In the middle of January, the InterClassics & TopMobiel classic car fair in Maastricht, the Netherlands, was a manageable but high-quality event that provided an opportunity to counteract seasonal withdrawal symptoms when it comes to classic cars.
Not far from the German-Dutch border, the event on the weekend of January 17-19, 2014 marked the start of the series of European classic car fairs in the new year.
100 years of Maserati
As part of a special show to mark the centenary of the Italian car brand Maserati, around thirty vehicles with the trident were presented, including one of the showpieces of the Louwman Museum in Apeldoorn, namely the Maserati 8CM Monoposto Grand Prix.
The exhibits also included a Tipo 26, with which the brand achieved great success in races in the 1920s.
The Eldorado 420M58, the Tipo 61 Birdcage, the A6GCS Berlinetta Pinin Farina and the 6CM came to InterClassics & TopMobiel from the Panini Motor Museum in Modena.
The only car on the ultimate wish list that was not available from the Panini collection was the 250F, which is currently on display at the Casa Enzo Ferrari Museum as part of the historic Grand Prix exhibition. Instead, however, another 250F was on display at InterClassics & TopMobiel.
Ford Mustang - the "Big Screen Heroes"
The "movie hero" Ford Mustang was also the focus of the trade fair in the "Euregio" Mass Rhine to mark its 50th birthday. The model series, first presented by Ford in 1964, showed its sporty looks on the big screen early on, and the Ford marketing people were not uninvolved in this. The Mustang quickly became a real movie hero, first appearing on the big screen in the James Bond classic Goldfinger (1964). Many more film appearances were to follow.
The Mustang appeared in the next James Bond film, Fireball (1965), and in films such as Bullitt (1968), another James Bond, Diamond Fever (1971), and The Tin Pirates (1974). All those Mustang models that became screen heroes were on display in a show pavilion at TopMobiel.
Racing cars from days gone by - Pre War Race Legends
Also presented in a special area at Maastricht in cooperation with PreWarCar.com were famous record-breakers from the early days of automobile construction, i.e. the grandfathers of Formula 1.
According to the trade fair organizers, never before have so many pre-war race legends built between 1902 and 1936 been gathered in one place. Vehicles with illustrious names such as Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, Lagonda and Riley were on display, as well as Talbot and Sunbeam.
Even brands such as Alta, D'Yrsan, Roland Pillain and Volpi were represented. The oldest model was a Renault from 1902.
The exhibitors - big business
This year, dealers and restorers had a total area of 33,000 square meters at their disposal at InterClassics & TopMobiel, 3,000 square meters more than last year.
Renowned car dealers from the Benelux countries, but also from Germany, presented an interesting range of products to around 28,000 visitors.
Exhibitors at this year's InterClassics & TopMobiel included The Gallery Brummen, The Houtkamp Collection, Movendi, Sports and Classics, Altena Classics, Classic Park, LMB Racing, Louwman Exclusive Cars, Focwa and Classic Car Venlo. The vehicles on offer ranged from pre-war classics to modern classics, with the focus on cars from the fifties and sixties in a wide range of price categories.
Luxurious presentation
In keeping with the organizer's philosophy that special cars deserve a special environment, a great deal of attention was once again paid to the trade fair's interior design this year: luxurious stand construction, atmospheric lighting and plenty of space for each individual vehicle ensured that every classic car was shown to its best advantage.
Stands with luxury products such as jewelry, clothing, wines and the like also contributed to the special atmosphere in Maastricht, as did a new tent for the extensive range of spare parts and automobilia.
As part of the TopMobiel Preview Night on Thursday, the trade fair offered haute cuisine to set the mood. The stylish networking event offered culinary refinements by Cees Helder, the first chef in the Netherlands to be awarded three Michelin stars.
Car clubs had their own "club hall" at the trade fair, where each participating brand created an individual atmosphere with its own crowd of supporters.
Successful sellers
On the first day of the fair, numerous exhibits were already adorned with "Sold" signs, underlining the success of the preview.
As part of the fair, the renowned auction house "Coys of Europe" also auctioned off 43 gems, including a Lola T70 MK 2 Spyder (1966), an Aston Martin DB MK III (1958), a Citroën DS 21 Decapotable d'Usine (1967), an Alvis FA 1.5 Litre 12/50 (1928), a Delahaye 135M 3C Drophead Coupé (1949) and a Delage D6 (1929).
All in all, InterClassics & TopMobiel once again offered a complete and cozy trade fair at the beginning of the year.
