Jon Faine discovers a bucket-list event for the classic car nut
Pretty much every reader of this fine organ will have visited the occasional car show. Try to imagine one without a single Monaro, Torana or Ford GT-HO. And barely a big American in sight – only a few Mustangs or Corvettes and not even a passing mention of Bathurst.
Instead, multiple Bugatti and Bentley scattered around the place, dozens – yes dozens – of early Maserati and Ferrari jostling for floor space, more between-the-war coach-built exotics than you can count, and an eye-glazing endless array of early Porsche, XK Jaguars and Pagoda-top and early Mercs amongst the glittering jewels. Add in the occasional marque you have never heard of, and we have set the scene for Retromobile 2023.
Occupying three gigantic exhibition halls in the middle of Paris, just minutes by Metro from the Eiffel Tower, it should be on your bucket list, as it was on mine and this year offered me my chance. It is not just the cars, which are mouth-watering in their variety and quality – but also the clothing, books, model cars, automotive art, sculpture, ornaments, watches, tools, ephemera, spare parts and collectables on sale.
For those who stop for lunch, it should be no surprise that the catering runs to oysters, prawns and snails as well as the obligatory platters of cheese and charcuterie. Not a meat pie in sight. And – not a word of a lie – there are champagne vendors dotted around the halls, if you want something other than beer or ‘vin rouge’, also in plentiful supply.
On the outside of the gigantic halls, members of a veteran car club offer short joy rides around the venue in their 1910-1920 era cars, raising funds for a children’s charity along the way. Fancy a spin around the block in a 1915 Renault or a survivor of the famed 1920’s Citroen half-track ‘Kegresse’?
Retromobile in Paris claims the title of the biggest and best attended classic car show in Europe. It spans five days, hosts around 125,000 visitors, over 1,000 exhibitors, more than 80 club stands and hundreds of cars in several auctions that were hoping to see over $30m worth of machinery change hands over three days of selling action. The auction displays on their own make for an astonishing exhibition.
I am not embarrassed to confess that I got lost several times. I am not used to navigating using a Bugatti or Ferrari as my landmarks. There is the somewhat incredible possibility of becoming numb to what is on offer, and I admit that by the umpteenth early Aston Martin or Renault Alpine I became, as the French would say, somewhat ‘blasé’. Over two days I lost count of the pre-war Alfa Romeo 8C and 6C, Facel Vega, Lancia, Delage…. I could just keep listing the exhibits but it becomes almost meaningless.
Making Retromobile special though are the cars you cannot see anywhere else, as well as just the elegant ambience. French style and flair is in abundance, from the design and layout of the stands to the actual exhibits themselves, and although there is no dress code [just as well for me] gallic grace is in the very air you breath.
My personal favourites were a pair of ‘barn find’ beauties. First choice would be the 1956 Maserati A6G/2000 ‘Allemano’ in remarkably preserved but needing re-commissioning condition. The selling agent, Cristoph Grohe from near Geneva in Switzerland, explained it is the sole unrestored survivor of 21 examples made and it has been dormant in a Swiss garage since the 1960s. Second choice is the same company’s other unrestored offering, a 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500SS Superleggera coupe by Touring, with only three owners so far. Hopefully they will be preserved and returned to the road, their precious and irreplaceable patina retained instead of being destroyed if over-restored as so many of the exotics are.
The specialist coachbuilders Frua, Zagato and their ilk were well represented and clearly in demand amongst the super-rich. There was a coterie of well-tailored, beautifully coiffed and chisel jawed middle aged men endlessly gesticulating into their mobile phones as they paced around, seeking a 1950’s Maserati or Gullwing Mercedes. The major dealers were of matching elegance, endlessly filtering out the riff-raff while scanning the crowd for any serious prospects.
I eavesdropped a fur-coat wearing and ostentatiously be-jewelled middle-aged woman haggling in heavily accented English with a seller offering a set of vintage fitted Louis Vuitton luggage, which she wanted to adorn with glass tops to re-purpose as coffee tables. The price being negotiated was enough to leave me wondering why I ever bothered working for a living.
This year featured a very popular display of classic campervans, called ‘Van Life’ complete with sleeping gear, fully equipped working kitchens, elaborately dressed stages showing off their versatility. The retro caravan scene may be next, judging by the level of interest.
In a sign of things to come, there were queues waiting to talk to the exhibitors offering electric conversion of classic cars. The choice is to either commission them to buy and convert a car, or if you want to abandon your internal combustion motor, you can buy a pre-prepared kit for various popular European models like the Citroen 2CV. European emission rules will soon limit the places where a fossil fuel car can be used, with several cities already banning any car that does not meet new exhaust standards.
Astonishingly, this year’s auctions saw a very stubborn crowd keep their hands in their pockets, with a significant proportion of exotics passed in. The many ‘no reserve’ lots barely disguised the surprisingly low clearance rate for Artcurial, the official auctioneers. Despite that, some huge prices were still paid, for exceptional cars such as an ex-LeMans 1951 Ferrari, several early Bugatti with race history and other low mileage exotics. The rare and racy 2009 Mercedes Benz SLR Stirling Moss failed to sell, despite being quoted at a modest $6m!
We ought not be surprised that the classic car market is highly vulnerable to global economic woes. All those aristocratic gents wandering around puffing on cigars must have told their Swiss bankers to stay long on pork belly futures instead.
But back to the car show. A large area is reserved for private sellers offering a car under the Euro equivalent of $40,000 which seems a worthwhile initiative worth copying here, opening up the opportunity for more affordable classics for those of us who did not inherit a Chateau. As well as the expected French marque of Citroen, Renault Peugeot and Simca, there were dozens of MGs, Triumph TRs of every number, multiple Alfa and Fiat coupes and sedans, and a smattering of the less exotic American cars.
A Peugeot 504 Coupe for E20,500 seemed more than reasonable to me – A$30,000 or so being a low entry price by our standards to a very useable classic with mechanicals shared with the saloon and parts always available. What not to like? You could tour Europe in 1970’s comfort and when tired of life on the Riviera, just ship it home…..