eventually closed, making Zedel a predominantly French marque thereafter. It was taken over by Donnet in 1919, and the marque was changed to Donnet-Zedel in 1924.
The Type P is said to feature a “large displacement” inline-four that was rated at 15 taxable horsepower when new. The body is the story here, though. It looks long and low. It is long, but I think the shadows are making the roof look much more “chopped” than it really is. It makes it look menacing.
The pre-sale estimate on this car is $12,000-$18,000. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.
Offered by Aguttes | Neuilly, France | March 21, 2021
Photo – Aguttes
Reading is hard. It has taken me far too long to realize that this car was built by Demeester, of Courbevoie, France, and not by Deemster, of London. Automobiles Demeester was founded in late 1905 by Leon Demeester and Dominique Lambejack.
The company built small cars, starting with twins and singles and eventually progressing to a line of four-cylinder cars before the company closed in 1914. This very early example is powered by a 1.1-liter inline-four that made eight horsepower. Demeester bragged that its eight-horsepower four-cylinder engine was the smallest such powerplant in the world.
This car has been in the ownership of the same family since 1966. It even retains its original bodywork. Side note, based on other sources, the 1.1-liter four may not have been introduced until 1907, meaning this car could’ve been built a little later than it is currently titled. It should sell for between $24,000-$36,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
The A112 is probably Autobianchi’s most famous model aside from the Bianchina. It was produced between 1969 and 1980 and carried styling by Marcello Gandini at Bertone. The car was actually produced in eight different series, and this car is a Series VI, which was offered between 1982 and 1984.
The Abarth version of the A112 was a hot little hatch in its day. These are largely the best preserved A112s, and this particular example is powered by a 1,050cc inline-four rated at 70 horsepower.
As Aguttes points out, the end of the Series VI A112 Abarth marked the end of Carlo Abarth’s involvement with the model, which fizzled out as Autobianchi tried to move on from the A112. This Belgian example actually looks pretty nice, and it carries a pre-sale estimate of $14,000-$19,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Aguttes | Sochaux, France | September 20, 2020
Photo – Aguttes
At first, I thought that, after PSA’s acquisition of Opel, the company was shedding itself of part of its heritage collection. Brightwells is selling off part of Vauxhall’s heritage collection, and now we have this sale of Citroen and Peugeot prototypes and old cars, all from Peugeot’sMuseee de l’Aventure. That collection houses over 450 vehicles, with just 130 on display. So it appears that they are just thinning the herd.
We’ve actually featured one of Sbarro’s Berlingo-based creations before. This is another. Whatever is under the hood is not stated, but it’s almost certainly an inline-four of between 1.4 and 2.0 liters in displacement.
This prototype is described as a leisure vehicle for windsurfers. Which is a very specific demographic. The interior is bizarre, it has no roof, and it has no doors. Remember when companies made concept cars with no relevant production details? This car carries a pre-sale estimate of $16,500-$21,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
The 1907 Renault Vanderbilt Racer was another big sale, bringing $3,332,500. Two old German cars sold, but the final sales prices were not listed, presumably because the new buyer is weird. They were the Opel Phaeton and the Demarest Benz. The other Benz failed to sell, as did a previously-featured Boyer and Knox.
RM’s Amelia sale boringly saw this 2003 Ferrari Enzo sell for the most money (there were so many cool classics here, so a late model Ferrari is kind of a bummer). It sold for $2,782,500.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
All of our feature cars sold, led by two Duesenbergs. The Stationary Victoria sold for $1,325,000, and the Convertible Coupe brought $1,132,500. Cars that crossed the $100k mark included the Talbot-Lago at $250,000 and the Muntz Jet at $117,600.
Aguttes’ March sale might just be the last one we get to recap for while, considering that most sales in late March and heading into April and May have been either canceled or postponed until later in the year. You know, pandemic and all.
Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | March 15, 2020
Photo – Aguttes
Facel S.A. was a French company that got its start building aircraft components. From there they turned to furniture and then automobile bodies. Finally, in 1954, Facel Vega was founded to build complete automobiles. They were like a small, independent, French version of Alfa Romeo. Their cars were luxurious, expensive, and exclusive.
The Facellia first appeared in 1960. It was like a French alternative to the Mercedes-Benz 190SL. A small, sporty car. A new one would’ve fun about $4,000 in the U.S. at the time. The Facellia was produced from 1960 through 1963.
Coupes and cabriolets were offered, with the convertibles coming first. Power was from a 1.6-liter inline-four good for 115 horsepower, but the engines were built in-house by Facel, instead of earlier cars that used Chrysler V8s. This was the car’s undoing.
Pretty much every car had to have its engine replaced under warranty, which ruined Facel’s reputation and ate most of their cash. By mid-1961, a fix was in place for the F2 series of cars, but the company was gone by 1964. In all, 1,045 examples of the Facellia were produced. This one should bring between $43,000-$54,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
Offered by Aguttes | Lyon, France | November 9, 2019
Photo – Aguttes
The PL 17 was Panhard’s follow-up to the Dyna Z, a mid-size front-wheel-drive car that was sold between 1954 and 1959. The PL 17 was offered between 1959 and 1965 and could’ve been had as a sedan, wagon, or cabriolet.
The “Tigre” represented the more powerful of the two engine options. It was a 50 horsepower, 851cc flat-twin. The engine was mounted up front and drove the front wheels. This 1963 model received some of the revisions brought by Panhard for 1962, including a padded dashboard and more comfortable seats.
The cabriolet was cut from the lineup in June 1963, and only about 400 had been produced up to that point. This car is one of just 125 built for the model year. Restored in 2016, the car is expected to bring a healthy $67,000-$90,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
We shifting gears a little bit now. From here out, our monthly auction rundowns will only cover auctions from which we actually featured cars. Sorry all others, I don’t have the time. Life is busy. That also means it will be a straight-shot chronologically (well, based on when the results are published anyway). Previous rundowns used to be broken up a little bit, as we’d only feature one result from any particular auction house per highlight post. Not anymore!
We start this time around with Bonhams in Goodwood, where the top seller, by some margin, was the Williams F1 car we featured. It sold for $3,385,271, while the other F1 car – the Toyota roller – brought $86,416. Rounding it out was the Lister Storm for $583,311. Most Interesting goes to this 1956 Cooper T39 that sold for $151,228. Click here for more results.
Photo – Bonhams
Next up is Brightwells’ Leominster Classic & Vintage sale. This 1961 Jaguar XK150S coupe was the top sale at $134,401.
Historics held a sale at Brooklands in July, and this 1981 Porsche 911 Turbo took top sale honors, selling for $114,822.
Photo – Historics Auctioneers
All three of our feature cars sold, with the Jensen bringing the most: $84,016. The Bristol 411 sold for $49,708, and the Healey $22,404. Click here for complete results.
Aguttes’ all-Citroen sale saw the Coupe Concorde we featured fail to find a new home. The Citela concept car we featured a while back also failed to sell here. Top money went to this 1968 Citroen DS 21 Cabriolet for $238,579.
Photo – Aguttes
Two other previously-featured concept cars did manage to sell here. The Eco 2000 SA 109 went for $1,137 and the Tubyk $7,156 – both way down from what they brought not all that long ago at a different sale. More results are available here.
Finally, we have Silverstone Auctions. Fresh feature cars in this sale consisted of the Renault 5 Turbo 2, which sold for $100,258. The top sale was $1,030,431 for this 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL.
Photo – Silverstone Auctions
A previously-featured AC Aceca sold here for $167,096. Final results are available here and here.
Offered by Aguttes | La Ferte-Vidame, France | July 21, 2019
Photo – Aguttes
The DS is one of a few extremely iconic models produced by Citroen since their founding in 1919. It was produced for 20 years – from 1955 through 1975. Many different models were available, including four-door sedans, Safari wagons, and a much rarer two-door convertible.
What the factory never produced was a two-door coupe. Henri Chapron was a French coachbuilder who was also responsible (and built for Citroen) the “factory” convertible variant of the DS. He also experimented with a few two-doors with fixed roofs for special customers and offered a couple of different variations. This is the “Concorde” coupe – one of just six built.
Based on the DS19, it is powered by an 83 horsepower, 1.9-liter inline-four. When new, this car cost almost three times the base price for a four-door DS19, which probably helps explain why only six were built. It should bring between $115,000-$170,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.
We pick up in March at Mecum’s Phoenix sale. They took to the desert a few months after everyone else and managed to move this 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T/ Hemi Convertible for $1,430,000.
Next up we have a sale from Aguttes in Paris. The Salmson we featured didn’t sell (perhaps it was the scandalous model name), though this swoopy 1935 Fiat 508 CS Balilla Aerodinamica managed to squeeze $225,620 out of someone in the audience. Final results can be found here.
Photo – Aguttes
Onward now to H&H Classics’ sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. The Bristol 406 we featured sold for $44,045, and the 1939 Imperial brought $14,681. The top sale was $579,934 for this barn find-condition 1936 Bentley 4.5-Litre Vanden Plas Tourer. More results are located here.
Photo – H&H Classics
Now we hop back across the channel for Osenat’s March sale, where the top overall sellers were two of our feature cars: the Gardner-Serpollet at $282,946 and the early Delahaye at $175,157. We’ll award Most Interesting to this 1951 Simca 8 Sport that could’ve been yours for $33,684.
We wrap up in Ft. Lauderdale with RM Sotheby’s where this 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari sold for $3,080,000.
Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s
Our feature cars all found new homes, with the Stutz Blackhawk leading the way at $55,000. The Lotus Esprit was next, selling for $50,600, and both the Biscuter and Goggomobil microcars sold, at $4,675 and $20,350 respectively.
Feature cars from auctions past included this Packard Clipper station wagon that sold for $56,100 and this Mochet microcar for $7,590. Click here for final results.
