Rétromobile guide 2014: What not to miss in Paris

The big Rétromobile week in Paris is almost upon us – and promises numerous special exhibits, a diverse range of cars for sale, and no fewer than three major auctions. We summarise what you shouldn’t miss at the show…

Special show themes: Land speed records, Alpines and Maharajas

In addition to the offerings of numerous dealers, some very special visitors are waiting in the wings of the Paris spectacular. One display will see daring mid-20s land-speed drivers John Parry-Thomas and Malcolm Campbell honoured: the streamlined machine ‘Babs’ (in which Parry-Thomas tragically lost his life) will show off its military bomber-sourced 27-litre V12, while Campbell’s 500HP Bluebird Napier will provide a static hint of its proven 175mph potential.

Elsewhere, paying tribute to Alpine founder Jean Rédélé, 13 prominent road and competition cars will be gathered from the collections of marque enthusiasts. The exhibition of Maharaja cars from the 20s and 30s promises to be even more majestic, with the famous ‘Swan Car’ heading up a list of 15 of these impressively customised creations. For further information, see retromobile.com.

Purchasable jewels – The best cars on sale

More than 420 exhibitors will present their wares, which include not only classic cars but also motorcycles, art, books, scale models and collectables. In anticipation, we’ve asked the dealers what they intend to bring to the floor here.

RM’s auction on Wednesday 5 February 2014

Although Artcurial has traditionally hosted the Rétromobile auction, 2014 will see RM attempt to gain a large slice of the action. The Canadian auction house will bring 10 Le Mans-style cars back to the country that hosts the world-famous endurance race – you can read more here. The previews take place on Tuesday 4 (11:00 – 22:00) and Wednesday 5 February (9:00 – 17:00), with the auction commencing at 19:00 on Wednesday.

All lots from RM’s Paris auction can be found in the Classic Driver Market.

Bonhams’ auction on Thursday 6 February 2014

The British auction house has previously used the Rétromobile sale as a springboard into the classic car season, and this year is no different. Notable lots include a lavishly restored 1968 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, a 1929 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix, and a 1989 Porsche 962C wearing Brun Motorsport’s Jägermeister livery. The consigners have also shown their humorous side, as you will see in our round-up of the oddest offerings from the Paris auctions.

Pre-sale viewings take place between 9:00 and 17:30 on Wednesday 5 February, and again on Thursday 6 February from 8:00 until the auction start. Automobilia lots begin at 10:30, with motorcycles at 12:30 and motor cars at 14:00.

All lots from Bonhams’ Paris auction can be found in the Classic Driver Market.

Artcurial auction on 7 and 8 February 2014

The final auction of the week is a double-header from Artcurial. The first day will see a 200-lot automobilia sale followed by a car and motorcycle sale at 16:00, with highights including a Ferrari 166MM with racing history and a rare Citroën SM Cabriolet. Adding to the list of more unusual cars being sold in Paris will be the mustard yellow Fiat Shelette by Philippe Stark.

All lots from Artcurial’s Paris auction in the Classic Driver Market.

The next day at 15:00, the intriguing ‘Solo Alfa’ auction will take place. More than 40 prominent cars from the marque’s history will go under the hammer, with highlights including a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS and a 1965 Giulia TZ Coupé.

All lots from Artcurial’s ‘Solo Alfa’ auction in the Classic Driver Market.

BMW R1100GS BY CAFE RACER DREAMS

If you’re planning a trip to North Africa, you need a bike that is absolutely bulletproof. Pedro García knows how to take a motorcycle apart and rebuild it, and he’s made his living transforming everything from vintage Honda CBs to modern Triumph Scramblers. But for his impending trip to Morocco, he’s chosen a BMW GS.

Café Racer Dreams’ 42nd build is a BMW R1100GS with a difference. Strong and reliable, the GS is the perfect bike for rocky roads and long hours in the saddle. But it’s not going to win any beauty contests, and there are a helluva lot of them around. So Pedro couldn’t resist adding a little CRD magic to his own personal ride.

His first stop was designer Sylvain Berneron, better known as Holographic Hammer. Berneron sketched out a makeover for the 1998-year machine, and Pedro transformed the ink into metal.

The core of the bike is wisely unchanged, but Pedro stripped the frame back to the metal and refinished it with the toughest black powdercoat he could find. The exhaust system and seat unit are bespoke, and the stock oil cooler has been relocated high up into the airstream—just above the Ducati Monster S2R headlight and behind the Motogadget instrument. Eagle eyes will notice that the front fender has been trimmed down in size, and Pedro has also installed a fresh set of Continental TKC80 rubber.

It’s a build that doesn’t compromise the famed ruggedness of the GS, but adds a dash of Spanish flair. Who says custom bikes have to be impractical?

Check out previous CRD builds in the Bike EXIF Archives, and keep up with CRD’s news on their Facebook page or website.

via BIKEEXIF

1999 BMW R1100 GS

 

 by Officine Sbrannetti

Just introduced in Verona during the last Motor Bike Expo, here is the official photoshoot provided to Inazuma Cafe by Jody Basso and friends. Obviously in HD... Read the beautiful details of this bike in the rest of the post. 

 

The bike frame has been modified in the tail and new brackets have been built to mount the new custom gas tank, seat and rear fender. The tank comes from a Yamaha Tenerè 600. It has been shortened and reshaped in the lower part where there used to be fasteners for the front fairing . The electronic injection pump has been relocated outside, where the ABS control unit was located. The driver seat and the passenger one (removable) are entirely custom handmade. The luggage rack is handmade and works as a support for the passenger seat. The custom fenders are aluminum made: cut and finished by hand. The controls on the new Renthal handlebar have been completely renovated. The bike frame and the wheels have been powder coated. The engine was painted in house with Foliatec products suitable for high temperatures. The steel tank has been custom painted to maintain the metal finish. The instruments have been simplified and replaced. The front brake is from a BMW 1200GS. The Mivv exhaust system has been custom modified and changes made are reversible. The new battery with same performance has got reduced weight and size . The tires are Metzeler Karoo 3. The headlight is from a 1958 Same Super 68 tractor and houses the instruments’ lights. An auxiliary yellow beam headlight was also fitted: it’s an original vintage Lucas mounted on a custom built bracket. The oil cooler has been moved downwords behind the front wheel in order to keep clean the look of the engine. The gussets on the fork legs hide their excessive length due to telelever system, which is sufficiently hidden as well. A very difficult bike to modify, and such a good result for this young team of builders.

The Tractor and the Six Days by Officine Sbrannetti

Rally Sweden: The years ending in ‘4’ / Les années en « 4 »

Since the creation of the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973, something unexpected has always occurred at Rally Sweden when the year has ended in a ‘4’. The 1974 edition, for example, never even took place...

Inaugurated in 1950, Rally Sweden – Minadttsolrally – was initially a summer event. It was only in 1964 that it moved to a date in the middle of winter, in the forests of the Värmland region.

In 1973, the simultaneous fall in value of the dollar and outbreak of the Arab-Israeli War (October 6-24) triggered the first fuel crisis. Between the end of October 1973 and January 1974, the cost of a barrel of oil quadrupled. In France, Prime Minister Pierre Messmer introduced an official ban outlawing motorsport. This was only lifted by FFSA President Jean-Marie Balestre on December 10 – too late for the 1974 edition of Rallye Monte-Carlo to be organised. Sweden – whose energy dependency stood at 77 per cent at the beginning of the 1970s – found itself subject to severe rationing of oil and gas, meaning that, like the Monte Carlo, Rally Sweden had to be cancelled, too. The upshot was that the 1974 World Rally Championship only began in Portugal, in contrast to the F1 and Sportscar World Championships, which both went ahead as planned.

In 1984, home hero Stig Blomqvist achieved his seventh and last Rally Sweden success behind the wheel of his Audi Quattro A2, going on to clinch the Drivers’ crown the same year and enabling the Scandinavian country to celebrate its second world champion after Björn Waldegård in 1979. Indeed, Audis monopolised the top four places in Sweden in 1984, as Blomqvist led home Per Eklund, Michèle Mouton and Lasse Lampi. The result marked the German manufacturer’s fourth and final triumph at Rally Sweden.

In 1994, Rally Sweden did not feature on the world championship calendar. That meant the 43^rdedition of the event did not yield points towards either the main Drivers’ or Manufacturers’ classifications, counting solely for the 2-litre ‘Formula 2’ Championship. The Swedes remained masters of their own turf, however, with Thomas Radström winning outright in a Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD and Per Svan prevailing in the 2-litre class in an Opel Astra GSi 16V.

In 2004, there was astonishment in Värmland. For the first time in Rally Sweden’s 54-year existence, a Latin driver ascended the highest step of the rostrum. True, Sébastien Loeb took advantage of the dramas that afflicted his chief rivals Marcus Grönholm, Markko Martin and Petter Solberg, but the result nonetheless ensured that the Frenchman went down in history as the first non-Nordic driver to add his name to the event’s winners list, before compatriot Sébastien Ogier followed suit last year.

Since 1950, Swedish drivers have tallied 39 victories at Rally Sweden, with the rest shared between Finns (19), Frenchmen (two) and a Norwegian (one). So how about 2014? If history is anything to go by, something out-of-the-ordinary looks sure to happen...

Depuis la création du Championnat du monde des Rallyes en 1973, il sait toujours passé quelque chose de particulier les années en « 4 » au Rallye de Suède. A commencer par l’édition 1974 qui n’a pas eu lieu…

Créé en 1950, le Rallye de Suède – Minadttsolrally - était un rallye estival. Ce n’est qu’après 1964 que l’épreuve fut organisée en plein hiver dans les forêts du Värmland.

En 1973, la baisse simultanée du dollar et la Guerre du Kippour (6 au 24 octobre) ont provoqué le premier choc pétrolier. Entre fin octobre 1973 et janvier 1974, le prix du baril de pétrole a quadruplé. En France, le Premier ministre Pierre Messmer avait pris un arrêté interdisant le sport automobile. Cette interdiction fut levée par Jean-Marie Balestre, président de la FFSA, le 10 décembre, trop tard pour que le Rallye Monte-Carlo 1974 soit organisé.

La Suède, dont la dépendance énergétique atteignait 77% au début des années 1970, fut touchée par de sévères rationnements en pétrole et gaz. Comme le Monte-Carlo, le Rallye de Suède dut être annulé. Le Championnat du monde des Rallyes 1974 a donc débuté au Portugal, alors que les championnats mondiaux de F1 et de Voitures de Sport se sont déroulé normalement.

En 1984, le Suédois Stig Blomqvist a remporté son 7^e et dernier Rallye de Suède au volant de l’Audi Quattro A2 avant de décrocher le titre mondial cette même année. La Suède tenait son second Champion du monde après Bjorn Waldegard en 1979. Quatre Audi ont terminé aux quatre 1^ères places du Rallye de Suède 1984 avec Blomqvist, Per Eklund, Michèle Mouton et Lasse Lampi. Ce fut le 4^e et dernier triomphe d’Audi au Rallye de Suède.

En 1994, pas de Rallye de Suède au calendrier mondial. La 43^e édition du Rallye de Suède ne comptait ni pour le Championnat du monde Pilotes, ni pour le Championnat du monde Constructeurs, mais uniquement pour le Championnat 2-Litres. Les Suédois sont restés maîtres chez eux avec Thomas Radström, vainqueur du classement général sur une Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD, et Per Svan, vainqueur de la catégorie 2-Litres sur une Opel Astra GSi 16V.

En 2004, stupeur dans le Värmland. Pour la 1^ère fois depuis la création du Rallye de Suède en 1950, un Latin s’est imposé. Certes, Sébastien Loeb a profité des ennuis de ses rivaux Marcus Grönholm, Markko Martin et Petter Solberg, mais il restera dans l’histoire comme le 1^er non-nordique à inscrire son nom au palmarès, avant Sébastien Ogier l’an passé.

Depuis 1950, les Suédois ont remporté 39 victoires, les Finlandais 19, les Français 2 et les Norvégiens 1. Et 2014 ? Il va forcément se passer quelque chose d’historique !