While the on-track action was as hot as the weather, Artcurial’s Le Mans Classic 2026 sale proved to be a bruising encounter. Just 17 full-sized car lots sold out of a total of 57 originally offered, with seven entries withdrawn prior to the auction.
With so much going on at the Le Mans Classic, and the sheer logistical challenge of navigating around the huge circuit itself, the pool of floating buyers would have been quite small. As anyone who has been there will know, there’s plenty to see at the Le Mans Classic, and there’s plenty to miss, too.
More widely, is there a future for auctions at massive events? It’s notable that Bonhams has eschewed the Goodwood Festival of Speed for a full sale, instead using the event as a preview for its Goodwood Revival sale later in the year. One to ponder…
Despite the gloom, there was money to be spent. Of the top five cars on pre-sale estimate, three sold – two within estimate and, in the case of the above 1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman Landaulet, nearly double its high estimate. Estimated at €1.4m-€1.8m, chassis 100.015.12.001779 was one of 21 left-hand-drive, four-door Landaulets built with the shorter, one-third-length folding roof. Completed at the beginning of 1971, the car was supplied new to the presidential garage of an unnamed West African country.
Its original specification included front and rear cameras connected to a CRT screen mounted in the wooden division behind the driver. It was also equipped with a television, VHS video player, Sony cassette stereo, folding central table and two bars, one of which was refrigerated. Further equipment included retractable glass-holders in the rear doors, a telephone housed in the central armrest and flag mounts on the front wings.
In 1987, the Landaulet returned to Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart for a comprehensive mechanical rebuild. It was subsequently sent to Carat Duchatelet in Liège, Belgium, where the upholstery and woodwork were restored. The passenger compartment was retrimmed in beige leather with matching carpets. A Carat Duchatelet plaque remained fitted to the car, accompanied by a booklet recording the work. The combined refurbishment was reported to have cost approximately three million French francs.
Once completed, the Mercedes-Benz was returned to its original presidential garage. The car was acquired by its consigning owner in 2014, when its odometer showed 27,000km. It arrived in France on February 5 that year and underwent a mechanical inspection before being returned to use. A further restoration began in 2016 at Atelier 600 near Paris, a workshop specialising in the W100. The engine, hydraulic system and pneumatic system were rebuilt, alongside work to the brakes, suspension, cooling system, mountings and ball joints. The windscreen was replaced and the folding roof refurbished, retaining its original transparent mica sections. The restoration also included attention to the upholstery and chromework. The Mercedes-Benz 600 sold for €3,475,200 at Artcurial’s Le Mans Classic 2026 auction.
The 1979 Lotus 78 chassis 78/3 sold for €1,187,200 against an estimate of €1m to €1.5m. Team Lotus retained an unused Works spare chassis built during 1978 and completed it as a full car in 1979. Following the destruction of Ronnie Peterson’s original 78/3 after his accident at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September 1978, the team reassigned the identity 78/3 to this car as a tribute to the late Swedish driver.
Although assembled by Team Lotus from an original Works chassis, it was not intended for competition. Instead, it remained with the team as part of the heritage collection and spent several decades on display in the Team Lotus museum. Classic Team Lotus restored the car in 2009, returning it to running condition for demonstration use rather than regular Historic racing. The car was subsequently sold to a Japanese collector, who became only its second private owner after Team Lotus. The consigning owner acquired 78/3 around ten years before the Le Mans Classic 2026 auction and kept it on static display without using it on track.
This 1980 BMW M1 Procar, chassis 4301302, began life as an orange road-going BMW M1, supplied new in Italy before Walker Brown Racing converted it to Procar specification in 1982. It subsequently competed in the IMSA GTO category between 1983 and 1986.
The car contested four races in 1983, followed by 13 events during 1984 including the Sebring 12 Hours. A further four starts followed in 1985 before Dallas Motorsport entered it in the 1986 Daytona 24 Hours. During its American competition career it appeared in white, black and red liveries, always carrying race number 43. Franco Sbarro acquired the M1 in 1986 and took it to Switzerland. A restoration completed in 2005 returned it to competition, allowing it to appear at the Le Mans Classic and in Peter Auto’s Classic Endurance Racing series.
A later owner commissioned another comprehensive restoration, completed in 2019 at a reported cost of around €150,000. The work returned the car to BMW Motorsport’s white, blue and red colours. It then contested five consecutive editions of the Tour Auto from 2019 to 2023, finishing inside the top ten on each occasion and placing second in the timed classification in 2023. Its consigning owner acquired it at Artcurial’s Rétromobile sale in 2024 but did not subsequently compete with it. The car was offered with an additional set of four wheels and a renewed FIA Historic Technical Passport valid for ten years. At Artcurial’s Le Mans Classic Legend auction, it sold for €965,520 against an estimate of €900,000 to €1.2m.
The Duckhams Le Mans was commissioned by Alain de Cadenet after his first appearance at the 24 Hours in 1971. He asked Gordon Murray, then working at Brabham, to design a prototype around concepts derived from de Cadenet’s Brabham BT33. It became the first complete car designed by Murray. Grand Prix Metalcraft built the monocoque, ProToCo produced the body and Cosworth supplied a DFV V8 previously used by McLaren in Formula 1. Duckhams backed the project, giving the car its yellow and blue livery.
De Cadenet and Chris Craft started in 11th place at Le Mans in 1972. The car ran as high as fourth before leaving the track in rain and finished 12th, becoming the first Cosworth DFV-powered car to complete the race. It then appeared at Watkins Glen and in Can-Am competition. Revised with longer bodywork for Le Mans in 1973, it retired after an accident during the 13th hour. It returned in 1974 with shorter, green bodywork. John Nicholson replaced the injured de Cadenet alongside Craft, and the car climbed to third before another accident ended its race.
De Cadenet later sold it to Colin Hawker, who rebodied it with a Volkswagen 1600 body for club racing as the DFVW. Restored to its 1972 specification in 2002, it was later acquired by Jacques Nicolet and won Grid 5 at the Le Mans Classic in 2018. At the Le Mans Classic 2026 sale, it sold for €774,800 against a €700,000 to €1.1m estimate.
The leading road car sale, other than the aforementioned Mercedes-Benz, was the above 2009 Ferrari F430 Scuderia Spider 16M. Originally sold to Rome before entering France in 2014, it had covered 20,850km and sold for €539,976 against a €450k-€650k estimate.
Other notable road-car results at Artcurial’s Le Mans Classic 2026 auction included a 2001 Ferrari 550 Barchetta that sold for €482,760 (€450k-€550k est), a 2008 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano that sold for €154,960 (€140k-€180k), a Grigio Ingrid 1999 Ferrari 550 Maranello that sold for €143,040 (€120k-€150k est) and a 2001 Ferrari 360 Modena manual with a factory-fitted roll bar that sold for €138,272 (€100k-€140k est). It wasn’t all good news for Ferraris, though – a 599 GTO (€850k-€1.05m est) and a 2005 575 Superamerica (€300k-€360k est) failed to find homes.
Elsewhere, a 1997 Venturi 300 Atlantique (the first built) sold for €116,816 (€110k-€130k est), a 1971 Porsche 911S Targa sold for €109,664 (€90k-€110k est) and a 1956 Austin-Healey 100M, one of 56 European-spec cars built and originally sold to France, sold for €119,200 (€100k-€150k est).
Further details
For more information on Artcurial’s Le Mans Classic 2026 sale, head here.
