A venue more often associated with top names in fashion, La Halle Freyssinet, will host Bonhams next motor car and motorcycle sale in Paris on 1st February 2012. Models strutting down the catwalk to rock music will be replaced by an impressive array of automotive models driving through the venue to music coming from their V-Twin to V-12 engines, including a 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Coupé, which has attracted a pre-sale estimate of $1.7m–$2.1m.
This venue is a change from 2011’s event when the sale was held at the remarkable Grand Palais and achieved a rapturous response. The Grand Palais has been booked by France’s Minister of Culture on the required dates in 2012 hence the change in venue.
James Knight, Bonhams Group Head of Motoring, says: “Although we enjoyed our sale at the Grand Palais – and I must acknowledge how much the management tried their best to accommodate us for 2012 – it is very much a national monument that came with understandable restrictions. With La Halle Freyssinet we have identified another impressive and well located venue but this time allowing us to present a drive through auction – a concept we brought to Europe in 2009 to much acclaim. The drive through allows our clientele to see and hear the cars prior to coming under the hammer, providing an exciting dynamic to the sale.”