Le Salon Rétromobile 2020 - Best of the British

The beautiful front of a 1948 Jaguar MkIV 3.5 litres saloon.

The Salon Retromobile is held in Paris during early February each year.  It is a mecca for historic and classic car fans whether you prefer road cars or racing cars.  As usual there were many British cars to admire at Retromobile this year.   These were a few that grabbed my attention.  Quite a variety!

One of the stars of Retromobile 2020 was this 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato.  One of only 19 produced it was presented as it was at the 1961 Motor Show of Geneva.

1934 Riley TT Sprite replica.

A mid-seventies Broadspeed Jaguar XJ12C.   Not ultimately very successful but lovely nonetheless.

1954 Sunbeam Alpine MkII

The original McLaren road car a 1968 McLaren-Chevrolet M6GT of which just three were built.

A 1995 McLaren-BMW F1 GTR Le Mans car.

A 1997 McLaren-BMW F1 GTO20R.  Second at Le Mans in 1997.

1931 Aston Martin 2 Litre Sports LM7.  One of the 1931 team cars that raced at Le Mans in the 24 Hours, the Tourist Trophy at Ards and the Double Twelve at Brooklands.

1972 Gulf Mirage M601/GR701.  Always loved these Cosworth DFV engined cars.  This car finished 4th at both Spa and Nurburgring in 1972.  Revamped as GR701 it also finished fourth at the Nurburgring in 1974.

1997 Williams-Renault FW19.   The ex-Heinz-Harald Frentzen car that won the San Marino Grand Prix and helped Williams clinch the Constructors' Championship in 1997.

A  BRM P25 reconstruction.

1953 Jaguar C-Type XKC031.  Originally raced by Donald parkinson in the USA.  He was Phil Hill's brother in law.

1972 Surtees-DFV TS9B.  This car finished second in the 1972 Italian GP at Monza driven by Mike Hailwood.

A 1969 Jomo JR7 Formula Ford car.  I believe made in England but now raced successfully in France.

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.

Metro 6 R4

Jaguar grill.

Le Mans Classic 2016 - Plateau 6 - 1972 to 1981

The rolling start of the second race for Plateau 6 which features mainly cars from the seventies.  This is the famous Le Mans start-finish straight with the pits and grandstands.

This plateau represents Le Mans after the Porsche 917 era and before the Group C era.  This was the era when French cars did very well with three victories falling to Matra-Simca and a victory each to Renault Alpine and Rondeau.  Victories also fell to Porsche and Gulf-Mirage.  All of these marques were represented.  A number of famous drivers were also taking part including Henri Pescarolo, Alain Serpaggi, Jean Ragnotti, Eric Helary, Emmanuel Collard, Jochen Mass, Emanuele Pirro, John Fitzpatrick and Gijs van Lennep.

This is a little earlier with the three fastest cars coming from the pre-grid onto the main circuit.  A 1982 Porsche 936 leads a 1977 Lola T286 and a 1973 Gulf Mirage.  

1974 Gulf Mirage and 1978 Osella-BMW PA6 run together through the Ford Chicane.

A variety of cars led by a 1975 Chevron B31 BDG on the first lap.

A 1976 Sauber-BMW C5 executes a quick spin.

The twelfth place 1979 Porsche 935 K3 spits flames out of the exhaust on the over-run.

It was great to see Henri Pescarolo race again in the 1976 Inaltera-DFV.  He shared the car with Julien Beltoise the son of Jean-Pierre Beltoise.  In 1976 Henri and Jean-Pierre drove this car into eighth place and won their class in the 24 hours.

To find out more about the Inaltera, click here.

A 1975 Chevron B31 BDG pulls off an overtaking manoeuvre into the chicane.

The 1978 Renault Alpine A443 which was driven by Jean Ragnotti and Alain Serpaggi.

1969 Aston Martin DBS V8 that reminded us of Robin Hamilton's brave efforts at Le Mans.

1973 Ligier-Maserati JS2

1974 7 litre Dodge Charge.  A reminder of when NASCAR type cars came to Le Mans.

1975 Moynet LM75

To find out more about the Moynet LM75, click here.

1973 Gulf Mirage driven by Chris MacAllister.   This combination won the race in 2014 but was not so lucky this year.

1978 Rondeau M378 DFV

To find our more about the Rondeau M378, click here.

1979 Lola T298 BMW

The 1982 Porsche 936 won the race in the hands of Schumacher and Werner.

1976 Cheetah G601 overtakes a 1975 Datsun 240Z.

1974 Porsche 911 RSR 2.1 bumping over the kerbs.

Another flame-throwing 1979 Porsche 935.  

1979 Lancia Beta GrpV.

The end of the second race for this plateau.

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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.