Paris has classic car lovers in a spin

From Sydney Morning Herald: Paris has classic car lovers in a spin Car dealers in Paris for sales of Porsche and Aston Martin classics revealed a Ferrari was bought this year for about $US32 million. The GTO - one of 36 produced by the Italian company in 1962 to 1963 - was sold privately in Britain within the last two weeks to an unidentified buyer, said four dealers at Retromobile, France's biggest commercial show for classic cars. Investors are looking to rare cars as an alternative to volatile financial markets. The show is luring collectors with an exhibition that includes a Bugatti, said to be the world's most expensive car and bought for as much as $US40 million. Advertisement: Story continues below ''Retromobile is the most important event of its type in the world,'' the German-based dealer Jan Luhn said. ''The top things are selling for really good money at the moment. Cars that have issues don't sell. It shows that buyers are increasingly investment-minded.'' The Ferrari racer was an early example, had a competition history and was in well-preserved condition with original paint, said dealers who asked not to be named. Cars often fetch higher prices through discreet transactions than they do at auction. Dealers will be trying to sell about 200 classic cars at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in south-western Paris. The most expensive Bugatti, a futuristic 1936 Type 57SC Atlantic, bought by the California-based collector Peter Mullin in a private sale in 2010, is the star attraction in the non-selling section. The Atlantic was designed by Ettore Bugatti's son, Jean, and debuted at the 1935 Paris Motor Show. Made out of welded aluminium with a distinctive central seam, it won three orders. Mullin's example, made for the banker Victor Rothschild, is one of only two in original condition. The other is owned by fashion designer Ralph Lauren.