The Le Mans winning 1963 Ferrari 275 P will be the highlight of the 2018 Artcurial Paris Salon Rétromobile classic car auction.
NOTE: The Ferrari was withdrawn on 25 January 2018 from the sale due to ongoing legal proceedings in the finalisation of the estate of Pierre Bardinon.
The winner of the 1964 Le Mans 24 Hours race – the 1963 Ferrari 275 P, chassis 0816 – will be offered for sale at the 2018 Artcurial Motorcars Salon Rétromobile sale in Paris on 9 February 2018. This 275 P was the last Ferrari to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race overall as a works entry.
Artcurial Paris Rétromobile Sale 2018
The Artcurial Salon Rétromobile classic car auction will be held on 9 February 2018 in the Rétromobile Hall in Paris during the annual classic car event in the French capital.
Although the consignment deadline is only around Christmas 2017, it is highly unlikely that any car will be able to surpass or rival the Le Mans-winning Ferrari.
Artcurial has good form at recent Paris Rétromobile auctions:
In 2016, the new Paris (and European) auction record was set when a 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport sold for €32,075,200 ($35,711,359. This is the highest price ever paid in euro for a car at public auction but in dollar terms second to the 1962-63 Ferrari 250 GTO that sold for $38 million in 2014, which was €28.5 million at the time.
In 2015, the Baillon Collection of 60 barn-find cars, including a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider that achieved $18.7 million, were sold at the Paris auction.
1963 Ferrari 275 P, Chassis #0816
The 1963 Ferrari 275 P, Chassis #0816, on offer at the Artcurial Paris Rétromobile 2018 sale, is one of only nine Ferraris to have ever won the Le Mans 24 Hours race outright. It was the last of the seven official Ferrari team entries to win this endurance race – the final victory in 1965 was a NART car and the first 1949 victory a private entry.
The 1963 Ferrari 275 P, Chassis #0816, was driven to its Le Mans victory as an official SpA Ferrari SEFAC entry by Jean Guichet and Nino Vaccarella. It was followed home by two Ferrari 330P racing cars – respectively five and 12 laps behind the winner. Racing as car no. 20, the Ferrari 275 P was driven over 4,695 km at an average speed of 196,638 km/h.
Enzo Ferrari famously could not be bothered to keep winning Ferraris in a museum and the 275 P was sold to a US buyer. It was raced in the Road America 500 three times to finish 22nd in 1965, 9th in 1966 and 10th in 1967. It finished the Sebring 12 Hours in 1965 in 23rd place.
The 1963 Ferrari 275 P, Chassis #0816, became part of the famous car collection of Pierre Bardinon that included around 50 Ferrari work team cars including four Le Mans winning cars. It has not been seen in public since joining this famous collection at Mas du Clos in France.
The Most-Expensive Cars Ever
Artcurial has not yet released any estimate or price guidance for the Le Mans winning Ferrari 275 P but clearly expects having another record-breaking car on offer.
The two most-expensive cars ever sold at public auction – the 1962-63 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $38 million in 2014, and the 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport sold for €32,075,200 ($35,711,359) in 2016 – were both raced in period but without significant victories in major races.
The highest prices ever paid for Le Mans winners include the eighth most-expensive cars ever: the 1955 Jaguar D-Type that RM Sotheby’s sold for $21,780,000 at Monterey 2016. The 1983 Le Mans-winning 1982 Porsche 962 C achieved a more modest $10,120,000 at Gooding’s Pebble Beach 2015 sale.
RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams are also expected to have classic car auctions in Paris in February 2018 but once again Rétromobile is likely to be Artcurial’s show.
