Sold!

We’ve not seen a saleroom so fraught with excitement (and crammed with people) since Artcurial sold the Baillon Collection this time last year. And the car they all came to see was no doubt the Works Ferrari 335 S Spider from 1957, which realised 28m euros on the hammer (bang on its lower estimate) – the most expensive car ever sold at auction in Europe. Chassis 0674 was driven at the finest events by an extraordinary roll call of drivers, including Stirling Moss, Wolfgang von Trips, Luigi Musso, Piero Taruffi and Mike Hawthorn, and subsequently spent most of its life in the renowned collection of Pierre Bardinon. It's not only one of the most significant sports-racing Ferraris in existence, but also one of the most desirable cars ever to come to auction.

Other highlights included Gianni Agnelli’s unique Ferrari 1986 Testarossa Spider (1.02m euros hammer – well bought given its credentials?) and the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA that, at 365,000 euros (hammer), exceeded its pre-sale estimate by an impressive 165,000 euros. Check back on Classic Driver on Monday for more insight on the rest of the sale.

Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver © 2016