The dozens of upscale auction houses and high-brow dealers that rent floor space at Rétromobile bring together some of the world’s most amazing cars under the same roof. There’s nothing in the convention center that qualifies for the “budget-friendly” label; I saw a 1995 Renault Twingo listed at €9,900 (about $10,300), which is either wholly unreasonable, a sign of things to come, or both. But regardless of how much you’ve got to spend on your next toy, Rétromobile is a fantastic place for five-star car-spotting.
Here are five of the coolest race cars displayed at the 2025 edition of the event.
1966 Porsche 906
Porsche developed the 906 to take on Ford and Ferrari on the endurance racing scene. About 250 pounds lighter than the 904, the 906 featured a tubular chassis, a composite body, and a 2.0-liter flat-six rated at roughly 220 horsepower in its most basic state of tune. The model won the Targa Florio and the Suzuka 1,000 Kilometers in 1966, and it took fourth overall and first in class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year.
Assigned chassis number 101, the 906 pictured here was the first example sold to a private owner. British driver Mike de Udy ordered it from the factory and requested the distinctive green paint. It was auctioned for €579,500 including the buyer’s fee in 2009, and it was displayed by Le Mans Classic at Rétromobile. It wasn’t listed as being for sale, unless it’s one of those “make us an offer that we can’t refuse” scenarios.
1968 Porsche 908 Lang Heck
Introduced in 1968, the Porsche 908 stood out as one of the quickest and most advanced race cars of its era. The numerous lessons learned from the 906 project permeated the 908. It used an aluminum chassis, it featured a highly aerodynamic fiberglass body, and it was powered by a 3.0-liter air-cooled flat-eight rated at about 335 horsepower. The long tail (lang heck in German) gave it a top speed of 198 mph.
London-based dealer Joe Macari brought this 1968 908, which wears chassis number 004, to Rétromobile. It took third in its category and 11th overall in 1968’s Monza 1,000 kilometers, and it finished second overall and first in class at the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans after an intense battle with a Ford GT40 co-driven by Jackie Ickx. Gérard Larrousse, one of the drivers who raced it at Le Mans, owned it for 43 years.
1976 McLaren M26
Developed for Formula One, McLaren’s M26 was envisioned as a lighter and more aerodynamic successor to the M23. It initially wasn’t as successful as its predecessor due to design-related issues, and its 1976 season was cut short, but McLaren ironed out the kinks the following year. Power for the M26 came from a 90-degree, 3.0-liter V-8 provided by Ford-Cosworth and linked to a Hewland six-speed manual transmission.
British dealer Fiskens brought this M26, which is the first example built, to Rétromobile. It never won a Formula One race. It entered six races across three seasons, and its best result was fourth place at the 1977 British Grand Prix, so its claim to fame is that it was driven by James Hunt and Jochen Mass. M26/1 remained owned by McLaren until the late 1990s when it ended up in a private collection, and its racing career finally took off a couple of years ago. It finished first at the 2021 Monaco Historic Grand Prix, which goes to show that even race cars that weren’t successful new can become competitive in historic events.
1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR
There’s nothing truly remarkable about the original Mercedes-Benz CLK. Launched in 1996 to replace the two-door variants of the W124, it looked a lot like the W210-generation E-Class but shared many of its underpinnings with the first-generation C-Class (W202). The CLK GTR, on the other hand, was good bit more noteworthy. Even if its CLK-derived bodywork was a bit more ho-hum than the McLaren F1s and Porsche GT1s of its day, Mercedes’ purpose-built endurance racer now stands as one of the era’s most storied and valuable cars.
Mercedes-Benz approved the CLK GTR project in December 1996, and engineers tested the first cars in Spain just 128 days later. Low, long, and wide, the coupe started its racing career in 1997 and immediately became a force to reckon with. Its 6.0-liter V-12 developed about 600 horsepower, which unlocked a top speed of over 200 mph, while the widespread use of carbon fiber and aluminum kept weight in check.
Chassis number 011 was displayed at Rétromobile by Fiskens. Completed in February 1998, it’s one of two factory cars that competed in that year’s FIA GT Championship, and it was driven to first place overall in the Silverstone 500 Kilometers by Mark Webber and Bernd Schneider. It’s the last CLK GTR to win a race.
2001 Audi R8 LMP
Audi dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the early 2000s with the R8 LMP. Unrelated to the street-legal R8, the prototype was powered by a 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 bolted to a Ricardo-built six-speed sequential transmission. It was developed to be relatively easy to repair in the pits, and while this might sound like an obvious thing to consider while designing a race car, it was a revolutionary concept that saved the Audi factory team precious time. The R8 won 63 of the 79 races it entered during its career.
The R8 LMP displayed at Rétromobile by Fiskens wears chassis number 501, and it took first overall at the 2001 24 Hours of Le Mans in the hands of Tom Kristensen, Emanuele Pirro, and Frank Biela. Audi’s factory team sold the car to Japanese privateers Audi Sport Team Goh after the 2001 season. It was entered in the 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it finished seventh overall, and it set the fastest lap at the 2002 Suzuka 1,000 Kilometers race. Chassis number 501 has gone through the hands of several private collectors since.
