The Best Paris Auto Show Is The One With All The Old Cars

by "Clemsie McKenzie" (thestirringcolumn)
Published 02/10/2017 at 15:40

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STARS: 17

Paris hosts two auto shows. There’s the regular one that happens every two year, and focuses on all of the new cars manufacturers bring along. It’s always overcrowded, a few cars are genuinely interesting, but to see it all you have to crawl for hours around smelly armpits. And then, there’s Rétromobile. This is the one you want to go to.

Rétromobile happens every year since 1976. At the exact same spot where the Mondial de l’Automobile (the main show) happens, it focuses on classic cars and nearly rivals the regular Paris Auto Show in size. Over the years, it has become a revered reunion for all classic car lovers in Europe. And while I have sometimes been tempted to skip the Mondial, I have never missed Rétromobile since I was a kid. That all has to do with the fact that while it can be almost as uncomfortable as the Mondial, the sheer variety and quality of metal on display makes it so much more worth it.

Like for the Mondial, some manufacturers have their own display. Not many do, but since these are manufacturers putting an emphasis on their history, they usually do it in style.

This year, Mercedes, Renault/Alpine, Peugeot/Citroën/DS, Maserati and Jaguar/Land Rover all had their own corner.

Last year I was completely blown away by the Renault/Alpine display, but this year it was Mercedes who did it for me, with a wide variety of cars.

Porsche dedicated its display to the 928, bringing along a unique shooting break made specifically for Ferry Porsche, a rally version, and the Panamera shooting break concept for good measure. Citroen had its DS and SM, and JLR focused on showcasing their in-house restoration service.

Renault and Alpine did bring some cool stuff though, and more modern cars compared to last years, with forgotten Renault concept cars from the 90s and some of the last Alpine models produced before the brand died last century.

But unlike the Mondial where manufacturers are the main attraction, here they are a small (but welcome) addition to a show ran by privateers. The biggest of which are the auction houses, with massive displays filled with deliriously rare cars.

There was a genuine Bugatti Atlantic. Many beautiful (and sometimes weird!) F1 cars. Bugattis and Bentleys for days, thanks to a special display celebrating their rivalry. Stuff you can almost never see becomes quite mundane after that, like the dozen 300SLs on display, or the Miuras, and of course the numerous factory fresh-looking classic 911s. I almost missed a DB4 GTZ, a personal favorite, because it was just laying around some dark corner.

It is genuinely insane. You have to be mentally prepared for it, or you will lose your shit.

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And then there’s the Artcurial space.

Artcurial is an historic partner of Rétromobile, and usually has a whole space dedicated to the cars they are selling during the show. In 2017, they brought along more than 150 cars, ranging from barn finds to a “brand new” Miura SV, from a Clio V6 to a Group C car.

The only gripe I have with the Artcurial show is that you have to either pay 90 bucks (!) or have a press pass to see more than the cars parked in front. I was happy to get in with my press pass, but it’s to bad the general public missed on such a collection. Such is the world of high-end auction, I guess.

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This year, Rétromobile put together a couple of small exhibitions, nested in the show itselfed.

First of which was celebration of Group B, which started 30 years ago. Not that you should need any justification to showcase a bunch of Group B cars, though! These have aged so well.

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There was also a space dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Ferrari. And so a display, near one of the entrances, was littered with early Ferrari cars. This is where I began my visit, and needless to say that it was quite an intro!

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Then there’s the rest of it. Rétromobile is truly a massive event, and besides the main displays you can find hundreds of small spaces rented by insurance companies, magazines, events organizers, smaller auction houses, clubs and associations, you name it. Among these smaller booths you’ll find unexpected gems for days.

This is why Rétromobile takes such a long time to explore. You never know when a small display hides a rare Touring Alfa, a couple of GT40s, pre-war Grand Prix cars, or an XJR-15.

And at this point, you kinda begin to question it all. Is such an enormous size really necessary? Because, like the Mondial, you will still spend more than 3 hours (at a brisk pace) crawling through people. And because you have to hurry if you don’t want to miss cool cars, ultimately you don’t really have the time to appreciate the ones that mean the most to you.

But no, I shouldn’t complain. Rétromobile is a superb show. Nowhere else will you find such an assortment of classic cars. Never will you see a Renault Fuego a few meters away from a Bugatti Atlantic. And if you aren’t a millionaire, never will you get so close to so many pristine classics.

The Mondial doesn’t offer a lot for the misery it puts you through. Rétromobile offers almost too much.

To see many more pics I took at Rétromobile this year, head over to this Flickr album :

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Replies (11)

"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
02/10/2017 at 13:02, STARS: 1

Fantastic. I gotta time my next trip to Paris so I can see this.

"Clemsie McKenzie" (thestirringcolumn)
02/10/2017 at 13:05, STARS: 1

I can’t recommend it enough. Enough classics to fill a lifetime!

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
02/10/2017 at 16:20, STARS: 1

Just been!

"Clemsie McKenzie" (thestirringcolumn)
02/10/2017 at 16:30, STARS: 0

How did you like it?

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse)
02/10/2017 at 16:45, STARS: 0

I thought not as good as 2015 but then nothing is as good the second time. Many of the cars were much the same as 2015 and you can only see so many restored 911s and gullwing Mercs.

"Clemsie McKenzie" (thestirringcolumn)
02/10/2017 at 16:47, STARS: 0

Regarding the “small”, semi-official stuff, yeah I do agree that 2015 was better. But Group B, Ferrari, and Bugatti v. Bentley where definitely awesome. A bit less wonky and charming and a bit more heavy hitters, maybe.

"BvdV - The Dutch Engineer" (dutchengineer)
02/12/2017 at 13:57, STARS: 0

Awesome! I really need to go see this someday. If only Paris was a bit cheaper to stay in.

"Clemsie McKenzie" (thestirringcolumn)
02/12/2017 at 16:43, STARS: 1

Hey next time you feel like coming to Paris, hit me up! I’m not saying my tiny house if very luxurious, but it’s something!

"BvdV - The Dutch Engineer" (dutchengineer)
02/12/2017 at 17:06, STARS: 1

Very generous of you, I’ll keep it in mind!

"torque" (torque01)
02/12/2017 at 21:50, STARS: 1

1st learned about Retromobile from “Car Crazy”. Certainly seems like the best of Europe shows up each year.

I’ll have to make a point of going soon, with all the automotive art, its something even the Miss’ would enjoy!

"Clemsie McKenzie" (thestirringcolumn)
02/13/2017 at 04:54, STARS: 1

It really is awesome.

However, if you’re going to go to only one French classic car show, I’d say go to Chantilly Art & Elegance , it is much more comfortable and more non-petrolhead friendly!