“There was no indoor classic event like Rétromobile in the USA… yet”

It was surprising news, a couple of weeks ago, when Rétromobile and duPont Registry announced there would be a USA edition of the classic Paris show in 2025 as well. ‘Why?’, we asked Rétromobile chief Romain Grabowski.

“The answer is relatively simple to explain,” says Grabowski (40), who took the reins at the head of Rétromobile three years ago after a stint with the French oil company Motul. “If you look at the totality of classic cars, you will find 50 per cent are situated in the USA. 35 to 40 per cent are in Europe, with the rest spread across the rest of the Globe.

“The quality is there”

“Over the last three years, I made many visits to the United States to events. Collectors kept telling me about how the US has a number of great quality outdoor classic car events, but indoor, that same quality just isn’t here. As such, bringing Rétromobile to the US is a logical thing to do. The quality of cars is there, which is essential for a show in order to be successful.

“Rétromobile isn’t elitist, but you need to have good quality in the exposition if you want to be able to draw an audience with your show. There is a true passion for European cars in the US. With duPont Registry Group, we found the perfect partner. Its CEO Gérard Neveu used to be the boss of the Le Castellet circuit (and CEO of the WEC series until 2020), we are completely aligned on what we want from this new chapter for Rétromobile.”

70 years of Citroën DS

Date and venue for the American Rétromobile edition are kept under wraps, all to be announced at a later date, presumably coinciding with the Paris event (5-9 February). Which brings us to Rétromobile’s Paris programme. Again, there are still quite a lot of elements to be released at a later date – especially the motorsport side of things – but already Grabowski and his team have revealed the Citroën DS will be in the spotlights to celebrate its 70^th birthday.

Kégresse

Just as spectacular are the ‘Kégresse’ half track pre-war vehicles. André Kégresse was a passionate French mechanic who found himself working in the workshops of Russian Czar Nicolas II in St Petersburg. To allow the Czar to continue hunting wolves in the snow, Kégresse altered one of the royal’s cars with skis at the front, and a chain-driven traction system at the rear. A system he patents, and later – forced to flee Russia after the 1917 communist revolution – he strikes up a collaboration with André Citroën.

Expeditions

In 1920, Citroën shows three Type A Citroëns equipped with Kégresse’s halftrack system for the first time. Unstoppable, these vehicles form the basis for the famous ‘Black’ and ‘Yellow’ expeditions through Africa and Asia in the 1920s and 1930s. When Michelin takes over Citroën in the early thirties, the rubber tyre manufacturer halts the halftrack programme. Nonetheless, the myth persists, and we for one are eager to see these magnificent monsters exhibited at Rétromobile.

Youngtimers

For Grabowski, stories like the Kégresse remain an integral part of Rétromobile, even if by his own admission he notices that interest for “these very old stories is waning. But for us, these are passionate stories to tell, and that is what captivates the audience; a good story. And the slightly dialled-back interest for the very old cars is entirely compensated by an ever-increasing interest in the youngtimers. Once again, we will have plenty on offer from that era as well. It is our job to understand what the audience wants, and to reach out to them.

“We keep doing our part to attract a younger audience to Rétromobile. Under 12 years get in free; under 16 years is half-price entry. We distribute around 300 to 400 entry tickets at schools for mechanic’s studies. Also, a group of 30 students will recreate the 2025 poster for Rétromobile: the DS concept with balloon wheels, a forgotten project that will be brought back to life in Paris. We keep the younger generation implicated in the stories of the old cars.”

Rétromobile attracted over 130,000 visitors from all over the world this year in the expo halls at the Porte de Versailles. Tickets for Rétromobile 2025 are available here.