Artcurial held their 13th annual sale at Rétromobile in Paris, achieving a 75% sell-through rate and a total of €17,792,329 ($19,158,780) throughout the auction. The top-selling car was a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL ‘Papillon’ that went for €1,427,440 ($1,539,065) while a 2014 McLaren P1 was the second-highest sale, achieving €1,358,800 ($1,465,058) for a car that showed 9,354 km since new. It’s nice to a supercar get some real miles under its belt!
The marque that jumped out to us the most was BMW. Two BMW M1s were offered for sale, although only one of them sold but it met the pre-auction estimate. Some of the other BMWs offered are more interesting, in particular a 1990 BMW Z1 that’s practically right off the showroom floor and a 1993 BMW 850 CSi that is anything but new.
The 850 CSi features a sporty suspension, a four-wheel steering system, an electronic drive-by-wire throttle, and a multi-link rear axle. It also has a sleek body with a drag coefficient of 0.29, which was achieved by using CAD tools and wind tunnel testing. The 850 CSi has a pillar-less hardtop body style that gives it a distinctive look and enhances its aerodynamics.
The example offered by Artcurial showed nearly 200,000 km since new, but it was in surprisingly clean condition for a car with that much mileage. Its clutch was recently replaced and it’s equipped with the optional electric sunroof, plus heated power seats. The pre-auction estimate on this was €60,000 – 80,000 so it was surprising to see it sell so much higher than the estimate, but it’s not like anyone’s making new E31 BMWs these days so it can be tough to pass one up when it’s right in front of you.
The 2002 Turbo was introduced in 1973 and was powered by a 2.0L four cylinder engine with a turbocharger and fuel injection that produced 170 horsepower. Notable changes from the non-turbo 2002 include a rear spoiler and a front air dam with “turbo” lettering. The car was produced between 1974 and 1975, making it quite the collectible these days.
The one sold by Artcurial started life as one of roughly 100 examples produced for the French market. It was restored by the seller, a BMW dealer and presents very nicely today. It was well-sold, exceeding the pre-auction estimate of €90,000 – 130,000.
The first of BMW’s Z-series that later included the Z3, Z4, and Z8, the Z1 Roadster was produced from 1989 to 1991. It featured a unique design with a plastic body shell and retractable soft top. The example sold by Artcurial also included a red hard top.
This Z1 Roadster is basically a new car, having covered less than 100 km since it left the factory. It was intended as a French-market car but instead was acquired by a BMW dealer in Germany. It had never been sold to a private owner before it was offered by Artcurial in Paris. Service records show that it had covered 75 km since new as of April 1999. It includes everything that came with the car when it left the factory.
It was well-sold at €116,816, right within the pre-auction estimate of €100,000 – 150,000.
This 1980 BMW M1 Procar started its life as a street-going M1 before it was converted to Procar specs in 1982, prior to entering a number of IMSA races between 1983 and 1986.
It was restored in 2005 by an owner in Switzerland to be used at the Le Mans Classic and was subsequently restored again in 2019 by the consigning seller. BMW didn’t build many examples of the M1, just 450 making this a very desirable car, even if it isn’t in its factory specifications.
It was well-sold, all things considered, with its pre-auction estimate of €1,000,000 – 1,200,000.