Tag Archives: artcurial

Bandini Veloce Zagato

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1955 Bandini 750 GT Veloce Zagato

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Here’s another Bandini, one that seems somehow even smaller than the others. The 750 GT was not a model that ever entered “production” by Bandini and was instead a one-off. It features aluminum Zagato coachwork over a elliptical tube chassis that supposedly only weighs about 60 pounds.

Power is from a twin-cam 750cc inline-four rated at 67 horsepower when new. The car made its way to the U.S. by 1959, when it started upon a sports car racing career that included:

  • 1960 12 Hours of Sebring – DNF (with Victor Lukens)

There were a few class victories sprinkled in during the 1960 season as well. The car was purchased by Ilario Bandini’s nephew in 1998, returned to Italy, and restored. It’s now offered from his collection with an estimate of $450,000-$700,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Bandini 750 Saponetta

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1957 Bandini 750 Sport Internazionale Saponetta

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | March 18, 2022

Photo – Artcurial

Ilario Bandini’s little car company was founded in 1946 and was pretty popular in the 1950s, taking SCCA class championships in the middle of the decade. They built a number of models over the years, some as late as the 1990s, and it seems that very few were all that similar.

This particular car features a streamlined body and similar mechanicals to the company’s 750 Siluros. The engine is a 747cc inline-four that made 68 horsepower when new. A total of nine Bandini Saponettas were built. The competition history for this chassis includes:

  • 1957 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Carlo Camisotti and Giovanni Sintoni)

Bandini himself campaigned this car for years thereafter, selling it in the late 1960s. It was restored in the late 1990s/early 2000s and has been used in the Mille Miglia Storica. It now carries an estimate of $675,000-$1,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $707,815.

Alpine A610

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1991 Alpine A610

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | October 24, 2021

Photo – Artcurial

The A610 was the last Alpine before Renault recently relaunched the brand. It was sort of an evolution of the Renault-Alpine GTA and was produced between 1991 and 1995. Only 818 examples were produced during that time, making the car pretty rare today.

The turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 is mounted out back of the 2+2 cabin. Output was rated at 247 horsepower when new, which was enough to propel the car to a 165-mph top end. This car is actually pretty interesting and unusual. A great 90s sleeper sports car.

This particular car has remained with a single owner since new. That owner was an Alpine racing driver who had the factory turn up the boost, delete the A/C, and pop in an ABS override button. The pre-sale estimate here is $40,000-$57,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $34,707.

Hobbycar

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2002 Hobbycar B612

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | October 24, 2021

Photo – Artcurial

The Hobbycar is an amphibious car produced in France by Hobbycar, a company founded by Francois Wardavoir. The B612 was introduced in 1992, and 52 were produced before the company went out of business. They also had a second model called the Passport.

The engine is a Peugeot 1.9-liter turbodiesel inline-four that developed 92 horsepower. Once in the water, hydrojets provide propulsion. Steering on water is by joystick as well. It has seating for four, but it has no top – and once it’s in the water, there’s only about four inches between the waterline and the side of the craft. So… don’t take it out in a storm. Or a slight breeze.

These are pretty rare, and I’m not sure I’ve seen one come up for sale publicly in the last 10 years. It should bring between $35,000-$45,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $34,707.

Dinalpin A110

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1970 Dinalpin A110 1100 VA

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | October 24, 2021

Photo – Artcurial

As sporty and rare and near-cottage-industry as the original Alpines were, it’s pretty amazing how much they licensed the design. Early Alpines were built all over the world by other companies, including by Willys in Brazil and FASA in Spain. Different brand names sprang up from other countries, including Bulgaralpine in Bulgaria and the Dinalpin in Mexico.

That’s right, this is a Mexican sports car, in that it was built there by Diesel Nacional (DINA), a Mexican bus and truck manufacturer. The Dinalpin A110 was sold between 1964 and 1974. There were 1100 and 1300 models. The 1.1-liter inline-four version was only available until 1971. This car started as one of those but was upgraded to 1300-spec by a private owner.

Only 200 Dinalpin 1100 models were made. For some reason, despite it being in France and looking exactly like an Alpine, the pre-sale estimate is much lower than the French version: $40,000-$63,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $44,426.

NSU Sport Prinz

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1963 NSU Sport Prinz

Offered by Artcurial | Monaco | July 19, 2021

Photo – Artcurial

NSU started out as a knitting machine manufacturer in 1873 and was acquired by Volkswagen in 1969. The company was then merged with Auto Union, which would later just become Audi.

The Prinz first went on sale in 1957 as a homely two-door sedan with a rear-mounted inline-twin. They were not powerful. They were slow. But they were meant as a “people’s car.” John Glenn famously drove one while his fellow astronauts had Corvettes. In 1958, NSU introduced the Sport Prinz, which was, as the name implies, a sporty version of the Prinz. It was powered by a, in this case, 598cc inline-twin.

The 598cc engine was only available from 1962 until the end of Sport Prinz production in 1968. In all, 20,831 were produced. This one remained with its original owner in Saint-Tropez until 2011, and it’s now expected to sell for between $12,000-$18,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $9,153.

Matra MS670

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1972 Matra-Simca MS670

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2021

Photo – Artcurial

Matra, the French car company, had been giving prototype racing a go since the mid-1960s. They struck gold in the early 1970s with the MS670, which would win at Le Mans in 1972, and again in ’73 and ’74 in MS670B/C forms respectively. It was a monster. And this chassis is the actual 1972 Le Mans winner.

This was the first MS670 produced, and it was one of four cars entered at the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s powered by a 416-horsepower, 3.0-liter V12. It was driven to victory by Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill.

The car has been the property of Matra since new, residing in their museum since 1976. It has been restored, and there was some kind of court judgment about the car in 2020 that is forcing it to be sold, which is kind of a shame. But perhaps someone with the $5,000,000-$9,200,000 it’s going to take to buy it will also have the resources to demonstrate it. You can read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $6,907,200.

Bristol 405

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1955 Bristol 405 Drophead Coupe

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 5, 2021

Photo – Artcurial

Bristol’s “400” line of cars began with the company’s first vehicle, the 400, in 1947 and continued through the 412, which was built through 1981. And, until now, we’ve featured an example of each one in the sequence, except for the 409 and this, the 405.

The 404 and 405 were built roughly alongside one another, with the 404 being a two-seat coupe, and the 405 was available as a ragtop or a sedan. It was the better seller, with 308 built between 1955 and 1958. Only 43 of those 308 were convertibles.

This one is powered by a 2.0-liter inline-six rated at 125 horsepower. It was restored decades ago and entered its current collection in 2006. The pre-sale estimate is $125,000-$185,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $172,840.

Delage D6 3-Litre Cabriolet Milord

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1948 Delage D6 3-Litre Cabriolet Milord by Guillore

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | November 1, 2020

Photo – Artcurial

It’s amazing that this car was produced in 1948. Mostly because it looks like a coachbuilt classic from the 1930s, not something that could’ve been bought new five years before the Corvette debuted. What’s even crazier is that the D6 3-Litre was produced until the end of Delage in 1954!

The D6 was introduced in 1932, and it was updated over the years. The 3-Litre model was introduced after the war in 1946 and is powered by a 3.0-liter inline-six rated at 90 horsepower. This example carries Cabriolet Milord coachwork from Guillore.

It wears an older restoration and was part of its previous owner’s collection for 40 years. It is now estimated to bring $140,000-$190,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Georges Roy Torpedo

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1910 Georges Roy Type O Torpedo

Offered by Artcurial | Grezillac, France | September 27, 2020

Photo – Artcurial

Automobiles Georges Roy was founded in Bordeaux in 1906. They started out with single-cylinder cars and steadily worked their way up to sixes. The company was popular enough locally that it was able to survive for a few decades.

Passenger car production wrapped in 1929, and truck production continued on through 1932. This Type O Torpedo features a cylindrical engine compartment and circular radiator grille. Power is from a 2.2-liter inline-four.

The car actually appears quite large from the angle shown above, but its side-profile proportions make it seem much smaller. This is a rare touring car from a company not often represented at public sale. Seldom used in the last few years of museum duty, this car is offered with an estimate of $16,000-$21,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $41,836.