Baillon Collection, discovered by Artcurial
Georges Irat, Facel Vega... many prestigious French brands (Courtesy of Artcurial)
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Baillon Collection, Discovery of the Century?

Perhaps the headline given by the Artcurial auction house is a bit exaggerated, but of course this is "THE DISCOVERY" -like that, with capital letters- from the beginning of the 60st century. Some 10 automobiles from the 70s to the XNUMXs, with the main brands most coveted by collectors.

It seemed impossible that places like this could still be found, with so many gems that had been incredibly lost track of more than 30 years ago. And as is inevitable, this fascinating discovery has reminded us of the famous "Dovaz Collection ”, found in the 80s.

To date, the Dovaz was known as "the greatest discovery", due to the entity and poor condition of the cars found, in conflict with the "Malmerspach Collection ”, although the latter was actually a part of the reserves of the French National Automobile Museum.

Frustrated museum

In the present case, it is part of the automobiles of Roger Baillon, a businessman dedicated to transport who managed to gather an impressive collection during the 50s and 60s with the idea of ​​setting up a car museum.

At the end of the 70s the company began its decline and Baillon was forced to sell about 50 cars, and the most curious thing is that the French fans thought then that the entire collection had dispersed when in fact 60 of the best pieces were still there. gathered in a remote place.

In this kind of country house they have been jealously guarded since then until recently the "investigators" of the French auction house Artcurial have found them, although the exact details of the operation have not transpired.

The lost ark

The news has spread like wildfire and will give a lot to talk about until the collection is auctioned during the Retromobile Salon in Paris, specifically on February 6, 2015. The prices estimated by Artcurial range from 500 euros for some popular cars to 9 million euros for the 250 Ferrari 1961 GT SWB California Spider.

The latter, apart from its best condition -thanks to the fact that it has not remained outdoors but in a closed garage- is remarkable because it was the personal car of the famous French actor Alain Delon, and there are several vintage photos of him with the car, some even with Jane Fonda.

For the rest there is everything, but without a doubt the high-end Gallic cars of the 30-50s are noteworthy: Bugatti, Delahaye, Delage, Talbot or Hispano-Suiza are some of the brands present, and also dressed by renowned bodybuilders from the time like Saoutchik, Chapron or Millon Guiet… Real candidates for elegance contests!

Once restored, yes, because so many years in the open have left some in a really worrying state of deterioration, although due to their high value they will surely deserve the millionaire investments they need.

We suppose that during the next few weeks –or months- we will get to know more information and photos of this magnificent “Barn find”, and for now we leave you with the list of the main cars that will go up for auction, although and as can be seen in the photos , there were many more.

List of cars from the Baillon Collection

♦ Amilcar C6 saloon

♦ Amilcar C.G.S.

♦ Aries coach

♦ Auto Union convertible

♦ Airplanes Voisin C15

♦ Aircraft Voisin limousine C15

♦ Avions Voisin C7 by Gallé

♦ Ballot 8 cyl limousine

♦ Barré torpedo

♦ Berliet coupe chauffeur

♦ Berliet Type VIGB 10HP Taxi Landaulet

♦ Bugatti 57 Ventoux

♦ Citroën 5 CV Trefle

♦ Delage D6

♦ Delage D8 coach

♦ Delahaye 135 cabriolet Faget Varnet

♦ Delahaye 135 coach Chapron

♦ Delahaye 235 coach Chapron

♦ Delahaye 235 coach Chapron

♦ Delahaye 235 Chapron coupe

♦ Delahaye Type 43 coupe chauffeur

♦ Delahaye GFA 148L

♦ Delahaye Type 43 truck

♦ Delaunay Belleville limousine VL8

♦ Facel Vega Excellence

♦ Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider

♦ Ferrari 308 GTS i

♦Ferrari 400

♦ Ferrari Mondial 3.2L convertible

♦ Hispano-Suiza H6B convertible Millon-Guiet

♦ Hotchkiss convertible

♦ Innocenti S convertible

♦ Jaguar type S 3.4L

♦ La Buire 12 A

♦ Lagonda LG45 convertible

♦ Lancia Theme 8.32

♦ Lorraine Dietrich B3 / 6 plateau

♦ Lorraine Dietrich B3 / 6 torpedo by Grumman

♦ Lorraine-Dietrich torpedo

♦ Maserati A6G 2000 Gran Sport Frua

♦ Mathis convertible

♦ Mathis FOH

♦ Packard Cabriolet Super Eight

♦ Panhard-Levassor Dynamic Berline X77

♦ Panhard-Levassor Dynamic coupe X76

♦ Panhard-Levassor limousine X72

♦ Porsche 356 SC ex-Sonauto

♦ Renault AX torpedo

♦ Renault Vivastella convertible

♦ Sandford cyclecar 3 routes

♦ Singer Convertible

♦ Talbot Lago 11/6 cabriolet

♦ Talbot Lago Baby cabriolet

♦ Talbot Lago Baby cabriolet

♦ Talbot Lake Cadette 11

♦ Talbot Lake Coach

♦ Talbot Lake T26 coach

♦ Talbot Lago T26 Grand Sport coupe Saoutchik

♦ Talbot Lago T26 Record coupe Saoutchik

♦ Talbot Lago T26 cabriolet Saoutchik ex-Roi Farouk [/ su_spoiler]

More images…

The collection on video

What do you think?

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Written by Francisco Carrion

My name is Francisco Carrión and I was born in Ciudad Real in 1988, a place that was not at first akin to vintage cars. Fortunately my grandfather, dedicated to the automotive sector, had friends who owned veteran cars and participated in the annual rally that was held (and continues to be held) in my hometown ... Read more

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