Artcurial Brings Le Mans and Group B Racers to Paris

Rétromobile has been rescheduled for June 2021 thanks to COVID-19, but the auction houses seem to be keeping their February slots — and Artcurial is bringing some heavy-hitters to their hometown auction on February 5.

Headlining the “Parisienne 2021” event is a Matra MS 670 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972. The car, s/n 001, was driven to victory by Henri Pescarolo and Graham Hill. It’s owned by the Lagardère Group and has been kept at the Musée Matra since its last race in 1973. It’s estimated at €4.5m – €7m ($5.5m – $8.6m).

In addition, a collection of seven Group B cars will also be available — a collection that came together just after the end of Group B in 1986 and has been displayed at the Manoir de l’Automobile in Lohéac. The cars include Walter Röhrl’s Audi Quattro S1, Didier Auriol’s MG Metro 6R4, Carlos Sainz’s Renault R5 Turbo, Bruno Saby’s Peugeot 205 T16 and Fabrizio Tabaton’s Lancia 037 — all of them from the Michel Hommell and Olivier Quesnel Collection. This is a landmark moment for Group B at auction, as it’s the first time so many notable examples have been available in one place.

Alongside those cars, look for a very original and matching-numbers 1957 Porsche 550 A Spyder, s/n 0118, and a great French collection of Aston Martins headlined by a DB4GT. Standouts there also include the ex-1965 Paris Motorshow DB5, a one-of-12 Volante short-chassis in LHD and a DB2/4 MkII cabriolet.

Learn more at www.artcurial.com.