Renault 8 Gordini

1969 Renault 8 Gordini 1300

Offered by Artcurial | Le Mans, France | June 20, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

The Renault 8 was the successor to the Dauphine and was produced exclusively as a four-door sedan. The base car was not super powerful, but when the Gordini-tweaked variant went on sale in 1964, two years after the initial 8 launch, things got a little spicier.

Gordini cars initially got a 1.1-liter inline-four that resulted in a power bump over the stock car. Later Gordinis also could be had with a 1.3-liter unit that made about 89 horsepower – roughly double the stock 8.

These were fun rear-engined sports sedans. This one competed in the Gordini Cup in 1969 and later resided in the Renault Classic Collection. It’s a relatively low-mile, real-deal Gordini with recent historic event activity. The estimate is $43,000-$65,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $83,493.

Fiat 600 Jungla

1966 Fiat 600 Jungla

Offered by Artcurial | Le Mans, France | June 20, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

The standard Fiat 600 looked nothing like this. It looked like a Fiat 500. And the Multipla version looked like a minivan microcar. This Jeep-like thing used bits from the standard 600 and Multipla, but it isn’t just a re-bodied 600.

The Jungla was conceived as an Italian military Jeep that could be dropped out of cargo aircraft. Most of the running gear was lifted from the 600, including the 633cc inline-four. It was repainted red at some point in the past was was put into a collection in 2019.

Only about 600 examples of the Jungla were produced, and they remain fairly uncommon. This one has an estimate of $21,000-$32,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Withdrawn.

Alfa 6C 1500

1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Spider

Offered by Artcurial | Le Mans, France | June 30, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

The 1500 variant of the Alfa Romeo 6C was the first, and it was a car that would launch a dynasty of pre- (and post)-war sporting machines. Introduced in 1927, it would be available in five forms of tune (from Normale up to Super Sport Testa Fissa) through 1929, with outputs ranging from 44 horsepower to 84.

This car is powered by an example of Vittorio Jano’s 1.5-liter inline-six that made 44 horsepower. The bodywork here isn’t original but is of the type that this car could’ve had back in the day.

Speaking of back in the day, this car was sold new in Argentina and was eventually acquired by Pur Sang – the Bugatti replica maker who split the body from the chassis. It’s been re-assembled and is ready to run. The estimate is $235,000-$280,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Withdrawn.

Spyker C8 Aileron

2009 Spyker C8 Aileron

Offered by Artcurial | Le Mans, France | June 30, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

The C8 was Spyker’s big product during its low-volume production run that lasted from roughly 2000 through about 2016. The so-called “second generation” of the model launched with the C8 Aileron at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.

The Aileron featured the same 4.2-liter Audi V8 as previous C8s, still rated at about 400 horsepower. The styling was the big update, with longer and lower bodywork. It also had an optional automatic transmission, which this car has.

Only 17 Ailerons were built. Regular “first gen” C8s are relatively easy to come by when compared to this, which is from an era of supercar manufacture where actual figures are hard to come by. It’s kind of exciting to see one up for sale, even with an estimate of $400,000-$485,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $495,740.

575 GTC

2003 Ferrari 575 GTC

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

Sometimes it is easy to forget that Ferrari had a GT sports car presence in the early 2000s. They built two GTC examples of the 550 Maranello (after production had wrapped for the street car). Those were sort of proof-of-concepts for this, the 575 GTC, based on the 575M Maranello road car.

Just 12 of these were built by Ferrari. They featured a 6.0-liter V12 rated at 605 horsepower. It’s a tube-frame race car with a composite body, making it much lighter than the road cars. The competition history for this chassis, #2204, includes:

  • 2004 24 Hours of Spa – 22nd (with Andrea Garbagnati, Antoine Gosse, and Peter Kutemann)
  • 2005 1000km Spa – 44th, DNF (with Gosse, Kutemann, and Hans Hugenholtz)
  • 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans – 39th, DNF (with Jean-Rene de Fournoux, Stephane Daoudi, and Jim Matthews)
  • 2005 1000km Nurburgring – 40th, DNF (with Gosse, Daoudi, and Kutemann)

The V12 was overhauled in 2015, and the car now wears its 2005 Le Mans livery. This is a factory Ferrari race car with Le Mans history. It has an estimate of $3,500,000-$4,100,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Hispano-Suiza HS26

1933 Hispano-Suiza HS26 Sedan by Vanvooren

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

Hispano-Suiza’s French arm opened as a remote factory in 1911, and by the end of WWI, it was their main production facility, especially for their largest, most expensive cars. In 1931, the company took over Ballot, and with that, they introduced a model called the Ballot HS26, except that the departing Ernest Ballot objected to his name being used. So the Hispano-Suiza HS26 was born.

Also referred to, at least in Artcurial’s catalog, as the “Junior”, it was smaller than the company’s concurrent models in 1931: the J12 and T56. Power is from a 4.6-liter inline-six good for 96 horsepower. Just 124 examples were built through 1934.

This car was bodied as a four-seat, four-door pillarless sedan by French coachbuilder Vanvooren. Its interior was upholstered by its first owner, a leather company. The car was hidden during WWII and wasn’t really recommissioned until the 1960s. Only 13 HS26s are known to still exist, and despite their “junior” status, their still command a big price. In this case: $305,000-$395,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $279,467.

D.B. Barquette

1951 D.B. Barquette by Antem

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

Deutsch-Bonnet, later D.B. after 1947, was a low-volume French sports car manufacturer that was perhaps best known for the Le Mans and the HBR models. Artcurial initially had this one tagged as an HBR5 but later changed the description, presumably because the HBR5 didn’t launch until 1955.

This is apparently one of about 20 “Antem” models designed by Antem, which was located near Paris. Only seven of those were “Barquette” racing cars with aluminum bodies. The non-race versions had steel bodies. Power is from a 747cc Panhard flat-twin. This one had early competition history in Portugal and Morocco.

It’s noted to require a few things to take it back to stock, but it still remains eligible for events like the Mille Miglia and Le Mans Classic. The estimate is $120,000-$165,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $116,986.

Vanvooren-Bodied Delage

1938 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet by Vanvooren

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

The D8 was Delage’s masterpiece. It was available in various forms, but the D8-120s seem to always have the most beautiful coachwork. The D8-120 was available from 1937 through 1940 and was the ultimate iteration of the D8.

Power is provided by 4.7-liter inline-eight rated at 115 horsepower. French coachbuilder Vanvooren built the body here, and it seats five. It was restored around the 1980s in a pretty excellent two-ton cream and brown. Check out the artillery-style wheels: the fronts are cream and the rears are brown.

This coachbuilt Delage is expected to fetch between $705,000-$920,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Rosengart Supertraction Cabriolet

1939 Rosengart LR539 Supertraction Cabriolet

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

The first Rosengarts were Austin Sevens built under license in France. Later on, the company expanded its range with models of its own design. They partnered with Adler to explore front-wheel-drive layouts in the early 1930s, and their development of this layout led to the car you see here.

Called the Supertraction, the LR539 model launched at the 1938 Paris Motor Show and used Citroen Traction Avant mechanicals. The stock coupe and cabriolet bodies were much more stylish than those of the Citroen, however. The engine is a 1.9-liter inline-four that made about 50 horsepower.

This one was discovered in 1976 and was later parked in the 1980s. It’s not current running, but is a very rare example of the model, which was produced for just over a year before the war shuttered production. This sale has two of these in it, with this one being much nicer. The estimate is $43,000-$65,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Benetton B195

1995 Benetton-Judd B195

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 3-4, 2023

Photo – Artcurial

Benetton’s first year in Formula One was 1986, and their last was 2001 before they became the Renault factory team. The team’s first year using Renault power was 1995, in which they campaigned the Rory Byrne/Ross Brawn-designed B195.

The car featured a 3.0-liter Renault V10 capable of up to 700 horsepower. This one now has a 3.5-liter Judd V10 in it. Drivers Michael Schumacher (in his last season before departing for Ferrari) and Johnny Herbert ran for the team, which won its first and only constructors championship this season. Schumacher also won his second title this season, with some of it spent behind this chassis (#02).

The catalog states that Schumacher won races in this chassis but doesn’t specifically state which ones. Oh well!. The Judd engine was installed prior to the current owner’s purchase, and it’s been gone over apparently. Artcurial estimates this car to sell in the range of $2,165,000-$3,250,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.