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Retromobile 2019 with a record number of 132.000 spectators


Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport by Touring s_n 915.896

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport by Touring s_n 915.896

 

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.

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

 

 

Ferraris on Display

 

Model

Colour

Chassis #

Artcurial Auction

Ferrari 250 GT Lusso

Grey Metallic

5525GT

Ferrari 275 GTB

Grey Metallic

08465

Ferrari 330 GTC

Pale Blue Metallic

9839

Ferrari 365 GT4BB

Red-Black

17561

Ferrari 512 BB

Grey Metallic

25999

Ferrari 400iA

Bronze Metallic

40977

Ferrari 512 BBi

Red-Black

43561

Ferrari Testarossa

Red

53081

Ferrari 328 GTS

Red

78578

Ferrari 328 GTB

Red

80879

Ferrari 512 TR

Grey Metallic

94514

Ferrari 348 GTS

Yellow

99152

Ferrari 348 Spider

Red

99222

Ferrari F355 Spider

Silver

105034

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

Blue Metallic

162945

Sport et Collection

Ferrari 212 Export Touring Berlinetta

Dark Red

0088E

Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta

Grey Metallic

2321GT

Hodlmayr Classic Car Centre

Ferrari 250 GTE

Grey Metallic

3651GT

Ferrari 365 GTS4 (US Version to EU)

Ivory

14463

Ferrari F40

Red

84115

Ferrari F40

Red

90549

A.D.P. Automobile

Ferrari 308 GTB “Achille Motors”

Red-Blue

18835

Mecaniques Modernes et Classiques

Ferrari 365 GTB4

Grey Metallic

?

Bachelli & Villa

 

 

250 LM Body Shell

Bare Aluminium

 

Ferrari 250 GT Lusso

Bare Metal

5017GT

Le Mans

Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta

Red

0014M

Tradex SRL

Ferrari 275 GTB

Dark Blue

06723

Ferrari 712 CanAm

Red

1010

Ferrari 308 Carma

Red

18935

Auxietre & Schmidt

Ferrari 275 GTB

Red Metallic

07239

Ferrari F40

Red

84557

Equipe Europe

Ferrari 365 GTB4

Grey Metallic

16477

Kienle Automobil Technik

Ferrari 365 GTS4 Targa Hardtop

Red

14365

ECL

Ferrari 250 GTE

Grey Metallic

3481GT

AnMark Classic

Ferrari 250 GTE

Black

2773GT

Ferrari 330 GT 2+2

Red

8703

Girardo& Co.

Ferrari 365 GTS4 (US Version)

Yellow

14403

Gallery Aaldering

Dino 246 GT

Blue Metallic

?

Ferrari 275 GTB4

Silver

10379

Ferrari F40

Red-Green-White

80719

Ferrari Enzo

Yellow

129581

Movendi

Ferrari 195 Inter Ghia Coupé

Blue

0109S

Ferrari GTO (288)

Red

53307

Ferrari Dino 246 GT

 

01100

Collection Privé Automobile

Ferrari 308 GT4/LM

White-Red-Blue

08020

Eleven Cars

Ferrari 365 GTC4

Blue

15697

Provost Automobiles

Dino 246 GT

White

02862

Silvauto SpA

Ferrari 330 GTC

 

11545

Fiskens

Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider

Blue Metallic

1011GT

Ferrari 275 GTB

Blue Metallic

08891

Ferrari 365 GTB4/C

Red-White & Blue Stripes

15685

Cecil Cars

Ferrari 250 GTE

Grey Metallic

4081GT

Ferrari 365 GTB4

Red

16399

RM Sotheby’s Display

Ferrari LaFerrari

Bronze-Black

214127

Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta

Dark Bronze

223362

Auto Storica

Ferrari 512 BB

Red-Black

28153

William i’Anson

Ferrari 308 GTB “Rally”

Red-White

31085

Car Jager

Ferrari 512 BBi

 

50283

RMC

Ferrari F50

 

104781

Ara Classic

Ferrari 308 GTS QV

 

53419

 

 

 

Concurrent Auctions

 

 

 

Bonhams

Ferrari 250 GT Boano Coupé

Blue

0543GT

Ferrari 250 GT PF Coupé

Grey Metallic

0947GT

Ferrari 365 GT4BB

Blue Metallic

18173

Ferrari 328 GTS

Silver

68277

Ferrari 550 Maranello

Silver

111707

RM Sotheby’s

Dino 246 GT

Lime

01406

Ferrari 250 GT PF Coupé

Dark Blue

1831GT

Ferrari 250 GT S2 PF Cabriolet

Grey Metallic

1983GT

Ferrari 275 GTB

Dark Blue

08311

Ferrari 512 BB “Competizione” Conv’

Red

31159

Ferrari 512 BB

Grey Metallic

36445

F40LM

Blue-White

74045

Ferrari 412

Dark Blue Metallic

75934

Ferrari F50

Red

104762

F355 Spider

Blue Metallic

105091

Ferrari 550 Maranello WSR

Yellow

115804

Ferrari Enzo

Red Metallic

138355

Ferrari 575 Superamerica

Grey Metallic

143094

Ferrari 575 Superamerica

Silver

144001

Ferrari 430 Scuderia

Red-Silver Stripes

160738

Ferrari 599 SA Aperta

Black Metallic

181259

Ferrari SP 30 (599 GTO Base)

Red Metallic

188026

Ferrari F12 TdF

Brown Metallic

222120

 

Keith Bluemel          02/2019.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Model

Colour

Chassis #

Artcurial Auction

 

 

250 GT Lusso

Grey Met’

5525GT

275 GTB

Grey Met’

08465

330 GTC

Pale Blue Met’

9839

365 GT4BB

Red-Black

17561

512 BB

Grey Met’

25999

400iA

Bronze Met’

40977

512 BBi

Red-Black

43561

Testarossa

Red

53081

328 GTS

Red

78578

328 GTB

Red

80879

512 TR

Grey Met’

94514

348 GTS

Yellow

99152

348 Spider

Red

99222

F355 Spider

Silver

105034

599 GTB Fiorano

Blue Met’

162945

Sport et Collection

 

 

212 Export Touring Berlinetta

Dark Red

0088E

250 GT SWB Berlinetta

Grey Met’

2321GT

Hodlmayr Classic Car Centre

 

 

250 GTE

Grey Met’

 

365 GTS4 (US Version to EU)

Ivory

14463

F40

Red

84115

F40

Red

90549

A.D.P. Automobile

 

 

308 GTB “Achille Motors”

Red-Blue

18835

Mecaniques Modernes et Classiques

 

 

365 GTB4

Grey Met’

 

Bachelli & Villa

 

 

250 LM Body Shell

Bare Aluminium

 

250 GT Lusso

Bare Metal

5017GT

Le Mans

 

 

166 MM Touring Barchetta

Red

0014M

Tradex SRL

 

 

275 GTB

Dark Blue

06723

712 CanAm

Red

1010

308 Carma

Red

18935

Auxietre & Schmidt

 

 

275 GTB

Red Met’

07239

F40

Red

84557

Equip Europe

 

 

365 GTB4

Grey Met’

16477

Kienle Automobil Technik

 

 

365 GTS4 Targa Hardtop

Red

14365

ECL

 

 

250 GTE

Grey Met’

 

AnMark Classic

 

 

250 GTE

Black

 

330 GT 2+2

Red

 

Girardo& Co.

 

 

365 GTS4 (US Version)

Yellow

14403

Gallery Aaldering

 

 

Dino 246 GT

Blue Met’

 

275 GTB4

Silver

10379

F40

Red-Green-White

80719

Enzo

Yellow

129581

Movendi

 

 

195 Inter Ghia Coupé

Blue

0109S

GTO (288)

Red

53307

Collection Privé Automobile

 

 

308 GT4/LM

White-Red-Blue

08020

Eleven Cars

 

 

365 GTC4

Blue

 

Provost Automobiles

 

 

Dino 246 GT

White

02862

Fiskens

 

 

250 GT LWB California Spider

Blue Met’

1011GT

275 GTB

Blue Met’

08891

365 GTB4/C

Red-White & Blue Stripes

15685

Cecil Cars

 

 

250 GTE

Grey Met’

4081GT

365 GTB4

Red

16399

RM Sotheby’s Display

 

 

LaFerrari

Bronze-Black

214127

LaFerrari Aperta

Dark Bronze

223362

Auto Storica

 

 

512 BB

Red-Black

28153

William i’Anson

 

 

308 GTB “Rally”

Red-White

31085

 

 

 

Concurrent Auctions

 

 

 

 

 

Bonhams

 

 

250 GT Boano Coupé

Blue

0543GT

250 GT PF Coupé

Grey Met’

0947GT

365 GT4BB

Blue Met’

18173

328 GTS

Silver

68277

550 Maranello

Silver

111707

RM Sotheby’s

 

 

Dino 246 GT

Lime

01406

250 GT PF Coupé

Dark Blue

1831GT

250 GT S2 PF Cabriolet

Grey Met’

1983GT

275 GTB

Dark Blue

08311

512 BB “Competizione” Conv’

Red

31159

512 BB

Grey Met’

36445

F40LM

Blue-White

74045

412

Dark Blue Met’

75934

F50

Red

104762

F355 Spider

Blue Met’

105091

550 Maranello WSR

Yellow

115804

Enzo

Red Met’

138355

575 Superamerica

Grey Met’

143094

575 Superamerica

Silver

144001

430 Scuderia

Red-Silver Stripes

160738

599 SA Aperta

Black Met’

181259

SP 30 (599 GTO Base)

Red Met’

188026

F12 TdF

Brown Met’

222120

 

Keith Bluemel         
02/2019