Paris Vintage Car Auction Chauffeur — Rétromobile, RM Sotheby\'s, Artcurial and the Collector Car Circuit

Rétromobile — the European collector car salon

Rétromobile (Parc des Expositions Paris-Porte de Versailles, Halls 1–3, 75015 — annual, February, 5 days public + 1 press/trade day): the largest and most prestigious collector car salon in Europe, presenting an international exhibition of vintage automobiles, motorcycles, memorabilia, and specialist services:

**Scale:** 600+ exhibitors across 75,000 m² of exhibition space. 110,000 visitors annually. 1,500–2,000 vehicles on display, ranging from 1890s pioneer automobiles to 1990s sports and racing cars. The salon is structured as a combination of dealer stands (the major international classic car dealers — Lukas Hüni, Kidston, Tom Hartley, Thierry Bouvet), private vendor displays, marque club areas, and the dedicated manufacturer heritage spaces (the Citroën Conservatoire collection, the Peugeot Collection, the Renault Heritage vehicles).

**The coachbuilt French automobiles:** Rétromobile is the definitive annual venue for the pre-war French coachbuilt automobiles that represent the highest expression of automotive design: - **Talbot-Lago** (the 1938–1939 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS "Goutte d'Eau" or "Teardrop" body by Figoni et Falaschi — the most celebrated coachbuilt body of the Art Deco period; six examples survive) - **Delahaye** (135M and 175 chassis with Figoni, Chapron, and Letourneur et Marchand bodies — the 1946–1951 Delahaye 175 considered the last great French coachbuilt automobile) - **Bugatti** (Type 57 Atlantic — four examples known, two in museums; Type 57 SC Atalante; Type 41 Royale — six examples produced) - **Hispano-Suiza** (H6B and J12 chassis with Saoutchik and Van den Plas bodies — the most powerful and expensive automobiles of the 1920s–1930s) - **Voisin** (Gabriel Voisin's aluminium-bodied aerodynamic automobiles, particularly the C28 Aérodyne of 1935)

**FFGR Rétromobile programme:** Hotel departure 09h00 → Porte de Versailles Hall entrance 09h30 (press/trade preview day, before public opening) → guided tour of the major stands and negotiated private viewing of the highlighted consignment vehicles → RM Sotheby's auction preview inspection → return hotel or direct to auction 14h00.

RM Sotheby\'s Paris — the February collector car auction

RM Sotheby's Paris (Espace Richelieu, 60 Rue de Richelieu 75002 — or alternating venues in the Marais and the 1er — February, colocated with Rétromobile week): the most important single-day collector car auction outside the United States, presenting 80–120 lots across a single-session sale typically running 10h00–22h00.

The RM Sotheby's Paris February sale has produced several auction records for the French coachbuilt category: - **Ferrari** lots (typically 20–30% of the sale, with particular strength in pre-1970 competition and GT Ferrari: 250 GT SWB, 250 GTO, 275 GTB/4, 330 P4 and related competition cars) - **Bugatti** (the dominant French marque in the sale — Type 35, 37, 43, 57, and Royale consignments appear regularly; the 2016 Paris sale set the European auction record for a Bugatti at €7.8M for a Type 57 Atlantic replica) - **Pre-war French coachbuilt automobiles** (Talbot-Lago, Delahaye, Hispano-Suiza — the February Paris sale is the principal annual market for these vehicles, drawing the specialist collectors who travel from the USA, Japan, and the Gulf states specifically for the event) - **Competition cars** (the Paris sale receives significant consignments of period Le Mans entries: Bentley Boys cars, Alfa Romeo 8C 2900, the Bugatti entries of the 1930s Sarthe races)

**Preview access:** RM Sotheby's Paris consignment preview is typically 2 days before the sale. FFGR coordinates client access to the preview with advance registration, and provides the vehicle for the inspection of physically large or multi-location consignments.

**Bidding day protocol:** FFGR drops at the venue entrance with parking at a designated position for the duration of the sale (09h30–22h30). Vehicle available for immediate departure after lot hammer — critical for clients requiring airport connection or hotel retreat after the sale conclusion.

Artcurial Automobiles sur les Champs-Élysées

Artcurial (7 Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées 75008 — Hôtel Marcel Dassault, the Art Deco mansion at the Champs-Élysées roundabout that serves as the principal Paris auction house for automobiles, motorcycles, memorabilia, and luxury objects): the most prolific Paris-based auction house for collector automobiles, running 4–6 dedicated automobile sales annually:

**Artcurial Rétromobile sale** (February, Porte de Versailles — the auction colocated with the Rétromobile salon floor, typically 150–200 lots over two days): the largest single sale by lot count in the Paris collector car calendar, with particular strength in: - **Accessible vintage automobiles** (50,000–500,000 EUR range — the bread-and-butter of the Artcurial sale: classic Alfa Romeo Giulia and Spider, Porsche 911 early series, Mercedes SL pagoda, Jaguar E-Type, vintage Citroën DS and 2CV) - **French marques** (Artcurial is the definitive house for French collector cars: Citroën, Peugeot, Renault, Simca, Facel Vega, Salmson — the mid-tier French sporting cars) - **Motorcycles** (the Artcurial Moto sale is the most important dedicated motorcycle auction in France: Brough Superior, Vincent HRD, Manx Norton, and postwar Italian sportsbikes)

**Artcurial Le Mans Collection sale:** Artcurial holds the exclusive mandate to sell the collections of major Le Mans competitors and preparation specialists. Notable recent sales: the Peter Sauber Collection (2019, €12M total, 30 competition cars), the Gérard Larrousse Collection (2020, Formula 1 and Le Mans cars from the 1960s–1980s competition career).

**Champs-Élysées vehicle access:** Artcurial is directly accessible from the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. FFGR drops at the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées entrance (the Avenue Matignon side of the roundabout, 50 metres from the Artcurial entrance), with vehicle stationed on the Avenue Matignon or the adjacent covered parking (Parking Matignon, Avenue Matignon, 100 metres).

The Mulhouse automobile museum and the Schlumpf collection

The Cité de l'Automobile — Musée National de l'Automobile (1 Rue de la Mertzau, 68100 Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin — 490 km from Paris via the A6/A36, 4h15): the most significant private automobile collection in the world, donated to the French state in 1977 after the bankruptcy of textile industrialists Hans and Fritz Schlumpf:

**The Schlumpf collection:** 500 vehicles assembled in secret from 1960–1976, representing the complete history of the automobile from 1878 pioneer vehicles through 1970s racing cars. The collection is displayed in a single hall measuring 17,000 m² — the largest automobile museum in the world by surface area — with gas lamps along the display aisles replicating the Schlumpf brothers' original staging.

**The Bugatti collection:** the core of the Schlumpf acquisition. 123 Bugatti automobiles spanning every significant production model from Type 13 Brescia through Type 57 Atlantic variants — the largest single-institution Bugatti collection in existence. The display includes: - 3 of the 6 Type 41 Royale examples produced (the most valuable automobiles produced before 1950 — current estimated value of the Royale 45111 exceeds €40M) - The Type 57 Atlantic, one of four known examples - 22 Grand Prix Bugatti racing cars (Type 35, 37, 51, 59)

**Other significant holdings:** the Alfa Romeo Grand Prix and sports car collection (Tipo B P3, 8C 2300 Monza, 158/159 Alfetta), the Panhard et Levassor pioneer automobiles (including the 1878 De Dion steam tractor and 1893 Panhard Levassor Type A), and the pre-war Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix cars (W125, W154, W165 Silver Arrows).

**FFGR Mulhouse programme:** Paris 07h00 → Mulhouse 11h15 (A6/A36, 490 km) → Cité de l'Automobile full day (10h00–18h00) → overnight Mulhouse (Hôtel du Parc, 26 Rue de la Sinne, 68100) → return Paris following morning.

Tour Auto Optic 2000 and the Parisian vintage rally circuit

The Tour Auto Optic 2000 (annual — late April/early May, 5 days, 2,000 km route changing annually through France): the most prestigious vintage automobile rally in Europe, organized by Peter Auto and departing from the Grand Palais in Paris (3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower 75008 — the departure ceremony from the Grand Palais forecourt is the most spectacular public vintage car display of the French calendar, 200+ competition cars assembled on Avenue Winston Churchill).

**Tour Auto format:** 200 eligible vehicles (pre-1973 competition cars — the entry list is the most exclusive vintage competition automobile roster in Europe, typically including Ferrari 250 GTO, Porsche 904 and 906 Carrera, Ford GT40, Cobra 289, Alpine A110 1600S, Lola T70 coupe). The rally runs competitive timed stages on closed French public roads and circuits including the Circuit de Charade, Albi, Nogaro, and the Paul Ricard. Competition vehicles must have documented period racing history.

**Grand Palais departure access:** FFGR positions the support vehicle at the Avenue Winston Churchill pavement for the departure ceremony (08h00, by public enclosure entry, no restricted access — however, the approach and extraction require early positioning). For clients entering vehicles in the Tour Auto, FFGR provides the support team and follow car for the 5-day route.

**Peter Auto regular events** (throughout the year, French circuits): Le Mans Classic (every 2 years, Circuit de la Sarthe 72100 Le Mans — 150+ period Le Mans entries racing on the original circuit through the night), Dix Mille Tours du Castellet (Paul Ricard 83330 Le Castellet, October), and the Historics at Spa (Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, June).

Specialist garages and restoration ateliers — Paris region

The Paris region maintains a significant concentration of specialist vintage automobile restoration ateliers and private storage facilities, particularly in the western and southern suburbs where workshop space costs are lower than the centre:

**Établissement Chapron** (Neuilly-sur-Seine — the successor to the Henri Chapron coachbuilder atelier, one of the most important coachbuilders of the postwar period, responsible for the Citroën DS décapotable and presidential Citroën DS bodies): currently operated as a restoration and sales specialist for coachbuilt French automobiles.

**Atelier Pascal Dougoud** (specialising in pre-war Bugatti and Delahaye mechanical restoration — the reference workshop for the Molsheim marques in the Paris region, operating from a private atelier in the western Île-de-France): accessible by introduction for collector clients seeking provenance verification or pre-purchase inspection.

**Réserve de Marques** (private climate-controlled storage for collector automobiles, multiple locations in the Île-de-France — the highest-specification storage facilities in France, used by the major French collector families and the auction houses for pre-sale storage): FFGR coordinates client inspection visits to these facilities for consignment assessment and pre-auction research.

**Châteaux private garages** (numerous): the private collections housed in the Île-de-France châteaux and country estates — typically assembled by industrial and financial families from the 19th century through the mid-20th century, occasionally accessible via specialist introduction for collector research and acquisition enquiry.

Booking the FFGR Paris collector car programme

The FFGR Paris collector car vehicle programme is offered in three formats:

**Rétromobile week full programme (5 days, February):** the comprehensive auction and salon programme covering all major sales and the salon floor: - Day 1: RM Sotheby's preview inspection (Espace Richelieu, full day) - Day 2: Artcurial Rétromobile preview (Porte de Versailles) + Bonhams preview (if applicable) - Day 3: Rétromobile salon press/trade day (full floor access before public opening) - Day 4: RM Sotheby's sale day (10h00–22h00) - Day 5: Artcurial sale day (alternative session)

**Single auction day programme:** hotel departure 09h00 → auction venue → full day sale attendance → hotel return after hammer. Vehicle available throughout sale for client comfort and movement between preview and auction room.

**Mulhouse Cité de l'Automobile day trip (overnight):** Paris departure 07h00, Mulhouse arrival 11h15. Full museum day (6–7 hours). Overnight Mulhouse, return following morning.

For the Tour Auto support programme, FFGR provides a dedicated follow vehicle and support team for the full 5-day route.

For pre-purchase inspection visits to private collections and specialist garages: FFGR coordinates the full logistics including the approach to the property, discretion protocol for the client visit, and return to Paris.

Contact us at reservation@ffgrparis.com or WhatsApp +33 7 43 46 14 91.