The early-year Paris auctions always set the bar for the next 12 months in Europe, with Rétromobile bringing together Europe’s leading dealers, collectors and auctioneers. Even if they’re not selling anything, or displaying, you’ll find luminaries of the hobby stalking the halls of the Porte de Versailles and the various spin-off auctions held during event week.
Artcurial returned to its traditional spot as official Rétromobile auction partner with a big space in hall three, while Bonhams held a one-day sale at The Grand Palais Historique on February 6, and RM Sotheby’s held a two-day sale at the Salles du Carrousel in the Louvre Palace. All enjoyed a good throughput of sales, indicating some degree of reality on the part of both the auctioneers and the owners with regard to the European market and its challenges. However, these results were often far below lofty pre-sale low estimates.
What’s driving this feeling behind the Paris auctions? Well, despite RM Sotheby’s success with the now ex-Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum Ferrari 250 LM, which sold for €34,880,000 against a €25m-plus estimate, the results for other Enzo-era Ferraris weren’t great. The allure of a racing Ferrari didn’t rub off on RM’s other offerings – a 1970 512 M and a 1981 512 BB/LM went unsold, and at Bonhams a pair of 1950s cars sold for far below their pre-sale estimates. The 1950 166 MM (pictured above), no. 0034 M, was offered at no reserve, and sold for €2,817,500 against an estimate of €4.6m-€6.9m, and the ex-Mike Hawthorn, ‘Nino’ Farina, Piero Taruffi, Paul Frère and Peter Whitehead 1954-55 Ferrari Tipo 555 ‘Super Squalo’ 2.5-litre F1 car sold for €1,983,750 against an estimate of €4.6m-€6.9m.
It wasn’t a great season for high-end racing cars generally, with RM Sotheby’s failing to shift its 1989 Jaguar XJR-10 (pictured above), 1971 BMW CSL Batmobile, 1994 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti DTM and 1937 Simca-Gordini 8. Bonhams also failed to sell its 1978 BMW 320 Turbo Group 5 and 1991 Lister Jaguar Knobbly, although it did sell its 1954 Autobleu 750 MM and 2017 X-Raid BMW Mini John Cooper Works buggy, both for €368k. Over at Artcurial, the 1977 Mercedes-Benz 280 E ‘Safari’ Works rally car stuttered at €100k and failed to sell against a €150k-€250k estimate.
Racing cars are always divisive, so let’s return to road machinery with Ferraris. The biggest result turned out to be the biggest result of the 2025 Paris auctions week, with the above 2016 LaFerrari selling for €3,548,750 against a pre-sale estimate of €3.9m to €4.5m at RM Sotheby’s. A no-reserve 1975 Dino 308 GT4 S1 sold for €56,350 against a €69k-€92k estimate. A 1951 Ferrari 212/225 Export failed to sell against a €2.5m-€3.5m estimate, and the Maranello machines offered as part of the Curated Collection on day one all sold, all for less than their low estimate apart from one car.
These included a 1969 365 GT 2+2 (€132,250), a 1971 365 GTC/4 (€184k) and a 1961 250 GTE 2+2 S1 (€342,500). The one Ferrari from this collection that sold above estimate? The previously unfancied 1985 412, which sold for €120,750 against a €92k-€115k estimate. Its fairly rare manual gearbox configuration added to its allure.
Over at Artcurial, both its 275 GTBs sold: an aluminium-bodied 1966 car for €2.159m against a pre-sale estimate of €2m-€3m (pictured above), while a Celeste Metallizzato example from 1966 went for €2,371,640 against a €2.2m-€2.6m estimate. Elsewhere, a 1963 250 GTE Serie III, a 1963 250 GT/L and a 1971 36-5 GT 2+2 failed to sell, while a 1967 330 GTC went for €569,776 and a 365 GTB/4 Daytona sold for €691,447. For Bonhams, its leading roadgoing Ferrari was a 1966 330 GT 2+2 Series 2, which sold for €241,500, while a 1970 365 GT 2+2 went for €161k.
Porsches played a big part of the Paris auctions this year, with much of RM Sotheby’s Curated Collection taken up by the Stuttgart marque. They all sold, getting off to a good start with the 1985 Carrera 3.2 selling for an above-estimate €94,300. However, that would be one of few above-estimate highlights, with the majority selling for below estimate by a margin of around ten percent.
There were some notable stallers, though: the ex-Derek Bell Porsche 928 ClubSport sold for just €143,750 – around half its pre-sale estimate – and a 928 S4 ClubSport went for €161k. It appears that is the ceiling for any type of 928, a model that’s long lived in the shadow of the 911 at auction.
However, 911s also struggled to hit their marks, whether they were aircooled or watercooled; the above 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight sold for €713,750 against a €1m-€1.3m estimate. Too many Porsches at one time? Perhaps – a 964 Turbo 3.6 that was not part of the collection and was sold the day after, only just made its €342,500 pre-sale estimate.
Over at Artcurial, its Porsches were largely within estimate, including the above 1952 356 Pre-A 1300 split windscreen, which sold for €429,120 against an estimate of €380k-€460k. At Bonhams, all its Porsches sold, but again within estimate or around ten percent shy of the low estimate (not including fees). While Porsches are phenomenally popular at the moment, they are not exactly rare – only the best, or those in a hard-to-find spec configuration, are heating the gavel at this time.
In the hypercar realm, RM Sotheby’s had a tasty selection, including the 2022 Bugatti Centodieci. Bid to €9m against a €10m to €15m estimate, it didn’t sell, but the auction house had better success elsewhere – its 2011 Koenigsegg Agera went for €1,917,500 (against a €2m-€2.5m estimate) and a 2022 Pagani Huayra R sold for €3,042,500 against a €3m-€3.6m estimate. Artcurial’s McLaren Senna didn’t sell, but its 2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta sold for €807,360 against a €400k-€600k estimate, while its 1995 Bugatti EB110 GT went for €1,530,400 against a €1.2m-€1.5m estimate (pictured above).
As for the pre-war era, there were mixed results at the Paris auctions. While Bonhams’ selection of pre-war Bugattis either didn’t sell or went for below estimate, there was fierce bidding for the three Horch models it had for sale. The 1928 830 BL sold for 12 times its estimate at €241,500 (est: €23k-€34,500), a 1936 851 Limousine sold for €345k (est: €57.5k-€92k) and a 1939 853A Sport Cabriolet (pictured above) sold for €414k (est: €92k-€138k).
Artcurial didn’t sell its 1936 Delage D6-70 Spéciale and 1904 Gladiator, and its 1930 Bugatti Type 51 Grand Prix Usine sold for €1,587,600 against a €1.7m-€2.3m estimate. At RM Sotheby’s a 1939 Bentley 4¼-Litre Convertible by Vanvooren sold for €359,375 against a €455k-€623,750 estimate, and a 1936 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Gangloff went for €308,750 against a €545k-€680k estimate.
Further details
For more information on Artcurial’s sale, head here.
For more information on Bonhams’ sale, head here.
For more information on RM Sotheby’s sale, head here.
