Results 2015 Artcurial Paris Retromobile Auction Baillon Cars.

Complete results from the Baillon barn find cars are not available yet but here are some highlights. All 59 cars were sold. These results are courtesy of here.
My previous post on the Baillon Cars is here.
As expected, top lot of the sale was the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider. I am sure it will be completely restored but were it mine, I would drive it the way it is. Washed and waxed of course.

"Top billing at the 2015 Paris classic car auctions went to a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider – a barn-find from the Baillon Collection. The pre-auction estimate was €9.5-12 million but the hammer finally came down at €14.2 million – €16.3 million ($18.5 million) once charges were added. This set a new auction record for a Ferrari 250 GT SWM California Spider – the previous record was $15.2 million paid at the 2014 Pebble Beach Gooding auction. This is also the highest price paid for any car at public auction thus far in 2015. This 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider formerly belonged to French film star Alain Delon and has been in the possession of the Baillons since 1971. It has never been restored making it probably the most original of the 37 short-wheel based California Spiders ever built, but probably also the one requiring the most attention to bring back onto the road".

Second highest was the original Maserati A6C 2000 Gran Sport. Original cars are hot....

"Artcurial’s second highest result at the 2015 Paris auction was €2 million or $2.2 million for a 1956 Maserati A6C 2000 Gran Sport Berlinetta Frua. This car was found together with the record-breaking Ferrari California Spider in a barn on the Baillon farm. It sold for almost double its pre-sale estimate of €800,000 to €1,200,000 and set a new model record. This car is one of only four produced with coachwork by Frua. It has been in the possession of the Baillons since 1955 and is in a complete, unrestored condition".

Third highest from the barn find was the 1949 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport. I thought the Hispano might come in third.

"A third barn-find car from the Baillon collection achieved a result in excess of a million dollar at the Artcurial 2015 Paris auctions. A 1949 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport SWB with coachwork by Saoutchik sold for €1.7 million, thats $1.9 million.
In contrast to the Ferrari and the Maserati, this result was unexpected. The pre-auction estimate was only €400,000 – €600,000. This car, with a rear-end shunt, stood in a lean-to shed for at least three decades and is in need of serious restoration work".

These results are courtesy of here

The Baillon Cars.

I grew up around automobiles and classic cars. Dad was a hobbyist restoration guy and we always had a car in the garage being worked on. From simple Model T's and A's to mid-century Buicks, Triumphs, Mercedes, Morris Minors and finally dads true automotive love, 1960's and 1970's Jaguars. Every Labor Day weekend was spent in Auburn, Indiana at the annual gathering of Auburn, Cord and Dusenburg aficionados, The ACD Meet. Wandering around the Auburn, Cord, Dusenburg Museum was a joy each year as was the annual Parade of Classics.

In conjunction with the ACD Meet was a huge swap meet and auction that exists to this day. When we first started going the sale was at the old high school but ultimately it was held at the Kruse Company Auction Park. It is now run by Auctions America and is even televised world wide. The car hobby as certainly grown. I am so blessed to have been exposed to all of this.

Courtesy Classiccars.com

I first read about the Baillon Cars on justacarguy in November 2014 I think it was. Like everyone with any interest in automobilia my jaw hit the floor. This was the greatest "Barn Find" ever. Barn Find is a cliche for finding something undiscovered in an old barn, be it an automobile, a piece of furniture or a rare painting. Larry Edsall puts it this way.

"It was just a few months ago that Artcurial announced that Lamoure and Artcurial car specialist Pierre Novikoff had discovered the Baillon cars, an amazing array of outstanding vehicles which Baillon had saved from destruction but for decades had been deteriorating, stored in open-sided sheds behind the garden walls of the Baillon estate in western France. Lamoure compared the experience to the discovery of the cars to that of the archeologists who founded King Tut’s tomb in Egypt in the 1920s."  Courtesy Larry Edsall here

If you havent seen what Lamoure and Pierre discovered, here are some great pictures. All courtesy of motorauthority.com . Artcurial moved all of the cars to Paris for their 2015 Salon Retromobile Auction. This auction was held Friday February 6th, 2015. The individual results and highlights will be in my next post on this amazing story.

PDF of entire catalog here