Rétromobile Is Heading to New York

In February over five days at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles convention center, 146,000 people attended an event that has been on the Paris show calendar since 1976.

There were oysters from Normandy, Champagne and caviar, along with $300 driving shoes and $1,000 leather jackets. But the classic cars — plus the vintage automobile headlights, taillight lenses, radios and other bric-a-brac for sale on nearby tables — were a sure sign that this was not a fashion gala. Rather, it was a car show, French style. Rétromobile to be exact, an indoor colossus that is coming to the Javits Convention Center for the first time in November 2026.
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Rétromobile is unknown to many Americans who are not immersed in the international vintage car scene. It combines a high-end, classic car auction with displays from European and North American classic car dealers and parts sellers.
There are vendors of virtually every classic-car product imaginable, including apparel and automotive artwork. In an interview in June, David Gooding, founder of the auction company Gooding & Company, compared it to Art Basel for cars.
The show’s ability to surprise and delight with pieces like World War I tanks and early steam-powered vehicles are its calling card. There are no corn dogs or fried Twinkies, but plenty of lobster salad and French wines. Now the big question is, will the show strike a similar chord with a predominantly American audience?

Attendance at Rétromobile Paris has been rising since the pandemic, to 146,000 last
year from 122,000 in 2022.
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“New York City is the logical place to export the success of Rétromobile,” said Gérard Neveu, chief executive of Rétromobile New York. “Fifty percent of the vintage car market in North America is located near New York.” Plus, New York “has more of a bridge with Europe, logistics are better there, and it is a destination for the rest of the world,” he added. “Manhattan is the right place to bring Rétromobile.”

Mr. Neveu also praised the Javits Center as a venue. It is “as good as what we have in Paris, and there is room for the show to grow,” he said. “Most importantly though, we don’t want to just duplicate Paris — we want to respect the culture of the city of New York, while bringing some of the DNA of Rétromobile Paris.” That includes the accessories, art galleries, vendors and an auction, which will be presented by Gooding Christie’s, the classic car auctioneer.
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Rétromobile has flourished while traditional international auto shows have been struggling. “The big, old traditional car shows like Frankfurt and Geneva are declining because they’re expensive and hard to put on,” said McKeel Hagerty, chief executive of
Hagerty, the automotive lifestyle brand. His company puts on such events as the Amelia car show in Amelia Island, Fla., and the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance in Greenwich, Conn.
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Heritage is clearly getting more important, Marcus Breitschwerdt, executive vice president and head of Mercedes-Benz Heritage, said in an interview this month.
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“Rétromobile is the most prestigious and important event of its kind anywhere,” he said.

Tom Papadopoulos, a new and classic car dealer in Huntington Station, N.Y., has been to Rétromobile Paris many times.

“I haven’t set up a stand in Paris yet, but I likely will at Rétromobile in New York next year,” he said. “The Paris show has essentially been like a convention for the classic-car industry, where dealers, collectors and enthusiasts congregate. I think that if they step out of the normal boundaries for car shows in the U.S. and bring some of what makes the show so chichi and special in Paris, they’ll succeed in drawing a North American and international audience, the way Monterey Car Week does in August,” he said.
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Certainly the calendar will work in the show’s favor: Mr. Neveu said the show will
be held in New York Nov. 19-22, 2026.

By the time it arrives, Rétromobile will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. “It’s taken a long time to come here, I think, because the U.S. is so geographically large,” Mr. Gooding said. “Finding the right location was a challenge, and I think that most importantly, the show organizers were working on perfecting Rétromobile’s concept in Paris. The industry wasn’t ready for it. It is now.”
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He sees similarities between New York and Paris.
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“New York, like Paris, has so much to offer, including lots of distractions — both good and bad,” Mr. Gooding said. “Space is at a premium, and getting cars in and out isn’t easy, yet Rétromobile has managed to thrive in Paris.”