Dirk and Trudy Regter, the Dutch couple who embarked upon a round-the-world journey aboard their Ford Model T in June 2012, will bring the car to the 2015 edition of Rétromobile, the annual classic car show in Paris.
The Regters set out on their exceptional voyage to raise funds for SOS Children's Villages, a non-profit group working to improve the lives of orphans worldwide. Along the way, the two travelers visited several of the organization's "villages" and supported some of its initiatives.
In just under three years, they drove their 1915 Ford Model T in over 50 countries, completing a journey of around 80,000 miles. Departing from The Hague in the Netherlands in June 2012, the Regters made their way down to South Africa before the end of the year. In 2013, they had their classic car brought to North America, where they drove it in over 20 US states and Canadian provinces. They then spent 2014 touring South America.
After displaying their globe-trotting Model T at Rétromobile in February, the couple will take a break in the Netherlands in 2015 before possibly extending their journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania in 2016 and 2017. More information can be found at the tour's official website. There is also a video on this unconventional world tour on YouTube.
At the 40th edition of Rétromobile, which takes place February 4 to 8 in the French capital, visitors will also find a selection of prototypes and rare vehicles from the Corrado Lopresto collection in Florence, as well as three Bugatti Royales supplied by the Cité de l'Automobile in Mulhouse.
Like every year, Artcurial will host the event's official car auction. Nearly 180 classic vehicles will go under the hammer this February 6, including 59 from the Baillon collection of "barn finds" discovered in September 2014. These include Bugattis, Hispano-Suizas, Talbot-Lagos, Panhard-Levassors, Delahayes and Delages as well as ultra-rare Maseratis and Ferraris.
