Bonhams Les Grandes Marques à Paris Sale 2022

EX-ROBERT REDFORD PORSCHE 904 STARS

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER RACE AND ROAD CARS

AT BONHAMS PARIS SALE

A 1964 Porsche 904 GTS, estimate €1,300,000 – 1,600,000, formerly owned by one of Hollywood’s greatest names, the actor Robert Redford, is one of the stars at Bonhams Grandes Marques à Paris Sale on 3 February. Opening the Bonhams Motorcars Europe 2022 calendar, the sale will be staged in the heart of the city at the Grand Palais Ephémère, by the Eiffel Tower.

The last of the famous Porsche ‘giant killer’ racing cars, the 904 was a mid-engined, fibreglass-bodied GT racer which garnered sports-car racing success, notably in the Targa Florio, and even picked up a podium place in the Monte Carlo Rally. Originally owned by Steve Earle, founder of the Monterey Historic Races at Laguna Seca, this GTS was campaigned by subsequent owner Steve Berg at prominent North American venues including Laguna Seca, before it was later acquired by Redford, who kept it for nearly a decade.

A pair of motor cars driven by one of the greatest names in motorsport – Michael Schumacher– both on and off the track, will be also offered at Bonhams Les Grandes Marques à Paris Sale on Thursday 3 February. 

Both cars date from the year that the seven times Formula 1 World Champion joined the newly formed Mercedes GP Petronas Formula 1 Team. The first, a 2010 Tesla Roadster, estimate €135,000 – 200,000, was demonstrated by Schumacher at that year’s Race of Champions event in Düsseldorf, while the other, a 2010 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate, was his first ‘company car’ while driving for the Formula 1 team. It has an estimate of €50,000 – 100,000 (No Reserve).

2010 also witnessed Schumacher’s fourth appearance in the Race of Champions – in which top stars of different motorsport genres compete head-to-head in identical vehicles – and his fourth victory in the event’s Nations Cup along with long-time Race of Champions partner and compatriot Sebastian Vettel. 

Schumacher went head-to-head with rally driver Sébastien Loeb, each driving one of four 2.5 Tesla Roadsters specially prepared for the event with added roll cage; a carbon-fibre racing seat with six-point harness; a stripped interior; and a prominent red button on the dashboard to cut power in an emergency.

Following the event, the current vendor and sole owner acquired the Roadster from the Tesla dealership in Monaco, still in race configuration, with the left rear wing signed by three of the competing Race of Champions drivers including Loeb. The French-registered Tesla has covered fewer than 15,000 kilometres from new.

The Mercedes-Benz C63 was at Schumacher’s disposal until 28th July 2010, and he was registered as its ‘Conducteur’. As befits the standing of its first driver, the car, finished in black with a black leather interior, was equipped with luxurious options adding more than €20,000 to the list price. Having covered just under 152,000 kms, the C63 is offered by its fourth owner who has only used it during summer months. 

Philip Kantor, International Chairman, Bonhams Motoring and Les Grandes Marques à Paris Head of Sale, commented:

“Not many people can say that they have followed in the tyre tracks of a true motorsport legend but there are two opportunities to do so at our Paris sale. Both cars are unmissable for any motorsport enthusiast or collector.”

Les Grandes Marques à Paris Sale, staged in the heart of the French capital, will offer several further opportunities to own collectors’ cars with a motorsport pedigree. 

The Property from the Collection of a Gentleman Driver comprises 23 period and replica racing cars, all offered with No Reserve, led by a world-record breaker – the 1988 Audi 200 Turbo Quattro Nardo 6000 Speed Record Car, estimate €300,000 – 500,000, (No Reserve).

This unique works car, the sole survivor of only three produced, was overseen by Dr Ferdinand Piëch, the then chairman of Volkswagen Group, and built to NASCAR regulations. Featuring lightweight Kevlar aprons and fenders, aluminium roof and doors and plexiglass windows, and powered by Audi’s 2.2-litre inline five-cylinder engine, the 200 had an output of 360hp and a top speed of 350km/h. 

The car set two world and nine class records at the Nardo Ring test track in Italy, and was purchased direct from Audi by Dr Sigi Brunn, one of its record-setting drivers.  

Lining up with the Audi is a highly-original 1991 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II DTM, estimate €300,000 – 400,000(No Reserve), built by the DTM’s Team Snobeck and campaigned by Alain Cudini in the 1991 DTM championship and later by Michel Neugarten in the Belgian Procar series 1992/1993.

Also offered is a 1982 BMW E28 528i ‘Eggenberger’ Competition, estimate €120,000 – 180,000 (No Reserve), which was prepared for that year’s European Touring Car Championship, and also contested the Spa-Francorchamps 24-Hours several times. 

Race Ready Replicas

Of note among the race-ready and well-built replicas offered in this collection are a 1975 Chevrolet Monza AMSA AAGT Replica Race-car, estimate €250,000 – 350,000 (No Reserve), a Belcar Historic Cup race winner which is eligible for the Le Mans Classic; a 1995 Sauber C9 ‘BMW M1’ Group 5 BASF Replica, estimate €200,000 – 300,000 (No Reserve), built to the same specification as Nelson Piquet’s original 1,000km Nurburgring-winning car, and a 1978 Mercedes-Benz 450 SLC 5.0 ‘Dakar’ Replica, estimate €150,000 – 200,000 (No Reserve). 

Further motorsport highlights include:

• 1931 Invicta 4 ½-Litre S-Type Low Chassis Sports ‘Sentinel’, coachwork by Carbodies, estimate €1,100,000 – 1,400,000. One of the finest sports cars of the Vintage era, this one of 77 S-Types built has been extensively campaigned and has a guaranteed entry into the most prestigious events worldwide including the Mille Miglia Storica.

• 2007 Matra MS630 Sports Prototype Continuation, chassis no. 630-05, estimate €350,000 – 550,000. This authorised continuation of the 1967 season MSCs was built using original blueprints and powered by a GT40-type engine. Ready to race and eligible for the most prestigious motorsport events, this car has campaigned in the 2013 Masters Series and was the winner of the 2015 Daytona Classic Qualifying Race. 

• 1966 Porsche 911 2.0L SWB FIA, estimate €100,000 – 140,000. An early short wheelbase example, this car has competed in French historic motorsport since 2000 and is offered with an entry to this year’s Le Mans Classic retrospective. It is ready to race in the most prestigious events, having previously campaigned in the 2013 Master Series and 2015 Daytona Classic (winner of the qualifying race). 

Les Grandes Marques à Paris Sale will take place on Thursday 3 February, (Automobilia at 11.00, Motor Cars 14.00) in a new venue, the Grand Palais Ephémère exhibition pavilion on the Champs de Mars in the heart of the French capital, Paris.

The sale will be held as a traditional live auction, with bids accepted from clients in the room (respecting social distancing and all local COVID-related guidelines). 

*The sale will also be available the Bonhams App, providing registered bidders the opportunity to bid in real time online via Bonhams.com while watching the auctioneer and videos of cars on offer. Absentee and telephone bids are also encouraged.

Pre-sale viewing will take place at the Grand Palais Ephémère on Wednesday 2 February 09.00 to 17.30 and on Thursday 3 February from 09.00.

 Les Grandes Marques à Paris Sale

3 February 2022 – 13:00 CET

Le Grand Palais Ephémère

Paris, France.