This Honda Civic is the auction car 2020 deserves
“The bodywork suffers from damage on the front right and on the flank following an impromptu encounter with a wild boar.” As auction descriptions go, this one for a 1990 Honda Civic takes home the bacon.
In many ways, it's the perfect auction car for 2020. A sorry looking Honda Civic with a pre-auction estimate of €50-€100 (£45-£90) is a splendid metaphor for everything that is broken in our world. Or maybe PetrolBlog is reading too much into it.
It's another car from the André Trigano collection, and is the second one to feature on PetrolBlog following the Renault Clio Baccara. The Artcurial auction description claims, rather optimistically, that it could be restored. The more probable future for the Honda Civic is a listing on Leboncoin, filed under ‘pièces de rechange ou réparation’.
Still want that Porker?
The temptation to get it through an MOT is high. Knock the bumper into shape, remove any sharp edges, fit a new headlight and sidelight, then use it as a homage to Monsieur Trigano's meeting with the wild boar. Given the family's historical links with the camping industry, maybe it needs a tent on the roof and a disposable barbecue in the boot. Pork sausages, of course.
The Honda Civic is one of the highlights of an auction that includes a Lamborghini 400 GT that's expected to sell for €400,000-€600,000 (£360,000-£540,000). The usual classic car auction names are also in attendance. Aston Martin, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and BMW, to name just five.
Amazingly, the Civic isn't the cheapest car in the André Trigano sale. This Citroën Visa (€30-€50) is unlikely to live again, not least because it's lost its running gear. Meanwhile, the Peugeot 106 Electric is likely to sail past its pre-auction estimate of €50-€100 (£45-£90).
Pig patina
PetrolBlog doesn't do classic car auctions, but if it did, the auction rooms would be filled with cars like this Honda Civic. Who needs the provenance of a former owner with royal or celebrity connections? Or a history of Le Mans or Mille Miglia victories? Who cares that a car has been stored in an air-conditioned basement?
The Civic has a connection with a wild boar. You don't get that kind of patina on a Ferrari with a seven-figure pre-auction estimate. Heck, you even get the soothing reassurance of a packet of Strepsils with the Civic.
Is it the best auction car of 2020? PetrolBlog thinks so, but let's not make a pig song and dance about it.
Images © Artcurial