Artcurial Motorcars’ seventh annual Automobiles sur les Champs sale, held in the auction house’s garage on the corner of the Champs-Elysées and Ave. Montaigne in Paris, posted sales of more than $7.8 million. The sell-through rate was 80 percent.
“In addition to the challenge of transforming Artcurial’s private garage in one night into an exclusive exhibition space for some of the most beautiful cars in the world, it is a special privilege to be able to hold an auction of collectors’ cars in Paris, on the Champs Elysées,” Artcurila’s Herve Poulain said in a news release. “This has real cachet for collectors the world over.
“Once again, the amazing work carried out by Artcurial Motorcars has been acknowleged by ever increasing numbers of French and international collectors. Thanks to them, we have established world records for two Porsches this evening, and the department has realized sales of close to €50 million (nearly $62.5 million) for 2014, the biggest annual figure since we started. This is wonderful recognition for the expertise and the close-knit team at Artcurial.”
That’s $62.5-million figure for the year represented a 67-percent boost over 2013 totals, Articurial said.
Believed to be world auction records were the prices paid for two Porsches, with a 1974 Carrera 2.7 Targa going for $427,932 and a 1972 911 2.4S Targe bringing $280,800. (All sales figures include buyer’s premium.)
The top sale of the auction was $1.264 million for a 1964 Aston Martin DB5. The car was one of the few produced with left-hand drive.
Other top sales included a pair of Ferrari Dino 246s, a 1974 GTS going for $473,180 and a 1971 GT for $362,830.
Another highlight was the sale of the 1969 Morgan 4/4 roadster driven by Gerard Depardieu in the movie, Les Valseuses. The car sold for $50,450.
Another car with a celebrity link, a 1961 Jaguar Mk II formerly owned by French artist and inventor Pierre Soulages, brought $75,690.
In the accompanying automobilia sale, a child’s car, a half-scale Porsche 936/78 turbo, a replica of the one Jacky Ickx drove to victory in 1976 and 1977 at Le Mans, sold for $34,400. Seven contact sheets from the production of the Steve McQueen film Le Mans went for $2,646, some five times its pre-auction estimate.
Artcurial’s next sale is February 6, 2015 at Retromobile.
