This year, the Bonhams Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris auction, usually held at Retromobile, is being conducted online on March 10. Seven Citroëns have been listed for sale with bids already being accepted. They are:
1971 SM
Chassis no. 00SB070772,987 kms
Est: € 40,000 – 60,000 ($48,000 – 72,000 USD)
Update: March 11, 2021: Sold for € 43,700 ($52,304 USD) inc. premium.
This SM’s previous owner was Peter Pijlman, President of the Dutch Citroën SM Club, who bought it from Gaspard Beke in 2000. He bought it having sought advice from Robert Opron, the Citroën SM’s designer. Peter Pijlman had the car serviced by Wim vcd Laan, the highly respected SM specialist in Abbenes. Modifications have made to the engine making it considerably more reliable than before (see below).
The current owner purchased the car from Peter Pijlman in 2013, since when it has been maintained in Holland by marque specialists Renard Automobiles of Beneden-Leeuwen and Cyril Sars of Doetinchem. Items that have received attention include the exhaust valves, timing chains, guides and chain tensioners. Modifications include drilling an extra oil way in the engine block; arranging extra lubrication for 5th gear; and fitting Rootselaar ignition and a reinforced oil pump shaft.
This SM is a 1st-series model (one of the first 200 produced) characterized by the absence of a rubber impact strip on the rear bumper. Other noteworthy features include the original Continental radio; electric antenna; and the original service booklet and owner’s manual.
1971 DS21 I.E. Décapotable
Coachwork by Henri Chapron
Chassis no. 01FA6402
Engine no. 0560014903
Coque n° 0032-0008l8
Est: € 150,000 – 250,000 ($180,000 – 300,000 USD)
Update: March 11, 2021: Sold for € 172,500 ($206,465 USD) inc. premium.
One of only four semi-automatic Chapron-built convertibles on the DS21 I.E. (Injection Electronique) platform and probably the only one ordered directly from Chapron’s workshop, unlike the more common ‘Cabriolet Usine’ ordered at the local Citroën dealership. The car is different from Citroën’s factory-built ‘Usine’ version, as shown by the copy of the ‘fiche d’atelier’ and certificate from the Henri Chapron archives (copies on file).
This particular car is illustrated in ‘DS – The Grande Livre’ by Olivier de Serres on page 271 of the first edition (reversed black-and-white photograph) and on page 318 in the later editions (correctly reproduced and in colour). Noteworthy features include:
- Extra stainless steel trim on the sides
- Upper and lower dashboard finished in ‘trompe l’oeil’ paintwork, imitating wood veneer
- Robergel spoked wheels (extremely rare, fully adjusted and balanced in October 2020)
- Original exterior colour Ivoire de Chine changed to Gris Nacré in the early 1970s
- Original red leather interior, patinated by the passage of time
- Soft-top made of Skai imitation leather: like the ‘trompe l’oeil’ dashboard an optional extra on a Chapron cabriolet. (The original automatic opening and closing system has been removed.)
- Original Voxson radio replaced with a Blaupunkt radio/cassette player ‘de l’epoque’
- Original electrically operated antenna
Sold new on November 24, 1970 via the Citroën dealer in Nantes, this DS was bought by the classic car dealer Jeanneau in the mid-1970s, presumably from the first owner. In 1988 the car was sold to Mr Topalian, a Greek classic car collector who lived in a chateau in southern France. When he died, his car collection was auctioned in the UK in October 2003.
This car was then bought by Vincent Crescia, the well-known Citroën Chapron restorer in Geneva. He carried out a mechanical overhaul while leaving the original bodywork and upholstery untouched on behalf of the present owner.
Later servicing and maintenance has been undertaken by the renowned Citroën Chapron specialist, Bart Kocken. This has included a complete renewal of the wiring loom (in 2006) and a complete overhaul of the engine with new-old-stock parts in 2008, since when it has run flawlessly for some 30,000 kilometres. Bart Kocken also installed an extra, second, radiator fan for better engine cooling. More recently (in 2020) an overhauled hydraulic steering box was installed.
The listing clams it runs and drives beautifully.
1985 2CV Charleston
Chassis no. VF7AZKA00KA097548
Est: € 15,000 – 20,000 ($18,000 – 24,000 USD)
Update: March 11, 2021: No sale.
Featuring the rarer grey-over-black Charleston colour scheme belongs to the same lifelong Citroën enthusiast offering the SM I.E., and CX 2000 in this auction. According to the current owner, the car was comprehensively restored circa 2012 by the previous owner, proprietor of a body repair shop in Italy. Although there are no records of the work, the vendor describes them as follows: the engine has been overhauled; the chassis and body comprehensively restored; and a new interior and new fabric roof fitted.
According to him, the 2CV has covered only some 7,000 kilometres since the restoration’s completion and is being offered with Italian registration documents
1975 CX 2000
Chassis no. 03MB2957
Just over 23,000 kms
Est: € 20,000 – 30,000 ($24,000 – 36,000 USD)
Update: March 11, 2021: No sale.
This CX 2000 dates from the first year of production and was delivered to its first owner in the province of Bologna, Italy on 30th August 1975. It comes with a Citroen-issued plastic card recording the name of the first owner.
Fnished in silver metallic with a blue cloth interior, the following items of optional equipment are installed:
- Voxson 8-track tape player
- electric windows (front only)
- air conditioning (Most likely installed in Italy as it is an Autoclima unit.)
It is also worth noting that this car does not have power steering, and it is believed only a few early examples did not have that feature as standard.
This CX was purchased by the current owner (the same Citroën enthusiast offering the SM I.E. and 2CV Charleston in this sale) from the first owner some 15 years ago.
The interior is in generally excellent condition, with no rips or marks noted on the upholstery, while the paintwork is believed to be largely original with only some minor imperfections noted. Unused magazine pockets to be fitted to the rear of the front seats are in the trunk.
The car is offered with a substantial history file containing the original Citroën CX brochures; the original service book including the aforementioned card with the first owner’s details and warranty commencement; original owner’s manual; original instruction booklet for the Voxson tape player (including a spare fuse and period tapes!), owner’s manual for the Autoclima air conditioning; various older service invoices; various older Italian tax discs (including the original from 1975); and the Italian registration documents.
1973 SM 2.7-Litre I.E.
Chassis no. 00SC2123
Just over 55,000 kms
Est: € 50,000 – 60,000 ($60,000 – 72,000 USD)
Update: March 11, 2021: No sale.
This beautifully presented SM was registered to its first owner in the Macerata region of central Italy on 23rd June 1973. Still with the car, the original warranty and service book records the supplying dealer as the Citroën main agent for Ancona, Adriauto.
Effectively only two owners from new, the first owner kept the SM until the late 1990s when his widow sold it to the current vendor, who, together with his late father, has been a lifelong Citroën enthusiast. The change of ownership was not recorded in the original libretto until 2008, and since then there has been one more change of ownership (to another company) but always within the vendor’s family.
The owner describes the condition of the engine as excellent, the body as very good, the gearbox and electrics as in working order, and the interior as very original with only some minor signs of wear. A hand-written note in the history file suggests that four exhaust pipes and the silencers were replaced in 2008.
1979 CX 2400 GTi
Chassis no. 05ME2090
25,341 kms
Est: € 15,000 – 25,000 ($18,000 – 30,000 USD)
Update: March 11, 2021: No sale.
Finished in metallic grey with black interior, this CX 2400 GTi participated in the Rallye Monte Carlo Historique in 2016 (competitor number ’81’). Suspensions and the hydraulic system have been redone. Presented in good overall condition, the car is offered with a French Carte Grise, French valid Contrôle technique and condition test sheets showing very good results.
1973 DS23 Pallas I.E.
Chassis no. 01FG6377
Est: € 55,000 – 75,000 ($66,000 – 90,000 USD)
Update: March 11, 2021: No sale.
Built to top-of-the-range Pallas specification, this late DS23 has the 2.3-litre engine and semi-automatic transmission. This car has been beautifully restored by ‘Cuir et Chrome’ of Aulnay-sur-Mauldre in 2015 with no expense spared at a cost of €68,925 and has belonged to the current vendor since then. Fitted with a radio but a bit modernized interior, it is certified by Citroën Heritage, it is presented in excellent condition, and the listing claims it shows no signs of age.