French show hits its stride once again as record crowds revel in a speed-themed extravaganza
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY C&SC TEAM
Land Speed Record titans large and small were the talk of Rétromobile, as the premier French show returned to Paris from 30 January-4 February to universal acclaim from visitors. Many voted it the best edition since the easing of pandemic restrictions, and that sense was reinforced by the 48th running of the event posting a new record attendance of more than 130,000.
In an exhibition full of speed machines, Renault brought not only its own record-breaking cars, but also an aircraft. The pioneering 1926 40CV began the story, but towering above it was a recreation of the 1934 Caudron-Renault C.460 single-seater racing plane in which Hélène Boucher broke the World Speed Record over 1000km in 1934. Louis Renault bought Caudron in 1933, as excited by aviation as he was by road transport, and company aerodynamicist Marcel Riffard would go on to design a host of streamlined cars for Renault.
The 1934 Nervasport was the first wheeled vehicle to benefit and set nine international records at Montlhéry, and the stand also featured the 4CV-based 1956 Renault-Riffard ʻTankʼ, which the manufacturer restored in 2018. Alongside it, the pretty 1956 Étoile Filante showcased even greater aeronautical influence with not just its befinned, streamlined bodywork, but also its 270bhp turbine engine: it set records at Bonneville that still stand. Alongside it was a 1961 Renault Dauphine rebuilt in 2016 for Nicolas Prost to drive at Bonneville Speed Week in celebration of the Étoile Filanteʼs achievements.
For the first time in more than a decade, MG was back in a classic car show hall as one of the largest manufacturer displays. A huge stand put together with support from the British Motor Museum and MG Club de France celebrated the marqueʼs centenary, with a particular focus on its record-breaking exploits. In the first public show of co-operation between MG under Chinese ownership and Gaydonʼs BMM, the museum shipped four cars over for the exhibition.
Taking pride of place was the supercharged streamliner EX181, which Stirling Moss piloted to a 1500cc class record of 245.6mph in Utah in 1957, while its pre-war predecessor EX135 sat nearby. ʻOld Number Oneʼ, the first MG built to go racing, also made the trip to the French capital, but the
