Auto Zürich took place for the 36th time from November 2 to 5, 2023. Originally conceived as a new car sales fair, it has developed over the years and decades and now also fills the gap left by the Geneva Motor Show with its (temporary) end due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many current models from most of the brands represented in Switzerland are on display. They are mostly exhibited by local dealers, who are hoping to attract orders and new customers.
A few years ago, trade fair organizer Karl Bieri also began to incorporate vehicle history and dedicated an entire hall to classic cars. This is bearing fruit and is also attracting fresh interest from the vintage and classic car dealers present. In fact, the classic car hall also arouses significantly more emotions than the other halls, which is not least due to the particularly colorful exhibition and, of course, the interesting range of vehicles, which also included many dream classics in 2023.
Some visitors were reminded of everyday cars of the past or of the vehicles they admired in their youth. Others associated the cars with vehicles from films or computer games. And now they were there to look at and even touch.
Noble display
In November 2023, the participating specialists once again brought an impressive portfolio of classic cars to the halls in Zurich North. Old cars from around 20 brands were on display, including well-known names such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo. But there was also room for exotic cars in the exhibition.
Among other things, the Touring Garage was on site with a 1986 Aston Martin V8 Volante, the exact car that was shown at the Geneva Motor Show at the time.
Porsche Classic Zurich came to Oerlikon with several 911 and 356 models, including the 1964 356 SC painted by designer Alfredo Häberli.
Lutziger Classic Cars made a colorful and national appearance with three Ferrari sports cars, an Alfa Romeo, a Shelby Mustang and a Fiat-Abarth 1000 Bialbero as well as several motorcycles.
At Kestenholz Classics & Sportscars, there were several Mercedes-Benz classics and an Alfa Romeo 1900 Super painted in unorthodox colors.
Stand neighbor Swiss Classic Car Fällanden presented classic cars from Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, including a Porsche 356 barn find.
Dönni Classic Car kept the fifties alive with the first Jaguar Mark IX and an XK 120 with Swiss racing history.
Emil Frey Classics dedicated its stand primarily to British brands from its own import history, but was not afraid to park a cute Fiat 500 in between.
At the Ferrari dealer Niki Hasler, there were only sports cars from Maranello to admire, in particular the elegant 365 GTB/4 Daytona with Plexi front attracted a lot of attention.
At Schmohl Exclusive Classic Cars, you had to take a closer look to realize that the Bentley Blower on display was a scaled-down version of "Little Car Company", which only became clear when you took a comparative look at the full-size Aston Martin DB5 next to it.
A few other Porsches, a Lancia Delta Integrale and an Iso Lele, which was shown by Goodtimer, rounded off the offerings in the classic car hall.
The tradition of the Lancia brand
Six vehicles from the diverse activities of the Lancia brand were on display in the center of Hall 6.
Hardly any visitor could resist the charm of the diverse "special show", which presented some of the highlights of the Turin-based brand, from the Astura Cabriolet and two Aurelia and Flaminia variants to the Stratos rally wedge.
60 years of Lamborghini
Hirsch AG, a company based in St. Gallen and Zurich, put on another small special exhibition to mark Lamborghini's 60th birthday.
Twelve-cylinder milestones from the tractor and sports car manufacturer from Sant'Agata were on display.
A Lamborghini 400 GT interim documented the beginning of Lamborghini as a sports car manufacturer, a Miura the first high point of the brand.
At the front were a Countach, a Murciélago, an Aventador and the brand-new Revuelto, which will continue to uphold the legacy of the V12 engine in the future.
Classics today and in the future
Old cars were also found outside the classic car hall.
For example, AMAG displayed the VW Golf, which is currently being fed with synthetic fuel to test its safety for old cars. A Porsche tractor was also on display.
Lamborghini's Italian competitors were located one floor further up. A Volvo Amazon, a Subaru Legacy rally car and a Nissan Skyline GT-R were also on display.
There were also various cars with classic potential in the new car halls, from the Fiat Panda, which is still in production, to super and hyper sports cars from Ferrari, Pagani, Koenigsegg and Pininfarina.
Visitors to Auto Zürich did not even have to do without concept cars, which are usually only seen at large motor shows, as they were on display at Citroën, Hyundai and Peugeot.
There was no lack of internationality in the new car halls anyway, with the Chinese showing cars just as much as the Americans and European manufacturers. Nevertheless, some brands were missing, such as Lotus, which was still represented with a large stand last time. But with 60 car brands, the selection was certainly representative.
There was also no shortage of visitors (62,068 tickets sold), and it was particularly crowded at times at the weekend. And the exhibitors were also able to report many good conversations and even some sales. In fact, several classic cars worth well over a million changed hands at Auto Zürich. There can therefore be little doubt that the dual concept will continue ...
