Aguttes hits €4.5m for its autumn Paris sale

French fine art auction house Aguttes, the ‘other’ Parisian firm, which also handles watches, classic cars and anything relating to ‘luxury and the art of living', held an end-of-season sale in the French capital on 1 December.

Top-selling entry was the RHD 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that achieved €722,680 gross, a good figure for a car sold in a country that chose to legislate driving on the right over 100 years ago. An older UK restoration, the car was presented in non-original (the catalogue is not clear on this) Bond-spec Silver Birch with Burgundy interior. Well sold on the day.

Other Astons coming from the same collection (pictured, top) included:

* 1953 Aston Martin DB2/4 Drophead Coupé, Not Sold. Tough market for these cars now looking old. €300k to €400k estimate maybe €50k too much, even for desirable LHD
* 1962 Aston Martin DB4 Convertible Series 5, Not Sold. As above, also LHD, but catalogued well and had a good restoration record with the right people. Original Dubonnet with White Gold leather not to everyone’s taste – now Black with Burgundy. Faired-in headlamps and SS engine might have rescued it. Estimate of €900k to €1.2m is 2015 values.
* 1967 Aston Martin DB6, €255,200. RHD and automatic ’box. Sold at right price.
* 2020 Aston Martin V12 Speedster ‘Maverick Edition’, Not Sold. Yes, ‘Maverick’ is a reference to Top Gun and the heroics of Captain Pete Mitchell, a favourite of the first buyer. The market has yet to decide the real value of these cars, every one offered showroom fresh with hardly any distance covered. We do not think €900k to €1.2m is it.

At a glance:

* Gross, motor cars: €4,487,692
* Percentage sold by number: 64%
* Top-selling car: 1964 Aston Martin DB5 €722,680 gross, €623,000 net (est. €700k to €800k)     

Other cars of interest in the 89-car catalogue included a lovely 1967 Citroën DS 21 Décapotable that had spent all its life in France (€197,200), a rare 1959 Alpine A108 Cabriolet that sold way of estimate (€92,800) and a quirky 1961 Lancia Appia Sport Zagato bought for €77,720.

The sell-through-by number of 64% was market-average for a European event in late 2024. Non-sellers included the silver dry sump Ferrari 308 GTB not ambitiously estimated at €75k to €95k.

A genuinely fun – if expensive, at €580,000, pictured above – purchase was Lot 71, the 1981 Rolls-Royce Corniche ‘Prototype’ sponsored by Christian Dior perfume brand ‘Jules’ that ran in the 1981 Paris-Dakar rally. Jules also backed that year’s Le Mans-winning Porsche 936. Next stop – surely? – must be The ICE in St Moritz.

Aguttes' next classic car auction is on 16 March 2025. See: aguttes.com

Aguttes in Paris, 1 December 2024 – results

Total gross cars: €4,487,692
Number of cars not sold: 32
Number of cars withdrawn: 0
Total number of cars: 89
Number sold: 57
Percentage cars sold by number: 64%
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 40%
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 44%
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 75%
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 9%
Average value of cars sold: €78,731
Average year of cars offered: 1973

Photos by Aguttes