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The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts

retromobile

Gauld at Retro 2017 Take One

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What’s special about this special Lancia?

Story and photos (except as noted) by Graham Gauld

This year Retromobile was bigger than ever with a surprise every ten yards. And that’s why most of what is contained in this early story is a mere fragment of the kind of stuff you can find if you look in all the nooks and crannies. I’ll be writing more about this year’s Retro so just stay tuned to VeloceToday.

I am always on the lookout for cars that remind me of times gone by when they were new and fresh and so it came as a surprise to find a very interesting stand supported by Fiat Group, concessionaires and associated car clubs as they had brought along a number cars that all had stories to tell.

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Rétromobile in Blue by Hugues Vanhoolandt

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The booth of the Swiss dealer Lükas Hüni is always one of the attractions of the show as the cars presented are (most of the time) not for sale but coming from private collections never shown anywhere else. This particular Bugatti Type 55 Roadster is considered to be the most original as it is the sole example that remains unrestored.

Editor’s Choice: The booth of the Swiss dealer Lükas Hüni is always one of the attractions of the show. This particular Bugatti Type 55 Roadster is considered to be the most original as it is the sole example that remains unrestored.

Photos and text by Hugues Vanhoolandt [Read more…] about Rétromobile in Blue by Hugues Vanhoolandt

Rétromobile in Red by Jonathan Sharp

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Sinclair-Ferrari-2

Editor’s Choice: Sold new to former Italian hillclimb champion Franco Cornaccia of Scuderia Guastala in Milan, this 1951 212 Export Berlinetta by Vignale was entered in that year’s Carrera Panamericana II where Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi won second place overall. Then 0161EL was sold to Santiago Ontanon, owner of Industrias 1-2-3. Driven by Paco Ibarra and Vincent Solar, this handsome little Ferrari Berlinetta finished the 1952 Carrera 7th in class and 24th overall.

Story and Photos by Jonathan Sharp

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Gijsbert-Paul Berk: Retro Rockets and Chinese Italians

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Gijsbert-Paul Berk recently turned 85 years young. He has been our kind and generous mentor since his book, André Lefebvre and the cars he created for Voisin and Citroën was reviewed by us in 2010. His first article for VeloceToday was The 1923 French Grand Prix, in 2012, Part 1 of a massive 9 part series dealing with this epic race in depth.

What fascinates us most about Gijsbert-Paul, is that like all really great journalists, he is interested in the present and ponders the future, even while researching the past in depth. From 3D additive manufacturing to self-drive cars, he refuses to let history get in the way of absorbing the latest, constantly reminding us that we must stay abreast of industrial and automotive news although immersing ourselves in the distant past.

Below, he reports on the upcoming Rétromobile display of the 1905 Darracq V8 Record Car, and follows that up with the all-electric Neo concept car created by the Italian-Chinese collaboration of Icona and shown at the recent Festival Automobile International in Paris.
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Where to Shop and Eat at Rétromobile

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In 2010, Lizzie Sexton accompanied her husband John to Rétro, but instead of hanging about at the show, she decided to explore the 15th arrondissement. “Not all of us are car fanatics,” she wrote. “But that’s not an excuse to skip the wonderful Rétromobile. Take advantage of the trip to discover a part of Paris with culture, food and fun.”

With the 2016 version of Rétro opening this week we re-publish Lizzie’s article sharing her experiences with our readers.

Story and Photos by Lizzie Sexton

Rétromobile is housed in the Parc des Expositions at the Porte de Versailles, on the southwest border of Paris and at the base of the 15ième arrondissement. Nine of ten residents of the 15ième will rank the number 12 métro line to downtown as the best thing coming out of their area. But luckily I met Antoine, the one in ten who urged me to “Restez ici chez nous pour un peu!” (Stay here with us for awhile!). [Read more…] about Where to Shop and Eat at Rétromobile

Four Guys at Retro: Vanhoolandt and the French

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Everybody has heard about the sale of the Baillon collection of nearly 60 cars in desperate state for most of them. Here on the same picture, the most well preserved cars, the Maserati A6 G 2000 Frua coupé in the background, and the Ferrari 250 GT SWB California once owned by French actor Alain Delon, sold for an incredible $18.5 million.

Story and photos by Hugues Vanhoolandt
Click on pics to enlarge

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Retromobile show in Paris. Over the years it became a must-see event that starts the classic car season on the European continent and it continues to grow in size and quality. The sale of the well-publicized Baillon collection attracted even more spectators, who had to queue for some time to access the hall where the barn finds were exposed.

The Maserati, which went to an American buyer for $2.2 million, is one of only four A6G 2000 bodied by Frua. It was the 1956 Paris Motor Show car and in the Baillon family since 1959.

Apart from the usual manufacturers and dealers displays, many themes were developed with a retrospective of the production of Spanish manufacturer Pegaso, a selection of cars from the collection of Corrado Lopresto from Italy, a gathering of Bugatti Royales, the production cars of Matra, etc.

Yes, there were Pegasos, but you missed them. Fortunately Hugues did not, and we'l present Hugues' Pegaso pics in depth in another issue of VT.

But first take a look to the sale that made the headlines and to some French rarities.

The Baillon collection was presented in a very dark environment, giving an ambiance of mystery to these cars coming to light for the first time since decades. Another highlight was this Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport by Saoutchik, already featured here in VT ( Baillon barnfind part 3). It went for $1.9 million.

This Talbot-Lago T150C was also a car owned by Baillon until 1979 when a first batch of cars went on public sale due to his transport business bankruptcy. 1936 French ACF Grand Prix, 1937 Mille Miglia, 1938 Le Mans 24 hours are just some of the races in which this car took part with various bodies.

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Four Guys at Retro: Gerelli at the Auctions

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Iso Grifo A3/C stradale 1965 sold at RM Auction for 1036k euros.

Story and photos by Alessandro Gerelli
Click on pics to enlarge

All prices are in Euros: This week the U.S. Dollar equals .88 Euro, and 1 Euro equals .74 British Pound Sterling

During the first three days of the Retromobile, three auctions were held in Paris by Artcurial, Bonhams and RM, all held at different locations, causing one to travel from one to another.

However, all three auctions were big successes with only few lots unsold, and many cars sold at the maximum or over the estimated values.

The high point was the Artcurial with the Baillon Collection with all the cars sold; a Maserati A6G 2000 by Frua sold at 2010k euros and, incredibly, a Ferrari 250 GT SWB California (#2935) ex Alain Delon sold at 16288000 euros (all included) against an estimation of 9.5 to 12 million euros.

The Iso and Bizzarini sold with very good results, with a couple of cars going over million euros.

At the Bonhams auction, a few Abarth cars coming from the Violati Maranello Rosso collection will be of great interest to VeloceToday readers – please note the prices!

Of course at the Retromobile itself, there were many cars on show at the various stands of dealers and clubs, but I limited the photo gallery to few cars of the Lopresto collection which were shown for the first time in Paris.

We begin with the Abarths…

Abarth Osella PA1 Sport Prototipo 1973 (Maranello Rosso collection) sold at Bonhams for 110k euros.

Abarth Simca 1300 GT long nose 1965 (Maranello Rosso collection) sold at Bonhams auction for 129k euros.

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Shared Enthusiasm at Rétromobile

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Lizzie Sexton accompanied her husband John to Rétro this year, but instead of hanging about at the show, she decided to explore the 15th arrondissement. “Not all of us are car fanatics,” she wrote. “But that’s not an excuse to skip the wonderful Rétromobile. Take advantage of the trip to discover a part of Paris with culture, food and fun.” Below, Lizzie shares her experiences with our readers.

Story and Photos by Lizzie Sexton

Rétromobile is housed in the Parc des Expositions at the Porte de Versailles, on the southwest border of Paris and at the base of the 15ième arrondissement. Nine of ten residents of the 15ième will rank the number 12 métro line to downtown as the best thing coming out of their area. But luckily I met Antoine, the one in ten who urged me to “Restez ici chez nous pour un peu!” (Stay here with us for awhile!). [Read more…] about Shared Enthusiasm at Rétromobile

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