The eyes of the motoring world were fixed on Paris today as the Roger Baillon Collection – which was discovered last year on a French farm – went under the hammer at Artcurial's Rétromobile sale.
The two star lots were undoubtedly the ex-Alain Delon Ferrari 250GT California and an equally well-preserved 1956 Maserati A6G 2000 Gran Sport Berlinetta Frua, which was shown at the 1956 Paris Salon.
It was the ex-Delon Ferrari that stole the show, the excitement in the sale room palpable as it crossed the block for a staggering hammer price of €14.2m – comfortably surpassing its €12m pre-sale upper estimate.
The Maserati was close on its heels, exceeding its €800-1,200,000 estimate in just 10 seconds of furious bidding, going on to sell for an impressive €1,720,000.