In fact, it is almost impossible to describe in a concise article everything you can see and discover at a single Rétromobile in Paris. Probably not even a book would suffice. And this despite the fact that the trade fair is considerably smaller in terms of area than the large German trade fairs. But the density in Paris is unique.
The 43rd Rétromobile, which welcomed classic car and modern classic car enthusiasts from halfway around the world from February 7 to 11, 2018, began with a weather-related bang. According to locals, it has hardly ever snowed as heavily as during the Rétromobile week in recent decades. On Tuesday, there was hardly any traffic on the streets of Paris, but on Wednesday, traffic flowed more smoothly than ever due to a significant reduction in the number of vehicles. Only in the halls was there hardly any sign of the wintry conditions outside, as most exhibitors were already preparing for next spring/summer.
Ten Ferrari 250 GT SWBs on one stand
166 Ferrari 250 GT SWBs were built between 1960 and 1963, with the SWB standing for a short wheelbase of 2.5 meters and 250 describing the volume of one of the twelve cylinders, which resulted in a total displacement of three liters or 2953 ccm3 to be precise. Depending on the version, around 230 to 295 hp could be coaxed from the engine. There were different versions, namely the Lusso, Competizione and "Hot Rod" versions.
An impressive ten SWB Coupés were parked on Lukas Hüni's stand, including the very special "Shark Nose" one-off from Bertone.
That would have been enough to attract visitors to the stand in droves, but there was much more to see, such as a Bugatti Type 54 Grand Prix from 1933, a Bugatti Type 59 Grand Prix from 1934, an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza from 1933, as well as two Maserati and other rarities.
Legends by the meter
Not only Hüni, but also the other dealers - a total of 650 exhibitors were on site - went to great lengths to present the 105,000 Rétromobile visitors with variety and something special.
At Zweimüller, for example, visitors came across an Alfa Romeo Alfetta and a Porsche Carrera 6.
At Fisken, the spectrum ranged from a Mercer to a Brabham BT 49.
Christoph Grohe had a Graber Alvis on display.
Ruote da Sogno presented, among other things, a very special Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 on the stand.
And so it went on, with stand after stand displaying rarities that you certainly don't see every day. A Lamborghini Miura almost looked like a Volkswagen.
Rarities at Renault
The manufacturers, especially the French ones, also made a big effort. Renault celebrated the 120th anniversary of the brand and showed both the first car built and important contemporary witnesses of the last 12 decades on the stand.
Renault was also celebrated in other ways, so that the early Renault vehicles in particular could be admired on a large scale.
Alpine in the glow of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Alpine-Renault won the 24 Hours of Le Mans 40 years ago. Four cars competed and two made it into the top five.
All four cars could be admired on the same stand, a unique experience.
A Talbot on the Peugeot stand
Peugeot showed that it is aware of its roots with a Talbot Coupé America on the stand.
But of course, "real" Peugeots were also on display, including early sports cars, the Peugeot 205 GTI and of course the Peugeot 504, which celebrates its 50th birthday in 2018.
Presidential limousines at Citroën
At the brand with the two cogwheels in its logo, many of the presidential saloons built over the years were on display, as well as early examples of the Traction Avant series.
In addition, the 70th birthday of the Ente and the 50th birthday of the Méhari leisure vehicle were of course also commemorated.
Even more anniversaries
Porsche celebrated the 70th anniversary of the company and presented a 356, a 911 S-T and a 959 in the center.
Honda is also 70 years old, and this was documented with several milestones from its 50 years of car production.
The Fiat-Chrysler Group presented unusual cars from its long line of ancestors, including an Abarth 2400 Coupé, a Fiat Dino 2400 Coupé and a Lancia Appia.
Special youngtimers
Rétromobile has also long recognized the growing interest in youngtimers. Attractive special shows are held every year with the "Youngtimer" magazine.
In 2018, the focus was on French cult cars of youngtimer age and the stand featured a Citroën CX Préstige, a Matra-Simca Bagheera Courrèges, a Peugeot 406 Coupé, a Renault Supercinq Baccara, a Renault Avantime and an MVS Venturi, as well as a motorcycle with a Citroën GSA engine.
World record vehicles from the last 90 years
Another special show was dedicated to the record-breaking vehicles that achieved success on the Linas-Montlhéry circuit.
There were adventurous but certainly fast vehicles from various manufacturers to admire.
What does a Dachs have to do with Amilcar?
Every year, the clubs come up with new and interesting themes to draw attention to their brand.
For example, the Delahaye friends recalled the Le Mans successes of their brand, the Deutsch Bonnet enthusiasts showed a rally D.B., the Autobiachi club had an A111 on display and at Amlicar a badger seemed to be clambering up the lamp and almost distracted the eye a little from the beautiful Grand Sport Spécial.
The club stands alone are worth a visit to the Paris show every year.
The Abarth special show
Engelbert Möll is probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest Abarth collector in the world. Even as a young racing driver, he was devoted to the Carlo Abarth brand and his loyalty did not end with his tragic accident at Solitude in 1963. In over 50 years, he collected the most important and interesting sports and racing cars from the Italian car manufacturer.
Möll brought around two dozen of these vehicles with him to Paris to present them to the international trade fair audience in a special show called "La Saga Abarth". All of Möll's vehicles were in top condition and they were also well labeled without being distracting.
Unfortunately, the beautiful sports cars were not allowed to be heard and the engines on display had to impress with their beautiful appearance alone.
The sports and racing cars from McLaren
While Carlo Abarth was primarily successful in the small sports and racing car classes, Bruce McLaren was drawn to the top motorsport league, i.e. Formula 1, at an early stage.
However, McLaren also entered vehicles in sports car competitions, including the CanAm series. A small selection of cars could be viewed on the Richard Mille stand and the world champion Formula 1 monoposto M23, once driven by Emerson Fittipaldi, was also on display.
The automobiles of Jean-Pierre Wimille
As one of the most famous French racing drivers, Jean-Pierre Wimille not only won Grand Prix races, but also the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He drove for Bugatti, Alfa Romeo and Gordini and he also had the vision to build a better passenger car than the cars available at the end of the 1940s.
He developed and built almost ten aerodynamic vehicles under his name, which were initially equipped with Citroën four-cylinder engines and later with Ford V8 engines. The cars certainly had potential, but his death as a racing driver in training for the Argentine Grand Prix in 1949 basically put an end to the initiative.
An interesting special exhibition was dedicated to the driver Wiimille and his cars, in which, in addition to his own designs, the Bugatti 59-50B from 1939 and the Alfa Romeo 308 from 1938, with which he had been successful, were on display.
A very special bird
In the post-war years, Roger Baillon, whose car collection was auctioned off at a high price at the Rétromobile in Paris two years ago, aspired to become a car manufacturer himself. After bodying a Talbot-Lago T120 himself, Baillon designed a beautiful convertible based on the Simca 8 Sport and had it built in his own workshops. The car was shown at the Paris Motor Show in 1947, but it remained a one-off.
Over the years, the car rotted away, but it has now been completely restored and shown again for the first time as the "Oiseau Bleu". A very special bird indeed!
Five auctions - one marathon
As usual, large auctions took place around the Rétromobile and those who followed each one from start to finish spent more than 30 hours watching around 600 hammer blows.
RM/Sotheby's sold on Wednesday at Place Vaubon, Bonhams on Thursday at the Grand Palais and Artcurial hosted three well-attended auctions on Friday to Sunday.
Less a sales show than a meeting zone
So what is it that makes the Rétromobile so special? From a visitor's point of view, it is much more museum-like and diverse than most other trade fairs. Of course, some vehicles, spare parts and automobilia are also for sale, but for the most part, sales seem to be a secondary priority.
Exhibitors primarily want to have good discussions with potential customers. This is especially true for the large dealers, but of course even more so for the organizers, museums and service providers. "Prenez un café", you often hear, and you are already in an intensive conversation with an exhibitor for 20 or 30 minutes. And there is actually a good mood across the board, which makes the fair even more bearable despite the large crowds.
An entertaining picture story makes it possible to experience the Rétromobile a little differently from the "normal" visitors.
