A 1980s Audi has set a new record for a rally car going under the hammer.
The 1988 Audi Sport Quattro S1 rally icon sold for a staggering €2million – almost £1.8million – at the Artcurial Parisienne collectible car event on Friday.
Not only was the winning bid twice the figure predicted but it has also set a world record for the highest fee paid for a rally car at auction – and came as a set of some of the most outlandish and iconic cars were put up for sale.
The Audi was one of seven 1980s Group B racers from a single collection made available at the sale, which also included 1985 versions of the Peugeot 205 Turbo T16 and Renault 5 Maxi Turbo, which also sold for new record high amounts.
Group B rally icons: All seven of these fearsome race cars from the 1980s were offered from a single museum collection to the highest bidder in Paris on Friday evening
The gaggle of seven 1980s rally stars went under the hammer in the French capital on Friday evening,
All were from a single collection from the Manoir de l’Automobile museum in Loheac – a selection of vehicles brought together by two motor racing enthusiasts, Michel Hommell and Olivier Quesnel.
While all have been on display for decades and are therefore in need of some recommissioning to get them back on the road, they’re steeped in history from arguably the most celebrated era in rallying – the fearsome Group B category.
In total, the seven machines sold for a collective €5.7million (£5million), proving that there’s plenty of life in the classic car market despite the ongoing impact of the coronavirus.
The headline-grabbing sale was the Audi Sport Quattro S1, which was bought for a massive €2,016,600 (£1,771,434), inclusive of sales premiums.
This 1988 Audi Sport Quattro S1 was commissioned by the German manufacturer to compete in the Race of Champions, which took place two years after the end of the Group B rallying era in tribute to driver Henri Toivonen
The Audi is the last of the legendary Quattro rally cars to ever be produced and is in exceptional condition for a racing machine. It sold for almost £1.8million – a record highest fee paid for a rally car at auction
It was sold directly to Quesnel by Audi after it had taken part in the Race of Champions in 1988 – an event organised by rally driver Michèle Mouton, who herself took four victories in a Audi Quattro in 1981 and 1982.
The special event was arranged in tribute to the late Henri Toivonen, whose crash in 1986 at the Corsica rally brought an end to the Group B rally series over safety concerns.
It is the final version of the Audi Quattro competition car to be created and is described as being in ‘exceptional condition’ for a rally car.
Artcurial said it offered a unique chance for a collector to get their hands on the original four-wheel-drive rally icons.
‘Nowadays, Quattro S1s are extremely rare. Some have been destroyed, while Audi Tradition has kept several of the survivors,’ the auction house said.
‘The opportunity to buy one from a private owner is therefore exceptional, especially for an example which has been so well preserved.’
This Peugeot 205 Turbo T16 competed in the Group B rally championship for two seasons, taking three victories. It sold for approximately £876,300, which is the biggest sum ever paid for a Peugeot 205
This Renault 5 Maxi Turbo, piloted by famed Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, is the most expensive Renault 5 of all time after a winning bid of £486,400 at the weekend’s sale in Paris
Also selling for record fees were 1985 versions of two French Group B rally legends.
The first is a Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Evolution 2, which won the 1985 Corsica Rally in the hands of Frenchman Bruno Saby. It also competed in the 1986 WRC season with Timo Salonen behind the wheel, taking victories at his home race in Finland and the final event of the season in Great Britain.
Incredibly, the car is still registered in the name of Peugeot Sport.
It sold for a whopping €997,440 (around £876,300), which is not only the highest price paid at auction for Peugeot’s competition car but the most anyone has ever paid for a 205 hatchback of any kind.
It was also well over the €600,000 to €800,000 estimate.
Similarly, a Renault 5 Maxi Turbo of the same year also sold for a record amount for the model, with a winning bid of €667,520 (£486,400), which was over the €400,000 to €600,000 predicted sale figure.
Having been driven by Spanish rally hero Carlos Sainz, it has become the most expensive Renault 5 model of all time.
This pair of Martini-liveried Lancia Group B rally cars (1985 037, left) and a (1986 Delta S4, right) sold for £481,700 and £712,100 respectively – both above their highest estimates
This 1985 MG Metro 6R4, which went on to win the French Rally Championship after competing in the WRC, sold for approximately £214,700, including sale premiums
This factory Ford RS200 – chassis 015 – sold for around £335,200. This is the most successful RS200 in history, claiming third in the Swedish rally in 1986
The other cars in the Artcurial auction included a pair of Martini liveried Lancias – one being a 1985 037, which sold for €548,320 (£481,700), and a 1986 Delta S4, which sold for €810,560 (£712,100). Both sold for more than the higher estimates.
The remaining Group B models up for grabs sold for figures within their estimation ranges.
They were a French Rally Championship winning 1985 MG Metro 6R4 (€244,360, or £214,700) and a factory 1986 Ford RS200.
The Ford, chassis number 015, achieved the short-lived RS200’s best Group B finish, ending the 1986 Swedish race in third in the hands of Swede Kalle Grundel. It sold for €381,440 (£335,200).
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