Tracta Gephi

Posted on June 13, 2017 by classiccarweekly

1927 Tracta Type A Gephi

Offered by Osenat | Fontainebleau, France | June 18, 2017

Photo – Osenat

It’s interesting when there is a car in an auction catalog with a low estimate of over half a million dollars and it’s online lot list entry consists of a single sentence. Luckily, you can download Osenat’s full catalogs as PDFs and, though they’re in French, it’s possible to glean enough info to know that this is a truly special car.

Automobiles Tracta operated between 1926 and 1934. They specialized in front-wheel drive cars, and this low-slung race car exhibits founder’s Jean-Albert Grégoire’s expertise in that field. The FWD layout offers the ability to mount everything very low, making it look (and operate) a lot faster than most of its competition.

The first example was built in 1926, prior to the company even being founded. A second example was built for the 1927 24 Hours of Le Mans, of which the catalog describes in detail. It’s a pretty wild story involving Mr. Grégoire driving the race in bandages the day after suffering a terrible accident. At one point, it seems, he had to pull over and exit the car in pain. Le Mans did their best to outlaw “napping under a tree mid-race” for 1928. It’s very unclear if this car was entered in the 1927 race, but it was for sure in 1928.

It’s race history includes:

1928 24 Hours of Le Mans – 16th (with Roger Bourcier and Hector Vasena)
1929 24 Hours of Le Mans – 15th, DNF (with Lucien Lemesle and Maurice Benoist)

The engine is a 1.0-liter straight-four, probably supercharged. The owner of this car heard it drive past his house in the 1950s and chased it down. Years later, in 1958, he was finally able to acquire it, barely beating out an Italian who was also on the hunt for this very car. It’s been the pride of his collection for 59 years. It’s a wonderfully interesting automobile – one of the sportiest French cars of the 1920s – and it has Le Mans history. It is expected to sell for between $560,000-$790,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $786,394.

1928 Tracta

Posted on February 8, 2017 by classiccarweekly

1928 Tracta D2 Sport

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 9, 2017

Photo – Bonhams

SA des Automobiles Tracta was a French car company founded by engineer Jean-Albert Grégoire in 1926. Tracta built some of the first successful front-wheel drive vehicles anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, business was never super profitable and Grégoire shuttered his company in 1934 to become a design consultant.

Interestingly, a front-wheel drive Tracta won its class at Le Mans in 1927 and continued to compete there through 1930. This car is powered by a 1.6-liter straight-four from SCAP. The body on this car looks really long, but it’s a two-door sports car and it is eligible for the Le Mans Classic.

This example was sold new in the U.K. – one of just a few ever sold there. It was restored (mostly, anyway – the interior looks original) in the 1980s while owned by a front-wheel drive specialist. It’s a driver and will be a talking point wherever it goes. Tractas were never built in large numbers and don’t change hands often. This one should bring between $64,000-$85,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ lineup.

Update: Sold $63,938.

Grégoire Sport Cabriolet

Posted on January 21, 2015 by classiccarweekly

1958 Grégoire Sport Cabriolet by Chapron

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 6, 2015

Photo – Artcurial

Jean-Albert Grégoire founded Tracta in France in 1926. They built some beautiful, rare, front-wheel drive luxury cars up through 1934. The company may have closed before the war, but Grégoire showed off this highly-styled Sport Cabriolet in 1955 with a body by French coachbuilder Chapron.

It is powered by 2.2-liter supercharged flat-four making 120 horsepower. The car is, like Grégoire’s Tractas before it, front-wheel drive. It’s a rare, attractive car with 1950s engineering and a coachbuilt body from an era past.

Less than 10 of these were built and this one was owned by the same family for the first 50 years. It should sell for between $120,000-$155,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Artcurial in Paris.

Update: Sold $152,817.