Artcurial finishes 2020 with €2m Paris sale

Hervé Poulain, Matthieu Lamoure and Pierre Novikoff closed the year out with a workmanlike result at the company HQ in the French capital. Playing to a select saleroom, the trio sold 57% of the cars in the catalogue. Unfortunately, the headlining 300 SL ‘Gullwing’ was not one of them*.

Top billing went to the highly original, genuinely interesting ‘garage-find’ AC Ace Bristol (pictured, top).

At a glance:

* Gross, motor cars: €1,965,677 (€2,900,667 with post-sale 300 SL)
* Percentage sold by number: 57%
* Top-selling car: 1960 AC Ace Bristol € 359,600 gross, € 310,000 net (est. €300k to €500k)* 
* Well sold? The AC Ace
* Well bought? Perhaps the US-delivered 1957 Facel FV4, at €156,600 gross (est. €150k to €180k)

The red AC benefitted from only two owners (both friends) and just 18,000km from new. With likely its original paint and interior, it had emerged “straight from the shed” in highly original condition with a raft of paperwork, tax discs, tools and hood.

The 300 SL failed to generate meaningful bidding on the day, and with its interesting British history – purchased new by 23-year-old Sir Jeremy Boles, a friend of Mike Hawthorn – might well do better offered in the UK. Reading the catalogue description, only a rear axle replaced in period seemingly tarnishes the original silver/blue Tartan cloth car’s attractions.

Other non-sellers included the Porsche 993 RS, the Beverly Hills-delivered Mercedes 280 SE 3.5 Convertible and the Maserati Bora.

Artcurial Motor Cars’ next outing is in February 2021 when – format to be decided – it will offer the 1972 Le Mans-winning Matra-Simca 670. It’s a car with a fascinating back-story to be examined by K500 nearer the time.

*STOP PRESS: As this article was published we learned that the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing had been sold post-sale for €935,000 incl. premium.

Artcurial Automobiles sur les Champs, 3 December 2020 – results

Gross: €1,965,677 (€2,900,667 with post-sale 300 SL)
Number of cars not sold: 28
Number of cars withdrawn: 0
Total number of cars: 65
Number sold: 37
Percentage cars sold by number: 57%
Percentage by value average low/high estimate: 27%
Percentage of cars sold below low estimate: 54%
Percentage of cars sold not met avge of estimates: 78%
Percentage of cars sold met/exceeded top estimate: 8%
Average year of cars offered: 1972
Average price of cars sold: €53,126
Percentage of cars offered at No Reserve: 38%

Photo by Rémi Dargegen for Artcurial, strictly copyright