Kjell Ivar Haltvik from Norway restored and converted this Renault from Freia Chokolade into this driving masterpiece.
A comparison between the new electric Renaults and their petrol-fuelled predecessors drew visitors to the Renault stand at Rétromobile. There was also a real novelty with a historic link, the Filante Record 2025, a record car for electric efficiency.
Renaults Marketing Director Arnaud Belloni with the first partners to bear the The Originals Renault logo.
The most important 'news' among the classic cars at Rétromobile 2025 was a series of initiatives by The Originals Renault to make life easier for all of us. Renault is now actively responding to the call for spare parts and going one step further. Under the inspiring leadership of Arnaud Belloni, Marketing Director, and Gilles Meriadec, the new Director of The Originals Renault - La Collection, a network of Renault garages is being set up to focus on the maintenance and repair of classic models. Eight companies have already been selected in France and this number will increase to 30 during the course of the year. From 2026, the plan is to appoint garages abroad as well.
The CAR Île de France celebrated the jubilees of the Renault 30 and the Alpine A106.
To date, three companies have been awarded The Originals Renault label for parts supply. They are Melun Retro Passion, Arnaud Ventoux Pièces and ASCI Sellerie, which supplies numerous upholstery fabrics. This list is likely to be extended in the near future. These new activities can already be found on the website theoriginals.renault.com. Renault's history department has even more important news in the pipeline. More on this later.
As has been the case in recent years, the Renaults have to be searched for with a magnifying glass. The pickings were slim again this year. The number of stalls selling parts and miniatures also seems to be decreasing due to high stand rental costs.
Still, you can always find a few gems. For example, we came across a large pewter model of the Ligne du Hoggar bus, which in the 1930s made its way through the African desert, stopping at various stations along the way. According to the seller, this hefty miniature was made by Renault itself.
The electric Filante Record 2025 is a tribute to the 40CV Record and the Etoile Filante.
Our friend Eric Giraud of Girauto always has special items on his stand, mainly documentation. He showed us four original framed colour drawings made by an artist employed by Renault in the late forties/early fifties.
The star of the show was the 1913 Renault BC, restored in recent years by Kjell Ivar Haltvik at his specialist company in Norway. A promotional car for the Norwegian chocolate brand Freia with beautiful decorations on the sides. The car had been stored in a museum warehouse without a body since 1931 and deservedly scored highly at the Paris show.
Interesting Renaults in Hall 3 for less than 30,000 euros.
A Renault Colorale.
The CAR Île de France association flew the Renault flag in Hall 3 and organised its stand around two anniversaries, that of the Renault 30 TS (1975) and the Alpine A106 (1955). Renault Histoire and ACMA Renault also presented their activities.
In recent years, the same hall has been used to display relatively affordable cars. This year, the price limit was raised to 30,000 euros. There were several Renaults on offer, including a number of 5 GT turbos, but also a restored blue Renault 4 Sixties for 16,000 euros. Much cheaper and also very nice was a first generation Spanish Renault 12 S for 8,900 Euros. A little further on was a beautifully shiny Renault 14 GTL Phase I with a hefty price tag. Well, this is Paris after all!
A huge tinplate model of the 1937 Renault Ligne du Hoggar.
In the same hall was the huge Artcurial stand. The number of Renaults and Alpines was extremely modest. The pre-war city bus, a Renault 5 Turbo 2, which was lavishly equipped with leather at the time, and an Alpine V6 Turbo Mille Milles.
Back in Halls 1 and 2, we took out the magnifying glass again. It was nice to see a blue Colorale that had been completely rebuilt in 2020, with the engine uprated, the electrical system converted to 12 volts and the entire suspension prepared for a trip from Paris across southern Europe and back in 2021. The price for this beauty was 18,500 euros.
Sporty Renaults always attract a lot of attention in France. Companies looking to attract visitors to their stand can't go wrong with a Renault 5 Turbo. Whether you're in the parts, restoration or insurance business.
Hall 2 attracted attention with a bird's eye view of Formula 1 history. A number of racing cars were on loan from the Renault factory collection, including the first road-going prototype from 1976 and some later models. In short, another edition with something for everyone. ‹›