Rétromobile 2026: Chrome and character

In 2026, the Rétromobile celebrates its 50th anniversary - and uses the stage for a broad panorama of icons, discoveries and border crossings. From the revitalised Peugeot GTi heritage to a spectacular Mercedes find, from the BMW Art Cars as an interface between art and speed to Steve McQueen's motorbikes - there is nothing that is not there. Of course, you will also find spare parts and accessories - and right in the middle of it all: a Bugatti train. Yes, you read that right. Our five highlights from Paris.

Peugeot GTi - The little revolt

The GTi was never just an acronym. It was a promise: light, loud, lively. A small French car that wanted to cheekily show the big sports cars the tail lights. At the Rétromobile, Peugeot is celebrating precisely this heritage - from the original 205 GTi to the electric reinterpretation E-208 GTi. Now charged with electric power, but still unmistakably French and nonchalant. On site, you will also see three versions of the historic 205GTi, the open 205 CTi, the 205 GTi Dimma, the 205 GTi Griffe - and of course the rally legend 205 Turbo 16.

→ Hall 7.2

50 years of BMW Art Cars - When speed paints

The BMW Art Cars are not exhibits - they are statements. And they have been for 50 years. The Bavarian manufacturer is therefore celebrating the shared anniversary with the Rétromobile with all the Art Cars that started at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Their creators: Warhol, Lichtenstein, Koons, Holzer and Mehretu. A list that reads like a highly decorated art museum. At the Rétromobile, all seven Le Mans Art Cars come together for the first time. And suddenly you realise: a racing car can tell you just as much about our time as a painting in a museum.

Steve McQueen - coolness on two and four wheels

Steve McQueen was never just an actor. He was a style icon, role model and racing driver. The exhibition "A Passion for Speed" brings his motorbikes and other film legends from his circle to Paris for the first time. From the Triumph from "Broken Chains" to the dusty Husqvarna from "On Any Sunday", staged like a film set, somewhere between a Barbour jacket, the smell of a workshop and American freedom. McQueen was the first real influencer, long before the word existed. His look, his machines, his attitude - everything still seems like a promise today: Live faster, but stay real.

→ Hall 7.2

Mercedes 300 SL barn find - the dust of time

Some icons shine in the showroom. This one wears dust like a badge of honour. This Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, forgotten for decades in an American barn, has now been rediscovered. Patina instead of perfection, history instead of high gloss. Matching numbers, honest scars, an aura that cannot be restored. It's that moment when you stand in front of a find like this and suddenly feel that time is a material - just as real as aluminium or leather. The SL is not about speed. It tells of life. And yes: it is for sale.

→ Hall 7.3

Bugatti Autorail - The rail phenomenon

23 metres long. Four Royale engines. Almost 200 kilometres per hour in the 1930s. The Bugatti Autorail is not a train - it is a manifesto of steel and luxury. Ettore Bugatti didn't just want to build cars, he wanted to rethink movement. In addition to an attempt to establish Bugatti in aircraft construction, he also put his powerful engines on rails. And invented a rolling saloon that travelled between Paris and the coast for the elite. Today, this railcar is a national treasure. And a unique opportunity to get to know Bugatti in a completely new and unusual way.

→ Hall 7.1

Rétromobile will be open to the public from 28 January to 1 February from 10:00 to 19:00; on 29 and 31 January the fair will also be open until 20:30 and on 30 January until 22:00.

More information: retromobile.com