The Artcurial Retromobile 2020 auction will be held 7 February at the Parc des Expositions de la Porte de Versailles in Paris during Retromobile Week. Artcurial’s 10th annual sale will feature a selection of motorcars headlined by a 1929 Mercedes-Benz 710 SS Sport Tourer, 1936 Delahaye 135 S and 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, among others.
The featured 1929 Mercedes-Benz 710 SS was delivered new as a rolling chassis in October 1929 to the marque importer in New York. From there it was sent to coachbuilder Fernandez and Darin, to emerge with a four-door ‘Sport Tourer’ body with wraparound wings and sleek profile that dispensed with the running board. Between 1929 and 1935, just 110 examples of the SS were built, all bodies together.
Another pre-war model on offer at the Artcurial Retromobile 2020 auction will be the 1936 Delahaye 135 S, chassis number 46625. One of France’s premier marques in the 1930s, Delahaye was committed to racing successfully at the highest level and this car is one of 16 competition 135 S examples built by the marque. In 1937 it took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With such racing provenance, this car is eligible for historic events such as the Grand Prix Historique de Monaco, Goodwood Revival and the Mille Miglia.
The 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, s/n 6785, delivered new to full race spec with six carburettors, has an racing provenance. The car took part in over 40 international races between 1965 and 1968, including rally, track and hillclimb events. It featured on the cover of the Ferrari Yearbook in 1966, having won the GT class in the Monza 1000km that year. The car also competed in the European hillclimb championship with rounds at Mont Ventoux, Ollon-Villars and Cesana Sestriere, and the Rallye Solitude Lyon Charbonnière. This competition 275 GTB has been preserved in Swedish ownership for the last two decades and is offered with fully documented history.
Also boasting Le Mans history is the 1959 DB HBR4, known as ‘Le Monstre’. Chassis 1110 was bought new by Jacques Rey who won the Index of Performance in the 1959 Tour de France Automobile in this car. His team-mate, André Guilhardin, then modified and lowered the body by 11cm which increased the top speed of this machine to 190 km/h (118 mph). With its new body, the car participated in the 1961 Le Mans 24 Hours, finishing 20th overall and 2nd in the Index of Energy Efficiency.
Johnny Hallyday never made a secret of his love for automobiles and owned a collection of machines. He acquired this Ford Mustang GT Coupe in 1967, racing it the same year for the Écurie Ford France with Henri Chemin, Director of Communications for Ford France. In June 1967 he drove it to 2nd place in the Coupe ACIF at Monthléry, and in August of the same year, he also took part in the Mont Dore hillclimb.
Also lining up in the Artcurial Retromobile 2020 auctionle will be the F1 1983 Ferrari 126 C3 single seater from the Manoir de l’Automobile collection in Lohéac. It was entered by the Scuderia Ferrari in the 1983 World Championship and driven by Patrick Tambay and René Arnoux. Arnoux raced this car to victory in both the German and the Dutch Grand Prix that year. Ferrari dominated the 1983 season with the 126 C2B and 126 C3, winning the Constructors Championship.
Other entries include a collection of nine Lamborghini featuring models with star quality thanks to their previous owners: the 1977 Lamborghini Countach LP400 Periscopio was delivered new to Rod Stewart, and the 2001 Diablo belonged to former F1 driver Olivier Panis.
Matthieu Lamoure, Managing Director, Artcurial Motorcars said, “Stars, sporting success, history and variety in the most highly anticipated sale of the year, Rétromobile 2020. We can’t wait!”
For additional information, visit Artcurial.com.
[Source: Artcurial Motorcars]
