Hardly anyone had thought it possible that connoisseurs and fans of Günter Artz's exotic cars would ever meet again at this historic location. But thanks to the tireless championing of Arno Albert, a logistics professional in Rheinhessen and himself the owner of several gems from the former Nordstadt car dealership, 15 of these spectacular contemporary witnesses came together at Vahrenwalder Strasse 203 in the north of Hanover on the last weekend of September.
This was made possible by Tobias Twele, head of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Oldtimer, whose premises are located exactly where Artz had put his conversions on wheels from the end of the 1960s. Twele, a proven car guy, had no problem at all exhibiting vehicles from the competition in the showroom and in front of the exhibition pavilion.
They arrived on Saturday, the modified beauties based on VW, Audi and Porsche, but also Opel and Mercedes. "Günter Artz built 39 cars up until the 1990s, and at least 35 of them still exist," says Arno Albert confidently, "and we have now brought almost half of all the survivors to Hanover!" Once again, it is clear that brash claims from the internet are not necessarily to be trusted. After all, they write of "150 to 200 unique specimens".
This was not least due to Günter Artz himself. With a good deal of slyness, he usually quoted figures that were far too high in order to keep the aficionados salivating with his announcements. He repeatedly put his creations on the covers of major magazines such as auto motor und sport and Playboy - and used them to promote the VW/Audi dealership of which he was the sales manager.
"As often as I could, I rode my bike to the Ponderosa - as Günter called his sales temple for exotic cars of all kinds - to look at the dream cars of my youth," confesses Thomas Aries, who ordered a brand-new 1303 Beetle convertible in 1978, had an Oettinger engine installed and then left the exquisitely equipped car to sit welded up for almost 35 years in accordance with the long-term preservation system devised by Artz. It was not until 2014 that it was put on the road and is moved very carefully: "I always took two or three days to travel to the three Artz meetings at the Speyer Museum of Technology."
Others see it quite differently. Classic car professional Dino Pannhorst, who owns the first of two Golf/Porsche 928s, moves his toy in the right way: "He likes to race properly," he says, and starts the black exotic car so that the gravel just sticks out. The roaring and hissing sound of the V8 engine alone is addictive, something that the initiator of the meeting lives out as often as possible: Arno Albert loves to give his Golf/Porsche 928 - which was created in 1980 as the second Golf/Porsche 928 and already has a 928 S engine - the spurs. And is happy to have both treasures side by side for the first time. He is always sure of a round of applause. This also applies to his Scirocco Pickup, which he has brought back into the public eye for the first time and which, thanks to a tuned 1.8-liter engine, has 148 hp. The car is said to have been used for Volkswagen Motorsport for a while.
In general, various anecdotes are circulating about illustrious previous owners of the Exotics, not all of which are necessarily true. It is undisputed that Louis Krages alias John Winter (a wealthy timber merchant and Le Mans winner in 1985) had several cars built for him. But Herbert von Karajan and Huschke von Hanstein are also mentioned. Legends and rumors accompany most Artz creations, and this was undoubtedly Günter Artz's intention.
The very first conversions - such as the Nordstadt Beetle and the Nordstadt Express - were also on display: in the showroom and then in front of today's VW branch, where Tobias Twele even had the original Nordstadt signs pinned up. It could hardly be more stylish. Both firsts have Porsche six-cylinder engines and captivate with their lovingly crafted details. And both are also unique. Over the course of the weekend, it became apparent that, with a few exceptions, almost all of Artz's creations were one-offs. Only the Sciwago - a Shooting Brake based on the Scirocco I - was produced in a small series of eight units. However, the former boss had promised 50 or more units... The same applies to the open Golf versions.
However, the dazzling sales genius liked chic and highly motorized estate versions best, so that he could chauffeur his dogs in style. That's why he had his gifted technicians assemble both a Porsche 928 (brought to Hanover by Norwegian Paul Rui) and a Porsche 924 (still missing today) as a station wagon - and, with the help of a Ford Granada Tournament rear end, turned an Audi 200 into a five-door (which was then pimped up at Treser). The owner of the one-off is Thomas Höing, who runs the Siku Museum in Stadtlohn: "As a young man, I collected everything that was made here in Hanover," he says, "I even spoke to Günter Artz on the phone, but never met him in person."
Other largely unknown station wagon creations by the busy car man were also on display: an Audi Urquattro with a rear door, plus a Mercedes 500 TE - a mix of the 500 E built by Porsche and the S124-T model. The Artz family also used the latter car and an Opel Senator station wagon built at the same time in their private lives, as the wife, who was present as a guest of honor, recalled. The Opel is currently being restored and is part of Arno Albert's collection.
It is understandable that Artz went overboard at some point. Although he had "invented" marketing-driven activities such as the fixed price and long-term guarantee in the interests of his company. He fell out with the owners of the VW/Audi dealership and left the company to immediately continue with Opel Blitz, just a few hundred meters away. There he once again set about building Silhouette vehicles on the basis of more or less good production cars.
His Opel Cordett, a mix of Corvette C4 and Opel Kadett E GSi, was legendary. He also initiated the Lotus Calibra, whereby a Calibra body was placed on the substructure of the Lotus Omega. Just like the Golf-Porsche 928, the supposed Opels were up to 30 cm longer and up to 20 cm wider. Jürgen Reitz from Rüsselsheim, who is well known in the scene, owns both unique pieces, which he has chased after for decades: "The degree of understatement achieved here inspires me every time."
There was also a rift at and with Opel at some point, and Artz then traded in Japanese cars. One of his new business models was the aforementioned long-term preservation concept, which still exists today as A.R.T.Z. Konservierung. His former employees were - and still are - on good terms with him. Some of them enriched the weekend with memories and anecdotes that give the lie to many a common Internet entry.
On Sunday, shortly before the end of the event, the now 84-year-old jack-of-all-trades made an appearance. He has otherwise kept out of the public eye due to a serious illness. Organizers, friends and former employees were deeply moved and tears were shed. "When he suddenly stood on the pitch, it went absolutely silent - and everyone had a lump in their throat. It was the most emotional moment for all of us at a meeting like this," summarizes Jürgen Reitz. Photos were not wanted for understandable reasons. Over 100 fans and onlookers remained respectfully silent. Meanwhile, the star guest disappeared into the classic collection of the "Nutzis", as they call themselves. It couldn't have gone any better for the organizers of this meeting!
List of participating vehicles at the 2024 Artz meeting in Hanover
- Nordstadt Beetle - 1303 Beetle body based on 914 as two-seater with Porsche six-cylinder mid-engine (now 3.6 L 325 hp), one of two (from 1972)
- Nordstadt Express - 411 LE with Porsche 911 rear engine (now 3.0 L), one-off (1971)
- Beetle 1303 convertible from 1979 - special series with luxurious equipment (e.g. leather and electric windows), was shrink-wrapped/preserved for 35 years, at least 50 units, exhibit has Oettinger engine 85 hp.
- Golf/Jetta Cabrio - basic Golf Cabrio with welded-on Jetta rear end, removable roll bar, eight units (1980)
- Golf Speedster - chopped by 20 cm, lowered, 1.6-liter 4V Schrick engine, 14-inch wheels, König instead of Recaro seats, six units (1982)
- Golf/Porsche 928 No. 1 and 2 - Golf body based on Porsche 928, 30 cm longer, 21 cm wider, No. 1 1978 based on accident car, 240 hp, No. 2 1980 with 928 S-V8
- Sciwago - Scirocco GTI with estate rear end, eight produced (1976)
- Scirocco Pickup - one-off with performance-enhanced 1.8-liter 148 hp, was used by Volkswagen Motorsport, among others (1978)
- Artz Cordett - Kadett-E-GSi body based on Corvette C4 (1986) with 5.7 L V8 engine min. 306 hp (Callaway tuning), one-off, 30 cm longer, 20 cm wider (1986-1989)
- Lotus Calibra - Calibra body based on Lotus Omega with V6 engine 377 hp, 20 cm longer, 12 cm wider, unique (1992/1993)
- Audi Urquattro station wagon - conversion of the coupé with station wagon rear end, one-off (1979)
- Porsche 928 estate - fold-down rear seat, AHZ, one-off (1980)
- Mercedes 500 TE - based on 500 E, welded-on rear section S123, V8 engine, two units (1991/92)
- Audi 200 station wagon - extended C2 sedan with rear end of the Granada Tournament, then further conversion at Treser with Audi 100 front end, 2.2 L over 250 hp (1981)
