Retromobile's star has faded in the past two years for motorcyclists and vintage car enthusiasts, as the show's management has effectively nixed two-wheel participation in favor of more space for new car manufacturers. The increases in per-square-metre cost (previously, a lower rate applied to bike booths) have begun to squeeze out the smaller autojumble traders who previously made up a healthy proportion of the floor space at the
Parc des Expositions, while the show was shortened to 5 days from the previous luxury of 10.
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| A 'Teen's watercolor of a car/motorcycle race, at the Artcurial auction |
As always, the biggest benefit for visitors is meeting like-minded people from other countries, and it was great to see
Alain de Cadanet,
Malcolm Clube, Julian Balme (who laid out the Fisken stand, and covered
Salon Privé for The Vintagent last September),
Conrad Leach, the editors of
The Automobile,
PrewarCar.com, The Dandy, Café Racers (Fr), Octane, Retro Passion, etc, etc... For a vintage motorcyclist, you'd need a healthy dose of car-appreciation to justify a trip to Paris for Retromobile, but the Bonhams sale and other moto-spots (see my accompanying posts) in the City of Light make a long weekend worthwhile. And, always and always, the city itself is the premier attraction, whatever the season...one can never get enough of Paris.
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| To the faithful, #49 is a magical talisman |
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| As rough, and as perfect, as a modernist painting |
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| An original wooden concept study model for the immortal Citroen DS21 |
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| At the Hall and Hall stand; More and More expensive kit! This prewar V-16 Auto Union racer was the stuff of dreams |
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| Many patents granted on the amazing Gérin. The brake drums are the wheel rims... enormous. Leading-link hydraulic suspension, and a one-off engine inside. A very expensive demonstration of its 25-yr old designer's skill. |
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| Photographers everywhere...getting your 'shot' is a bit difficult with the crowds... |
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| The tail of a 1924 Delage V-12 racer, with an aluminum engine-turned body, shot over with clear blue lacquer. Absolutely gorgeous. |
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| Hispano-Suiza mahogany boat-tail roadster |
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| French bowsers galore |
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| Son, while its charming that you match this Ford GT40, please refrain from poking the tinware... |
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| At the Artcurial auction lineup, an interesting BSA B34 scrambler |
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| V-8 power in a monoposto F1 car of the 60s |
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| "Alas poor Yoricke; I knew him...a man of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now?" Artist Conrad Leach considers a memento mori, formerly found on the hood of a car... |
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| NCR-modified Ducati 900 'bevel' engine, track-ready, with a Maserati 3500GT, at Artcurial. In 1989 I very nearly traded a Brough Superior 11-50 for a champagne green Maser like this...they still fetch equivalent value today...albeit much elevated from that benign moment. |
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| A replica of the world's first electric car, from 1881, 6 years before the Daimler; the Ayrton and Perry, the first vehicle with electric lighting... |
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| No smoking Gitanes around the children...plenty of families visit Rétro. |
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| Where else will you find it? |
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| The Laurin and Klement - powered 'Slavia' on the Skoda stand, which attracted plenty of attention. Skoda began in 1895 and - like BSA, FN, Royal Enfield, etc - was originally an arms maker. Laurin and Klement built their first motorcycle (the Slavia) in 1899, and their engines were sold to many other makers. Skoda bought Laurin and Klement in 1924. |
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| My favorite moto-painting ever; by 'Lassim' from 1932, a French poster artist, but this is a one-off. Lassim was a like-minded fellow; he has peered into my head! |
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| Louvres from a Delage 2LCV 12-cylinder GP car from 1924, on the Lukas Huni stand |
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| Hubert Auriol and Gaston Rahier's 1983 Paris-Dakar BMW GS, the winner that year. Hubert Auriol is the first person to have won this punishing event on two and four wheels...the Surtees of the desert! |
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| Vintage pedal car, a mini Talbot Lago monoposto |
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| Samantha minding the gate at the Fisken stand |
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| Crazy structure of the 1923 Gérin prototype 'car' at The Automobile stand. Built more like an aircraft with in-the-round aluminum spars (even underneath!) and steam-bent oak in their channels, on which the fabric body was tacked. So many patents in one vehicle...there was a crowd all day. |
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| A jumbled sea of fiberglass kit-cars |
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| Super-rare Wanderer eight-valve V-twin racer on the Motos Antiquas HD stand |
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| A detail shot of the Wanderer engine. Wanderer became part of Auto-Union in 1932. |
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| Don't drop the TZ on the Countach please... |
Posted in:
3 Days in Paris,
artists,
Auctions,
Bmw,
BSA,
Clement,
Conrad Leach,
Denis Sire,
Events 2012,
FN,
Griffon,
Laurin and Klement,
MGC,
Retromobile,
The Automobile,
Wanderer
7:11 PM
Posted in: 3 Days in Paris, artists, Auctions, Bmw, BSA, Clement, Conrad Leach, Denis Sire, Events 2012, FN, Griffon, Laurin and Klement, MGC, Retromobile, The Automobile, Wanderer
