Excerpts from the extensive article by Mike Hanlon – 
The cluster of elite car auctions associated with Rétromobile grew in strength yet again this year with official auction house Artcurial and the world’s largest collectible car auctioneer RM-Sotheby’s both achieving their highest totals ever in Paris. Bonhams’ annual total dropped slightly from previous years, but the overall result was an all-time high auction total besting US$90 million in sales.
The cluster of elite car auctions associated with Rétromobile grew in strength yet again this year with official auction house Artcurial and the world’s largest collectible car auctioneer RM-Sotheby’s both achieving their highest totals ever in Paris. Bonhams’ annual total dropped slightly from previous years, but the overall result was an all-time high auction total besting US$90 million in sales.
The foundation for the auctions, the audience attending Rétromobile, also grew again this year to an all-time high of 132,000 over the five days of the exhibition, besting the 121,884 visitor record set in 2015 when the Barnfind of the Century (the Baillon Collection) went on sale.
Perhaps the most telling statistic to emerge from the sales was from Artcurial, which noted that its $47.9 million revenues came from buyers in 20 different countries, with those buyers constituting 84 percent of the sale total.
Automobile auctions appear to have made the digital transition far better than most industries, and although the marketplace may no longer be the rampant bull market we saw a few short years ago, with youngtimer classics now very much in vogue thanks to changing demographics, the collectible car industry looks in better shape than ever.
Here’s a selection of the more interesting lots that sold in Paris.
$15,672 | €13,800 | 2018 Bugatti Type 35 Child’s Car
Auction Description: Bonhams
$45,078 | €39,795 | 1961 Renault 4CV R1062 Beach car
Auction Description: Artcurial
Though the Fiat Jolly is the established star in this genre of beach cars, with a record price of $170,500, that’s a lot of money for a car with a 500cc or 600cc twin-cylinder motor and not a lot of space. There were far fewer of these cars produced using a Renault 4CV base car, there’s more room, more power (750cc four cylinder engine) and a considerably more reasonable price tag. It will never have the cachet of a Fiat Jolly, which had a string of celebrity owners such as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Mae West, Aristotle Onassis, Yul Brynner, John Wayne, Grace Kelly, Henry Ford II, Gianni Agnelli, ad infinitum, but it is rarer and better so … it’s surprising that the price wasn’t more than this given the estimate of €45,000 to €65,000.
$135,024 | €119,200 | 1944 Volkswagen 166 “Schwimmwagen”
Auction Description: Artcurial
Given that the record price for a Volkswagen Schwimmwagen is $230,724 (€149,500) set by Bonhams in Monaco in 2008, this amphibious vehicle might have sold for a whole lot more. It is a very close relation to the Volkswagen Beetle, because it is derived from Porsche’s Type 60, and hence has a common ancestor with the Beetle and the WW2 German Army’s Kübelwagen. Schwimmwagens are rare because so very few survived the war, with other recent auction results including $138,712 (KR840,000) by RM-Sothebys in Denmark, and $141,743 (€110,000) by Pierre Bergé & Associés in Brussels in 2013.
$197,136 | €174,032 | 1908 Mercedes-Simplex 35 / 45HP Recreation
Auction Description: Artcurial
This replica nearly doubled its low estimate (€90,000 to €120,000) for very good reason.
At least four cars are regularly claimed to be the world’s first sportscar. In 2016, we considered the validity of those claims, added another four contenders, and chose a new winner – this car. Follow that link for the long story on the history of what was essentially the first modern motorcar. Its reliability, speed, lower center of gravity and better protection for the occupants made it a favorite among royalty and the aristocracy … and racers who used it to win races at all levels.
This isn’t an original, but an exact, atom-perfect replica created at enormous expense by the legendary Pursang company of Argentina.
At this price, it represents a fraction of the cost of a replica from Pursang, and a substantial discount on the most recent Mercedes Simplex prices ($2,805,000 and $1,072,500). Authentic everything, made the same way as the original, and offering an authentic experience in every respect.
$241,610 | €212,750 | 1939 BMW 327/328 Sports Cabriolet
Auction Description: Bonhams
Introduced in 1938, the 327 sports-tourer featured a 55-hp version of BMW’s 1,971cc pushrod six cylinder engine, though it could be ordered with a sporting 80-hp Type 328 engine. In 1939, Autocar (UK) magazine timed a 328-engined Type 327 Sports Cabriolet at 96.77 mph (156 km/h) at Brooklands, validating what enthusiasts already knew – it was a rocket ship. One of only 428 produced, this is such a car, with matching chassis and engine and recently restored.
$241,610 | €212,750 | 1934 Lagonda M45 T7 Tourer
Auction Description: Bonhams
The Lagonda M45 was based on the company’s proven 3-liter model but fitted with one of Henry Meadows’ powerful 4½-liter six-cylinder engines. The esteem the car was held in by those that know can be best illustrated by the people who purchased it, and a near identical car to this was purchased new by Sir Malcolm Campbell, then the world speed record holder. Campbell’s car sold in 2007 for £111,500 ($230,324), which speaks volumes for this car.
$244,709 | €216,030 | 1936 Talbot-Lago T120 by Graber
Auction Description: Artcurial
The story of this car is extraordinary, and the body was created by Herman Graber for Chassis No. 90110, until it came to light that the original bodywork for that chassis was one of the fabled Figoni and Falaschi “Goutte d’Eau” art deco masterpieces, and one of only two examples with fully enclosed front fenders.
Hence, the bodywork was removed and replaced with the original configuration bodywork of the Talbot-Lago T150 C SS “Tear Drop” by Figoni and Falaschi and the car sold at RM-Sotheby’s Villa Erba sale in 2017 for €3,360,000.
The bodywork that had been removed was mated with a T120 chassis and a 3.0-liter motor provided to the car that was sold in Paris on Friday night for €216,030. The 4.0 liter insignia was kept on the body in respect for what it once clothed. The car was sold at that price with receipts totaling €295,000, so the restoration was therefore subsidized and the car was free. What a bargain!
$300,380 | €264,500 | 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C-2300 Berlina by Stabilimenti Farina
Auction Description: Bonhams
This is a fascinating car with a storied history, beginning with its bespoke body created by Stabilimenti Farina, the family of Italian automotive coachbuilders where a young Battista “Pinin” Farina learned his craft, and which also schooled such names as Pietro Frua, Felice Mario Boano, Giovanni Michelotti, Franco Martinengo and Alfredo Vignale. Most importantly, this car is highly original, having been in the collection of noted Iranian collector Fuad Majzub for many decades and purchased from his estate in 1991 by the vendor.
$364,566 | €321,840 | 1937 Peugeot 402 DS Darl’Mat Sport Roadster
Auction Description: Artcurial
This car is a collaboration between Émile Darl’Mat and Georges Paulin, and is unquestionably one of most elegant French sports cars of the pre-war period. The first of this model was run at Montlhéry, where it averaged 139.3 km/h (86.5 mph) for 24 hours, increasing demand to such a degree that the small company decided to produce a limited run. The cars finished seventh, eighth and tenth outright in the 1937 24 Hours of Le Mans, and fifth outright and first in class in the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans. Gorgeous, rare and fast, this car is equally at home contesting any concours d’elegance at the same time as being eligible for such motorsport celebrations as the Le Mans Classic.
$511,345 | €449,375 | 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 Sc Coupé
Auction Description: RM-Sotheby’s
A rare and beautiful car that was hand-built in limited numbers during an era of mass production. Just 98 such cars were built and this fully-optioned matching-numbers example was the show car at the 1956 New York Motor Show.
$540,098 | €476,800 | 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 S Convertible
Auction Description: Artcurial
A convertible version of the 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 Sc Coupé which sold for $511,345 | €449,375 in this listing. For those with a sense of history, the mechanicals from this model were the basis of the famous 300 SL Gullwing and Roadster which rarely drop below seven figures these days.
$567,058 | €500,600 | 1937 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Graber
Auction Description: Artcurial
Renowned coachbuilder Herman Graber clothed nine Bugatti 57 cabriolets, and given their beauty, it isn’t surprising that they all still exist, closely held.
$894,609 | €787,750 | 1931 Bentley 8-Liter Sports Tourer
Auction Description: Bonhams
$966,127 | €852,900 | 1936 Bugatti 57 Altantic modifiée Erik Koux
Auction Description: Artcurial
There were four Bugatti Atlantics made and three survive. One of them won the Peninsula Classic Best-of-the-best award 12 months ago, and is conservatively estimated to be worth $40 million. Another is owned by Ralph Lauren and from time to time it appears at concours events. Last time out in 2013 it won the Concorso d’Elegenza Villa d’Este in 2013.
This is a replica, built from a genuine Bugatti Type 57 and it is sensational – read the auction description – in the flesh, it presents as worth far more than the price it fetched, which works out at a 98 percent discount on a real one, yet delivering exactly the same experience.
$1,107,156 | €977,400 | 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport Corsica
Auction Description: Artcurial
$1,305,998 | €1,150,000 | 1928 Bentley 6½-Liter
Four Light Weymann Fabric Sports Saloon
Auction Description: Bonhams
$1,371,298 | €1,207,500 | 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing
Auction Description: Bonhams
$1,795,748 | €1,581,250 | 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540 K
Cabriolet A
Auction Description: Bonhams
$2,588,730 | €2,275,000 2018 Bugatti Chiron
Auction Description: RM-Sotheby’s
$18,968,675 | €16,745,600 | 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Touring Berlinetta by Touring
Auction Description: Artcurial
In selling for $19 million to an American collector, this 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Touring Berlinetta became the third most expensive pre-war car ever to sell at auction, behind a 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider by Touring that sold for $19,800,000 and Gary Cooper’s Duesenberg SSJ that sold for $22 million.
Having been in single family ownership for 43 years, this beautiful automobile has appreciated considerably in value since it was acquired for €10,000 in 1976.
(For the full article, plus all 73 photographs, please visit: https://newatlas.com/retromobile-collectible-car-auctions-2019/58424/)