Following a rhetorical break, we continue with the absolute coolest cars of Rétromobile 2025. This show was nothing like any other in Europe, with so many impressive and unique specimens that one could already be an achievement. So get ready for some sub-zero temperatures in coolness..
The Singer All-terrain Competition is an off-road concept car to honour a racing legend
We saw this car on the stage of Joe Macari, a UK-based trader responsible for several cars on this cool list. The Singer All-terrain Competition Study, or ‘ACS’ for short, was built at the request of one long-standing customer who wanted an air-cooled 911 to compete in off-road racing and demonstrate all-terrain exploration capabilities.
The car is based on an air-cooled Porsche 964 and was inspired by Porsche rally cars of the era, like the Paris-Dakar 959.
The only McLaren F1 that did not steal the show
The centrepiece of the Kidston stage was a white McLaren F1. Some reviews noted that seeing this (for a McLaren F1, quite bland) car on its central podium among far more flamboyant cars was strange.
The iconic F1 will still hold its own, leaving a lasting impression in any colour, but we just could not give it a higher position.
The 1959 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione is a supercar milestone
The Ferrari 250 SWB is one of our personal favourite Ferrari of all time. SWB stands for Short Wheel Base, referring to a shortened chassis, making the car more agile and also, one of the most successful GT racers of its time. The Italians also furnished a breathtaking design. Its full aluminium bodywork is one of the most voluptuous designs, courtesy of Giotto Bizzarrini, Carlo Chiti and the young Mauro Forghieri.
The car was a major commercial success: over 170 vehicles were built with aluminium or steel bodywork. It is one of the few classics where the faithful original replicas are also cherished collector’s items, and some were even rebuilt from Ferraris of the same era.
This car is special even among them, as it was the premier prototype from the 1959 Paris Salon, where Ferrari unveiled the short-wheel-base Berlinetta for its customers. This chassis is more sleek and straightforward, with fewer interruptions in its lining, as it did not feature the typical vents and lights of the series production models.
The Mercedes 540K is an art deco masterpiece.
This red 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540 K Special Roadster was showcased at the stage of Axel Schuette.
The car was coachbuilt at the Sindelfingen factory in close cooperation with the Canadian customer and is the very last original 540 K Special Roadster that survived the tides of history.
The Maserati MC12 is the evil twin of the Enzo
The Maserati MC12 is a limited production car produced for only two years, from 2004 to 2005, to meet homologation requirements to compete in the FIA GT Championship.
The MC12 was designed and built on the technical platform of the Ferrari Enzo, but the Maserati is much larger and has a lower drag coefficient. While the dynamics of the Ferrari are still superior, the looks and rarity make the MC12 even cooler.
The Aston Martin Valkyre is a no-holds-barred hypercar
The Aston Martin Valkyrie is a limited production hybrid hypercar built in collaboration with Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies with contribution from legendary race car designer Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer.
The Valkyrie is powered by a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine developed by Cosworth, combined with an electric motor to produce a hybrid powertrain. This powertrain delivers a whopping 1160 horsepower and 900nm of torque, reaching a top speed of 402 km/h.
We found this particular specimen at Joe Macari’s stage. It was built for the UK market and features over £500,000 in additional factory options. Due to its exotic finish, this Valkyrie was named ‘Anemos’ after the Greek word for wind, resulting in a bit of a mashup of mythologies, like in a Marvel movie.
With the 275 GTB cabrio, Kidston counted to infinity. Twice…
We have already learned about the cabrio version of Ferrari’s iconic 275 at Kidston’s 2024 stage. Only looking back at our pictures from 2024 did we realise that this is a different car. A car so rare that Kidston managed to count to infinity twice, much like Chuck Norris.
The NART Spider was called to life by Luigi Chinetti, Italian Le Mans ace and later US importer for Ferrari, who founded NART. NART stands for North American Racing Team, the American outlet of Ferrari’s racing efforts. The NART Spider was an open-top version of a 275 GTB/4 that represented a clear need identified by Chinetti. Only 10 NART Spyders were built with some variations in styling and materials, but each is a true spectacle.
This Azzurro Metallizzato 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder was picked up at the factory by Ferrari enthusiast Eddie ‘George’ Smith, who used the NART Spyder both for daily commutes and his annual ventures to Sebring and remained with the family until the 2010s. In the summer of 2013, it was offered for charity at the RM Auctions Monterey Sale, changing hands for a staggering $27.5 million.
Girardo’s centre-stage Ferrari 250 GT SWB is a real show-stealer
The 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione is an easy pick as it ranks high among our favourite classics of all time. SWB stands for Short Wheel Base, referring to a shortened chassis, making the car more agile and also one of the most successful GT racers of its time.
This blue SWB is one of 46 alloy-bodied Competizione specification examples built in 1960, the French tricolor stripe honours its French driver. The car made its competitive debut in the Tour de France Automobile, finishing second.
The AMG One was certainly worth the wait.
The Mercedes-AMG ONE is a limited-production plug-in dual hybrid hypercar manufactured by Mercedes-AMG. Hypercars are road-legal race cars, and the AMG One features Formula One-derived technology with significant input from the record-breaking F1 driver Lewis Hamilton.
The Project One concept car was unveiled at the 2017 International Motor Show Germany (IAA Frankfurt) by the then three-time F1 world champion and Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, together with Dieter Zetsche (the big boss with the big Mustache). Although we attended the show, we missed the inauguration, but the car remained exposed throughout the event, and it certainly impressed us.
And now here we are, AMG One specimens are arriving at the shows, and we have seen several of them, including two at this year’s Rétromobile.
The Centodieci is a homage to a modern-day icon.
The Centodieci is an exclusive Bugatti model whose design pays homage to the EB110, the first modern Bugatti hypercar since World War II.
The Centodieci is an old familiar, even though only 10 Centodiecis were offered during the production year 2022, at the whopping price of about 8 million euros each. We saw a pre-production model in 2019 at the Zoute Concours and then at Autoworld’s Bugatti exhibition. We even put a blue Centodieci on our 2024 Rétromobile cool list.
Every Centodieci is tailor-made and hand-built at the Atelier in Molsheim, the marque’s home base in France. This white one was one of the flagships of the RM Sotheby’s sale, but it did not find a buyer in the end.
The Renault Filante Record 2025 is a brilliant homage to a legend
Renault Filante Record 2025 is an electric demo car developed by the French company to honour a Renault legend of the past and showcase its electric drivetrain’s potential.
The 1950 BRM TYPE 15 illustrates all that is good and bad in British engineering.
This year’s Rétromobile hosted a BRM stage featuring the 1950 BRM Type 15, a 16-cylinder monster. British Racing Motors was founded in the 1940s with the overarching aim to build a purely British Grand Prix racing car. The 1950 BRM type 15 was a single-seater race car powered by a 1500 cc supercharged V16 housed beneath its long bonnet, delivering 600 hp at 12,000 rpm.
The team brought on board some of the greatest pilots, such as Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss, as well as British ace Reg Parnell. This particular model helped to launch BRM’s long motorsports career but did not achieve much in the 1950 season. In fact, the car never really accomplished anything over its three seasons, partly also due to changing regulations.
The 1964 Ferrari 250 LM was sold for an insane price.
This automotive legend was the absolute highlight of MS Sotheby’s Paris auction, occupying the most prominent place, parked right next to the entrance in the Carrousel Hall of the Louvre.
The 1964 Ferrari 250 LM built by Scaglietti arrived from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum collection, boasting an impressive racing pedigree. The car finished as the overall winner of the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, the last of six consecutive Ferrari victories at Le Mans. This Ferrari proved to be the only privateer-entered Ferrari to ever win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, piloted by Masten Gregory and Jochen Rindt on behalf of the North American Racing Team (NART).
This specimen is the sixth and most important of the 32 Ferrari 250LM and the only Ferrari to compete in six 24-hour races, including three times at Le Mans and three times at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Yet it remained preserved, retaining its matching-numbers engine and gearbox and 54 years of careful conservation by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Museum. No wonder this specimen sold at nearly record prices: the hammer fell at a whopping €34.000.000 million sales price (and some change).
The Mercedes C-111 is one the greatest concept cars of all time.
The Mercedes C 111 is our personal favourite, one of the best concept cars of all time. It is not just about the style, mended by a great Italian car designer, Bruno Sacco, who defined Mercedes’ design language for several decades. The C111 also introduced the revolutionary Wankel technology and broke several records.
Mercedes-Benz officially unveiled the C-111 over 50 years ago. It was an elegant, futuristic, high-performance sports car in a compact wedge shape with a three-rotor Wankel engine painted bright orange metallic.
In 2020, Mercedes showcased the entire line-up of concepts, from the SLX to the silver Batmobiles that broke several records, nicely lined up on their magnificent factory stage at the Essen Techno Classica 2019.
For a more comprehensive overview of the entire series (from the SLX concept to the silver Batmobiles), you should have a look at the ETS 2020 report.
The Renault 40CV is a record car of the roaring twenties.
The 1926 Renault 40CV NM is Renault’s pride and joy, and as part of its record car fleet, it was showcased at several exhibitions, like Rétromobile 2016 and 2024. The car is fitted with a single-seater body, an icon of Art Deco car design, and with its whopping 9-litre engine, the power matches its aggressive looks.
The name is actually somewhat deceiving. While the NM prototype is powered by the most powerful 6-cylinder in-line engine from the Renault 40CV, the 9.1 L engine is equipped with 3 twin carburettors, developing 150 horsepower, allowing the car to reach a top speed of over 200 km/h.
