French Reconnection; Forget Moulin Rouge, car lovers flock to another racy show in Paris.(Retromobile)(Brief Article)

Paris is once again a haven for a ``lost generation'' of Americans. This time it is not the literati, but auto enthusiasts abandoned for more than a decade by French automakers. Few mourn the passing of vehicles like the dowdy Peugeot 504 or the tepid Renault Fuego. Missed is the link to France's long love affair with automobiles and racing. Becoming part of the 120,000 car devotees attending an annual event at the Paris Expo Park in February closes the gap.

Retromobile celebrated its 27th anniversary this year. The 10-day-long paean to the automobile is a unique combination of classic car show, marque club gatherings, manufacturers' displays, vintage parts flea market, automotive art show, memorabilia meet and model car paradise. But wait, there's more. For 2002, Christie's added a Tuesday night auction to the mix. In all, more than 300 exhibitors and 200 cars participated at Retromobile.

Racing history was this year's theme, with display cars ranging from a De Dion-Bouton entered in the 1903 Paris-to-Madrid race to last year's McLaren F1 car. Christie's appropriately offered a stunning 1922 torpedo-bodied Type 23/30 Bugatti, a Type 51 and a Type 37 originally sold to Claude Renoir, whose father, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, has a few things hanging on the wall across town at the Musee d'Orsay. Depicting more modern French racing technology was the Renault stand, where no less than seven Renault-powered F1 cars-once piloted by world champions Schumacher, Villeneuve, Hill, Mansell and of course, Alain Prost-held center stage.

This automotive bouillabaisse may be dished out with a French flair, but it is an international recipe. Besides ...