Tour Auto 2014 Begins in Paris

1957 Ferrari 250 Boano of Ludwig Willisch and Norbert Schwitz Koep from Germany alongside the 1963 250 Lusso of Eric Hamoniau an Arnaud Dernoncour from France.

Photos by Jonathan Sharp
Click on pic to enlarge

My alarm clock seems to be permanently set to 3.30 am, this being the start time of most of my recent trips abroad. This time it was set so as I could catch the Eurostar (so much more civilized than flying) to Paris to take a look at the cars entered in this year’s Tour Auto.

The Tour Auto celebrates the original Tour De France Auto which ran from 1899 through to 1986. By the 1980s the event had become a Rally, run as part of the European Rally Championship. The Tour Auto revival event was first run in 1992.

This year, the cars were on display to members of the general public on Monday the 7th April whilst scrutineering was being completed. The cars were due to depart on the tour at dawn the following morning.

The venue was the Grand Palais which is just off the Champs Elysees near the Place Du Concorde. The Grand Palais is a wonderful 240 meter-long glass-roofed exhibition hall built in the Beaux Arts style, a true masterpiece that was originally built for the Universal Exposition of 1900. It is the perfect setting for the beauties which lay within.

The 234 cars entered were lined up mainly in make order so if you did not want to view the Porsches you could cut out that section. That however would have been a shame, as parked in-between the ranks of 356s and 911s where two 906s and a 904.

The Ferrari entries included a large group of 275 GTBs, appropriately as this is that models 50th anniversary. Other impressive Ferrari’s included the Swiss entered 212 Inter Vignale, the German entered 250GT Boano, an American entered 250 TDF (naturally), the 250GT Breadvan which I had seen race at Goodwood the weekend before, and the Swiss/Belgium 365 GTB/4 NART.

From the Lancia stable at least 5 Stratos, various Fulvia HFs and a B20GT Aurelia. Numerous Alfa Romeo GTAs plus 2 GTAms, a couple of SZs and TZs, a Gulia Sprint Speciale and a 1900 CSS Touring. Five De Tomaso Panteras were lined up next to the Mercedes 300 SLs. Next to the GTAms, two Citroen SMs, a light fifteen/six and a DS. At the other end of the hall the biggest line up of Alpine 110s I have ever seen with a Renault 4CV heading the lineup. In another corner a smattering of Renault 8 Gordinis, model which is also enjoying its 50th Anniversary. Next to the Argentinean entered Osca 372S of 1957, a French-entered 1953 Salmson 2300S. In front of the Alpines a lineup of Ford machines, GT40s, Mustangs and Cobras. Next to the circle of Ferraris in the middle of the hall a cross section of BMWs from a diminutive 700 to a selection of winged CSL Batmobiles.

Running around the edge of the building – but not open to the general public due to ongoing restoration work – was a viewing gallery but the media savvy security guards would let us photographers enter the gallery in pairs to take aerial shots so long as we were quick. I waited my turn and then with a fellow photographer rushed around to get a few shots. Upon returning, a few minutes later to the now-locked gate we found that our kindly security guard was now nowhere to be found. This being France he had probably gone to lunch. So with a bit more time to use I was able to take a full tour of the gallery and grab some more shots before the return of the guard with the key.

BMW took the opportunity to launch its new electric sports car the i 8, and Ferrari to launch the new 560 BHP California T. I think you can guess which unveiling drew the biggest crowd and it was not just the free champagne on the Ferrari stand!

Once I had finally exhausted all possible photographic opportunities, and with a few hours before my train left for home I decided to take a walk up the Champs Elysees where many of the major car manufactures have large showrooms or boutiques as they like to call them now. These boutiques often contain some gems from the relevant company’s history so in the Mercedes boutique was a CLK DTM road car. At Toyota, their LMP1 Le Man car, and Renault? A Red Bull F1 car, naturally. But in a much more prominent position in the window of the boutique was the L’Etoile Filante turbine car. Bravo Renault.

1952 Ferrari 212 Inter of Alexander and Chantal Senft from Switzerland.

All the way from the USA, Martin Gruss and Michel Brogard's 1956 250 Tdf.

Following its outing at the Goodwood 72nd Members meeting, the 250 GT Breadvan of Martin Halusa and Nicola Von Donhoff.

1970 Group 4 Ferrari 365/GTB4 of Pierre Wellinger (Austria) and Tommaso Gelmini (Italy).

NART 365 GTB4 of the Swiss/Belgium team of Michel Abellana nd Andrej Friedman.

Nicolas Vallez and Fabien Coustenoble's 1954 Salmson 2300 S.

Olivier Poelaert's 1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 CSS.

From Argentina the 1957 Osca 372FS of Tomas Hinrichsen and Solange Mayo.

Alfa Romeo 1750 GTAM 1969, entered by the Luis Delso and Carlos de Miguel from Spain.

1750 GTAM of Franco Lembo with Olivier Ellerbrook/ Christain Beumer from Germany's GTA next to it. I wonder if there was any room left for the driver and co-pilot once all the luggage had been stored.

A pair of Lancia Stratos Group 4s of the Australian/New Zealand pairing of Flavio Puccinell and Brett Lindsay and the French pairing of Nicolas Leroy Fleuriot/Olivier Cothenet.