Many had been waiting impatiently for the first Dolder Classics of the year to take place on May 12, 2019. And once again, the organizers were lucky with the weather. While the previous weekend had been a complete washout and the forecasts for Dolder Sunday had been relatively pessimistic just a few days ago, the sun shone on 12 May and the ice rink was and remained almost dry.
Despite this, the influx of classic cars on Sunday morning was relatively hesitant, as the Dolder is used to a larger crowd. This was not a disadvantage for the participants and spectators, as there were no of the usual traffic jams and observers were able to view every arriving vehicle in peace. And there was plenty to see!
The two-stroke faction
Two-stroke cars are rare today and you only see, hear and smell them on a few days a year. Yet these vehicles were equipped with relatively simple and powerful technology that enabled them to achieve performance that four-strokes with similar displacements could only dream of.
At the Dolder, a Saab 96 and a DKW stood side by side. The interesting thing is that both basically used the same engine, i.e. three cylinders and a displacement of around 850 cm3.
And a little further back, we came across a Messerschmitt cabin scooter, which of course also had a two-stroke engine in the rear.
Here, however, one cylinder has to suffice, but the Messerschmitt can drive backwards just as fast as forwards, which was rarely attempted, as the steering reacts very sensitively.
The designer Lincoln
Of course, a "normal" Lincoln Continential Mark V is already an impressive vehicle. But if you took a closer look at the Dolder, you recognized fine decorative stripes and lettering that not every Continental has.
The 1979 coupé is actually a designer edition by Givenchy. At the time, the Americans worked with various fashion designers who put their signature on the Lincoln, so to speak.
Of course, a moderate surcharge was demanded for this and so this designer edition remained correspondingly rare.
The Alfetta with Swiss bodywork
The factory never produced a station wagon version of the Alfa Romeo Alfetta of the seventies and eighties. Zagato did design a one-off, but that was it. Until now. In Switzerland, a thoroughly successful conversion from saloon to estate has now been achieved on the basis of an Alfetta 2000.
To achieve this, the rear end had to be extensively modified and an Alfa Romeo 33 had to sacrifice its life, or rather its rear hatch and roof. However, the unification was much more complex than one would expect at first glance.
The result may not necessarily please fans of originality, but it is certainly a success, and striking anyway, as shown by the many conversations the owner was able to hold on the ice rink. The proud owner revealed that there were already people interested in buying it, but that was not up for discussion.
More and less popular
The somewhat uncertain weather certainly meant that not all Dolder visitors took their most valuable classic cars out of the garage. Pre-war vehicles in particular remained the exception, but expensive super sports cars from the sixties and seventies were also represented in smaller numbers than before.
However, there were more bread-and-butter cars from the past, such as a pretty Renault 4 CV, as well as Volkswagens in a wide variety of designs.
Of course, Jaguar E-Types and the like were not missing, and a few 911s also found their way to the Zürichberg.
The Salmson Val 3, probably the oldest car on the site, certainly caused many astonished looks.
The comparatively cool weather and the clash with Mother's Day meant that some classic car drivers left a little earlier, but the canteen was more frequented, as a warm coffee helped to get through the next tour better.
