Fortune favours the brave – Artcurial sells the Alfa Romeo 8C 2.9 for €16.4m

An enlightened buyer bucked the trend for more modern cars when they won the star of this week’s auctions with a final bid of €14.6m. Add in Artcurial’s whopping premium and that’s €16,388,000 gross, around $18.6m.
 
Under low estimate, the final price would not buy any other 2.9 in the world – we can’t wait to see it post-restoration. If any car can be ‘well bought’ for $20 million ‘all in’, here it is.

Later, the much-talked-about 1966 Serenissima Spyder (above) smashed through its €1.3m to €1.8m guide to sell in the room for €3,650,000, or €4,124,000 with commission. One of motor racing’s romantic what-ifs, it’s a car that deserves sympathetic recommissioning to retain its ‘just off the track’ appearance but with totally sorted mechanicals. Considering it was available privately last year for €3 million – with two other Serenissimas included in the package – Artcurial definitely earned its fee on this one. Bravo Matthieu Lamoure’s team for producing the auction of Rétromobile week.

Artcurial’s Three Musketeers – Maître Hervé Poulain, Matthieu Lamoure and Pierre Novikoff – conducted the sale in debonair fashion. The cacophony of old has been replaced by wry musings from the rostrum: “€40,000? The price of the mascot alone!” Clients were encouraged bid, bid, bid! Extravagant oohs! and ahs! punctuated proceedings. They are a very likeable crew.

Writing as the sale continues, other star lots have been less successful: the Bugatti T51 was probably €250k away from selling. It, and the less-than-straightforward Porsche 550 and Maserati A6GCS, failed on the night.

Full report to follow…

Photos by K500