The City of Lights shined a bit brighter earlier this month, at least for car collectors in attendance at RM Sotheby’s: Paris, the automotive auction house’s annual sale in the French capital on February 8. By the final hammer fall, more than $29.2 million had been garnered—the highest amount in the event’s history. Revving up the overall revenue were three performers in particular, a 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3, a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider, and a 1988 Porsche 959 Sport that, altogether, brought in greater than $8.5 million of the final total.
“The Paris sale was important on a number of levels, but more than anything, the results demonstrate that the European market remains incredibly strong,” explains Peter Wallman, managing director of RM Sotheby’s Europe. “Collectors are looking for quality, and rarity is still the key driver to some of the most significant values.”
To Wallman’s point, the most expensive lot of the evening was a 1934 Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3 (pictured above). The car is a sterling example of the first monoposto (single-seater) Grand Prix model made. In 1932, six vehicles in the new line were produced for competition and dominated that year with Grand Prix wins in Italy, France, and Germany—including sweeps of the top three positions in the latter two events.
By 1934, economic issues forced the marque to abandon a direct racing presence but it still built another seven cars with bolstered bodies and boosted 2.9-liter engines that competed for Scuderia Ferrari. The one presented in Paris, chassis No. 50006, was the sixth fabricated out of this second generation and was raced through 1935, the same year it came in fourth place at the Masyrk Grand Prix in Czechoslovakia while piloted by Antonio Brivio. Others to have most likely sat in its cockpit include such notable names as Tazio Nuvolari and Achille Varzi. At the auction, bids for the roadster raced to more than $4.1 million.
“Headlining our Paris sale with a P3 Alfa was a real honor,” says Wallman. “It’s evocative of the golden era of prewar racing, especially having had the likes of Nuvolari—“the Flying Mantuan”—wrestling the wheel. And with the Scuderia Ferrari shields adorning the bonnet, it’s an instant reminder of Enzo Ferrari’s early exploits.”
One of the Prancing Horse marque’s own speedsters made an impression among attendees as a 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spider (pictured above) spurred bidding past $2.2 million. The crimson classic features a 352 hp, 4.4-liter DOHC V-12 engine (with six Weber 40 DCN17 carburetors) and a 5-speed manual transmission. The pairing allows the open-top to tackle zero to 60 in 5.4 seconds on its way to a top speed of 174 mph.