| RRétromobile, the great vintage automotive festival, yearafter-
year has been attracting auto aficionados in ever-growing
numbers from throughout Europe and America. So, for
this 30th year the show was moved from the traditional
location within Paris’ Parc des Éxpositions to a larger
nearby Porte de Versailles.
They could have used an even larger hall. By the
afternoon of the first day, February 11, aisles resembled a
Brownian movement of collectors gently bouncing off one
another in constant motion from exhibit to exhibit. And, as
always, it was worth the effort.
Rétromobile has multiple facets. The multitude of club
exhibits give collectors and admirers of French, German,
English and American marques a chance to gather and fuel
their passion. Passion really is the operative word here.
French endeavors that are done well are done with passion,
whether it’s a simple pastry or a show like Rétro or the great
monument that is the city of Paris itself.
Each year Rétromobile has a dominant theme. The 2005
theme, "Prototypes of Yesterday, Automobiles of
Tomorrow", turned out an impressive cross-section of
streamline and aerodynamic creations dating back to 1933.
There were famed race driver Jean-Pierre Wimille’s 1943
and 1949 cars, each extremely original in concept and execution.
The later car, powered by a Ford flathead V-8, has a
top speed just a whisker under 100 mph thanks, in part, to
its sleek shape.
L’Autoplane, looking as though it just flew off the
front cover of a ‘50s Popular Mechanics, can actually fly
and drive, as the videotape confirmed. J. A. Gregoire’s 1952
SOCEMA, is a turbine powered streamliner with cast aluminum
platform. It has a very slippery shape, Cotal
electromagnetic transmission and a Telma electromagnetic
braking system (gas turbines don’t generate any engine
braking of their own) that looks futuristic even in 2005.
Panhard’s Dynavia is an astonishing design looking
very much like an airplane wing. It has a light-alloy
four-passenger body and a 2-cylinder, 28 hp engine with
a top speed of over 80 mph. From across the Channel came
the aerodynamic 1933 Crossley Burney, a seven-seater with
all-independent suspension and a rear-mounted six cylinder
engine – sort of a British Tatra in concept. And there was
the big 1941 Stela electric sedan weighing in at two tons,
half of which was battery weight. Said to have been good
for around 80 miles before a recharge, it invites comparison
to today as that’s about the same range of
modern electric car efforts.
A number of automotive anniversaries were celebrated at
Rétro including the 50th for the Mercedes 190SL, Peugeot
403, the evergreen MGA and the still-radical Citroen DS.
Renault’s 16 turned 40 with a big display.
Not only during model anniversary years do the major
automakers pull out the stops at Rétromobile with large,
attractive displays of cars from their past. Along with the
190SL, featured at the Mercedes stand was a
stunning 1937 540K Special Roadster.
Peugeot rolled out a fascinating cross-section
of cars from its company museum as did
Citroen and Renault. The Renault 1899 coupe
on display claimed to be the first closed car
and looked all the world like a phone booth
on spindly wheels. BMW showed a fine array
of both cars and motorcycles including a
delectable 507 roadster and their winsome
little Isetta bubble car to celebrate the 50th
year of both these models.
Beside the manufacturer’s museums, France has an
exceptionally large number of privately-run museums
open to the public. They too were well represented at
Rétromobile along with the national motor museums
of Britain and France.
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