10 brilliant classics for sale at Bonhams’ Chantilly auction

Raft of sweet treats up for grabs in France

Chantilly might be famous for its cream but, come 30 June, it won’t be dairy that’s drawing crowds in the French town.

That’s because Bonhams is hosting a sale of 40 classic cars at the Chateau de Chantilly, as part of the Chantilly Arts & Elegance concours – and the line-up is suitably sumptuous.

From stunning 1930s tourers to mid-century rarities to desirable youngtimers, the auction catalogue packs a vintage motor to suit almost every taste, if not every budget.

Interested in splashing out? Here are 10 of the best lots set to go under the hammer at the end of the month.

1966 Shelby Cobra 427

Estimate: €850-950k (£760-850k)

Born in Thames Ditton, made in the USA: the Shelby Cobra is arguably the ultimate combination of British style and American V8 power – and this gleaming red example is as nice as they come.

Sold new in the USA and equipped with the larger 427cu in engine, chassis CSX3276 made its way to Germany in the 1970s, where it gained Halibrand wheels and a raft of chrome components. The muscular machine then spent some 30 years with the same owner, before changing hands in 2003.

It goes to auction at Chantilly in a highly original, matching-numbers state, complete with all the grunt you’d expect of that big block motor. 

1954 Arnolt-Bristol

Estimate: €290-330k (£260-290k)

Don’t fancy a Cobra? There’s another Euro-American hybrid up for grabs at the Chateau and it’s every bit as arresting.

The Arnolt-Bristol was the brainchild of Stanley Arnolt, and his eponymous motor was based on a 2-litre Bristol, bodied by Bertone and tweaked in Indiana.

The result was a two-seater with an aerodynamic shell, a fantastic chassis and race-winning power – as Arnolt proved at Sebring in 1955.

One of just 130 built, chassis 3097 was restored in 2013 (to the tune of €130,000), then promptly entered the Mille Miglia in 2015 and 2016.

It goes under the hammer in Chantilly in excellent condition, complete with original engine and recently refurbished carburettors.

1955 Alfa Romeo 1900C Super Sprint

Estimate: €200-300k (£180-270k)

Of the five Alfa Romeo machines up for grabs at the Chantilly sale, this mid-century coupé is arguably the finest of them. 

Wrapped in stylish but subtle three-window bodywork by Touring of Milan, chassis 10481 is one of fewer than 1000 examples of the 1900 built in the more powerful 115bhp Super Sprint guise.

Stabled variously in Switzerland, France and Belgium over its 64 years, the two-tone stunner received an exacting restoration in 2017 and 2018 that left it in outstanding condition – from its Borrani wire wheels to its Azzuro Verde Oceano paint job.

1913 Rolls-Royce 40/50hp London-Edinburgh Silver Ghost

Estimate: €650-750k (£580-670k)

Fancy steering a centenarian home from Chantilly? With a paint job to match the town’s most famous export, this cream Roller will certainly have heads turning if you take it on the Calais ferry.

One of just 188 examples named for the fabled London to Edinburgh run undertaken by a Silver Ghost in 1911, this gleaming number offers the same blend of refinement, style and performance as the one that set the 800-mile record – indeed, it’s a direct copy.

Delivered new to jewellery dealer Albert Janesich, rebuilt in 1927 following a crash, stripped and hidden in a loft during WW2 then rediscovered in the ’90s, it’s a machine with quite a tale – and one that continued with an exacting restoration, complete with correct replica coachwork.

It goes to auction in stunning – and running – condition, albeit with a sizeable price tag.

1936 Rolls-Royce Phantom III

Estimate: €150-250k (£130-220k)

Cream not your colour? Try this bold blue Phantom III from 1936: powered by a 7.3-litre V12, it was, in its heyday, the absolute last word in cruising comfort and performance.

Originally finished as a saloon by British firm Windovers, chassis 3AZ72 spent its early life in the UK, before heading to Holland to join a renowned collection.

It wasn’t until after the Roller’s sale by Bonhams in 2004 that it gained its drophead-coupé shell, styled to perfectly match the Vanvooren coachwork of the era. 

1952 Gordini Type 15S

Estimate: €700k-1m (£620-890k)

A €1m estimate for a motor that’s been chopped and changed might sound like a lot, but then this is no ordinary cut-and-shut job.

Born in 1947 as a single-seat competition car, this Gordini was raced that year by motorsport legends including Juan Manuel Fangio and Jean-Pierre Wimille.

It saw extensive track action over the next few years before, in 1952, it started its second life: totally disassembled, it was fitted with an engine from a Type 18 and parts from a Type 15S, then wrapped in the same stunning open-top bodywork that it still wears today.

It promptly entered into the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours, and although it retired from that race its motorsport career continued until the mid ’50s.

Restored in 2005, it heads to auction as one of just two remaining four-cylinder Gordini barchettas – and with a price tag to match.

1995 Porsche 993 Carrera RS

Estimate: €230-300k (£200-270k)

The youngest of our Chantilly highlights, this mid-’90s Porsche is up there with the most desirable of 911s.

Delivered new to Andorra in 1995, it’s a pristine, original and unrestored example of the 993 model in its ultimate 3.8 RS guise – complete with better suspension, limited-slip differential and race-bred, 3.8-litre motor, good for 300bhp.

One of just a thousand or so built, the winged thing goes to auction with just 44,000km on the clock.

1932 Invicta 12/45 4½-Litre Tourer

Estimate: €300-400k (£270-360k)

Invicta wasn’t a constant in the 20th century, but its various lives delivered some lovely machines and it was during a stint in Chelsea in the ’30s that the intermittent firm built this open-top beauty.

A clear rival to its Bentley contemporaries, what with its punchy 4.5-litre motor and luxurious refinement, the 12/45 cut quite the dash on British roads – and chassis L66 was no exception.

Finished in 1932, it gained a more powerful Meadows engine early in its life, before a full restoration in the ’90s that saw it rebodied with the four-seat shell it wears today.

Both distinctive and drivable, it's little wonder this striking classic could fetch as much as £360,000 (€400k) on 30 June.

1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet ‘Extralusso’

Estimate: €250-300k (£220-270k)

Alfa Romeos have always had distinctive faces, but this late-’40s number takes things to the next level: delivered new to Italy and later stabled in the USA, it’s a lesser-spotted example of the 6C in ‘Extralusso’ guise.

Besides a sumptuous interior designed by Mario Revelli di Beaumont (including such novelties as perspex handle covers and unique steering wheel), that label meant the 2.5-litre machine came wrapped in special coachwork penned by Giovanni Michelotti, complete with striking grille.

Believed to be one of just two surviving examples, it received an engine rebuild 10 years ago and remains in remarkable and highly original condition today.

1959 BMW 507 Series II

Estimate: €1.8-2.2m (£1.6-2m)

And now the showstopper: a glorious, restored example of BMW’s breathtaking 1950s sports car, expected to fetch as much as £2m at the Chantilly sale.

The brainchild of US importer Max Hoffman, the open-top stunner might have almost bankrupted the German marque, but its arresting lines – equal parts smooth, sculpted and muscular – were always destined to become iconic.

Just 250 or so were built before BMW, facing financial ruin, had to pull the plug, making the ravishing roadster a proper rarity today.

This 3.2-litre example was finished in 1959 and, after a period in Switzerland, moved to Germany in 1982, where it received a thorough restoration, including a fresh engine – and it remains a truly glorious thing today.