The Retromobile in Paris is usually the European season opener,
this edition opened even a week earlier than the previous years.
Being in its 35th year this fair has far more history than all of the
other fairs in Europe.
Part of her success is the fact the she always was true to herself
being a small but charming event. In contrast to other trade fairs
like the Techno Classica Essen in April there was never the
attempt to define her own significance in the increase of the
exhibition area or the amount of exhibitors. Its self-restraint to one
hall of the large exhibition centre at the Porte de Versailles
makes it is possible to compensate the usual fluctuation of the
market without a great loss of quality.
Surely the economic trend of the last years and increasing costs
prevented some exhibitors to show up in Paris but one had really
to compare to the last year to see the difference.
BMW gave away their usual prominent booth at the entrance, this
space was taken over by Mazda to show parts of their less known
history. Being a French fair the Retromobile is of special
importance for the French manufacturers. For Citroen this year is
dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the SM with its Maserati
engine and to the GS of the same year. Beside the manufacturer
some of the marque clubs showed their treasures including a gold
SM arranged as a present for the anniversary.
The other French manufacturer Peugeot celebrates his 200th year
of existence in 2010. The exhibition spanned some of their early
products, a selection of bikes and examples of their motoring
history. This included the Eclipse with its disappearing hard top
that was introduced decades before it was rediscovered for the
Mercedes SLK. The Peugeot Clubs put together a row of taxis to
show the change of transportation over the decades.
Mercedes-Benz presented the new SLS Gullwing flanked by its
forefather, the legendary 300 SL, the Prototype of 1953 and a
production car with beautiful original interior.
Alfa Romeo has a very busy year celebrating its centenary. Just a
few days after a large exhibition in Maastricht the Milanese
company had 6 cars on display in Paris. With the 8 Cylinder cars
still in Hamburg the marque was represented by a gorgeous 6C
1750 GS with Zagato body, the well used Disco Volante and a
SZ.
On the dealer side some prominent names were missing this
year, for example La Galeries des Damiers, Jack Braam Ruben,
Thiesen, Klaus Werner and Axel Schütte to name a few. Or one
has to say that they had no booth this year as most of them were
seen meeting their clients and other dealers during the first days.
Nevertheless there were some great cars to be seen, for example
no less than 5 Voisins on 5 different stands, many Bugattis,
Delahayes and Delages.
Unfortunately with increasing prices of the space most of the cars
stood side by side in very close distance to get the most out of it.
An exception was the spacious display of Lukas Hüni. Being the
centre of attention it featured some superb cars to show a
selection of cars traded in the past. This ranged from a
Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost London to Edinburgh Tourer to race cars
like a Maserati 300S, a Tipo 61 “Birdcage” or the very original
Ferrari 512 S/M from 1970. The most beautiful might have been
the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 with Touring Body in a very attractive
two-tone grey. But there were not just cars on display but even
some for sale as a lovely and very rare Aston Martin DB6 Short
Chassis Volante changed hands on the first day.
Not less interesting was the display at Hall&Hall. This years
centrepiece was the Bugatti T41 Royale Replica build for the late
Tom Wheatcroft. Beside this one could see a BRM, the Nardi
Danese Alfa Romeo, a Bugatti T46 Superprofile and a Ferrari
312B (sn.003).
Gregor Fisken offered a Bentley Speed Model, a genuine Aston
Martin DB4GT, a beautiful Fiat 8V and a Porsche 910. But our
favourite cars were the Ferrari 275 GTB/C (09057) in blue metallic
and an original barn find MG K3 with lot of patina. It is always
nice to see such a lovely car being rediscovered after all these
years.
For those mainly interested in Ferrari there a 2 more stands to be
mentioned. French restorer Carrosserie Lecoq featured a trio from
Maranello, a yellow Dino was flanked by two dark red spiders, a
250 GT LWB California (1527gt) and a 365 GTS/4 Daytona
(14537).
Sport&Collection - 500 Ferrari contre le cancer featured a dark
green 275 GTB (06449) and a 512 BBLM (30559).
An important part of the Retromobile is the auction on Saturday
by Bonhams. This year the line-up featured a large collection of
impressive pre-war cars from a Spanish collection. Among the 27
cars there were several huge so-called chauffeur cars with elegant
passenger interiors. The collection featured all the great marques
of the 20s and 30s including Mercedes-Benz, Bentley,
Hispano-Suiza, Isotta Fraschini, Horch, Rolls Royce and the
American Packard, Auburn and Cadillac. 20 of them found a new
home at 3.175 Mio €, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 that was called “in
the specification of Monza” remained unsold.
The talk of the show surely was the Bugatti T22 Brescia that was
recovered last year from the bottom of the Lago Maggiore where it
was lying for over 70 years. This car was featured in many
magazines and there was also a report about it on Anamera. The
car was displayed prominently at the entrance of the preview area
and many discussions could be heard what to do with such a car.
Restoring would have been to expensive for the value of a Brescia
but maybe someone might be interested in owning “the car that
was lying on the ground of the lake”. The Bugatti was sold at
260.500 Euros with an estimated price of 70-90 K€. It is reported
that the car will be preserved and displayed in Peter Mullins
Museum in California, the same Museum that recently bought
some unrestored cars left from the famous Schlumpf Collection.
In total the auction sold 75% of the cars with a total of 6.72
million Euros.
If you are curious now you still have the opportunity to visit the
Retromobile until Sunday the 31. of January.
List of cars seen at the RetroMobile
AC Ace Bristol 2nd Series Roadster sn.BEX498
Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS
Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Touring
Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Touring Spider sn.2211096
Alfa Romeo Disco Volante
Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ1 "Tubolare"
Alfa Romeo SZ "Coda Tronca" sn.00197
Aston Martin DB 4 GT sn.DB4GT/0154/L
Aston Martin DB 4 Serie II sn. DB4/0564/R
Aston Martin DB6 Short Chassis Volante LHD sn.DBVC/2312/L
Austin 7 twin cam
Austin Healey 100
Automotive Art
Avions Voisin C11
Avions Voisin C24 Charmeuse
Avions Voisin C25 Aerodyne sn.50014
Avions Voisin C28
Bentley 3 Litre Speed Model sn.1037
Bentley 4 1/4 Litre MX Vanden Plas Open Tourer sn.B25MX
Berliet Type M 22 HP
Bristol 2 Litre
BRM P2614
Bugatti T41 Royale Replica of the Donnington Collection
Bugatti T46 Superprofile
Bugatti T51 sn.51128
Bugatti T57 Stelvio
Chenard & Walker Tank
Chevrolet Corvette C3
Cisitalia D46 sn.0011
Citroen SM
Citroen Traction Universelle
Citroen Type C3
D.B Panhard monoplace centrale
Delage D6 Coach Panoramique Letourneur et Marchand
Delahaye
Delahaye Labourdette Type 134N sn.47028
Dino 246 GT Serie M sn.1600
Facel Vega
Ferrari 250 GT California Spider LWB sn.1527gt
Ferrari 250 TdF sn.0899gt ?
Ferrari 275 GT/C sn.09057
Ferrari 275 GTB sn.06449
Ferrari 312B sn.003
Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona spider conversion
Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Spider sn.14537
Ferrari 512 BBLM sn.30559
Ferrari 512 S/M sn.1002
Ferrari F40 sn.ZFFGJ34B000080706
Fiat 8V Zagato sn.000076
Gordini Type 24S sn.36
Hotchkiss 686 GS Megeve
Kieft Sport
La Baleine de Paul Arzens
Lamborghini 350 GT
Lancia Aurelia B52 Pininfarina
Lancia D25 Sport Competition
Lancia Flaminia 2500 Sport Zagato Pre-Series sn.824.00-1089
Ligier
Maserati 300 S sn.3058
Maserati Ghibli 4700 GT
Maserati Tipo 109 Mistral sn.AM109/608
Maserati Tipo 61 sn.2454
Matra MS 640 Prototype
Matra MS 670
Mazda Cosmo Sport 110 S
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Prototype
Mercedes-Benz SLS
MG K3 sn.K3008
Movie Filming Car Exhibition
Nardi Danese Alfa Romeo
Omnibus a Chevaux a Imperiale
OSCA S sn.764
Peugeot 161 Quadrilette
Peugeot 203 Berline Taxi
Peugeot 402 Darl´Mat
Peugeot 601 Eclipse
Peugeot Type 69 "Bébé"
Peugeot Vehicule Leger de Ville electrique
Porsche 910 sn.910020
Porsche 935 2.0 Baby
Renault F1 Type RS10
Retromobile 2010
Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost London to Edinburgh Tourer
sn.2104
Rosengart Supertraction LR 539
Sauber SHS C6
SIATA 208CS Berlinetta sn.SC052
Simca 8 Gordini
Talbot Biplace Le Mans style
Voiturette by Haring
Lot 204 Delaunay-Belleville P4B Skiff sn.12647
Lot 210 Jaguar MKIV 3 1/2 Litre Cabriolet sn.637188
Lot 214 Bugatti T44 Fiacre Coupe sn.441193
Lot 217 Citroen SM limousine decapotable sn.00SB3210
Lot 221 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Series I Coupe Aerodynamico
sn.3221SA
Lot 225 Hispano-Suiza T56 torpedo tout-temps sn.3416800
Lot 226 Rolls-Royce 40/50 hp Silver Ghost Tourer sn.33PE
Lot 227 Bentley 3 1/2 Litre DHC sn.B53CW
Lot 228 Lagonda LG45 DHC sn.12103
Lot 230 Cadillac V16 serie 452 dual-cowl phaeton
Lot 231 Auburn 12-161 Convertible Coupe
Lot 232 Delahaye 135 M cabriolet sn.6S103
Lot 236 Packard Twin-Six phaeton sn.84056
Lot 237 Hispano-Suiza H6B coupe-chauffeur Kellner sn.11153
Lot 239 Hispano-Suiza H6 Coupe-Chauffeur Landaulet Chapron
Lot 240 Hispano-Suiza HS26 torpedo tous-temps Felber sn.7082
Lot 241 Bugatti Type 57C Berline
Lot 242 Lancia Aurelia B20 Sport sn.3279
Lot 243 Isotta-Fraschini 8A torpedo-double pare-brise sn.VIN146
Lot 244 Bentley 4/8 Litre Le Mans style Tourer sn.VF4012
Lot 245 Maserati Mistral Spider sn.AM1099-A1-733
Lot 246 Talbot-Lago T26 GSL sn.111013
Lot 248 Mercedes-Benz 630 K coupe-chauffeur sn.36278
Lot 249 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 aux specification Monza
sn.2111037
Lot 250 Bugatti Brescia Type 22 Roadster sn.2461
Lot 252 Avions Voisin C14 sn.28674
Lot 255 Ferrari 512 BB Berlinetta Boxer sn.35103
Lot 256 Citroen ID 19 Rally Car sn.3759248
Lot 257 Ferrari 412GT Coupe sn.ZFFYD25B000062123
Lot 258 Ferrari 412GT sn.ZFFEB07B000047029
Lot 260 Iso Fidia 5.4 Litre Saloon sn.850062
Lot 261 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 4th Series GS Spider sn.8513078
Lot 262 Maserati Sebring Coupe sn.01897
Lot 264 FIAT 8V Coupe sn.106000065
Lot 267 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Coupe sn.64251
Lot 268 Talbot-Darracq 1.5 Litre GP sn.3
Lot 271 Ferrari 330 GT Coupe Michelotti sn.9083
Lot 273 Delahaye 135 3.6 Litre Sport Le Mans sn.47212
Lot 274 Pegaso Z-102 3.2 Litre Coupe sn.0102-153-0162
Lot 279 Dino 308 GT4 sn.09378
Lot 280 Maserati A6G 1500 Coupe sn.052
Lot 282 Bugatti Type 44 Roadster
Lot 283 De Dion Bouton CQ 8CV sn.66
Lot 284 Clement Bayard Landaulet Type AC4C2 sn.12391
Lot 286 Pierron Cabriolet 2 Places sn.285
Lot 289 Riley Brooklands 9hp Sports sn.8060
Lot 290 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Carrosserie
Lot 297 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL sn.198.042.8500298
Images ... Peter Singhof >>>
www.ClassicCarPhotography.de
|
