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BCM exhibition stand by and for young classic car enthusiasts - Jugend porscht

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Created on January 27, 2025

Text:

Wolfgang Blaube

Photos:

Wolfgang Blaube

37

Wolfgang Blaube

37

Group photo: Frank Ruge and the young team at the Bremen Classic Motorshow 2024

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The originator and driving force behind the Classic Young Talent initiative: Frank Ruge, project manager of the Bremen Classic Motorshow since 2002 - Germany's friendly and relaxed classic car show, as exhibitors and visitors often emphasize

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In terms of engine power and number of wheels, the most down-to-earth representative of Bremen's 2024 young talent stand: Bennet Haukje with his 1975 Piaggio Ape 50.

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Proudly shows what 50 two-stroke cubes are capable of: Project manager, social networker and Ape extreme wrench Bennet Haukje (27).

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Fascination you can almost touch: All-time dream car Ferrari F40 from the national car museum The Loh Collection.

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Enjoying a high level of confidence: Smilla Blaube with her exhibition stand loan, a 478 hp Ferrari F40 worth around 2.5 million euros.

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Taking a seat: Smilla Blaube takes a short break from the hustle and bustle of the trade fair in the F40 driver's seat - and is surrounded all the more by inquisitive visitors.

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Working as an organizer at the young talent stand in 2024: Mercedes enthusiast Jana Steiger.

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Host at the historic gaming console: Motor Klassik editor Daniel Endress, himself a fan of exotic US oldies, with enthusiastic visitors to the stand.

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Rare live experience for video game fans and fresh classic car fans: third-generation Mazda RX-7, presented by Lukas Hambrecht (behind), deputy editor-in-chief of Oldtimer Markt.

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Replaced for new under the eyes of the paying public: discarded Golf II parts from the live renovation.

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Trio with six tinkering hands: Golf II owner Silas Behling (behind the door), brother Jarno (below), bearded idea man Lars Golly.

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As a committed supporter of young talent, not much older: collector, screwdriver and writer Lars Golly, 29.

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A dedicated trade fair organizer: Project manager Frank Ruge is particularly keen to promote the passion of young classic car enthusiasts.

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Another stand activist: Ricarda von Döllen (24) from Wildeshausen in Lower Saxony and her 123 Mercedes - which she completely restored together with her father.

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Upgraded for highway use: Ricarda's diesel Benz was once a 200 D with a tired 60 hp, but now a racy 240 heart with 72 horses fires itself up.

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With imagination to craftsmanship: Young body builder Fynn Weinberg (31) presents his very freely designed light metal sheet metal dress at the trade fair stand.

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Demonstrator on his own behalf: Fynn Weinberg explains his latest work to any interested trade fair visitor - primarily to get young people interested in his traditional craft.

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Still raw and crude, but already elegant thanks to its unusual proportions alone: Fynn Weinberg's self-designed body is based on the chassis of a noble Delage from the 1930s.

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Full of edge: Fynn Weinberg uses a hand-cranked flanging and beading roller bench to show that there are also classic cars in his machine park.

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A work of art as a template for yet another: Smilla Blaube not only brought the original Ferrari F40 to Bremen, but also the up-and-coming car painter Hendrik Schmeer.

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In action on the stand: Hendrik Schmeer painted a Ferrari F40 in a quiet street scene during the three-day motor show - mostly under the gaze of curious onlookers.

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Unusual exhibition utensils: painting tools by young car artist Hendrik Schmeer.

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So young and already a professional: at just 23 years old, Hendrik Schmeer was already one of the most sought-after classic car painters in Germany in spring 2024.

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Focus on red sports car dreams: further car paintings by Hendrik Schmeer, which he also exhibits for sale at major classic car events such as the Concours d'Elegance in Schwetzingen.

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A foreign body in terms of value alone: Ferrari F40 as the crowd-puller of the newcomer stand - and also the absolute pop star of the Bremen Classic Motorshow 2024 in general.

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Watched, helped build: VW Golf II asset from 1989 during a break from the mechanics.IMG_5053

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Degenerated into a flat number: VW Karmann-Ghia Type 14 as a super lowrider and its builder Robert Redlich (33) from Schleiz, Saxony. His company Edelweiss Customs is highly specialized in such lowriders.

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Almost bourgeois under the hood: the Karmann classic from lowering professional Robert Redlich offers hardly any surprises in the engine compartment.

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Surviving relic of former vacation folklore: Dobratsch stickers from a vacation in Carinthia, carefully preserved with the reddish rat look of the sheet metal.

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Staged: Robert Redlich also became known for his gothic flatbed conversions through modern media - such as his YouTube channel.

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The whole spectrum of tastes on one piece of textile: official T-shirt of the Bremen Young Talent Initiative.

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Manta, Manta... gradually back in fashion: Paul-Moritz Klöss, a 2024 real estate apprentice from Giessen-Lützellinden, with his barn find - an almost untouched 1988 GSI.

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Passionate dash man: According to Opel factory documentation, Paul-Moritz Klöss' Manta GSI is the only example that was delivered with Trim Line decor.

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Resurrected: After 28 years in the barn, Paul-Moritz Klöss found the completely original first paint Manta in the fall of 2023, bought it, kissed it awake - and ultimately became a much sought-after exhibitor at the newcomer stand.

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Youngster of the stand, but already fit as a fiddle: Silas Behling, here still 17 years young, next to his live Golf II project.

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Successful advertisement: Golf II owner Silas Behling advertised for spare parts to trade fair visitors via a window flyer - with success, as the door handles and rear lights that were delivered prove.

Summary

Instead of just discussing the next generation and the interests of young classic car fans, Bremen-Classic-Motorshow organizer Frank Ruge provided the youngsters with their own area in February 2024, where they could show what interests and inspires them. There was plenty to see, from a three-wheeled Ape and a Ferrari F40 to a rolling renovation of a VW Golf II. To be continued ...

This article contains the following chapters

Premiere 2024
Renovating tricycles
F40 as a (youthful) dream
Independent and spontaneous
There is another way
Virtual and real
Almost new or a real classic?
Changing perceptions of age?
Renovation on site
Live wrenching
Here's to a second one

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

"The scene has a young talent problem": regulars' table classic, truism, collective sigh. The established classic car scene has been complaining for years - and increasingly so - that there is a lack of young people who share the passion for old metal. As a consequence, the classic car hobby is a cultural asset that is gradually dying out, and consequently the classic car hobby as well. So much for the industry's pessimistic tone. Does it reflect reality? According to the usual pattern of perception, it certainly does; organizations and associations, organizers of rallies and meetings, but especially the long-established clubs are clearly aware of this. And at conferences or in discussion groups, they try to develop concepts to counteract the decline - usually, however, without representatives of the species being courted and without taking the corresponding passions into account.

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