French fancies
The brilliant Rétromobile in Paris dazzled once again this week – and, as ever, the organisers pulled out all the stops.
The 2025 edition of this season-opening show, from 5-9 February, brought manufacturers, dealers, enthusiasts, clubs and more together, united in a shared love of classic cars.
And, being Rétromobile, it had a healthy dose of wonderful oddities and rarities, too, some of which we’re sharing here. Enjoy!
1. 1959 Ferrari 250GT SWB show car
While the Prancing Horse badge never fails to turn heads, it’s less immediately obvious that this is a particularly special example.
The different windows and missing side vents hint at this being the original Paris Salon display car for the vaunted Ferrari 250GT SWB.
This car retains its original engine and chassis. It did receive wing vents in the 1990s, but it has since been restored to its original specification – and is all the better for it.
2. 1970 Mercedes-Benz C111
This is the 345bhp, rotary-powered 1970 C111, the second of 16 experimental concept cars built by Mercedes-Benz from 1969.
The four-rotor Wankel engine could deliver a 186mph top speed, but later C111s turned to diesel power.
Gullwing doors add to the drama, and hint at the legendary 300SL.
3. 1959 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato Sperimentale
This Lancia’s appearance at Rétromobile 2025 marked the first time it has been shown in public for 50 years.
This ex-works 1959 Flaminia competition car received an experimental body in 1962, that was lighter and more aerodynamic than before.
After the 1963 Rallye Monte-Carlo and Targa Florio, it disappeared into a private collection.
4. 1996 Toyota RAV4 EV
Toyota being a leader in sustainable transportation is nothing new: the Japanese giant built nearly 2000 electric-powered RAV4s between 1997 and 2003, with the majority going to the US market.
Most were leased and later disappeared, then forgotten. Their nickel-metal hydride batteries provided a 95-mile range, with power coming from a 61bhp electric motor.
5. 1980 Matra Murena JPB
Rétromobile always brings out some brilliant French classic cars, and this quirky three-seater was one of 2025’s stars.
Inspired by the rally car prepared by the Politecnic team and driven by 1972 Monaco Grand Prix winner Jean-Pierre Beltoise, this special-edition ‘Matra-Politecnic-Beltoise’ Murena was offered in kit form by the aforementioned equipe.
The example on show was the prototype, which features a wide bodykit and was available with a 229bhp competition version of the 2.2-litre, four-cylinder engine.
6. 1969 Mini Radford Hatchback Cooper Mk2
One of just 18 Minis to feature a hatchback rear end installed by legendary coachbuilder Harold Radford, this is one of the later Cooper Mk2s to have been given this treatment, and it boasts a 55bhp, 997cc engine.
This car also visited Wood & Pickett in 1987 and received a plush interior, including a wood-veneered dashboard and leather trim.
7. 1956 Simca Week-End
And now we turn to another defunct French car maker: Simca.
This attractive cabriolet version of the Aronde was bodied by Facel from a Pinin Farina design, and was offered alongside a coupé. In 1957, the open car was renamed the Océane.
Although more than 170,000 were built, few survive today.
8. 1972 Citroën SM prototype
Underneath its shortened, two-door DS body, and despite the ‘DS21’ badges, this is actually an early SM chassis with a Maserati V6 engine.
As the prototype Citroën SM, which celebrates its 55th birthday in 2025, this car was prepared by the marque’s competition department and campaigned in Chamonix by Swede Björn Waldegård, who went on to claim the World Rally Championship for drivers in 1979.
9. 1933 Mercedes-Benz 710 Super Sport Cabriolet A
The only-surviving example of three range-topping sports tourers built to this configuration, this impressive Mercedes-Benz was delivered new to its first keeper in Barcelona in 1934 and has had only a handful of owners since.
Its supercharged, six-cylinder, 7.1-litre engine made it one of the fastest cars of its time, while its long-bonnet style makes it look like an extra from Monte Carlo or Bust!, don’t you think?
10. 1981 Škoda 110 Super Sport Ferat
Star of the 1982 Czech vampire horror film Upír z Feratu (Ferat Vampire), this one-off was originally a concept sports car with a show-stopping, lift-off canopy exposing the interior in one large movement.
The 110 Super Sport concept was first presented to the public in 1971 and featured a 1.1-litre engine with 75bhp – plenty for a coupé weighing just 898kg – but as part of its transformation for the silver screen, it was said to run on human blood!
11. 1963 Simca Isabelle
We’ve another unique car for you here, with our second Simca.
This one-off prototype built in 1963 was aimed at the market dominated by the Mini, with a 944cc engine and more interior space than its potential British rival.
Although it held promise, the project stalled and the more simple engineering of the existing Simca 1000 prevailed.
12. 1922 Citroën Kégresse K1
This is a historic Citroën.
It participated in the first motorised crossing of the Sahara desert in December 1922, making this Type B2-based half-track a rare, preserved vehicle.
It has been nicknamed the ‘Silver Croissant’ and, having been stored in a museum since 1948, it joined a set of other Kégresse Citroëns in the bridge between the halls at Rétromobile 2025.
13. 2022 Delage D12
The Delage name conjures images of elegantly coachbuilt, opulent touring cars – just like the D8-120 presented on the Les Amis de Delage stand alongside this dramatic supercar that shares its name.
Launched nearly half a century after the demise of the original firm in 1953, the Paris-built D12 features a naturally aspirated, 7.6-litre V12 hybrid powertrain with up to 1100bhp and an unusual tandem seating layout.
14. 1937/1948 Packard Super Eight ‘Yacht’
Even surrounded by the exotica on offer in the huge Artcurial auction area, this spectacular one-off stood out – not least because it is absolutely vast.
Conceived as an advertising vehicle by the inventor of the bikini, Louis Réard, it was fashioned in the style of a boat in 1948 by famed coachbuilder Henri Chapron on the basis of a 1937 Packard, chosen because its powerful straight-eight was able to lug around the hefty new body.
It has had just two long-term owners since its creation. If you fancied being the third, it would set you back €250-350,000.
15. 1964 Sunbeam Venezia
For those with slightly shallower pockets, the ‘cars under €30,000’ area (up from €25k last year) features plenty of bargains – as well as a fair number of overpriced 1980s hatchbacks.
This 1964 Sunbeam Venezia project isn’t for the faint-hearted, but the Rootes Group mechanicals should at least be relatively straightforward, and the coachwork by Carrozzeria Touring is aluminium – though you’ll still need to look out for rust underneath.
The price for this rare Italian reinterpretation of a Great Briton? A very reasonable €7500.
16. 1974 Stutz Blackhawk
The ultimate exponent of the phrase ‘it ain’t done til it’s overdone’ is surely the outrageous Stutz Blackhawk, and it was a surprising find tucked away on the stand of the Fédération Française des Véhicules d’Époque (FFVE).
Reviving the famous name from the defunct Stutz brand, the Blackhawk was a neoclassic behemoth designed by Virgil Exner and based on the Pontiac Grand Prix.
Beneath the vintage-style body addenda was a 7.5-litre V8, and the car’s opulence attracted a roster of celebrity owners – including this example’s first keeper, motorcycle stuntman Evel Knievel.