Factory stages bring an unrivalled flair to classic car shows with grand design, unique masterpieces, and much substance for fans. The two longtime champions of this discipline were Rétromobile and Techno Classica.
However, manufacturers picked up the pace rather slowly after COVID-19, with many reporting absences. Finally, Rétromobile 2024 boasted a wide variety, as Italian, British, and German manufacturers equally ensured their presence or were honoured by contributions from owners, collectors, and museums.
Citroen is far from the glory day, but at least it covered Rétromobile for Stellantis
Stellantis possesses several brands with a long history at Rétromobile, so their absence is exceptionally bad news. They officially justified this with the ongoing difficulties for the automobile industry, but we see brands slowly returning to car shows, and, as the case of MG shows, there will be brands to take over the space if European brands abandon it.
The small stage, with a few Citroen commercial cars (including the retrofitted Type H), was no match for the glory days (like the DS stage with presidential vehicles from 2018 or the 100th anniversary of Citroen from 2019), but at least the clubs tried to deliver a show.
Morgan, Riva and Hedonic are represented by a small stage, Ruf even added the proper decoration.
A few brands were attending, mainly with a minimalistic presence, with a few cars presented in a corner or on a smaller stage. Morgan is a small brand basically selling classic vehicles with the bare minimum to allow their registration as new cars. This minimalism also characterised their presence at Rétromobile.
Jaguar-Land Rover used to deliver a magnificent show in Paris with a factory stage and cars that made the headlines. However, they are gone since Brexit (the last factory stage was in 2018), and they were only represented by a Landy specialist/tuner Hedonic.
Given the wow factor of Rétromobile, maybe it’s time to reconsider, as the finest of UK traders did show up in Paris this year.
Riva brought a large speedboat the size of a stage, while RUF built up a memorable stage worthy of manufacturers.
Bizzarrini and Mercedes are your entry to the real deal
The Bizzarrini company built a lovely stage showcasing their legacy cars and bold plans to relaunch Bizzarrini as a Supercar brand with a Le Mans presence.
Mercedes came with a larger stage featuring lots of goodies and a true racing milestone centred around the iconic 300 SL model as the central theme of Mercedes-Benz Classic at Rétromobile.
Their absolute highlight was the rarely shown 300 SL racing prototype (with the model code W194/11) from the company Museum’s vault. The race engineers developed the vehicle for the 1953 motorsport season based on the 300 SL -race car, which had been highly successful in the 1952 season.
The rest of the stage featured perfectly restored 300SL specimens for sale, along with some decorations to illustrate the craftsmanship of Mercedes’ classic car division.
The VW Group returned to Paris big-time.
The VW Group is becoming increasingly active since the passing of the Pandemic. This time, the group attended with several brands, notably Volkswagen, Porsche, Skoda and VW Commercial.
The most important theme of the VW stage was the 50th anniversary of the VW Golf. With a career of fifty years and 37 million units sold, it is arguably an automotive icon. With a selection of every Golf generation from its 1974 debut to the latest generation, Volkswagen honoured the most important model in the history of the Volkswagen brand.
The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles division has been quite active at classic car shows for some time. They attended Rétromobile and also Techno Classica with some genuinely memorable models, like the Bully with half-track.
They also participated at this year’s Rétromobile with some of their legendary models, like the Combi, alongside the ID. Buzz and ID. Buzz Cargo.
Rétromobile 2024 was one of the first post-COVID classic car shows we could see Porsche again. The primary attraction of the German brand was a pair of 911s honouring the 50th anniversary of the 911 Turbo: a green Porsche 911 (the very first 911 Turbo, Type 930 from 1974) along with a 935 Turbo from 1977 (with group 5 specs).
Porsche also added some decorations showcasing its latest tech along with some present models, like the newest generation of Panamera Turbo e-Hybrid, surrounded by cars of the Porsche Clubs.
Skoda, on the other hand, is a familiar face from several shows and exhibitions, including last year’s Techno Classica.
The Bohemians presented the premiere model Superb and the Vision 7S concept car, unveiled in 2022 to showcase the future design language of the Czech brand. We saw some old friends from previous classic car shows, like the Skoda Hispano-Suiza from 1928 and several Skoda Superbs from 1935 (3000 OHV), 1936 and 1948 (OHV).
On the side, we met a sporty 1959 Skoda 1100 OHC Coupé. The Czech company converted two open-top Škoda 1100 OHC racing barchettas with hard-tops for endurance circuit races. The naturally aspirated inline-four 1,100 cc engine produced 92 HP at 7,700 rpm.
Combined with a lightweight aluminium body with a weight of only 555 kg, allowing a top speed of over 200 km/h. Both coupés were destroyed in crashes, but one was recently reconstructed using preserved components and original documents at Škoda Auto’s prototyping centre.
Renault showcased the record-breaking favourites of its past
Renault launched the celebration of its 125th anniversary at Rétromobile, with some of it’s most impressive historic cars. And by historic, we really meant that, not just some classics…
Renault exhibited several record-breaking models on land and in the air. To accompany the launch of the brand new Rafale E-Tech full hybrid, Renault showcased the replica of the Caudron-Renault Rafale C.460 aircraft born from the takeover of the Caudron aeroplane company by Louis Renault in the 1930s.
This allowed Renault to study light engines dedicated to aeronautics, and they commissioned Caudron to design record-breaking models for the brand. These models include the Renault 40CV (1926) with a single-seater body, with its whopping 9-litre engine, the streamlined 1934 Renault Nervasport that broke nine international records and three world speed records, the 1956 Renault-Riffard 4CV “tank” with a profile similar to an aeroplane wing; and the experimental 1956 Etoile Filante, powered by a 270hp turbine.
Visitors could also discover a new creation from the Renault Originals Collection, the Mute The Hot Rod with a 100% electric drivetrain, and some decoration to forebode the arrival of Renault’s new electric 5, a long-awaited successor to the iconic Renault 5. A car that is going to be really good or really-really late…
MG was the true star of Rétromobile.
The official British racing green poster of Rétromobile 2024 featured a breathtaking MG prototype, so we expected a lot of MGs. We really had no idea….
The centenary of MG is becoming a prime anniversary theme, and Rétromobile was a true crown jewel. The organisers gathered archives and vehicles never previously displayed in France, with the help of several contributors, most notably the British Motor Museum, private collectors and owners, MG Club de France and MG itself.
Despite its turbulent recent years, the brand with the octagon accomplished a lot. Following the default of the Rover in British hands, the Chinese SAIC bought the rights to MG, and the brand went somewhat dormant, especially in the old world. With the name, SAIC also inherited numerous international records accomplished in prestigious races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Tourist Trophy, the Monte-Carlo rally, and the Linas-Montlhéry autodrome. Now that SAIC has resurrected MG, the Chinese can benefit from the reputation of MG rising to worldwide fame in motorsports by the middle of the 20th century.
The organisers managed to secure several landmark vehicles and a few unique specimens from museums, including the 1925 Old MG Number One and the 1938 MG EX135. The dark green EX 135 is a streamlined Land Speed Record car developed by MG in 1938. The vehicle was fitted with various engines from 2 cyl 500cc to 1500cc. In 1951, the vehicle broke six international and 10 American records in the 1,100cc to 1,500cc engine class, with A.T. Goldie Gardner behind the wheel. In 1952, he returned to Bonneville with the MG EX 135 car and set 21 speed records in the same engine class as the previous year.
The 2024 Rétromobile poster car is the 1957 MG EX181 driven by Stirling Moss and Phil Hill. Moss drove the teardrop-shaped car to a top speed of 245 mph, while Hill achieved a top speed of 254 mph. The MG EX 181 is powered by a 1.5 litre supercharged straight-four engine, producing 300bhp.
The highlights include an MGB GT cut in two for the occasion of the 1965 London Car Show and other cars left in one piece, like the brute MG Metro 6R4 Group B Rallye car and a green Le Mans racer MG-Lola EX257.
Of course, MG did not miss dropping a smooth product placement, with its upcoming Cyberster coupé surrounded by a retrospective on its roadsters. MG knows the drill, as they also showcased the Cyberster in Brussels.
And to round things up, there were a dozen selected youngtimers from the time of the Phenix ownership.
