Artcurial Auction was a true highlight of Retromobile 2022

The auction reported over 10 million total sales value for the supercars of the “Ferrari Lawyer” and 30 million in total revenue covering pre-war monsters and modern hypercars.

One of the highlights of Rétromobile is the auction of high-end luxury cars at the show’s exclusive auctioneer, Artcurial. This event also proves to be one hell of a car spotting opportunity, with vehicles that you can tell your grandchildren by the fireplace.

Artcurial is famous for its record-breaking results at Retromobile. They are also related to Hervé Poulain, the creator of the Art Car series, with its iconic liveries designed by famous artists like Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons.He is in his eighties now and not so fast, even at the action, as he used to be at Le Mans. But they indeed go far, as Artcurial Retromobile is one of the best-selling automotive auctions in the World. In 2016, they sold a Ferrari F335 Scaglietti for 32 Million euros, and in 2019, an Alfa 8c for over 16 million.This year, they also promised a lot of sights, with highlights such as Fangio’s Gordini, the Bandini Collection, also the Léandri, Lempereur and Bruno Lafourcade collections, as well as the Peugeot 908 driven by four-time Indy champion Sebastien Bourdais at Le Mans. We recommend to have a peek in their online catalogue with sales results and lots of details on the cars.

Upon acquiring the catalogue, visitors can access the floor to observe the exquisites and rarities. The dedicated stage is like an exhibition within the exhibition, as they occupy nearly half of the second floor of Hall 7. This year, their chambers constitute a significant proportion of the show.

The highlights of the auction

The most prominent car was a 1968 Porsche 907 with an estimated 6 million euros. The race car with the chassis nr 907-031, fetched €4,390,400, a record for the model.

One of the cars destined for a greater good (or at least bid 🙂 ) was the 1950 Gordini Type 18S, estimated between €800,000 and €1,600,000.

The car was driven by Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1950 Le Mans 24 Hours (he did not finish, though, due to engine failure) and at other races (notably the Rome-Liège-Rome race in 1951). In the end, it fetched €1,013,200, the best ever result for a Gordini.

Another highlight was the 1990 Harley-Davidson Softail Heritage 1340 ” Laura Eyes ” and a 2001 Audi A8 W12 6.0L of French singer Johnny Halliday. In the end, the Harley Davidson was sold for €470.840 while his young-timer Audi barely passed the €30.000 mark.

The other star of the auction was not so successful at the auction, as nobody bought the 2011 Peugeot 908-07 endurance race car. In 2005, Peugeot launched its Le Mans 24 Hour race bid with a turbocharged V12 diesel-engined vehicle. With the new 908 presented for the 2011 season, Peugeot moved from a V12 to a V8 engine. Sébastien Bourdais and Anthony Davidson won the Zhuhaï 6 Hours with this specific car, allowing Peugeot to finish the 2011 season with a sixth victory in seven races.

The 908-07 is considered the ultimate evolution of the 908, featuring every technical development available to the model in 2011. The car in the sale was entirely overhauled by Peugeot Sport and delivered to the current owner in October 2017, and since then, it has only been started up at demonstrations.

The cars of the “Ferrari lawyer” scored almost a third of the auction

The biggest score was the collection of the “Ferrari lawyer”, selling for over 10 million euros in total. The deceased collector Etienne Léandri was a defence lawyer at the Monaco Bar and State Councillor with a lifelong passion for the Ferrari brand.

True to his nickname, his collection promised an exceptional selection of eight sports automobiles, bringing together a stunning bloodline of hypercars from Maranello for over thirty years.

The 1989 Ferrari F40 with 13,284 km on the clock was advertised as some of the best-preserved specimens that ultimately achieved €2.102.400, well above the estimate and some earlier auctions we saw (like the Zoute Bonhams).

The 1996 Ferrari F50, with only 1,318 km on the clock, sold for a new model world-record €4,161,600. Reports note that this was the first time an F50 went beyond 4 million.

The 2003 Ferrari Enzo with 4,760 km fetched 2,846,000 €. Safe to say, we cant speak of depreciation for this model either…

The latest hypercar is a 2013 LaFerrari with merely 952 km (yes, under 1000kms in total). We know Monaco is a small country, but we just can’t help wondering how Ferrari is carrying out its maintenance. Our guess is, they drive to the dealership in reverse : ). Equipped with hybrid technology, this car represents the very best of the marque’s expertise, mended by 90 years of racing success and an unrivalled pedigree in road-going hypercars.

Knowing the strange price evolution of rare supercars, we are not that surprised that the newest car of the quartet did not outsell the predecessors: the lucky bidder paid €2,714,440, close to the far side of the estimate of €2.200.000 – 2.800.000.

This corner also featured a relatively new 2020 McLaren Elva, a modern reinterpretation of the first road cars developed by Bruce McLaren. This car slightly differed from the one we saw last year at InterClassics Brussels.

For the pre-war cars, you need to click on the next page.