Two world records were broken at Artcurial's Automobiles sur les Champs sale on 2 November – both for classic Porsches.
More than €5.9m changed hands during the auction, including €232,400 paid for a 1974 Porsche Carrera 2.7 targa and €212,200 for a 1972 911 2.4S targa – both world bests for the respective models.
A 1992 Porsche 964RS also posted a mammoth figure, though not a world record. The hammer came down at €252,700, shortly after the '74 Carrera.
A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 fetched the largest sum of the night, selling for an impressive €955,400. The left-hand-drive example was the subject of a bidding war between a European collector, who was in the room, and a Russian on the telephone. The car was eventually sold in the room to raucous applause.
Another British classic went for well above its pre-sale estimate, but some way short of the Aston's figure at €38,100. The 1969 Morgan 4/4 was expected to go for between €20-30,000, but enjoyed much more interest due to being the very car driven by Gérard Depardieu in Les Valseuses.
However, its result was eclipsed by a 1966 Morris Mini Traveller, which came close to doubling its €22,000 pre-sale upper estimate, selling for a whopping €42,912.
The British success story continued when a 1992 Jaguar XJ220 made €211,120 – smashing its €145,000 expected value.
A 1974 Ferrari 246GTS raised no eyebrows when it sold for €357,600, illustrating that values of the Dino are showing no signs of cooling.
Moments earlier an American bidder landed a 1971 246GT for €274,200.
A Jaguar Mk2 that had belonged to French artist Pierre Soulages also drew a lot of interest, eventually achieving €57,200.
A half-scale replica of a Porsche 936 sold for €4000 above its upper estimate at €26,000, while a collection of enamel plaques sold for €4600 in the automobilia sale – some 10 times the pre-sale upper estimate.
