23 highlights from Rétromobile 2022

Rétromobile is back!

After repeated pandemic-enforced delays, the brilliant Rétromobile show has made a long-awaited return to the Parc des Expositions in Porte de Versailles, Paris, this week (16-20 March 2022), and Classic & Sports Car has been walking the halls picking out some of the weird and wonderful highlights.

Although smaller this year, down to just two halls and with notably fewer dealers making the journey across the Channel to host displays, there is still plenty to keep petrolheads of all types interested.

The show runs until Sunday, so there's still time to catch it if you're quick…

1. Les amis de Amédée

The legendary Schlumpf collection – or the Musée Nationale de l'Automobile, in Mulhouse – is on hand with a stunning selection of French Blue racing cars celebrating the work of famed Gallic tuner and builder Amédée Gordini.

Among the vehicles on show are a 1954 Type 31S (pictured in the foreground above), a Type 16/24 Formula One car and even a Lancia RO team transporter, acquired by Gordini in 1947 and converted from a 1943 military truck, that features a 7-litre, five-cylinder engine.

2. Le Sourcier meets El Maestro

Sticking with the Gordini theme, one of the star cars in the Artcurial auction that takes up much of the lower floor of the show is the super-rare Type 18S berlinette.

One of two such coupés built by Le Sourcier Amédée Gordini, it features a supercharged engine – the only Gordini to do so – and was raced in the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans by none other than El Maestro himself, Juan Manuel Fangio, sharing the driving with fellow Argentinian José Froilán González.

It's estimated to fetch €800,000-1.6m.

3. Diminutive racing legends

Just like Gordini, Ilario Bandini focused on light weight and highly tuned, small-capacity engines to extract performance rather than relying on cubic inches.

The remarkable collection of Ilario's nephew Dino Bandini – as featured in the March 2022 issue of Classic & Sports Car – is also due to go under the hammer with Artcurial, featuring six cars ranging from the early Siluro models via a pair of single-seaters to a gorgeous, one-off Zagato coupé.

4. Perfect Prancing Horse quartet

Approaching high performance from a very different angle is another collection on offer with Artcurial. A group of Ferrari hypercars including F40, F50, Enzo and LaFerrari is remarkable enough, but the fact that all four are low-mileage one-owner examples makes them even more special.

Coming from a Monégasque collector, the quartet looks pretty fabulous – though perhaps whoever buys it will add a 288GTO to really complete the set…

5. First among Facels

Rétromobile just wouldn't be the same without a scattering of Facel Vegas, and the example up for grabs in Artcurial's sale is particularly fascinating.

The 1954 Vega 54 Prototype 'V' is the missing link between the early work of Facel founder Jean Daninos, such as his Ford Comète and Bentley Cresta, and the subsequent Facel Vega FV and HK500. Owned and used by Daninos himself for many years, it features a shorter wheelbase and lower roofline than the production cars, giving it a distinctive look.

Get its full story here.

6. Facel on the Monte

Facel Vega is best remembered for its big V8-powered cars such as the HK500, Facel II and Excellence, but that was far from the only model available from the famous French marque. The pretty Facellia was built from 1960-’63 in coupé and cabriolet forms, with a 1.6-litre twin-cam engine.

The example on show at Rétromobile was exhibited at the Salon de l'Automobile in Paris in October 1960 before embarking on a rally career that took in the Tour de France, the Tour de Belgique, the Rallye de Lorraine and the 1963 Rallye Monte-Carlo.

7. The Magnificent Seven

Usually at Rétromobile, it's one of the central curated displays or perhaps a manufacturer stand that really steals the show, but some of the top-end dealers have been running them close for several years now. And for 2022, Swiss-based specialist Simon Kidston has really outdone himself.

With their stratospheric values these days, getting just one McLaren F1 on to a stand for display is an achievement, but Kidston has gathered an incredible seven genuine cars, along with stylist Peter Stevens.

8. An F1 fit for a Beatle

Providing the centrepiece to Kidston SA's remarkable McLaren F1 display is a funky, Dark Purple Pearl-coloured example with Satin Black wheels, a car that boasts a particularly A-list history.

Ordered new by George Harrison of The Beatles, who was a personal friend of the car's designer, Gordon Murray, chassis 25 has remained part of the Harrison family collection until this year and features handwritten song lyrics from the Fab Four applied by Murray himself.

9. Flat-twin goes for a swim

There aren't too many parallels to be drawn between a McLaren F1 and a 1950 amphibious jeep, but the two do at least share a central driving position flanked by a couple of passenger seats!

This unique aquatic machine is the only one of 20 similar vehicles built to be modified for use on the water, and features a rear-mounted 754cc Panhard flat-twin engine driving the rear wheels (and a central propeller).

Flat-twin goes for a swim (cont.)

On display with the Dynamic-Club Panhard & Levassor, the amphibious military machine was the brainchild of Georges Irat, who named his interpretation of the Jeep as the 'Voiture du Bled'.

Here that novel seating arrangement can clearly be seen – perhaps this was Gordon Murray's inspiration for the F1's layout?!

10. Salmson heads upstream

Continuing the nautical theme is this 1923 Salmson Val3, part of the Manoir de l'Automobile collection. Starting life as a standard road car, it was turned into an amphibious vehicle by its then-owner during the Second World War so that he could use it to retrieve his fiancée from the other side of the River Seine during a bombardment, even if the bridges were destroyed.

To combat the fuel shortages of the time, it was also fitted with an electric motor.

11. From sports car to the timberyard

Quirky is king at Rétromobile, and everywhere you turn there is a fascinating curiosity to be found such as this cute 1922 Amilcar CC.

Acquired by its second keeper Jean-Michel Choplin more than 30 years ago, the Amilcar only ran for the first time in his ownership in 2021 for the marque's centenary. The first owner was a lumberjack, who used the CC to pull felled trees from the forest and equipped the car with its rather rustic sheet-metal roof.

12. Matra’s siren call

This annual show is always well supported by France's many and varied motoring museums, never more so than in 2022. A newcomer this year is the Musée de la Gendarmerie Nationale, which has brought along an intriguing selection of police vehicles ranging from motorcycles via a huge 4x4 van to this diminutive Matra Djet. 

One of three examples pressed into service in 1966, the glassfibre-bodied sports car features a mid-mounted Renault 8 Gordini engine giving it a 170kph top speed – ideal for its role patrolling the autoroutes as part of the Brigades Rapides d'Intervention (BRI).

13. Lucky boys in blue

Like the A110 before it, the Alpine A310 was also pressed into service with the French police, and the Musée de la Gendarmerie Nationale still owns one of the 14 examples issued after the model's introduction in 1976.

Earlier cars had a 1600cc Gordini-tuned Renault unit, but this one boasts the 2664cc 'Douvrin' V6 co-developed by Peugeot, Renault and Volvo, whose 150bhp gave it a 226kph maximum – ideal for chasing down rogue Citroën CXs.

Such was the car's potency that police drivers had to receive instruction on the Circuit du Mans before being adjudged qualified to drive it.

14. From the sublime…

One of this year's biggest celebrations marks 50 years of the Renault 5, with the manufacturer bringing along various incarnations of its pioneering supermini, ranging from an electric version to a wild, 370bhp 1987 Super Production 5 Turbo racer. 

Flanking its circuit-going twin is this sensational 5 Turbo road car, in the very ’80s colour combination of red with red trim and a blue engine cover.

15. …to the ridiculous

As well as a police panda car and several second-generation 'SuperCinq' models, the most intriguing version of the R5 in the half-century display was this 'Le Car Van'.

This limited edition was offered by coachbuilder Heuliez from January 1979, based on the 5 TS but with the back seats removed to create a larger load bay and the rear glazing replaced by polyester panels with small porthole-style windows, plus a Jeep-style rear-mounted spare wheel.

Around 450 are thought to have been built before production ended in 1983.

16. Three wheels on my wagon

You don't have to venture into the club displays to find something deeply wacky: a large portion of the upper hall this year is dedicated to classics for sale for less than €25,000, and that broad remit results in a pretty varied selection.

Our favourite was this 1970 NewMap SoLyTo (Société Lyonnaise de Tôlerie), a super-rare three-wheeler utility machine powered by a 125cc motorbike engine and described by its optimistic vendor as a 'campingcar'.

It's yours for just €8800.

17. Back to the future

One of the most memorable displays of Parisian events past was that of the spectacular mid-1960s Aérotrain prototypes by visionary engineer Jean Bertin. 

For 2022 there is a slightly smaller-scale – but live-action – tribute to Bertin and his ideas, with an example of his electrified Tridim cabin train making its silent way up and down a section of track within the halls of the show. 

The 160V powertrain won't be running up to its 45kph maximum, but it remains remarkably modern for a design dating from 1973.

18. Is it a ’bike, or is it a car?

The Association Vintage Revival display, put together jointly by the Musée des Blindes and the Manoir de l'Automobile is among the most fascinating areas, mainly because – to overseas visitors, at least – so many of the exhibits are previously unseen.

Such as this slightly bonkers 1938 Castarede TM, which mates a front end that does a decent impression of a 1950s Grand Prix car with a back end that is basically a near-complete motorcycle – fuel tank, frame and all. 

The 800cc three-wheeler was an amateur project by garage owner's son Paul Castarède, and reputedly has a 90kph maximum.

19. Ready for battle

The challenge of providing vehicles for soldiers operating in enemy territory inspired the creation of the 1957 Hunting Percival Harrier. 

Powered by a 650cc BSA twin producing 30bhp, the 317kg machine is capable of up to 80kph and was designed to be dropped from an aeroplane or helicopter down to waiting troops by parachute.

Four were built by the Hunting Percival Aircraft Company, and when not in use it could be transformed into a large packing case ready to be deployed in one minute.

20. Down the chute

Just in case you thought parachute-friendly vehicles were rare during the 1950s, here's another: the 1952 Voisin TEP (Transport Estafette Parachutable).

This tiny prototype truck is also amphibious, and represents one of the final creations of Gallic innovator Gabriel Voisin. It's powered by a two-cylinder Panhard engine with a complex chain-drive system, and topped by aluminium coachwork that's as charming as it is boxy.

21. Off-roader in miniature

Remarkably, Artcurial is looking for €30-40,000 for this 1970 Ferves Ranger. Admittedly it's a superb example of the Turin-built fun car, having been meticulously restored and finished in a Lamborghini green, and the low-mileage machine retains its original hood, sidescreens and carpets.

Some 500 examples of this 'off-road' derivative of the Fiat 500 and 600 were built from 1965-’70.

22. A Jeep from Japan

Toyota's FJ off-roader is a household name (among households who are into 4x4s, at least), but you could be forgiven for thinking that the Nissan Patrol is a newcomer to the rugged utility vehicle market.

Not so: this L60 Patrol dates from 1976, and features a muscular 3.9-litre straight-six engine, a three-speed transmission with separate transfer box, and a top speed of 125kph courtesy of its 145bhp power peak.

Styling-wise, it looks not unlike the offspring of an illicit union between a Land-Rover Series II and a Russian UAZ…

23. Total Eclipse of the Peugeot

If you're trundling around in a Mercedes-Benz SLK or Peugeot 206CC and thinking that your car is a bit of a pioneer, then think again. Because all modern folding hardtops (or coupé-cabriolets) have this car to thank. Or, more specifically, its coachbuilder Portout, which came up with the idea of a retractable hardtop roof decades before the current crop.

In this case Portout's 'Eclipse' treatment, designed by the brilliant Georges Paulin, has been applied to an already handsome 1938 Peugeot 402, and it's expected to fetch €110-150,000 in Artcurial's sale.