Last weekend, the ‘Auction & Motion’ sale of the renowned French auction house Aguttes returned to Autoworld, also making use of the flooding of illustrious guests to see the Zoute. The cars were on display at the museum until Saturday, when the auction took place.
The curators brought together an impressive selection of vehicles, from pre-war Art Deco masterpieces to modern-day supercars, and we would like to share our top 10 favourite lots. This list has nothing to do with any objective category, we just wanted to bring you the most characterful, expressive or striking cars from the fleet.
Starting with a mid-range lot, we bring you the best mixture of dolce vita and Italian frugality, a 1964 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTC. Launched in 1963, the Giulia Sprint GT featured a classic four-seater body designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone. One of the rarest variants was the limited-edition GTC convertible, the only four-seater in the Giulietta/Giulia family, with only 999 units produced between 1964 and 1966. The fact that the car fetched only a meagre 54,268 euros can be explained by its somewhat shabby state, which contradicts some of the statements in the catalogue. If you want to make cash, better get your facts right…
The classic BMW shows that a new class with a weird design does not always guarantee a cash cow. Although the Neue Klasse was one of the most important milestones in the history of the Bavarians, and the car is close to showroom shine, it only fetched 30,348 euros. Even if that was above estimates, it is peanuts compared to the Alfas and the amount of car you get for your money.
This recipe for disaster is also shown in our next favourite. The 2003 Aston Martin DB7 Zagato did not sell, despite its V12 engine, rarity and unique lining. Though we also found the estimate north of 220,000 euros excessive.
Next up is a true Art Car, a 1987 Ferrari 328 GTS with an exterior painted by Peter Klasen that sold for 105,545 euros. Peter Klasen is a German artist associated with the New Figuration and Narrative Figuration movements. Since the late 1990s, he has produced a handful of art cars, including two racing Porsches. This Ferrari GTS was commissioned in 2010 by a French gallery owner with a passion for mechanical art.
The 1969 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAm illustrates well that at an auction, bidders are not paying by the kilos. Am stands for American, as the model is derived from the American version of the GTV 1750. The car sold for 79,268 euros, double that of the Bavarian mastodon. This lightweight wonder uses high-end materials to tech the fear in a highly competitive 70s touring car segment.
We wanted to delegate the next duo to our list for the sake of diversity, since we get to see fewer American cars at European high-end auctions. The reason for this is evident in the auction prices.
The blue 1963 Chevrolet Corvette C2 Cabriolet sold for 48,252 euros, and the 1960 Chevrolet Corvette C1 did not sell at all, despite its 4.6-litre V8 and classic race pedigree.
The red 1949 Delahaye 178 with a body Coachbuilt at Vanvooren was sold for 185.516 euros, well worth it for such a postwar Art Deco icon. Only 25 Delahaye 4.5-litre cars remain, including seven Type 178s. Each of these Delahaye 4.5-litre cars is unique due to its specific features and tailor-made bodywork.
We are reaching the podium, and the next two cars count among our personal favourites. Pegaso was a Spanish company noted for its trucks and motor coaches and also produced high-end sports cars for a short but memorable period of seven years. Pegaso’s chief technical manager was Wifredo Ricart, who earned a reputation as chief engineer at Alfa Romeo, designing the successful Tipo 512. In 1945, he was hired in his home country before he could take up a job in the US at Studebaker. Instead of taking that flight, he signed up to lead the creation of a new Spanish automotive group, ENASA, that consolidated the leftover of Hispano-Suiza’s Spanish operations. The Pegaso Z-102 was the most renowned sports car of the brand, available in coupé and cabriolet versions, with individual bodywork furnished by coachbuilders.
The green 1952 Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta with factory ENASA chassis was estimated between 350,000 and 450,000 euros, but did not sell. The 1954 black Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta tailor-made at Saoutchik was sold for 424. 236 euros, below the estimate of 5-700,000 euros. Of the some 80 cars built, this specimen fell in the mid-range, below rarities like the extreme Cupula and Thrill coupés, but still a special coachbuilt vehicle. In total, only 18 of the 86 Z-102 models were bodied by Saoutchik. The design of the second series was a complete evolution from the first series: the lines were more taut and aerodynamic, and the headlights were redesigned entirely. This design is now considered to be Saoutchik’s swan song, as he closed his workshop after completing the last four Series 2 bodies, which were then confiscated by the French state.
The last car is arguably the most unique and breathtaking car of the auction. The 1984 Montcorgé is a weird six-wheeler that was part of the Dakar Exhibition at Retromobile 2024, though it never raced to Dakar. The Montcorgé Dakar was designed and constructed for the 1983 Beijing-Paris Motoring Challenge.
The tubular Kevlar body was paired with a 5.8-litre Chevrolet engine, mounted on a Porsche 930 4-gearbox drivetrain. Following the cancellation of the Beijing-Paris race, the Jules 2 was entered in the 1984 Paris-Alger Dakar Rally, but only reached the Senegalese capital without reaching the finish line.
We found it highly unfair that the car could not find a buyer, as we were most eager to see what prices such extroverts can fetch at auctions.
