RETROMOBILE UNVEILS ITS VINTAGE VEHICLES

The 49th edition of the Rétromobile show was held from February 5 to 9, 2025 at the Parc des Expositions de la Porte de Versailles (75015).

In one week, the Rétromobile show was transformed into a showcase of collector’s vehicles, bringing together 2,000 cars and motorcycles and many players on 80,000 m². There were 17 manufacturers, a record in the history of the show, restorers labeled Entreprises du Patrimoine Vivant, federations, event organizers, insurers, sellers of spare parts, miniatures or Automobilia, and clubs (+15% compared to 2024)

This show is an opportunity for lovers of vintage vehicles to discover vehicles that have marked the history of this 19th century invention. Each year, a new poster is dedicated to it. For this 49th edition, the color has changed. We go from the usual English green to the orange reminiscent of the 60s and 70s. We discover a DS Ballons, an atypical vehicle from 1959..

The DS Ballons

It appeared for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in 1955. During the 11 days of the show, several tens of thousands of vehicles will be sold thanks to the many new features it offers and its new slender line, imagined by the Italian sculptor Flaminio Bertoni. It has disc brakes, power steering, a single-spoke steering wheel or a hydropneumatic suspension system based on a gas-fluid mixture. This innovation, imagined in 1959, inspired the advertising executive Claude Puzch by imagining a blonde tortoiseshell-colored DS that seemed to float on water thanks to 4 orange spheres replacing the wheels.

Show results

The 2025 edition (held between February 5 and 9, 2025), broke its attendance record with 146,000 visitors, 16,000 more than in 2024, not to mention the attendance record of 2019 (132,000 entries; +12%). Thanks to this success, the organizers were thinking of exporting the concept to New York next year. The Show also recorded the best attendance figure on February 8 February with 37,000 more visitors. We will also note the presence of many young people. In addition, since the first edition in 1976, the Show has celebrated the anniversaries of historic manufacturers and those of their emblematic models. For this edition, the Citroën DS, aged 70, was in the spotlight, it was the muse of the event. An exhibition bringing together 11 models was dedicated to it thanks to the support of DS Automobiles and the Aventure DS, without forgetting the presence of a DS Ballons recreated by the apprentices of Gara, the national school of automotive professions.

The 2025 edition also offered surprises to visitors with new features:
– Immersive exhibitions redesigned by scenographer Charles Imbert and commented by automotive specialists during guided tours offered throughout the show, –
– A live stage hosted by Jean-Louis Moncet at the heart of the F1 exhibition,
– A “Time on Show” collector’s watch sales gallery
– The Ferrari 250 LM winner of the “The Peninsula Classic’s Best of the Best” trophy, the ceremony of which was held in Paris on Monday, February 3
• A double test drive of vehicles through time in the streets of the capital thanks to the new “RetroDrive” concept inaugurated with the support of Toyota and Cadillac
• An accessibility charter and a reception stand reserved for PRMs in partnership with the Handi Rally Passion association, which allowed many people with disabilities or reduced mobility to have a unique experience at the show. -The exhibition « DS, a work of art for 70 years » imagined in partnership with DS Automobiles and highlighted by Mathieu Lustrerie.
-At the heart of this device, the now legendary DS Ballons remanufactured for the occasion by the students of GARAC has far exceeded its status as star of the show and queen of « selfies » by inviting itself into many media and social networks.
– The official auction organized by Artcurial Motorcars with a total of 87% of the lots presented sold for a total turnover of 24.6 million euros. The sale of lots from Pierre Gasly and Sébastien Ogier raised €28,000 for the Make a Wish® France association supported by the Rétromobile show. This edition will remain in the annals as the edition of all records. Among them, many young people, which proves both the show’s ability to amaze and innovate to attract the new generation and also that our vehicles of yesterday are promised a bright future on the roads of tomorrow.

See you next year from January 28 to February 1, 2026, Porte de Versailles.

©2025 – IMPACT EUROPEAN

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VERONIQUE YANG

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