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Bonhams - Les belles endormies at the polo de paris
| 2025-12-19 |     |
On 30 January 2026 (revised sale’s date & time), Bonhams|Cars will present "Les Belles Endormies" a Collection of 11 collector cars, all offered without reserve, at its Polo de Paris Sale. Those cars were discovered lying dormant gathering dust in a garage in Switzerland, all impeccably stored on axle stands waiting to be brought back to life.
The Collection was assembled by Pierre Strinati, a pioneer car enthusiast who started buying cars in the 1950s. In less than a decade, Mr Strinati assembled a collection like few had done before. It included some of the most important motorcars of the 1930s and 1950s such as a Talbot Lago T150C Goutte d’Eau, an Alfa Romeo 8C 2900, a Mercedes-Benz 30SL Gullwing or a BMW 507 (the last two bought new). He sold most of his cars in the 1980s when traffic got too dense and speed limits were introduced!
He however kept the cars he loved the most: highlights include a 1934 Mercedes-Benz 500K Coupé with coachwork by Vanvooren (estimate: €1,500,000-2,500,000), a 1938 Delage D8-120 Cabriolet with coachwork by Henri Chapron (estimate: €250,000-350,000) and a unique 1939 Voisin C30 "Aerodyne", which is estimated at €225,000–275,000.
Maximilien Gagnebin, Senior Specialist at Bonhams|Cars, commented
“This garage-find Collection is maybe one of the last of its kind with examples showcasing the heyday of car manufacturing. Those Sleeping Beauties have never been offered publicly before, most of them having been purchased by Mr Strinati in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their condition is a testament to their long-term owner. They should be carefully preserved through careful restoration to maintain their originality but most importantly they deserve to be driven as intended and shown to the public! ”
Representing the ultimate expression of the eight-cylinder Delage, this supremely elegant D8-120 Cabriolet was ordered in December 1938 by the Swiss Delage and Delahaye representative Albert Goy of Garage du Kursaal in Geneva for their customer, Mr Gossweiler of Bern. Delahaye commissioned the cabriolet body from the celebrated Parisian coachbuilder Henri Chapron, who completed the work the following summer (estimate: €250,000-350,000).
Pierre Strinati bought the Delage in the early 1960s from Carrosserie Graber, who fully repainted the car and retrimmed the hood in April 1961. The paintwork was changed to two-tone light over dark grey (probably during Mr Strinati's ownership), which suits the D8 very well. The leather interior remains original, as does the rest of the car.
A fantastic insight into futuristic design of the late 1930s, this unique 1939 Voisin C30 is one of only five known survivors of some 20 examples built. Although to this day, the author of this bodywork remains to this day a mystery. The car was first registered in the French Alpes Maritimes before returning to Paris. Mr Strinati acquired it in 1963 and imported it into Switzerland. He treated the car to some light restorative work in the 1980s painting it in BMW’s Savanna Beige from, what we believe, its original green. The interior remains largely original and very bright with its clear plexiglass apertures in the roof. (estimate: €225,000-275,000)
Other highlights of the Collection include (All Offered Without Reserve)
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Bonhams is a global network of auction houses, with the largest number of international salerooms, offering the widest range of collecting categories and selling at all price points. Bonhams is recognised for its bespoke service, and a dedication to local market relationships, enhanced by a global platform. With 14 salerooms, Bonhams presents over 1,000 sales annually, across more than 60 specialist categories, including fine art, collectables, luxury, wine & spirits, and collector cars.
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Photos : Bonhams