The pandemic does not allow any major classic car shows in winter 2020/2021. While some organizers have postponed the event until summer or autumn, the Bremen Classic Motorshow has had to postpone it for a whole year. The 20th edition will then take place in February 2022 as usual in front of a large audience, but the organizers of the Classic Motorshow came up with something special for 2021. They gave a foretaste of 2022 with a virtual trade fair in television format and at the same time provided five hours of quality entertainment on the subject of classic cars and motorcycles. Over 13,000 viewers watched the show live.
Five hours of entertainment
Frank Ruge, seconded by Johannes Hübner and Wolfgang Blaube, among others, led through a program lasting over five hours, which consisted of live contributions and recorded films.
The program was extensive and was also intended to whet the appetite for next year's 20th Bremen Classic Motorshow and entertain with current topics.
Biedermanns and arsonists
Wolfgang Blaube presented two "Biedermann & Brandstifter" pairings, as they will be the subject of the special show in February 2022.
First on show were a Renault 5 TL and a Renault 5 Turbo, which share a common face, but to a lesser extent common technology and design. After all, a Renault 5 Turbo with a mid-engine also cost several times as much as the "little friend" and was aimed at rally and sports drivers.
It was similar with the Mercedes-Benz 190, which had to compare itself with the DTM evolution model 190E 2.5-16 Evo II from 1990. We were even able to interview a co-developer at the time, who told us that many people at the Mercedes plant shook their heads when the Evo was driven around the factory premises. Only 502 examples of the Evo II version were produced, largely by hand, and Mercedes hardly made much money from the cars back then.
Exciting classics and their stories
As part of the online broadcast, the "Golden Piston" was virtually handed over to Matthias Kaluza, who is better known for his work, e.g. the exhibition design of the PS.Speicher Museum.
In 2022, there is to be a special motorcycle show with DKW and NSU factory motorcycles, so of course an old DKW could not be missing, which was shown in one of the empty exhibition halls.
Old four-wheelers and two-wheelers were presented in a colorful variety, and the most exciting part was when something was visually demonstrated that is otherwise not so easy to see, such as the parallelogram suspension of an old motorcycle.
Also interesting were the insights provided by TÜV Süd into well-preserved young classics such as the original Ford Taunus II Turnier or the Peugeot 205 with less than 10,000 km, both bread-and-butter cars.
The Cadillac V16, the Opel Lotus Omega and the Maybach DS8 Zeppelin demonstrated at the end of the five hours were impressive.
It was exciting to listen to long-distance off-road motorcyclist Rolf Witthöft talk about his successes and failures.
The story of a young moped enthusiast, who showed that there are definitely newcomers to the rusty hobby, was also a good one.
A father and his daughter told how they came to win a rally with a Trabant 601 Universal.
Interesting insights were also provided by a contribution on the subject of tuning classic cars, which is a controversial topic.
Also on display was a Fiat 850 T Tourbus, one or two dozen of which were built by Bertone in 1975 and at least one of which has now found its way to Germany.
Unlike a trade fair
The mix of topics was varied and entertaining. At the same time, the audience was also able to recognize the advantages of a real classic car show. While it was only possible to take a closer look at around two dozen vehicles in the five hours, you can see many times that number on one day of the fair. The stories told by Hübner, Blaube and co about the exhibits are usually heard directly from owners, club members and other exhibitors at the fair or can be read efficiently on the information boards attached to the cars.
The television format simply provides exactly the perspective and sequence that the presenters had come up with, while a trade fair allows you to work through topics and interests yourself.
Of course, it was never the intention of Frank Ruge and his team to offer a 1:1 alternative to the conventional trade fair with the virtual Bremen Classic Motorshow; these people love the physical format far too much for that.
They simply wanted to give an insight into the upcoming 20th edition and present a few exciting topics together with partners and sponsors, and despite a few minor technical problems, they succeeded brilliantly.
In any case, it was worth holding out until the end, because the incredible story of a Rudge Special 500 that had been stored for decades in individual parts and protected by wax paper, or the "Young Generation" with Opel Manta B, Iso Rivolta Lele and Fiat 2300 S Coupé, was enough to make anyone go into raptures.
And of course, driving cars such as those shown in the beautifully made contribution to the 123 model series with the Mercedes-Benz 300 TD and 280 TE AMG estate cars are unfortunately not possible in a trade fair format.
Into extra time
However, the 19th Bremen Classic Motorshow is not over when the online broadcast ends. Firstly, you can still watch the recorded livestream until May, and secondly, the typical trade fair components vehicle and parts market as well as club stories will also be available online until May 2021.
So anyone looking for a classic car, a vintage vehicle or parts can browse the extensive range of around 370 cars, over 60 motorcycles and more than 1100 parts online.
Classic car clubs have also recorded club stories in moving images that provide an insight into their activities and interests.
The 2021 classic car season has now officially started! But we are already looking forward to the 20th Bremen Classic Motorshow in the exhibition halls in February 2022.
