After the major classic car events Classic Days Berlin on Kurfürstendamm and the classic car show on the ADAC grounds in Linthe , a somewhat different kind of event awaited us on May 25 and 26, 2024.
The most striking difference was certainly the venue. In beautiful contrast to the magnificent boulevard and the ADAC driving safety center, the organizers chose a truly historic location: Spandau Citadel is not only considered Europe's best preserved Renaissance fortress and was built in the 16th century around the Julius Tower, the oldest building in Berlin. It is also a well-known venue for events far beyond the capital's borders. The author has enjoyed concerts here by ZZ Top, Santana and Massive Attack. Historic ground and therefore a fantastic backdrop for historic vehicles.
"Rebornclassics" in the Renaissance fortress
Julian and Luzian Born, the founders of "Rebornclassics" and organizers of the Oldtimer Open Air, made the perfect choice of location. In addition to organizing and renting out historic vehicles to film and television productions, they have also created the "Open Air" in the citadel and "Klassiker am Kloster Lehnin" (to follow in September, we will report) and have come up with a number of ideas.
Strictly speaking, the Oldtimer Open Air was something of a premiere. The Borns had already staged a similar event with their vehicles in 2018. The originally planned first edition of the Open Air then had to be postponed due to the pandemic. It was only this year that the project also coincided with the Citadel's schedule.
Selected location - selected vehicles
The space in the fortress is reasonably manageable. In contrast to the large-scale events mentioned at the beginning, where anyone who wants to come can do so, here it was necessary to pre-select who would be allowed to travel with the classic car and thus become both visitor and exhibitor. Supported by moderator and classic car expert Ulf Schulz and an expert from a testing organization, the Born brothers sifted through several hundred registrations to ultimately select 300 vehicles (150 per event day).
The - to put it casually - glut of 911s and SLs that we are otherwise familiar with was thus replaced by a colorful cross-section from over 100 years of automotive engineering. And not only automobiles were selected. Two-wheeler enthusiasts also got their money's worth, regardless of whether they prefer motor or pedal. Rather underrepresented at other events, the bicycle enthusiasts had enough space to present the largest part of bicycle history: from the Hocharad to the Bonanzarad.
Non-stop program
With bikes from different decades, they also had the opportunity to present the history and stories of their treasures on stage. Ulf Schulz not only led the audience through this vehicle presentation with his famous Berlin snout. He also presented the history of all the other vehicles and always had an anecdote in store. And there was plenty to comment on. On both days, selected vehicles were presented every ten minutes, from the Durant Star Tourer from 1923 to models from the 1990s.
The program was livened up by a really talented not-only-Elvis impersonator, who also did Shakin' Stevens and Tom Jones, short lectures on vehicle technology and classic car forensics. Of course, the event manager of the Citadel, Florian Fegeler, also had his say.
150 vehicles nicely positioned - potential for more
If that was too much for you, you could take a walk around and admire the vehicles, which were beautifully grouped thematically but not too strictly. In one area, the focus was on convertibles and roadsters, in another on small cars from the 1930s to 1960s, here again on US vehicles from the 1950s to 1970s and there on European everyday classics from the 1970s to 1990s. Fortunately, there were also some tuning gems on display. Mostly discreet in appearance, the owners had often pulled out all the stops technically.
There was plenty of skill and expertise at work in the selection and placement of the vehicles, whether original or unoriginal, such as the 1966 Beetle from our picture gallery. Milestones of automobile construction such as the Ford Model A, VW Beetle, Citroën Traction Avant, BMW 02 or Mercedes-Benz W123 were just as well represented as the rarities of the Daimler DS 420 Landaulet, Nissan Figaro or Bentley Alpine Special.
On closer inspection, there would even have been room here and there for more automotive treasures. The registrations would have made it possible. Luzian Born has also already announced that 200 vehicles per day will be gathered in the citadel next year.
Successful premiere
All in all, the impression remains of an all-round successful event - not overly large, but really fine. The Citadel also impresses with its atmosphere in the classic car context. The careful selection of vehicles provided both an overview of automotive history and a clear overview of the venue. The organization was excellent, as was the mood of the visitors. The concept of the event is right in the middle of the big classic car folk festivals and the upscale, upmarket Concours d'Elegance, without even touching on these extremes. It all whets the appetite for more. We can look forward to the Oldtimer Open Air in the Spandau Citadel in 2025.
