2022 Bonhams Paris Sale (Highlights Announced)

A LaFerrari, Mercedes-Benz 380K, Porsche 904, and several Bugattis were announced for sale at the Bonhams Paris Rétromobile week 2022 classic car auction.

Le Patron 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Special Coupé on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

Top highlights announced for the Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris classic car auction during the Rétromobile Week 2022 include a delightful mix of prewar classics and modern hypercars. The classic lead car is the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Special Coupé, estimate €1,600,000 – 2,000,000 — known as ‘Le Patron’ it was used by Ettore Bugatti himself. From the same prewar period is the 1934 Mercedes-Benz 380K Cabriolet A, estimate €1,200,000 – 1,600,000. However, the most expensive car in the sale is likely to be the bright yellow 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari with an estimate of €2,000,000 – 2,500,000. Hollywood star power is provided by the green 1964 Porsche 904 GTS, estimate €1,300,000 – 1,600,000, that Robert Redford owned for nearly a decade.

Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris Sale 2022

1932 Bugatti Type 55 by Figoni
© Bonhams

Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris Sale: 3 February 2022 as a live auction in the Grand Palais Ephémère. This new exhibition pavilion on the Champs de Mars across from the Eiffel Tower is hosting Grand Palais events while the original is undergoing major renovations.

In 2022, Bonhams earned €19 million in Paris with a sell-through rate of 83%.

Bonhams earned €19,693,000 at the Paris 2020 classic car auction – its best result ever in Paris. The most-expensive car sold at the Bonhams Paris 2020 classic car sale was a 1932 Bugatti Type 55 that achieved €4,600,00 ($5,070,000). This was also the highest result of all the car auctions during Paris Rétromobile 2020 and one of five classic Bugattis selling for over $5 million in 2020.

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Highlights at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Sale

Yellow 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari from above on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams
1934 Mercedes-Benz 380K Cabriolet A, interior,on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

Les Grandes Marques à Paris Sale will offer its largest array yet of collectors’ motor cars, spanning more than 100 years of motoring excellence and history. Included is a stunning collection of veteran motor cars offered from single-family ownership of more than 120 years. The sale is also renowned for presenting the finest pre-war motor cars and the 2022 edition continues this tradition while modern hypercars will also be on offer at the Bonhams Paris classic car auction 2022.

Bugattis at Bonhams Paris 2022

1938 Bugatti Type 57C Special Coupéon sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

Arguably the most special of the golden age supercar marque Bugatti is a 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Special Coupé, estimate €1,600,000 – 2,000,000. Known as ‘Le Patron’ it was used by Ettore Bugatti himself, as well as factory drivers Jean-Pierre Wimille and Robert Benoist before the Second World War and afterward by Bugatti’s General Manager Pierre Marco.

‘Le Patron’ was also a development car testing new ideas and components for twenty years and so has many unique features, including its bespoke coachwork (believed to be the last designed by Ettore’s son Jean) and a highly developed supercharged engine. This significant and completely original car has had only a handful of private collector custodians since it left its factory ownership and is offered by one of Europe’s foremost private collectors who has owned the car for the last decade.

1935 Bugatti Type 57 Vanvooren Cabriolet on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

For the (slightly) smaller wallet, a 1935 Bugatti Type 57 Vanvooren Cabriolet, estimate €700,000 – 800,000, will also be offered in the same sale.

Blue 1996 Bugatti EB110 GT Coupé on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

From all together another era is the 1996 Bugatti EB110 GT Coupé, estimate €1,100,000 – 1,300,000. The first new Bugatti to be produced since 1956 was the brainchild of Romano Artioli, who revived the brand, was designed by Marcello Gandini and built by hand in Campogalliano in Italy’s ‘motor valley’. 

Despite competition from contemporary rivals such as the McLaren F1 and Jaguar XJ220, the EB110 set four world speed records, including for the fastest series production sports car. On the road, its 3.5-liter V12 engine fed by four turbochargers promised a top speed of 340km/h. Only 95 GT examples were produced. The car offered has had three owners from new, covering a total of 10,000kms.

The EB series Bugattis of the mid-1990s was for long unpopular but seems to attract more interest and stronger prices in recent years — another one will be offered during the same week at the RM Sotheby’s Paris 2022 sale. The last two Super Sports sold by RM Sotheby’s (Paris 2019 and Monterey 2021) saw prices well in excess of $2 million.

1934 Mercedes-Benz 380K Cabriolet A

1934 Mercedes-Benz 380K Cabriolet A, on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

Lining up with the Bugatti is another supercharged powered marvel of the 1930s, a 1934 Mercedes-Benz 380K Cabriolet A, estimate €1,200,000 – 1,600,000. Designed as a luxurious long-distance touring car, the Sindelfingen 380K was the predecessor to the mighty 500 K and 540 K models. In total, just 16 Cabriolet A variants were produced over two years.

1964 Porsche 904 GTS

Green 1964 Porsche 904 GTS on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

The 1964 Porsche 904 GTS, estimate €1,300,000 – 1,600,000, on offer at the Bonhams Grandes Marques à Paris Sale was formerly owned by one of Hollywood’s greatest names, the actor Robert Redford.

Green 1964 Porsche 904 GTS profiel on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

The last of the famous Porsche ‘giant killer’ racing cars, the 904 was a mid-engined, fiberglass-bodied GT racer that garnered sports-car racing success, notably in the Targa Florio, and even picked up a podium place in the Monte Carlo Rally. Originally owned by Steve Earle, founder of the Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca, this GTS was campaigned by subsequent owner Steve Berg at prominent North American venues including Laguna Seca, before it was later acquired by Redford, who kept it for nearly a decade.

2015 Ferrari LaFerrari

Yellow 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

Although older classics are at the heart of the Retromobile week auctions, modern hypercars will also be available (and tend to sell well). One of the highlights is a yellow 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari with an estimate of €2,000,000 – 2,500,000. It is one of only 499 examples of the F-1 inspired hybrid Special edition hypercar from Maranello.

Yellow 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari rear view on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

The Formula 1 and GT-inspired model was described by the Modena manufacturer as the ‘most ambitious’ Ferrari. It was the first production car to be equipped with the F1-derived HY-KERS hybrid system. Its electric motor and 6.3-liter V12 engine combination, with a total power output of 950hp, delivers a sub-three-second acceleration from 0-100km/h and a top speed of more than 350km/h. This car, finished in yellow over black interior, has covered fewer than 930km from new and is offered by its second owner.  

Early Classics at Bonhams Paris Sale 2022

1921 Hispano-Suiza H6B Torpedo on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

The Dolleschel Collection presents an array of great automotive names of the pre-war period, including Delauney-Belleville, Panhard, and Hispano-Suiza. The latter is represented by four examples, led by a time-warp’ 1921 Hispano-Suiza H6B Torpedo, estimate €300,000 – 400,000, with its original Duvivier coachwork and interior as commissioned by its first owner, Francophile New Yorker John Jay Ide, the great-great-grandson of U.S. diplomat John Jay, the first justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1902 Panhard & Levassor Type A2 on sale at the Bonhams Paris 2022 Rétromobile week classic car auction
© Bonhams

A further highlight from this important collection is a 1902 Panhard & Levassor Type A2 7HP Tonneau à entrée par l’arrière, estimate €300,000 – 360,000. A remarkably authentic example and one of the best survivors of its genre, retaining its original matching numbers, coachwork, and even leather trim work, this car has successfully participated in the London to Brighton Run with its custodian.

Paris Rétromobile Week Auctions 2022

Classic Car Auctions

The traditional Paris Rétromobile Week was postponed from early February to 16 – 20 March 2022. The Artcurial auction was postponed too but currently, Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s are maintaining the early February dates.

  • Bonhams: Les Grandes Marques à Paris Sale on 3 February 2022.
  • Artcurial: Rétromobile Sale on 18 – 20 March 2022.
  • RM Sotheby’s: Paris Auction 2 February 2022.

Paris Auctions 2022 Results

Paris Auctions 2022 Previews

Paris Auctions 2022 Announcements

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