La Traversée de Paris is a big thing in the French Classic Car calendar with over 600 cars turning up and driving past Paris's famous landmarks between the Chateau of Vincennes and the observatory at Meudon. If you weren't in Paris last Sunday, this is a sample of what you missed and represents my 20 favourites.
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| 1926 Bugatti T35B with the National Assembly building in the background |
We started off in the Place de la Concorde as you can see a number of iconic Paris sights from here.
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| A cute little BMW Isetta bubble car enters the Place de la Concorde complete with picnic box on the back |
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| My favourite Ferrari of the day was this sixties 365 GT 2+2 seen here parked in the Place de la Concorde |
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| The Eiffel Tower provides a nice backdrop to this Sunbeam Alpine |
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| Alpine Renault A310 looking for a parking place |
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| Lovely open top Citroen DS19 |
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| Lotus Elite with matching 2CV |
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| Open topped Karmann Ghia |
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| Unusual Cadillac with spare wheel each side |
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| Anyone know what this unusual open top blue sports car is? |
It was beginning to get crowded so we moved on the the Bois de Boulogne. The Bois de Boulogne has a lot of motor racing history having hosted the first pre-war motor race meeting in 1945 and it continued to hold races up until 1951. Winners included Jean-Pierre Wimille, Guiseppe Farina and Raymond Sommer. After driving down the Avenue Hoche and before entering the Bois de Boulogne on Sunday, the cars all passed the memorial to Jean-Pierre Wimille on the outside of the roundabout at Porte Dauphine. It lists out all his major victories including three in the Bois de Boulogne driving Bugatti, Alfa Romeo and Simca. He might have been the first World Champion had he not been killed in 1949 in a race in Argentina.
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| The memorial to Jean-Pierre Wimille at Porte Dauphine |
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| Very sporty looking Djet in the Bois de Boulogne |
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| Un vrai vieux tacot (a true old jalopy) |
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| A beautiful French sports car, a Facellia |
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| Another one I need help in identifying! |
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| Driving along with the doors open to cool the Lamborghini |
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| Another sixties Djet - I love these early mid-engined cars |
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| Is this a twenties Citroen B2? |
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| A great variety of vehicles and many of the drivers and passengers dressed up |
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| A beautiful Corvette and I love the hats! |
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| Unfortunately not all the cars, and sadly not this beautiful Thunderbird, made it to Meudon under their own steam |
This was a seemingly endless parade of very varied cars from around the world. And I thought you were unusual in your appreciation of the classics - there are loads of other car nerds out there, LOL!
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