Traditionally one of the first events written in capitals in a vintage car enthusiast’s agenda is the Retromobile in Paris, France. Since years the Retromobile gathers hundreds of exhibitors, attracting thousands of visitors to the Parc des Exposition, the premises where the show is hosted.
As you know , France has a rich past concerning cars. This is clearly visible at the Retromobile, as I can’t image a show with for example that many Bugatti’s shown to the public. The still existing makes like Peugeot, Citroën and Renault always take a prominent place in the venues.
This doesn’t mean you won’t see anything but French cars, on the contrary. Each year you can find the rarest of the rare at the Retromobile, which makes it worth visiting the show on its own.
RM auctions brought a 1953 Ferrari 340/375 Berlinetta Competizione, to be auctioned at the Villa d’Este concours d’elegance, next May 25. A marvellous car.
Fiskens brought a ex Jean-Behra and Louis Chiron Maseratie 250F , next to a unique 1957 Ferrari Testarossa 250.
As you know, our main attention went to Porsche. Porsche France, with co-operation of the Porsche Museum, had a special exhibition dedicated to 50 years Porsche 911. You could see different types of the Porsche 911 next to each other. Nice, but to me a little bit disappointing as I had expected to see one of each model-row, clearly showing the evolution of the 911.
More Porsches to be seen with different exhibitors. You could see the prototype Porsche 956 driven by Jacky Ickx ,Derek Bell and Jochen Mass. They drove chassis 001. to victory at the Norisring, and in Silverstone. Consequently the car was given to Jacky Ickx by his sponsors and is now in a private collection. The car was not for sale.
A matching number Porsche 911RS Touring could change hands for 310K Euro’s, showing the continuously rising prices of these highly wanted Porsches 911.
A very rare Porsche 356 Carrera 2 Cabrio was sold real soon after the opening of the exhibition. I don’t know what it went for but seen the rarity of this car ,it must have been a lot.
Too bad I couldn’t find more information on the Porsche 356 Carrera Abarth GTL that was for sale, so in case you know more about the history of this particular car, I’d be glad to be informed.
The show continues till sunday, so you still have the chance to admire all these beauties.
Text : Tim Havermans
Pictures : Liebe zu Ihm
