We were lucky to be admitted to the Rétromobile preview (February 4 to 9, 2025) on Tuesday evening this year. This made it possible to stroll quietly through the halls and get a first impression of the wealth of this first major trade fair of the year. One of the very first points of importance right at the start was the presence of current manufacturers - and the absence of others. The most important "factory presence" this year was Citroën - or stop! The brand under the umbrella of the 14-brand Stellantis group was not officially represented at the Rétromobile!
The double angle was replaced by "DS Automobiles", the generic brand that has taken over the legacy of the "goddess" and is struggling with its claim to be a premium manufacturer... difficult! Well then, the opportunity was taken to premiere the new DS 8. Unlike the Chinese-built superflop DS 9, this is a car "made in France" and therefore also a legitimate successor to the "real" DS as a state limousine. The special exhibition to mark the 70th anniversary of the "Déesse" - this year the "ID-sur-ballons", which was used for the first time in an advertising motif in 1959, was the poster motif for the Rétromobile - was a first highlight of the trade fair.
The avant-garde style coined by the then very young Claude Puech as Citroën marketing manager was appropriately and very skillfully adopted for the anniversary exhibition. Lovingly designed with the - one may say - art installation in the center, the goddesses brought together the most important DS milestones from the Conservatoire Citroën's collection as well as from private collectors. A personal highlight was the early DS in "Vert Printemps, AC 505", as it was used for the press when the car was launched.
The Japanese on the rise
For a long time, they hardly played a role in France, or only in a very small market niche such as off-road vehicles: the Japanese. Due to import restrictions, they were real exotics in the Hexagon for many years. It is therefore all the more pleasing that three brands from the Land of the Rising Sun presented themselves with impressive stands at the Rétromobile: Toyota, Mazda and Mitsubishi.
One may speculate about the reasons. What is clear, however, is that with more Asians approaching, the Japanese would do well to pay tribute to their past and tradition and take a slice of the cake that some European manufacturers have been baking for themselves for some time.
Porsche - present in Paris this year with a rather young fleet of classic cars - is a prime example of how the past can be used and marketed to cultivate the brand image.
The other Stuttgart carmakers are also well aware of the value of cultivating their own past. Whether Untertürkheim wanted to draw attention to the authenticity of the badly battered model image with a 300 SL in the body shell as well as a finished vehicle remained unclear. However, the fact that the C111 was brought to Paris with a freshly overhauled and reinstalled four-disc Wankel engine is obvious and - from a marketing point of view - a sure-fire eye-catcher on the Mercedes stand.
The French mean business
While DS-Automobiles has created an appropriate platform at the show to present new cars and, at least it seems, has tried to counter the question recently posed even by Stellantis Group boss Carlos Tavares about the future of the DS Automobiles brand with a lot of past, Renault made it very clear that it is trying to gain an emotional edge with the good memories of the past.
With the car of the year 2025 - the Renault 5 E-Tech - and the new Renault 4 (also electric), the "good vibes" of the past are being used quite blatantly. However, Renault made a clear announcement right at the start of the show: with the program "The Originals Renault" - the corresponding website was launched on February 4 - the brand intends to seriously cater to enthusiasts in the future. It is pleasing to note that this is not simply a marketing campaign, but a platform that brings together specialists for historic Renault models, workshops, type consultants and parts specialists and is intended to help both the individual interested party and the brand representatives to ultimately be able to continue driving their classic Renault. According to Arnaud Belloni - Renault's Global Marketing Director, who presented Renault's classic car program on February 4 - the offer is now being continuously expanded and will soon be launched outside of France.
In addition to the Renault 40 CV de Record, a replica of the record-breaking Montlhéry car from the 1920s, Renault also added a new, future record-breaking vehicle: the Renault Filante Record.
The e-car is set to tackle various distance records. However, no one wanted to make any binding statements about the details at the Rétromobile or at the press conference held in a nearby hotel.
Skoda shows its diverse past
The Czechs are hardly embarrassed when it comes to certain things. One such thing, for example, is to emphasize the creative spirit and the far longer history than that of today's parent company VW. Skoda's experiments with a sports car in the late 1950s, equipped with a veritable barrel organ of an engine, were impressive. Although the Twin-Cam was never built in series, the author once had the pleasure of experiencing it above 6500 rpm. At the Rétromobile, the factory museum from Mlada Boleslav exhibited the Ferat or, more precisely, the Skoda 110 Super Sport (Type 724), a mid-engined sports car based on the MB1000. The Trekka, once a multi-purpose vehicle built by the New Zealand Skoda importer based on the Octavia but with rear-wheel drive, is also a recurring feature.
The Czechs are thus looking to the past for their roots in today's very SUV-heavy range. Meanwhile, the pre-war automobiles from Mlada Boleslav were far more impressive at the Rétromobile. The Skoda Rapid OHV, one of 1783 examples built and probably the only one with a preserved "highway" coupé body, is etched in our memories.
Equally SUV-heavy today is a brand that, at least in Europe, consists almost exclusively of the past: Cadillac. In Paris, the last bastion of General Motors - the Corvette drives in a world of its own - put a 1958 Eldorado Biarritz on its stand in an attempt to transfer its image to its all-electric Lyric.
Presence is the be-all and end-all
All the major auction houses were present at the Rétromobile and brought along rare and special cars. At Gooding & Co, a beautifully patinated Fiat 8V "Otto Vu" caught the eye.
Hagerty/Broad Arrow Auctions was in Paris for the first time, which can probably be interpreted as part of the European expansion initiative. Broad Arrow will be in action for the first time in May with the auction at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. One of the highlights at the newcomers' stand was the magnificent Bentley Speed Six "Old Number 3".
Bonhams and RM/Sotheby's did not let themselves get carried away either; the French auction houses Aguttes and Orsenat, virtually on their home turf, did not let themselves get carried away anyway. There was definitely no shortage of exciting cars at either of them!
At Artcurial, as always the Rétromobile top dog as the official auctioneer at the fair, the cars were on display in Hall 3, where they were also auctioned off .
RM/Sotheby's and Bonhams, on the other hand, were forced to set up outside the fair in a prominent location - the Grand Palais at Bonhams, the Louvre at Sotheby's. Meanwhile, both auctions were well attended. You can find the auction reports for Bonhams here and Sotheby's here.
Dealers with a special display
An unrestored Austro-Daimler was brought to Paris by Christoph Grohe, who is domiciled in the well-known Vaud wine-growing town of Féchy. According to his own statement at his favorite trade fair, Grohe has shown many an unrestored, even untouched car in the past. The 1927 Austro-Daimler with its delicate, fabric-covered wooden body was used in numerous races in the early 1930s. The two-stage carburetors from Zenith suggest the use of both petrol and methanol. However, the performance data of around 130 hp from a displacement of three liters is impressive either way.
The Zurich dealer Lukas Hüni once again occupied a huge stand this year. The "display" amounted to a truly high-end car collection; the quality of the cars on show was second to none - both in terms of originality and their uniqueness and history. Hüni paid homage to the Lancia brand with an Aurelia, a Flaminia and a Stratos, while he displayed three top-class Ferraris: a 250 GT SWB, a Testa Rossa and a 375 MM.
Also present was a Jaguar D-Type - an original, of course. And a special treat was certainly Elisabeth Junek's Bugatti 35C, which had been fitted with the same chassis number as an earlier Type 32 (4059) by Ettore Bugatti in a hussar piece, so that the Juneks could import their new car - the first new Bugatti purchased by Elisabeth and her husband Vincenc - into Czechoslovakia tax-free.
High gloss or original patina?
Touring - dissolved in 1966, but never completely broken up and transferred into new hands in 2006 - exhibited two Maserati 3500 GTs in Paris in the old tradition of the coachbuilder of many European sports car manufacturers from the 1930s to 1960s: one restored and one "dans son jus", as the French say.
The six Bugatti 59s on display at the Rétromobile were either highly polished or patinated. According to Bugatti expert Hugh Conway, there are nine officially built racing and sports cars and a further Type 59 built from parts, making the 59 presence in Paris very impressive. The reason for a trio of 59s on a joint stand - including Fritz Burkard's Pebble Beach winner - was a book about the Type, which will be available for the small sum of just under 16,000 euros for the Limited Edition. A corresponding stand is available for a paltry 59,000 euros. After all, the collector's edition costs a somewhat more popular 1595 euros. Book prices or not, the stand, where people were occasionally tempted to start the engine, was an interesting addition to the Rétromobile 2025.
Meanwhile, a piquant sideline was an encounter with the author who won this year's prize for the best French car book at the Rétromobile, Eric Favre, for his work: "De la légende au mythe - 1921-1924. Les premiers châssis 8-cylindres Bugatti". He modestly presented his work between the displays of a pre-war parts dealer. The conversation with him came about more by chance: while admiring a Bugatti radiator. His book costs around 120 euros; this is only noted in passing. Unaware that we were dealing with the later prizewinner, we failed to take a picture of him.
Youngtimers also strong in France
After the transfer to Hall 3, with a wonderfully designed exhibition on the Autochenilles Kégresse in between, the Rétromobile was much more popular.
Here were the clubs, the dealers of the less sublime classics and all those for whom it is a little too bright in the spotlight of the top suppliers to be able to shine themselves. A first impression of the sales offers was quickly gained: Youngtimers are also on the rise in France. Peugeot 205, Citroën BX and numerous imports, from the BMW E30 to the Jaguar X350, have replaced the Deudeuches (2CV, at least the 375s and 425s), Tractions Avants and Mottes de Beurres (Renault 4CV). The cars of the typical French Pépé are on the decline, while the cool 1980s and 1990s are on the rise. However, you shouldn't be surprised if a reasonably well-preserved 205 Lacoste goes for over 12,000 euros.
Instead, visitors were able to recover from this in a very sublimely presented exhibition on the French touch in Formula 1 since the victory of the Tyrell team with Jackie Stewart in a Matra racing car. Whether chassis, engine or driver - the main thing was that a French factor was involved. That seemed to have been the selection criterion for the cars on show. Thanks to a little breathing space on the stand, it was possible to linger for a while after the crowds of visitors had become overflowing, especially from Thursday onwards. Crowded was one of the buzzwords at Rétromobile 2025.
However, this also applies to the number of vehicles on display. And those who decided on just one model in view of the selection of large cars were hardly confronted with fewer questions and an equally extensive selection: With the slot cars from Catalan manufacturer Velasor - whose specialty is pre-war sports cars - the price helps: the Sascha sports car from Austro-Daimler, a Bugatti Brescia or, as the latest creation, the Mercedes-Benz SSK are incredibly detailed and handcrafted. The 1/32 scale cars are fully suitable for the racetrack, but cost from 650 euros each!
Bertrand Bigaudet from Arts, Toys and Design in Orleans, on the other hand, has perhaps the best selection of French tin toy cars. However, the case with the Jouet-Citroën truck from the early 1930s with swap bodies costs a considerable five-figure sum of money - well, perhaps another time. After all, it felt like every single variant of the Citroën DS from Dinky Toys France was for sale at the Rétromobile - "mint and boxed" notabene. Well, if that's nothing else!
On around 73,000 square meters of exhibition space, 620 dealers presented their wares; around 100,000 visitors attended the 49th Rétromobile from Tuesday evening to Sunday. The car show format is definitely not dead - at least not when it comes to classic cars! And it was not only the exciting mix of exhibitors that ensured a good atmosphere this year, but also the excellent gastronomy on offer. Yes, this is France and people like to eat a few Huîtres calibre n°3 or treat themselves to a glass of champagne during a trade fair. There's still plenty of opportunity for bratwurst and beer this season. Vive la différence!
