BACK IN THE OPEN
RETROMOBILE 2022
After a two year winter, the classic car world is coming back to life. Events are spawning right, left and centre. Back in March, when we visited Retromobile, we couldn’t yet take anything for granted. It was an amazing experience, like witnessing the yearly spring miracle of nature sprouting out from the ground, with renewed grace and the promise of future vigour. Only this time it wasn’t just plants piercing the wall of snow, we were seeing the classic car community emerging from the relative prison of the last few years and resuming its perennial search for a better self.
Alfisti seemed to be displaying a subconscious crave for openness, evident when you start counting the large proportion of Spiders on display. From the sensual Giulietta Spider, to the luxurious 2600 Spider, to the downright majestic 6C Super Sport Cabriolet, Alfas seem just as keen to shed their roofs as humans were glad to ditch their masks. We need this connection to the outside world and we missed it for far too long. I can’t wait for the weather to invite these beauties on the open road, so they mess up their occupants’ hair as their designers originally intended.
In terms of rarity and value, it’s hard to argue that the trio of Zagato racers at the Artcurial stand were the cream of the Alfa produced crop. Two TZs and a SZ, all in Rosso Alfa, were the sentinels of the auction house’s stand, creating their usual powerful impression on the visitors, despite their diminutive size. Other Alfas also shared the floor with these three, notably a blue Giulietta Sprint and a stunning Montreal, complete with ist halff hidden French lights. We could also hear the TZ’s engine, but it had to be through the speakers, as their promotional film played on a big screen behind it. Sadly, we had to wait some more before hearing the fabled Bialbero in anger again. But we knew the moment was close.
At Retromobile, the pieces started to come back together. The long postponed projects were finally dusted off and the dreams of long drives to nowhere in our beloved classics were firmly back in the cards. It’s spring again. Thankfully. We really needed that.
