Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Follow us on MediaCenter
Follow us on Twitter
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators
Up
 Previous page

Paris, 6th - 10th of February, 2019

Every year early in February the “City of Love” becomes the “City of Classic Cars”, when the annual Retromobile opens its doors for 5 days at the Parc d´Exposition at the Porte de Versailles. Early in the season the famous indoor trade show in Paris sets the signal for the market with no fewer than 3 major auction companies accompanying the show starting the busy sales calendar on this side of the Atlantic after the Scottsdale sales earlier in January.

But even without these sales the show itself has a lot to offer and so not only was a record number of 132.000 spectators attracted to visit, but also the most prestigious collectors from all over the world as no other indoor show can offer the same quality. Others might be bigger in size, but with 3 halls, about 600 exhibitors and more than 1000 cars on display, the Retromobile has the right size not to sacrifice quality over quantity.

Tweet
 Next page



With the history of the automobile now in its second century there are many renowned marques celebrating decennials each year. After Ferrari and Porsche having dominated the scene with their 70th in previous years, this year will see the centenary of two very different marques, Citroen and Bentley. Whereas the French marque is known for their transportation for the masses the British marque is certainly more on the exclusive end of the market. Founded by charismatic W. O. Bentley, the early history in Cricklewood is very much linked to long distance racing and touring when the famous Bentley Boys won Le Mans no less than 5 times in the late 1920s before the winged B found a new home with its former rival Rolls-Royce. Today Bentley is part of the VW Group and the small stand on the Retromobile showed the oldest surviving 3 Litre Bentley next to the latest Continental GT.

Even 10 years older is the history of Bugatti, today like Bentley an exclusive part of Volkswagen. Unlike the British sister company Bugatti cannot look back at a continuous history. After the original company was closed it took many years for the name to reappear with the Bugatti EB110 built in Italy rather than in Molsheim, and although this is certainly not the period that is in the focus of today’s marketing the EB110 certainly is a great exhibit on the 110th anniversary. The Italian Bugatti certainly profits from the recent boom of the more modern supercars and not only did RM sell one of the Supersport pretty well but also two more could be bought at the Retromobile.

This also leads us to the commercial part of the show with the premium dealers always bringing their best inventory to Paris for a very international clientele. The bridge between show and sale can be seen at the booth of Lukas Hüni every year as his inventory is much more a show of clients’ cars than actual sales inventory and so the Swiss dealer can concentrate on themes. This year Hüni devoted to Lancia with a great selection of cars from Turin. Just at the front one could see a range of colors on one of the most iconic Lancia models, the Stratos. Furthermore, the Aurelia and Flaminia models were very well represented but center stage were a trio of rally cars from the Delta and 037 series in addition to the D23 brought over from the Louwman museum.

A few prewar models could be seen inside including a wonderful Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet that was seen in recent years at Chantilly and whose sister car won Pebble Beach a few years back.

Just across the red carpet another display looked very similar to Hünie’s former display, but this time it was one of his clients who brought his collection of Citroen DS including all the rare Chapron special editions of the goddess.

Further special displays showed a range of Minis and 14 of the remaining 19 Bedelia Cyclecars.

Simon Kidston was new to the show (as exhibitor). To promote his forthcoming book on the Lamborghini Miura he brought several examples to Paris, including a rolling chassis and the hot SVJ with its numerous rivets.

Just around the corner Richard Mille had a great selection of McLaren F1 cars including the famous MP4/4 of Ayrton Senna as sold last year by Bonhams.

Gregor Fisken once again was one of the highlights of the show with a superb selection from his inventory. The range span from the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33, a great set of Aston Martin DB4 GT including one of the original 19 Zagato versions, great open 1950s racing cars like the Jaguar C-Type and the Maserati A6 GCS, a set of pre-war Bentleys from Cricklewood and Derby, three Ferrari including a 250 GT LWB California Spyder and the 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione, a BMW Batmobile and a Shadow F1 car.

New this year in Hall 1 was Max Girardo who went big taking over the vacant space of JD Classics. After smaller displays in recent years Girardo matched Fisken in space and also in quality. In addition to Fisken’s example one had a choice of another two Alfa Romeo Tipo 33, furthermore a Jaguar Lightweight, two very nice Touring Cabriolets from Alfa Romeo (1900) and Aston Martin (DB4) and a Ferrari Daytona Spyder could be seen. Over the last months since his departure from RM Sotheby´s Girardo became known to have a soft spot for the Lancia 037. Not only do his great Christmas videos feature this car regularly but also his inventory always seems to include one of them, so it was only natural to have a full rally car here. The display also featured some of the most popular recent supercars including a Jaguar XJ200, the Maserati MC12 Corsa as well as a Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR, one of three examples on show in Paris -- apart from a FIA race car another example was brought by the Cultivated Collector from the US alongside the Schuppan 962 CR and a Jaguar XJR15.

As mentioned earlier, beyond the show there were also the auctions going on in Paris and the official auction of the Retromobile once again was held by Artcurial. We will report separately on this sale but their selection of car was a great addition for the visitors of the show. Their 42 Million Euros sale was headlined by the star lot, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 Touring Berlinetta achieving almost 17 Million alone. Since the sale of the Baillon collection 4 years ago the flagship sale of the local auction company brought highlights every year and might be considered as the most important European Auction in the calendar.

Once again, the record setting Retromobile was well worth a visit and not only does the trade fair offer some highlights in cars but there also there are quite a few other sites charming any Paris traveler. And so for many collectors the trip even from further away can be combined with a weekend in the French métropole for the wife, something Essen has trouble matching in a few weeks’ time.

Report & images ... Peter Singhof
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de