Musée Retro-Mobile-Drouais

1960 Facel Vega 500.  This vehicle was built in Dreux about 1 kilometre from the museum.

Some museums almost immediately bore you the moment you walk in, others have some sort of magic that encourages you to stay a while.  The Retro-Mobile Museum in Dreux is one of the latter.

The museum was founded by one Johanny Dutertre in 1980.   It feature cars, utility vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles amongst its many exhibits.  Every first Sunday afternoon of the month there is a classic car meeting and the museum is open to the public.

This is the type of museum that is a jumble of lots of interesting old cars and stuff rather than a pristine environment, but it works.  The photos should give you an idea of what the museum is like.  If you like old French road cars, give it a visit.

Dreux is the town in which Facel Vegas were made between 1954 and 1964.  The factory was in rue des Gaults.  The musuem is at 95 rue du Commandant-Beaurepaire, Dreux, 28100.  It is about 1 km from the old factory.  The museum is a beautiful old building, which housed an abattoir in former times.

Garage scene with a 1929 Peugeot 201.

1930 Delehaye 112 Ambulance.

Detail from a 1929 Talbot M29 Limousine.

1936 Simca-Fiat Balilla Berline.

1948 La Licorne 164 LR.  One of the last cars from this marque.

1922 Sidea PL Cabriolet.

1921 De Dion Bouton IE Torpedo.

1909 DFP E4 Phaeton (Doriot, Flandrin & Parant)

1929 Citroen C4 Torpedo.

1910 Hurtu Phaeton.

Its not all cars!

FACEL-VEGA
Facel stood for Forges et Ateliers de Construction Eure et Loir.   They started in 1939 and produced parts for the automotive and automobile industry.   From 1954 they started producing the famous French luxury car marque in Dreux.  Over 3,000 Facel Vegas were made before they closed in 1964.  Facel also produced vehicles for Panhard, Simca, Ford and Massey Ferguson amongst others.

1960 Facel Vega HK500.

Retro Mobile Club Drouais
The club - Retro Mobile Club Drouais - was founded in 1975.  It has regular gatherings on the day the museum opens.

January 2019 gathering.

The gathering with the museum forming the backdrop.

Porsche, Citroen and Volkswagen.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page. 

Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI - PCA Scholar-Friedman Cup

John Seidell in a 1997 Porsche Boxster leads a 911 at the Corkscrew.

The Porsche Club of America (PCA) is the largest single marque racing series in the World with 2000 licensed racers and 32 sanctioned races a year.  This is amateur club racing but forms one of the seven races at the Rennsport Reunion.  At this meeting they race for the Scholar Friedman Cup, which is named after two of PCA's founders who started the racing series in the early nineties.  One of those founders, Alan Friedman, was actually racing.  As you will see below a large variety of cars take part.

Alan Friedman racing a 1973 Porsche RSR.

The Porsche Rennsport Reunion is a unique event, that is held once every three or four years, dedicated just to classic and more modern racing Porsches, their drivers and the men and women who made it all possible.    Porsche Rennsport Reunion VI held over four days in September 2018 was again located at Laguna Seca like the last one in 2015.  No surprise as Laguna Seca is in California, which also happens to be the biggest market for Porsche.   This year the event was subtitled The Marque of Champions - a name that speaks for itself.  The event was also part of Porsche's 70th birthday celebrations.

A large variety of cars take part.  Here a fairly standard Porsche 944 is overtaken by a RileyDaytona prototype.

On the wonderful 2.238 mile Laguna Seca road course, seven groups of Porsche cars raced over the weekend.  The PCA Scholar-Friedman Cup event was for the amateur club racers of the PCA.  Fifty cars started the race.

The lead cars on their pac e lap at the Corkscrew.

The Race
What was nice about this race was that we saw a number of cars that we hadn't seen race all weekend.  It was also nice to see the fastest car have to fight for victory.  Great club racing.

Eventual winner was this 2008 Riley Daytona Prototype driven by Pierce Marshall.

The early leader was Robb Todd in a 2018 Porsche GT3 Cup car.  He eventually came second.

Third place went to a 2015 Porsche GT3 Cup driven by Jesse Menczer.  He won his class.

In sixth place came a 2016 Porsche GT4 CS driven by Chris Bellomo.

This 2012 Porsche Cayman R came ninth driven by Geoff Isringhausen.

Rich Polk finished tenth in this 1973 Porsche 911

A 2000 Porsche Boxster driven Jan Sussman finished thirteenth.

Claudio Kaempf came seventeenth in this 1970 Porsche 911.

A very popular car was this 2000 Boxster S in Highway Patrol colors driven by Chris Murray.  It finished nineteenth.

Twentieth was this 1981 Porsche 911 driven by Sean Neal.

A 1986 Porsche 911 driven by Evan Close  came 35th.

A spin for this 1972 Porsche 911 RSR in qualifying.

A beautiful 1981 Porsche 911

For my recent Motor Sport blogposts click here.

John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page. 

A 1998 Porsche Boxster driven by Trygve Isaacson.

Rassemblement O'Thoiry Club Janvier 2017

Citroen Traction Avant Découvrable.

Every fourth Sunday of the month from 14.30 to 17.00 there is a large meeting of classic and performance cars in the parking of the Thoiry Zoo.  We went along for an hour in January, and here are a few of the many lovely vehicles that were on show.

It is not often that you see a pair of DeLoreans DMC-12s coming down the road together.

For the history of the DeLorean DMC-12, click here.

No car meet is complete without a Ferrari.  Here a Ferrari (F360?) Spider Convertible.

Triumph GT6 Mk2

A beautifully preserved VW Kharmann Ghia.

VW Kharmann Ghia engine.

A cold day to be in an open MGA 1600.

Secma F16 

To find out more about the Secma F16, click here.

Chevrolet Corvette convertible.

Porsche Boxter Spyder

There were many Ford Mustangs including this rather nice old one.

Mazda Miata

Citroen Traction Avant Découvrable

Cadillac Fleetwood

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John Etherton asserts his copyright to all of the photos on this blogpost.  However, you may post the photos elsewhere on the web as long as you credit the photographer, John Etherton, and this blog post, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com and provide a link to this page.

John Etherton affirme son droit d'auteur à l'ensemble des photos sur ce billet de blog. Cependant, vous pouvez poster des photos ailleurs sur le web aussi longtemps que vous créditez le photographe, John Etherton, et ce blog, Rouenlesafx@blogspot.com et fournissez un lien vers cette page.