Retromobile: The French are obsessed with the cars of their childhood

The more we talk about electric cars, the ban on thermal vehicles, “the more people want to rediscover the historic car synonymous with pleasure, excitement, the musicality of the engine,” Mathis Lamur admires. The director of Artcurial Motorcars thus intends to carry out the largest French sale of collectible models on February 3 and 4 with a price of more than 80 million euros. And this on the occasion of the Retromobile show (February 1-5), where 125,000 visitors are expected. A 1964 Ferrari 250 LM alone is valued at €25 million, well ahead of Johnny Hallyday’s 1979 Porsche 911 SC (€250-300,000) or Jean-Paul Belmondo’s Ford Mustang. Inappropriate Since 1983 (up to 200,400,000 euros)! So are collectors extremely wealthy? Not necessarily.

Artcurial’s auction will also include more affordable models… for example, a very common Citroën GSA, in new condition, from 1983. The price of this mass-produced tricolor compact car is estimated between 15-20,000 euros. And it’s not just Artcurial. The Retromobile show at the Porte de Versailles in Paris itself is for sale, with “150 to 200 cars under €25,000,” says its director Romain Grabowski. Right on the market. Because the average value of an old car in France is “€17,800, with annual maintenance costs of €4,000,” emphasizes Jean-Louis Blanc, president of the FFVE (Federation of Vintage Cars). Therefore, it is not the most prestigious brands that prevail.

400,000 French collectors

In fact, most of the 400,000 French collectors want nothing more than to find the car of their memories. “These are the family cars that we sit in the back of and finally buy back to take the wheel,” explains Matthieu Flonneau, transport historian at Paris I. Peugeot is responsible for the legacy of Peugeot, Citroën and DS. As a result, more than 70% of the car fleet registered in the collection consists of models from the 60s and 80s, corresponding to the owners’ childhood! The Isn’t Citroën the most popular brand among enthusiasts, ahead of Renault and Peugeot, according to Hiscox, an insurer specializing in period models?

There are more and more collectors in France anyway. In 2022, 36,000 certificates were issued, allowing models older than 30 years to be classified as collector cars. Against 32,000 five or six years ago. Total sales of cars over thirty years old also rose 3% to 98,100 last year, with only a third classified as collector models, according to the trade magazine. Argus. Peugeot 205 (by model) is the most popular. The sector generates a turnover of 4 billion euros, 400 million more than in 2016, and employs 24,000 people against the previous 20,000. A craze maintained by the proliferation of 6-7,000 vintage car shows a year in France, as well as car races such as the historic Monte Carlo Rally held at the end of January.

This is heritage preservation

Quite the icon: Rétromobile now has more brands exhibiting than at the Paris Motor Show last October! And this show is more lavishly presented than the Mondial, with carpets everywhere and more luxurious stands. “Faced with systematic and benign criticism of the car, the French are proving they love their automotive past,” says Luc Chatel, president of the PFA (Platform Automobile). “The classic car is the guardian of historical heritage,” adds Mathie Lamur. A passion that can be lived everyday. Because the advantage of cars classified as collectibles is that they are allowed in the low-emission zones that currently exist in France, but in principle ban old cars! “No municipality has refused so far,” says Jean-Louis Blanc, expressing the sympathy of the elected officials for old cars.

A way to bypass bans? Nope. Because a classic car does not drive much: less than 1100 km per year on average! The rationale: as exciting as they are, vintage cars require maintenance, parts are not always easy to find, and commercial use is prohibited by a collector’s gray card. Cars come out an average of fourteen times a year. Therefore, according to FFVE, they generate less than one-thousandth of the pollutant emissions from car traffic.