As every year, there are many anniversaries to celebrate in 2018. The Rétromobile in Paris, which takes place from February 7 to 11 at the Porte de Versailles, will include many of these anniversaries in special shows and company presentations.
Almost as old as the automobile - 120 years of Renault
The French car manufacturer can already look back on 120 years full of innovations and successes (but also some failures). On display in Paris will be a Renault Type A from 1898, a Juvaquatre from 1937, a 4 CV from 1947, an Espace from 1984 and a Twingo from 1992.
Renault is also regarded as the inventor of the one-make cup. The Renault 8 Gordini was the star of the French Renault Gordini Cup in 1964.
Sprightly Peugeot 203 and 504
The Peugeot 504 is 50 years old this year, while the history of the Peugeot 203 is already 70 years old.
Peugeot produced 685,000 of the cuddly 203 between 1948 and 1960.
In 1968, the brand with the lion in its logo presented the Type 504, designed by the Italian design studio Pininfarina (more precisely by Aldo Brovarone). In 1969, the 504 was voted Car of the Year and by 2005 over three million units had left the factories.
70 years of Honda
The history here is probably much shorter, but Honda was actually founded back in 1948. Initially, the company mainly produced motorcycles, but in the 1960s it was not only the mostly compact vehicles that caused a sensation on the road, but also the single-seaters on the racetrack.
However, the first Grand Prix attempts were less successful than the engine deliveries in the eighties and nineties.
Duck and beach duck
The Citroën 2CV, known in Germany simply as the "Ente", celebrates its 70th birthday in 2018.
The version for the beach with plastic bodywork was called the Méhari and was presented in May 1968. Both have retained their youthful image and appeal to this day, despite 5,114,959 examples of the 2 CV and some 150,000 Méhari.
Porsche 356 in retirement age
The Porsche 356 was shown for the first time in June 1947, and in 1948 it became available to buy.
And since then, the Porsche brand has not only built millions of cars, but has also won 23,000 races, 19 of them at the 24 Hours of Le Mans alone. That's something to celebrate.
Further information on the Rétrombile Paris can be found on the event's website.
