Rétromobile New York, the Paris show’s first American edition, now has a clear shape. Its special exhibitions are announced, and the most approachable is a display from the Petersen Automotive Museum and Universal Pictures marking 25 years of Fast & Furious. Alongside it are a gallery of collector cars from five countries, an art-car gallery, a motorcycle gallery and the lots of Gooding Christie’s two-day sale. It all runs Nov. 19–22 at the Javits Center on Manhattan’s West Side.
Rétromobile began in Paris in 1976 as a small flea market for vintage parts, aimed mostly at mechanics. Over five decades it grew to include art, ephemera, auctions and modern supercars, and the Paris show held its 50th edition this winter. New York is its first edition outside France. Our October preview covers that history, the dealer and restorer lineup, and how the American edition came together.
The appeal is the range under one roof. A visitor can study a car lent by a private collector, see contemporary art built around automobiles, stand beside film cars, browse dealers of parts, books and automobilia, and walk the lots of a major sale. Organizers have also announced restoration workshops and live demonstrations. As of Nov. 12, no schedule for them had been published.
Fast & Furious, from the Petersen
The Petersen and Universal Pictures are bringing four screen-used vehicles, which organizers confirmed on Nov. 11. Each one represents a different chapter of the series.
2001 Honda S2000, 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003). The display’s headliner is the No. 1 hero car driven by Devon Aoki’s Suki. Its bright paint and anime-inspired graphics were meant to stand out from the background cars and to work as a portrait of the character. According to the organizers, this car is fully functional, with a Comptech supercharger, a VeilSide body kit and 18-inch wheels.
1999 Ford F-150 SVT Lightning, The Fast and the Furious (2001). Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner drives the pickup while undercover at the Racer’s Edge parts shop. The organizers say production bought new Lightnings from a dealer and added only the shop’s graphics, with no performance changes. This truck is one of two surviving screen-used examples.
1968 Ford Mustang, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006). In the story, Lucas Black’s Sean Boswell rebuilds a derelict Mustang for the climactic race, swapping in a Nissan RB26DETT engine. Organizers identify this example as the No. 1 hero car used to film the restoration sequences.
1970 Dodge Charger R/T custom picture vehicle by SpeedKore, F9 (2021). Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto drives this Charger in F9. According to the organizers, SpeedKore built it with a custom carbon-fiber widebody, a custom frame and a mid-engine layout. It’s one of three screen-used stunt cars that remain from the production.
Together, the four cars trace the series from a parts-counter street-racing story to its later blockbuster scale. For many visitors, they’ll be the most recognizable vehicles in the building and an easy way into the rest of the show.
The Exclusive Car Gallery
The show’s collector-car centerpiece brings together cars from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany. Collectors assembled them specifically for Rétromobile New York visitors. The full list hasn’t been published, but the premise is easy to enjoy: five automotive cultures, each with its own marques, design ideas and engineering habits, shown side by side. The gallery offers a chance to compare how different countries answered the same question about speed and style.
The Art Car Gallery
Presented with CART Department and collector Larry Warsh, the Art Car Gallery features work connected to Keith Haring, Jay-Z, Ai Weiwei and Shepard Fairey. Organizers say the presentation will move beyond conventional display to explore the relationship between cars, contemporary art and culture. In practice, it treats the automobile as a canvas and a cultural object as much as a machine. It’s the gallery most likely to appeal to visitors who know New York’s museums better than its car shows.
Motorcycles: a gallery and a sale
Two-wheelers have two separate homes at this show. The Legendary Motorcycle Gallery is an exhibition of European, Japanese and American machines, presented up close. Gooding Christie’s is also offering more than 70 motorcycles from Billy Joel’s personal collection, all without reserve. The Joel motorcycles are offered for sale, separately from the gallery display. ECN covered the Joel consignment when it was announced.
The auction lots
Gooding Christie’s, the show’s official auction house, holds sessions on Friday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 21, each at 11 a.m. ET. More than 160 car, motorcycle and automobilia lots are on view Thursday through Saturday. The best-known lot is a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spider, chassis 10453, sold new to Steve McQueen. It is one of only 10 NART Spiders, the open 275s named for importer Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team. Gooding Christie’s estimates it at $15 million to $20 million.
To see the lots, you need a Rétromobile entry ticket. Gooding Christie’s also offers separate up-close viewing access. The auction room itself is limited to registered bidders, their guests and credentialed media. Check the auction house’s current access terms before you go.
Planning a visit to Rétromobile New York
- Dates and hours: Thursday, Nov. 19, through Saturday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 22, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. VIP entry begins at 8:30 a.m.
- Location: Javits Center, 429 11th Avenue, New York.
- Admission: Adult general admission from $70 when bought online, per the official ticket page as of Nov. 12. On-site prices are higher, and VIP and child tickets are also offered.
- Auction: Lot viewing Nov. 19–21; sale sessions Nov. 20 and 21. There is no sale session on Sunday.
- Official links: show information, tickets, special exhibitions, Gooding Christie’s sale.
Something for every kind of enthusiast
Rétromobile has always been generous to different kinds of enthusiasts, and the New York program carries that over. A collector can spend a morning with the auction lots, and a rider can go from the motorcycle gallery to the Joel bikes. A gallery-goer can come for Haring and Ai Weiwei, and a kid who knows Suki’s S2000 from the movies can see it up close. That range is the strongest reason to experience the inaugural edition.
