Rétromobile 2025 brought the glitz, the glamour and the great to Paris, fully underscoring the event’s reputation as the big kick-off for the European show season. It might not be the first major indoor expo on the Continent these days, but the sheer number of dealers, auctioneers, OEM support and, most importantly, visitors proved that the event is where it all begins.
Rétromobile took a little while to recover from the immediate post-Covid years, but now, over three packed halls, it appears to be back at its best. With even the media preview day (Tuesday February 4) buzzing, and Wednesday’s first official day being even more packed, it augurs well that the organisers are doing the right things. A large contingent of international collectors were sweeping the halls during the weekdays, before heading to auctions at Bonhams and RM Sotheby’s, as well the event’s official partner, Artcurial.
We’ll be bringing you a more in-depth overview of the Rétromobile 2025 auction action next week – Artcurial’s sale continues until Saturday – but the big headline was RM Sotheby’s €34.88m result for the ex-Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and Le Mans-winning 1964 Ferrari 250 LM. However, look beyond that headline figure and there are nuances to be found. There was a lot of discussion regarding inter-European taxation and the implications going forwards – The Netherlands has increased its VAT on imports, with other European nations believed to be following suit.
It’s certainly led to an intriguing set of results, which point to a more challenging outlook for Europe this year compared with the more optimistic results seen in Scottsdale only a few weeks ago. And while RM Sotheby’s tasted success with its 250 LM, the Enzo-era Ferrari malaise continued to make its presence felt – Bonhams’ pair of 1950s racers sold for well below low estimate. We’ll be diving into the subject more next week.
But back to Rétromobile 2025. Although it could be argued that some of the uniquely ‘different’ French aspects to the show were conspicuous by their absence – there were far more Fiat 500s than there were Citroën 2CVs and Meharis, for example – there were still plenty of fascinating sights that you would be unlikely to get anywhere else. How about a collection of tracked vehicles on the skywalk between Halls Two and Three (pictured above)?
The autojumble side of the show is now much smaller that it once was, too – a sharp contrast to similar events such as the Auto Moto d’Epoca in Bologna, for example. Clubs still play a key role, however: a large area was dedicated to France’s passionate bands of enthusiasts, as well as to cars costing less than €30,000. There was also a wide selection of Formula 1-themed displays and talks (see below).
However, the big draw was Hall One, with big stands from the likes of Kidston SA, Girardo & Co, Fiskens, Gallery Aaldering and many more. Major manufacturers have also got behind the show, with several brand insiders pointing to brand heritage being the main driver to fight off the onslaught of Chinese manufacturers. As such, the likes of Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Skoda, Maserati, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Cadillac all had a presence – and they were not alone.
There was plenty to see – and if you’re reading this on Friday evening, there’s still time to head to Paris, because it runs until this Sunday. Here are 15 of our favourite cars.
It’s a big year for DS Automobiles: it’s launching a new car (the DS8); there’s a new boss; and 2025 is the 70th anniversary of the car that inspired the brand’s name, the Citroën DS. To celebrate, DS collaborated with Team Garac to recreate the famous DS balloon car used in 1959 adverts to illustrate the ‘floating’ character of the model’s revolutionary hydropneumatic suspension system. Although the original art installation positioned the car in a body of water, for 2025 the model was brought back to life under a stunning chandelier from Régis Mathieu.
One of the major draws for pre-war fans was this selection of Bugatti Type 59s for a new three-volume book dedicated to the car, presented by Marc Newson (who owns the blue example seen here, which won the Belgian GP) and authored by Julius Kruta. The three-car line-up also included Fritz Burkard’s ex-King of Belgium car (middle) and the ex-Charlie Martin car (seen furthest away).
FIVA’s stand also paid tribute to the Citroën DS with this rarity – it’s one of around a dozen Bossaert GT 19 editions designed by Pietro Frua and built by Gété. One of just two believed to have survived, it was a radical departure in styling at the rear, with Carello lamps shared with the Fiat 500 Cabriolet and pointed rear wings, similar to Pininfarina designs of the time. It’s also 70mm lower and 470mm shorter in the wheelbase.
Girardo & Co brought out the big guns for Rétromobile 2025. This Ferrari 512 TR Spyder is chassis 97310, built by Pininfarina for the Brunei royal family. It is one of three built, which were all right-hand drive and featured an improved transmission, a more powerful engine and an electrically operated roof. It’s been through a 500-hour restoration with RM Auto Restoration.
This 1969 Lamborghini Miura P400 S on the Eberhard Thiesen stand is one of only three delivered in Verde Scuro, and comes with a green interior. Prior to an extensive restoration, it was maintained in single French ownership for 44 years.
This Alfa Romeo SZ Trofeo ES30 is one of 13 built for a one-make racing series in 1993 that ran in Europe, primarily in Italy. This particular example was run by Alfa itself for the use of a VIP for the Monaco GP support race that year. It was then sold to Andrea de Adamich, who had the car converted to road use and drove it between his home and his racetrack over a period of ten years.
This Porsche 930 Turbo is one of a handful of Flachbau models built without pop-up headlamps in the front wings – instead, the lights are in the front bumper. Produced by Porsche Sonderwunsch in 1982, it is one of only 59 constructed in this specification.
This 1971 Mercedes-Benz 600 W100 was originally ordered by opera singer Maria Callas, with two-tone paint in silver and blue, with a custom-fitted Becker Grand Prix audio system and a rear curtain for privacy. After her death in 1977 the car went to the US, before heading back to Europe in the early 2000s. It’s been looked after by Mercedes-Benz Classic in more recent times.
This 1959 Maserati 3500GT is the star of our sister publication Octane‘s current issue, which details its extensive restoration at Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera and Candini Classiche. It was originally ordered by Horace Elgin Dodge III, the grandson on the co-founder of the Dodge dynasty. It remained with the family for 30 years before spending time in the UK and Germany, before being discovered in Switzerland. You can find out more about the restoration here.
This 1935 Tatra T77 is one of just 255 built (combining T77 and T77A numbers), and was originally delivered to an industrialist in Czechoslovakia. It was upgraded to T77A spec in 1938 (including a bigger 3.4-litre engine). It was hidden for much of the Communist era, before being discovered in the Bratislava area in the 1990s. It was sold to a Vienna-based collector in 1995, before joining the Hampton Wyatt collection in 2000. A Prague-based collector acquired the car in 2009 and set about a ten-year restoration process; it’s believed to be one of just 25 surviving cars.
A large stand dedicated to Matra had this very special Murena prototype on display – the Version JPB. Those three letters stand for Jean-Paul Beltoise, the former Matra and BRM racing driver. He played a key role in the development of the Murena, and would race for the Politecnic team in the French Rallycross team. Matra would also develop a 360bhp, four-wheel-drive Murena in 1983 for Group B and, to celebrate a road-based version was proposed with either 184bhp or 220bhp, and a host of body modifications. The above car is the prototype for that programme.
One of the first turbocharged Alpinas was this, the B7 Turbo of 1978 to 1982, based on the 3.0-litre 630 CSi. The original car produced 176bhp, but through the fitment of a Triple K27 turbocharger, plus low-compression Mahle pistons and a revised fuel-injection system it had between 250bhp and 300bhp courtesy of a variable boost gauge. It also had upgraded Bilstein suspension plus ventilated discs front and rear. Just 153 were built.
This 1959 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster was ordered by Auto Henne of Munich, Germany in the unique colour combination of Graphite Grey over a two-tone grey and white leather interior, with Pearl Grey hard-top. It was stored for 43 years in the hands of one owner, and was also part of the Pieter Meijer Collection in Santa Barbara in the 1970s.
This 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C is one of 22 alloy-riveted cars built by Drogo, and is believed to have been displayed at the 1964 Paris Motor Show. First delivered to Tefal founder Marc Grégoire in its current colour. He kept it just a year before it was acquired by artist and sculptor Freddy J Zimmer, who used it around Strasbourg for 14 years. It was later part of the Marcel Petitjean Collection for 40 years, during which time it was painted red. In 2022, the car went back to Italy for a comprehensive restoration and a return to its original colour combination.
Taking pride of place on the Kidston stand at Rétromobile 2025 was McLaren F1 number 053. The 35th road car built, it was originally ordered by Yoshio Tsuzuki, CEO of amusement hall company Zent. Zent sponsored Toyota’s World Sportscar Championship in 1992, but Suzuki was taken with his McLaren F1 that he added chassis 13R, LM2 and 58F1GT to his collection, which was on display at the ZAZ Museum in Nagoya. Tsuzuki sold the car to Hong Kong in 2006, and it has since been in the UK and the Middle East, before joining a Swiss collection that is believed to also contain F1 chassis XP3, 16R, 25R and 56XPGT.
And one last bonus car from Rétromobile 2025 – we had to have some madness. Despite fewer truly barking machines this year, there were a few oddities. A Renault Clio V6-powered, mid-engined, jacked-up Renault Mégane rallycross car? A 52km base-model Citroën AX on perfect steel wheels? A barnfind Sunbeam Venezia? A three-door Citroën DS resto-mod? An impeccably mint US-spec Acura Legend in blinding white? We’ve gone for the above Citroën Mehari in a see-through finish – if you want to turn heads, what more could you need?
For more information on Rétromobile 2025, head here.
