PARIS, France (Reuters) — A dream collection of vintage cars and motorcycles was presented in Paris on Wednesday (February 8) ahead of a Bonhams auction, which coincides with Retromobile week, a fair that has made Paris a car collector’s capital.
Over 100 cars, produced over a period ranging from the turn of the last century to the 1990s, were on display under the stately glassed roof of the Grand Palais.
In 1901, the Grand Palais welcomed the first Paris Motor-show and now over 100 years later, a selection of 133 vintage cars are up for grabs.
The old-timers are still in pristine condition. It is worth taking note as well of their history and pedigree, as described by Bonhams’ International Director of Business Development and Head of European Motorcars, Philip Kantor.
“Stars of the show? I suppose the Aston Martin Ulster, beautiful 1935 Aston Martin, 31 produced, 28 still survive. The car ran at Le Mans (24 Hours of Le Mans, sports car race) in ’35 and finished fifth in its class, very historic car, very nice car today because it’s eligible for a multitude of events, including Le Mans Classic (vintage sports car race), Mille Miglia (classic and vintage car race) etc. The Bentley S1 Continental (Cabriolet 1957), drophead, Embiricos, great shipping name, great family, great taste in cars,” Kantor said.
The pre-war Aston Martin Ulster Sports is estimated to fetch between 1.6 and 1.8 million euros (US$1.7 to 1.9 million) while the Bentley S1 is estimated between 1 and 1.5 million euros (US$1.07 to 1.6 millon). Bids for the Mercedes-Benz could range from 1.1 to 1.3 million euros (US$1.18 to 1.4 million euros).
Kantor said he believed there would always be a demand for collector’s cars no matter what the future brings.
“The first word is ‘nostalgia’ for sure, we all want to have what we saw when we were young, which we couldn’t afford. So that’s one part of it, the other part is that you’re actually investing in a tangible asset, which is fun, you can use it, you can enjoy it, you can drive it, you can look at it, you can get pleasure from it, more than from a stock or something from your bank account,” he said.
The auction will take place on Thursday afternoon (February 9) and Kantor expects a full house, with some bids to be made over telephone.
