PARIS.- In April 2010, the auctioneer and racing driver Hervé Poulain, an emblematic figure in the art world, responsable for the first collectors’ car sales in 1973, originator of the BMW Art Cars, and co-founder of the auction house Artcurial, offered the lead of his department to two specialists, Matthieu Lamoure and Pierre Novikoff, accompanied by senior administrator Iris Hummel. Having gained experience working in Britain, they brought a new energy and international dimension to the department, re-named Artcurial Motorcars for the occasion. The recipe for their success has been to hold sales in association with international events such as the Salon Retromobile and Le Mans Classic while promoting the historic motor racing heritage of Hervé Poulain. And most importantly, the team has consistently discovered automobiles that are new to the market.

The Artcurial Motorcars family has grown over the last decade to include Anne-Claire
Mandine, administrator, Sophie Peyrache, in charge of Automobilia, Maritime and
Aeronautics, specialists Antoine Mahé and Benjamin Arnaud, Arnaud Faucon, junior
specialist and Sandra Fournet, junior administrator. The department is connected to
specialists and consultants across Europe and the United States.

Ten years of Artcurial Motorcars sales
2010 – The inaugural Artcurial Motorcars sale was at Le Mans Classic on 9 July 2010.
Hervé Poulain conducted the 7M€ sale in his 40th year of holding auctions. The first Automobile Sur Les Champs auction took place in November 2010. It is now a regular and popular sale held in the heart of Paris, on the Champs Elysees.

2011 - Artcurial Motorcars established a partnership with the world famous Retromobile Salon to hold the official annual auction at the event, with the first sale on 4 February. Paris is now a major destination for car lovers in February with other auction houses following suit to hold regular sales in the capital.

"A passionate team, remarkable discoveries and spectacular sales. In short we are celebrating ten years of a marvellous adventure built on a solid base with an
exciting future, and plenty of superb surprises still in store for our clients and friends!"
Matthieu Lamoure, Managing Director of Artcurial Motorcars

2012 – The first record result for the €14M Retromobile sale. It was the largest
collectors’ car sale in France at that time. Highlights included the world record price
of €4.5M for the ex-Roger Vadim 1959 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider LWB. The
tradition for offering exciting barnfind discoveries began here with a collection of 15
rare automobiles untouched for 40 years.

On 7 July international interest was sparked by a collection of 38 prototypes by the
French coachbuilder Heuliez offered at no reserve in the Le Mans Classic sale.

On 27 July the Principality of Monaco asked Artcurial Motorcars to sell the reserve
collection from the Museum established in 1993 by H.S.H. Prince Rainer III of Monaco.
The collection was 100% sold with many lots selling well above estimates including
Prince Rainier’s personal car, the 1983 Mercedes 500 SEC that sold for 117,600 €, a record price at that time.

2013 – Rétromobile by Artcurial Motorcars continued to grow, beating its own record of the previous year – with a sale total of 14.6M€ and 90% of all lots selling. In June, the ASLC5 sale featured the André Lecoq Collection, a stunning selection of 14 cars restored in the Lecoq workshop. With four sales during the year, the annual sale total of over 30M€ was up 14% on the previous year.

2014 – The official Retromobile auction was held over two days for the first time and
realised 29M€. The 1953 Ferrari 166 MM/53 Barquetta Oblin fetched 2.5M€ as an
after sale on the first day. Day 2 featured a separate ‘Solo Alfa’ auction, starring a
collection of 50 post-war Alfas. July saw a highly successful result for the Le Mans Classic sale with a total of over 10M€.

2015 - Matthieu Lamoure and Pierre Novikoff discovered the Baillon Collection, some
sixty barnfind treasures untouched for half a century, making the headlines worldwide,
and leading to one of the most extraordinary auctions of all time. The Retromobile sale realised 46M€ (including 25M€ for the Baillon Collection), making it the largest ever sale in continental Europe at that time. There were ten world record auction prices, including star of the Baillon Collection, the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider that sold for 16.3M€. Over 1600 people registered to bid in this historic event, and some 15 000 visitors a day flocked to Paris to see the “Sleeping Beauties” on display.

2016 – A new record for the Rétromobile by Artcurial Motorcars sale which realised 56M€ and broke a string of records. This included the highest price (in £ and €) for a car sold at auction, for the ex-Pierre Bardinon 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Scaglietti which changed hands for 32.1M€. There was also a separate Citroen sale including 40 cars from the André Trigano Collection. In July at the Le Mans Classic sale, Hervé Poulain brought the hammer down on the 1977 Porsche 935 competition client factory car that he had raced in the 1980 Le Mans 24 Hours. It made 1.3M€ - the top price in the sale. There were three further sales during the year: the D-Day sale in Catz on 18 September, the André Weber Sale on 9 October near Paris and the 10th edition of Automobile Sur Les Champs in November.

2017 - The Retromobile sale once again achieved record prices with seven lots exceeding 1M€. The first Dino prototype, the 1966 Ferrari 206 P Berlinette Speciale by Pinin Farina, donated by the Pinin Farina family to the ACO, sold for 4.4M€ (the highest auction price for a prototype worldwide). In July, Artcurial Motorcars held its biggest Monaco sale to date, realising nearly 10M€. The second half of the year saw a Mercedes single marque sale in October that included twenty cars from the private collection of Mercedes-Benz France in addition to the regular ASLC sale on the Champs Elysees.

2018 – The 32M€ Retromobile by Artcurial Motorcars auction once again dominated the Paris week of auctions. Seven private collections were offered and 86% of all lots sold. There were eight world record auction prices, including the top lot: the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C coupe Atalante that changed hands for 2.9M€. In July the Le Mans Classic sale achieved the best result for any auction held at Le Mans, realising 12.6M€. Doubling its estimate, the 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster sold for 3.14M€ - a world record auction price for this model.

2019 - The Retromobile by Artcurial Motorcars sale, held over 3 days, realised 42M€ - the highest figure for the week of collectors’ car sales in Paris. The 1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Touring Berlinetta sold for 16.75M€ - the third highest auction price for a prewar car. In November the 15th ASLC sale included a private collection of over 40 rare classic motorcycles all offered at no reserve.

2020 - The official Retromobile sale continued to be the biggest collectors car sale in
Paris, with record prices and a stunning line-up of competition cars including the 1965
Ferrari 275 GTB #6785 (sold for 2.5M€), the 1966 Porsche 906 (sold 1.7M€), the 1984 Ferrari 126 C3-068 (sold 1.4M€) and the 1993 Jaguar XJ 220 C Le Mans (sold 1.1M€).