Diving behind the scenes of the Artcurial Motorcars auction<

The value of a sale of vintage cars at auction is not necessarily judged by the number of zeros at the stroke of the hammer. Far from the millions of euros for a Ferrari 250 GTO or a Bugatti Type 59 Sports, the annual meeting of Artcurial Motors - Automobiles sur les Champs - will be a happy mix of genres on Sunday. Some star cars: an Aston Martin Zagato Coupé, a rare rally Citroën BX 4TC Group B, an authentic ex-Vatanen Subaru Impreza Group A WRC, between 350,000 and 650,000 euros. But also more affordable models, around 10,000 to 15,000 € (starting price): a Fiat 500L from 1971, a... Ford T Torpedo from 1923 (!), a Simca P60 Plein Ciel and a whole catalog of Citroën (2 CV, DS, CX, Méhari...) with low mileage. There will be the collection of a great French boss who is retiring and wants to reduce his volume a little. Or the cars of a yearling horse owner: his mechanic is retiring and he is not sure to find one with the same attachment to his mechanics...

"For this event, explains Matthieu Lamoure, director of Artcurial Motorcars (450 cars sold at auction per year), we are at home, in our garage on the Champs-Élysées in Paris: we can therefore allow us to include popular cars in the sale in greater proportion than during our sale at the Retromobile show, for example. Lamoure is very attached to this fairly wide choice in his sales, to suit all budgets and all tastes: "It's not a passion reserved for the rich, it is shared by all social classes, from the small mechanic who has restored his Renault 8 Gordini for months to big bosses, movie stars or princes who afford the rarest models. For €20,000, you can expect to drive a Jaguar; for €40,000, in a Ferrari or a Rolls Silver Cloud II! It's less than a modern top-of-the-range sedan... The real brake is the distorted idea of ​​the cost of insurance or the lack of spare parts: for Jaguar, we remanufacture them everywhere in England, not more expensive than for a new BMW. »

“What we like are good bidding battles (...) The people who bid are a bit playful. When you lift your finger, the car is yours for a short time, until the next auction.

The order of the catalog is also important for the atmosphere on the day of the sale, which will be hosted by Hervé Poulain (auctioneer, he sold his first car in 1973). “The choice requires all our attention and great debates! says Pierre Novikoff, deputy director of Artcurial Motorcars. It's an alchemy that will set the pace. The rule is never to separate a collection because its grouped presentation is also a form of homage to pay to it: at the end of the sale, it will be dispersed... This is the fantasy of many collectors, they dream of sell everything to someone else but that never happens! We do not find a strictly identical personality, with exactly the same tastes for the same cars. "Hervé will put as much passion into selling a Méhari as the ex-Trintignant Mercedes 600," continues Matthieu Lamoure. Why was the Méhari put first, for example? Because €6,000 to €10,000 with no reserve price is nothing! A gift ! We therefore know immediately that it will exceed the estimates and put the atmosphere in the room. A DS Pallas or an SM behind, it's the same! Everyone wants it! »

“And what we like are great bidding battles,” explains Pierre Novikoff. That's fantastic! Even though our fun is on stage with the audience in the room, it also works with people on the phone because often we know who they are. The people who bid are a little playful. When you lift your finger, the car is yours for a short time, until the next auction. Even business leaders get drunk on having been stealthily and successively "owner" of a dozen beautiful cars, the time of an afternoon.

“There is a somewhat secondary psychological state in the seller, the buyer and even among the auctioneers, recognizes Matthieu Lamoure. People who have already bought stay because it's a show: we have fun, sometimes I even sing! Pierre delivers little anecdotes about the car, we make even those who cannot afford it dream or have already seen it in the exhibition preceding the sale. »

There remain the myths of the auction... Belonging, “even if Hallyday does not guarantee to make 200% more or Delon, 300%. We don't know anything at the start. It's very subjective,” warns Pierre Novikoff. As for the barn find, the car abandoned to the hens in the middle of the straw bales, it does still exist: “There is a certain logic to that, justifies Pierre Novikoff. France had lots of cars everywhere and was a rural country for a long time too. For there to be barn finds, you need cars...and barns! “There are fewer in New York,” remarks Matthieu Lamoure. But Monaco is filled with cars from the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s, covered in dust in the boxes of the underground car parks. »

3 bounties

Citroën 2CV 1954, between €15,000 and €20,000

In terms of 2 CV, it is the year of the car that will be the purchase trigger: we want one of the first “Deuche”. Of the million vintage cars listed by the French Federation of Vintage Vehicles (FFVE), the most important brand in volume is Citroën (2 CV, DS, CX) with an average of €18,000 per car. “Citroën remains in the hearts of the French,” underlines Matthieu Lamoure, director of Artcurial Motors.

1968 Mercedes 600, between €110,000 and €140,000

This 1968 Mercedes 600 limousine that belonged to actor Jean-Louis Trintignant appears for the first time on the collector car market. It comes from a large collection in Italy, where Trintignant is very popular. If the "membership" factor plays a role, it does not necessarily take precedence over the condition of the car, which will always determine the starting estimate.

1993 Subaru Impreza WRC Prodrive, between €450,000 and €650,000

This Subaru Prodrive group A from the heyday of the David Richards team was driven by Ari Vatanen and Richard Burns (chassis 004). Found in the classifieds. Its authenticity and its track record are certified: “On the rally models, there is a lot of traffic, warns Matthieu Lamoure, in particular on this authenticity of the chassis; we do a lot of research to guarantee it. »