What can you expect from an event where people are supposed to meet on a rather cold, pretty early, and very wet and windy Sunday morning for a ride in Paris? The first answer to come to mind would be: not a lot. But passion is stronger than any solvents used on the winter streets, and the 18th Traversée de Paris (literally translated to “Crossing of Paris”) managed to gather more than 600 classic cars and bikes to create a fascinating ‘60s-era traffic jam in the French capital city.

In the darkness of a winter night that’s just become a frigid morning, the first engine sounds are heard around the Château de Vincennes as yellow lights cast a shine on the still-wet ground in the direction of the esplanade, where the classic car enthusiasts meet for the start of the Traversée. With road books in hand and not discouraged by the atrocious weather, they start the brief road trip in the direction of the city center well before we could see the first light of the day,