Artcurial sells Ferrari Dino prototype for 4.4m euros in Paris

Hometown show

Few significant World Records, few astonished gasps from the 3,000-strong audience, and no social media explosions came from Artcurial’s corner of the Rétromobile show at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre — a site that has previously seen the local auction house hammer home some extraordinary results, including last year’s 32.1m-euro Ferrari 335 S Scaglietti. Despite the extremely wide estimate of 4–8m euros, Maître Hervé Poulain reluctantly dropped the gavel on the Ferrari Dino Berlinetta Speciale at 3.8m euros (4.4m euros inclusive of buyer’s premium), the sale’s undoubted highlight. The other star Ferrari, the 166 Spyder Corsa, with which we recently spent some quality time, also fell short, realising 3.1m euros all-in after a surprisingly sparse round of bidding. We spoke with Managing Director Matthieu Lamoure, who reports both the seller and Artcurial are happy with the results following the sale: “For us, this car represented the essence of Pininfarina design and was a precursor in the history of the marque. Commercially, buyers can be reassured by a wide estimate, as it allows them to bid more freely. A precise and narrow estimate can make bidders more cautious.”

As the marathon sale drew on, there was a certain sense of unease from the auctioneers, with audible sighs during eerily silent periods of non-bidding and sluggish progression through lots that were clearly not destined to perform. But there were some strong results to write home about: the 1965 AC Bristol Roadster realised a healthy 321,840 euros (including premium), the Lamborghini Miura SV fetched a record 2.4m euros, while the black-on-beige Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona’ was a surprise spike in an otherwise flat market. The 798,640 euros (all-in) achieved for the higher mileage example was indicative of the value of an interesting colour combination. The 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Atalante from the Ogliastro Collection is also worthy of note — it hammered away at 2m euros (2.331m euros including buyer’s premium), 500,000 euros above its higher estimate. In a touching and generous moment, a Harley-Davidson Softtail Springer and a Cadillac convertible owned by Johnny Hallyday, the ‘French Elvis Presley’, were sold for 280,000 and 270,000 euros respectively, exceeding their pre-sale estimates many times over. The proceeds of these two vehicles went to a charity benefitting Vietnamese orphans. Given the current market, the results serve to reinforce the obvious — with the more considered bidding, you better bring the hottest cars and estimate them reasonably if you want to reap the big results.