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Although the historical rigor is not entirely proven, the famous phrase «Paris vaut bien une messe », an expression that has become a synonym of commitment to acquire one main thing, giving up another accessory.
At the beginning of the year of activities around classic motorsport, all fans who have not yet done so wonder about the opportunity to finally organize a trip to Paris and to see if the international renown of "Rétromobile" is justified. I will not try in this chronicle to convince or not the undecided to take sides, since it is not the role that should be attributed to an impartial observer. I will limit myself to witnessing what each year the organizers of the Parisian capital show offer to the thousands of visitors who have come, not only from European countries, but from as far away as the United States or Japan.
Paris has a great tradition in the organization of motor shows, being the autumn show, currently known as Mondial de l'Automobile, one of the most important news shows in the world, along with those in Frankfurt and Geneva, for not leaving Europe. A Pegaso Z-102 presented at the 1955 Paris Motor Show was shown again at Rétromobile in 2010 and numerous prestigious cars have returned to Paris half a century after their first appearance.
It was in the spirit of recovering the atmosphere of the Paris motor show in its postwar years that Rétromobile emerged, devoted not to novelties, but to historic and collector's cars. Rétromobile reconstructs presentations that took place as novelties in the old editions of the Paris Motor Show, such as the anniversaries of brands and models, generally French. Just to cite one case, in 2012 the 40th anniversary was celebrated of the popular Renault 5, but the examples could be multiplied.
When January arrives (and wisely a few months before), it is convenient to make preparations, study the itineraries, book air tickets and hotel rooms and make a small calendar of activities. The TGV tour, although sometimes more expensive than by plane, is advisable due to the advantage of reaching the city center, which allows you to continue immediately by metro to the Gate of Versailles, in whose exhibition hall Rétromobile takes place.
On this occasion, the train stations were heavily guarded by army patrols in anticipation of threats in response to the French military intervention in Mali; Then, despite the Schengen agreements, it was recommended that all travelers, even those from EU countries, carry their passport by hand (I forget that sometimes it has caused me inconvenience and delays without fortunately reaching more).
It should be remembered that the duration of Rétromobile, which since its creation extended over two weeks, due to imperatives of the crisis, rental prices of the pavilions in the exhibition center, high expenses of stay of the exhibitors in Paris, decrease of the figures profit, etc., was recently reduced to 5 days. Formula that revitalized the salon with new ideas as well as a change in management.
In this edition, held from February 6 to 10, 2013, the main incentives announced by the organizer were numerous and attractive: Tribute to the Citroën DS, 30th anniversary of the Peugeot 205, the adventure of propeller cars, centenary of the Roland Garros air crossing of the Mediterranean, who was also a motorsports enthusiast, Ettore Bugatti dedicated one of his 5-liter displacement cars ; exhibition of the first French steam locomotive, the 80 years of the Bugatti type 59, the Mercedes-Benz of competition before 1914 or BMW, from the 328 to the M1.
Finally, in the face of the avalanche of celebrations on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911, a special Stuttgart car exhibition could not miss the appointment either. And we must not forget the auction organized by Artcurial in the hall itself, although to access it it was necessary to pay a fee equal to the amount of the purchase of the auction catalog.
Rétromobile is not the largest classics salon in Europe, actually, compared to the Germans of "Techno Classica Essen" or "Retro Classics Stuttgart" it is very small in size and content. Nor is it the one with the best stands brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche or BMW, which for commercial reasons turn to the aforementioned, where business figures are more important. So what makes a visit to Rétromobile special?
Frankly, the answer lies in the opinion of regular or occasional visitors to the show. The opinions are many and diverse, but I don't know of anyone who has been disappointed with their trip to Paris. As a direct observer of the evolution of this show during more than the twenty editions that I have attended, I would say that there are better and worse vintages, as when it comes to good wines, but that quality is always maintained and, above all, a particular style and atmosphere. The stands are well presented, the staff is friendly and, despite the huge number of visitors, they are willing to provide the requested information.
As far as this edition is concerned, none of the aforementioned attractions has fallen short of expectations. Swiss dealer Lukas Hüni (I deliberately use the word dealer and not just merchant because sometimes some of his selected vehicles would have a connotation of a work of art), in addition to his usual position with pieces that sit atop On the international scale, he discovered his personal admiration for the Citroën DS and had prepared an extraordinary surprise by reconstructing the appearance of the model's presentation at the Paris Motor Show in 1955, with three examples that revived the atmosphere of the time. The three 19 DS 1959s, with their vivid colors, gave a special brightness to the black upholstered frame in which they were presented. On the other hand, in its adjoining usual stand, you could admire from the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza from 1931 to the Bugatti from the same period before the war.
In the barrage of exhibitions that are expected to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911, Rétromobile could not forget the event and, with the help of the Porsche Museum, it exhibited, among others, the precursor of the 911, a type 754-T7 from 1959. Identical in its front part to the 911 that were to follow, its rear part is very different, its roof is higher and there is more space for the two rear seats.
The Renault factory is always officially represented. On this occasion, fifteen extraordinary cars stood out, such as a restored MH6 with three twin-wheel axles, some Twingo, remembering its 20th anniversary, and very special Alpines, such as the A220 with a completely redesigned rear end adapted to racetrack racing.
Among the prestigious restorers, stood out Auto Classique Touraine, with a 135 Delahaye 1937-M bodied by Figoni et Falaschi, worthy of any Pebble Beach trophy.
The auction house Artcurial organized an event within the event, so to speak, since the route between the vehicles to be auctioned constituted in itself a separate visit, which could consume a large part of the day. Just to mention the most interesting cars, we should highlight the exclusive 8 Fiat 1953V coupé Vignale, with a low roof that gives it a more horizontal and aerodynamic line than other vehicles of the early 750.000s, for which a estimated price between 850.000 and 150 euros. But the one with the highest expectations was the Talbot T1936 C from 1.200.000, with an estimate of between 1.600.000 and 1973 euros. A 250.000 Ferrari Dino expected to sell for close to € XNUMX.
Confirming the appreciation of Ferrari's little brother, the French importer Charles Pozzi exhibited a Dino 206 valued at 310.000 euros, it is true that it should be noted that it was one of the units with aluminum bodywork.
One of the most spectacular stands, undoubtedly, not only for its presentation, but also for its historical value, was the one exhibited by the Mercedez-Benz factory in collaboration with the Louwman museum in the Netherlands, which included two genuinely significant specimens for the history of the brand. It was a Benz racing car, known as Blitzen-Benz, 1909, with a 4-cylinder 21.504 cm3 engine (not a misprint), which was the first car in history to exceed a speed of 200 km (202,7 km / h to be exact in 1909). But later, in 1911, the same car reached 221,8 km / h on the beach in Daytona. To keep him company, next to him was a 1908 Benz GP designed for the French Grand Prix. The car, also 4-cylinder, has a displacement of "only" 12.060 cc.
Among many other rarities we will highlight a Ferry 750 sport from 1955; the only special Bentley "Embiricos" from 1938, with which its owner HSF Hay participated three times in the 24 hours of Le Mans as a totally private team, qualifying in sixth place in 1949 when the car had 60.000 km of road use (! !); and an emotional tribute to Germain Lambert, a little-known but no less interesting sports car manufacturer.
In the case of Paris, you could not miss a well-stocked art gallery, which is an authentic artists' neighborhood within the Rétromobile site, allowing visitors to converse with the painters or sculptors themselves about their works and have first-hand information. It would not be possible to mention them all, but as an example, the examples of B. Freudental are enough, who exhibited a large-format painting (300 x 180 cm) dedicated to Bonnie and Clyde and the famous couple's Ford V8, offered for sale by 12.000 euros; and Franck Ecalard, with his work on Ferrari 166MM (100 x 150 cm) for sale for 4.000 euros.
The Spanish presence in Rétromobile is still very timid, if not nonexistent. For this reason, the one on the Alcañiz circuit deserves to be highlighted., to promote the international Citroën 2CV meeting that will take place in the Aragonese town at the end of July this year. The person in charge of the stand was optimistic and confided to me that they expect the participation of thousands of fans from all over Europe. So be it.
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by the Swiss Lukas Hüni
