Monday, August 30, in the setting of the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris, 224 vintage cars were exhibited before their departure for the Tour Auto 2021. Argus immortalized the most beautiful, the rarest, the most unusual … or the most expensive.
It has been a ritual since 2007, and a nod to the Paris motor show of the last century … The day before the start of the Tour Auto, all the competitors gathered under the nave of the Grand Palais, whose immense windows sublimated the reflections of the 200 cars involved. But, no Art Nouveau building this time: closed for renovation, the Grand Palais is now giving way to the Grand Palais Éphémère at the foot of the Champ de Mars, less luminous but just as capable of accommodating the 224 vintage cars. entered at the start of the Tour Auto 2021.
The tone is set as soon as you enter this immense space. Right in the center: a BMW carousel, including an intimidating 3.0 CSL, an extremely rare M1 Procar and of course, the crisp 2002 tii driven by our “Argussian” crew. To its right, a skewer of Ferrari 250 GT “short chassis”, one of the most legendary, here numbering twelve. To its left, the same Jaguar MK2 skewer, these two models remaining the stars of this thirtieth Tour Auto Optic 2000. Their feats of arms? Have occupied all the places of the podium of their category during the 1962 edition …
We could then describe to you the eight Alpine, ten Lotus, seventeen Ferraris, fifty Porsches, or the improbable Matra 650 S from 1971, a 3.0 V12 container of 470 hp for 860 kg (!), Designed at the time. for the endurance world championship and the 24 hours of Le Mans. Instead, we let you admire them in pictures, in our slideshow of 55 captioned photos. Good eye rinsing!
To start the slideshow, click on this image …
