Artcurial

One of the most significant cars in history will sell at Monterey this week, and it isn't the Ferrari 250 GTO.​ This Ferrari 275P won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, was the first mid-engined car to win, and twice set record distances for the event.

The Volkswagen Beetle continues to defy the laws of economics, becoming one of the hottest collector car investments at the same time as being the most plentiful. Though the collector car market has cooled, 36 of the 50 most valuable Beetles have been sold in the last three years.

Rétromobile has been running since 1976, when the most expensive car in the world cost less than $100,000 and long before the term retro had become fashionable. It is one of those places where auctions truly can throw up some remarkable objets d'automotive art. This year it did not disappoint.

There have been many fabulous children's cars we have chronicled over the last few years, ​ but this 1927 4.5-liter Bentley scale replica children's car heads for sale during Retromobile in Paris this week, and it is estimated at just €5,000 to €7,000.​

This 2003 Bentley Arnage-based estate car is perhaps the most lavishly crafted station wagon in history. It began life in 2003 as a brand new 500-hp, twin-turbo 6.75-liter Bentley Arnage, and was purchased by an Italian industrial heir with some exclusive modifications in mind.

In our ongoing efforts to offer more useful auction reports, we've configured the most valuable, the biggest "no sales" and the more interesting offerings at this month's Retromobile auctions in Paris.

Ettore Bugatti set world speed records for cars, boats, trains and airplanes and his Type 35 became the most successful racing car ever. His cars have long since regained their former glory on the auction block, but the hitherto unacclaimed "Baby" is performing beyond expectations.

French superstar Johnny Hallyday​ scored two world auction records in ten minutes on the weekend when his 1989 Harley-Davidson Softail Springer sold for $298,193 and his custom Boyd Coddington 1953 Cadillac Serie 62 Cabriolet​ sold for $287,544.​​

The Paris round of collector car auctions begins later this week, with RM-Sothebys auction on February 8, Bonhams​ on February 9 and Artcurial on February 10. Some very important and wonderfully storied automobiles will grace the auction block and this is our pick of the 10 best.​

The Volkswagen Beetle (Bug in the US) did more to commoditize personal transportation than any other automobile in history. The most-mass-produced car ever (21.5 million sold) is the last car one would expect to soar in value at auction as a collectible, but it's happening.

​A Ferrari 335S​ Spider​ sold for $35 million (€31,360,000​) this Friday, becoming the second-most valuable car ever sold at auction. The car fell short of the world record of $38.1 million set by a Ferrari 250 GTO in 2014.

The next fortnight sees one of the most concentrated periods of auction activity outside Monterey Car Week. The action is spread across two main locations in Scottsdale, Arizona and Paris, France, where the Retromobile Exhibition is held in the city which pioneered auto racing 120 years ago.