Having never been to Retromobile before, I didn’t quite know what to expect. I had seen it posted around social media countless times, however had never been myself. From an outsider's view, it looked like the usual Euro car convention akin to the likes of Frankfurt or Geneva. Events that as a child I had always wanted to visit, seeing journalists on TV salivate over the latest and greatest concept cars and new releases. Me and a friend arrived in Paris on Sunday, the last day of Retromobile. I hoped to make it a little two day trip, using Retromobile as an excuse to also see the sights of Paris and do a bit of touristing. Catching the first plane into Paris, we arrived early in the morning and traversed trams and the metro straight to the Paris Expo Porte de Versaille. Slightly delirious and sleep deprived, Retromobile was certainly an explosion on the senses. 4 floors of everything a petrol head looking to still enjoy the motoring world in the depths of winter could ever want. There were trade stands, car reveals and big name manufacturers from the likes of Renault, BMW and Skoda. With everything having a slight motorsport related twist to it, the manufacturers mostly focused on showing their sporting offerings. From BMW’s art car lineup, Renault’s legendary offerings from Renaultsport and Skoda’s early efforts at rallying, Retromobile was seething with automotive eye candy.
As I've gotten older and wiser (debatable), I’ve started to possibly lose interest in the idea of the car exhibition. As a child, they were front and centre in the public eye. They had car makers pouring thousands into a space in some glorified warehouse on the outskirts of a city. Dozens of punters would turn up and it would be all worthwhile, due to the fact you’d see big names like Ferrari, Porsche or Lamborghini. Well I can’t help but think that the spark is slightly missing as of recent. The current geopolitical landscape hasn't been much help, but I can’t ignore that it’s been the internet that’s to blame. Why raid the marketing budget on a trade stand, when you could launch your flagship model online to an audience quadruple the size. It just doesn't make financial sense. And that makes me sad. With the likes of Autosport taking a pause for 2026 and the Geneva Motorshow now being held in Qatar, the car exposition is a dying breed. Retromobile however, seems to be steering the ship in the right direction. Being aptly named “Retromobile”, its focus on modern classics and historics is refreshing and with its popularity this year, a sign of changing attitudes. The nostalgia of the 80’s, Y2K and when cars were styled by a pencil has a chokehold on enthusiasts. And who can blame us? I don’t personally hold a grudge against the rise of the EV, but more so the Modern vehicle as a whole. Regulations and changing trends have suffocated the majority of manufacturers, with only a few thinking outside the box currently. The automotive landscape is working in parallel with the demise of the autoshow and is the reason why we are focusing more than ever on the past, rather than the future.
