Some day, I’d like to attend Salon Rétromobile, an annual collector car show in Paris showcasing automobiles, clubs, parts and automobilia vendors and auctions. One of my favorite aspects of the European auctions is the unusual cars that cross the block. In today’s Market Monday, I’ll share my favorite weird and fascinating lots from the Winter 2025 Paris Auctions.

Artcurial Motorcars is a key sponsor of the Rétromobile event, and hosts the official auction at the show. and this year’s sale featured an eclectic selection of cars ranging from affordable to exotic and everything in between. RM Sotheby’s and Bonhams Cars also held auctions in Paris around the same time. Catalogues across all the sales included the typical well-known collector cars but also a plethora of lesser-known marques and models. These always catch my eye, even though valuation is more difficult due to fewer historical sales to reference. Consider today’s post more for fun, than a detailed study on the results of the Paris sales.

Scooters are ubiquitous in Europe, but apparently there was a day when you needed to promote their virtues. I didn’t know there were campaigns to set world speed records for scooters, but this Lambretta is one of record-setting vehicles. It’s astonishing to think a scooter can set a 200kph+ speed, but streamlined bodywork apparently goes a long way!

Here’s an original Mille Miglia contender that was sympathetically restored to participate in the 2016 recreation of the event. Amazingly, the car needed very little work after having been held by caring collectors over the years. Built on a tubular chassis using a Renault drivetrain, the car also participated in endurance racing in the period. Its streamlined shape is tailor-made for a vintage racing poster and would captivate bystanders at any special racing event or concours.

Boasting Du Pont ownership in its past, this little competition-oriented Fiat used a four-cylinder engine and running gear and is considered a one-off example and one of 12 total Abarth 207A, 208A and 209A cars. The 208A, this car, was intended to be a road-going version of the race car. Its two-tone paint was designed as a nod to American styling preferences at the time. Stylistically, it’s beautifully proportioned and the raised front fenders with hidden headlights are particularly fetching.

A French manufacturer with an arms manufacturing history, MATRA has a history of successful competition in motorsports and the MS640 was built to compete in the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans. There was just one prototype car built and sadly it was destroyed in testing. The car sold here was built from the original Matra blueprints and the bodywork created from the original molds. It’s a beautiful and inspiring recreation of a rather attractive and oh-so-French racing machine.

I hope I’m forgiven for not having heard of this manufacturer, but as a company still producing vehicles in France I probably should lose some points. The JS2 was Ligier’s first automobile, powered by a mid-mounted Maserati V6. Ligier is still around and unveiled a new sports-prototype in 2021. The JS has a rather fetching side profile, but appears to be typically French with interior volume rather minimized.

Looking a bit like some kind of surprised animal, it’s fitting this was posed next to a cow in the image gallery. The Haflinger was a sort of mini-Jeep designed for the Austrian Army. This particular example was used as a development prototype for the US version called the .Pathfinder, according to the description. What a fun farm vehicle this would be, but boy those rear jump seats look tortuous to sit in.

Now owned by a Chinese company, Isdera was originally a German manufacturer of low-volume high-end sports cars. The 036i Spyder featured wild 1980s styling with no fixed roof, exotic front-hinged doors, and a mid-mounted 3-liter Mercedes-Benz inline 6. Now fitted with an AMG-massaged 3.6L engine, this wild Rad-era roadster surely screams.

Its appearance suggests a much older aircraft, but that is part of its charm. Effectively a vintage French ultralight, the “Flying Flea” used a two-stroke engine to pull it aloft via its biplane wing design. An underslung fuselage carried a single occupant and apparently the little craft could fly as fast as 70mph. There’s no mention of the craft’s airworthiness but I’d expect this is now solely a museum piece. It’s very cool nonetheless.

Based on the data I have access to, sell-through rates for the auction houses at Paris were pretty good, including Bonhams Cars who netted a 79% STR. Sales prices (including buyer’s premiums) were overall solid but don’t appear to be indicative of any kind of significant improvement in the overall market, at least in France. On the positive side, I don’t see a huge plunge in prices either, with some cars doing quite well. 

Several of the quirky-cool cars above didn’t even break $25,000. The lovely little Ligier JS2 sold for around $100,000 which may be a lot, but it drips with style. If you’re seeking something rare and unusual that won’t break the bank, I encourage you to keep an eye on European auctions.

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisals, and auction services for buyers and sellers of collector European cars. If you’re interested in acquiring an overseas car, give us a call or drop a line!