Stuttgart is a bit the opposite of Paris, or so it seems when you enter the halls of Retro Classics. Generous space, passable aisles, airy and bright halls and hardly any queues in front of snack stands - all this makes a visit to the "Retro Classics" classic car trade fair a comfortable and stress-free affair and so very different from what classic car enthusiasts are used to from the traditional trade fair in the French capital.
This impression also continues at the press conference, which is held every year in a comparatively small circle before the start of the fair (and still starts almost a quarter of an hour late).
Here, the highlights of Retro Classics 2013 are eloquently explained and the latest statistics are presented by Roland Bleinroth, Managing Director of the trade fair. There are now said to be 280,000 H license plates in Germany, 20,000 more than a year ago, around a third of which are in southern Germany (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), which is a disproportionately high share compared to the population.
Classic cars are said to have grown in value by an average of 5.7% per year since 2003, with an increase of 9.3% in 2011 alone. So the classic car business is booming and that is also good for the trade fair, which can once again look forward to full occupancy and 1,308 exhibitors from 17 countries in 2013.
And the visitors are also coming: 77,000 were counted, an increase of almost 20% compared to the previous year, when the dates unfortunately overlapped with those of Essen and Fribourg. And these visitors are also keen to buy: on Sunday afternoon, the trade fair management reported that the majority of the 500 or so vehicles at the dealer sales fair in Hall 6 and the private sales in the Motorgalerie in Hall 1 had found new owners. The results of the survey, according to which around a fifth of visitors are planning to buy a classic car, also fit in with this.
For the last time without a carpet
The organizer of Retro Classics, Karl-Ulrich Herrmann, also commented on the increasing premium demand. The number of dealers offering vehicles of the highest quality is growing and the club appearances of the more than 100 classic car associations are also becoming more professional every year. This is now to be actively accelerated further by ensuring that there are no more stands without carpets in 2014. Beautiful cars should not be exhibited on mundane concrete messengers, but on textiles.
The special shows with Horch and Delahaye vehicles show that this looks good.
Unique Delahaye special show
Bernhard Jaeggy, President of the International Association of Museum Friends of the Schlumpf Collection and also an important member of the Delahaye Club, has put together 25 design icons (of inestimable value) and displayed them in a special show in the middle of Hall 4.
And he also endears the beautiful Delahaye vehicles to you with a lot of French charm and exciting stories.
The remarkable story of a Delahaye 135M by Antem
At the end of the 1940s, a girl from Strassbourg came to Paris to look for a job as a maid. She eventually met Viktor Marine, a rich Russian from the Ukraine. They fell in love and got married. Together they visited the Paris Motor Show in 1949 and a stunningly shaped Delahaye 135M with bodywork by Antem caught their eye. However, Madame Marine asked for a change to the design, she wanted a sunroof, which was then retrofitted.
In 1951, the couple emigrated to America and because they were not sure they would like it, they bought three return tickets from Le Havre to New York, one of which was for their wedding car, the Delahaye. But, as life goes, they never returned.
At the end of the 1980s, Madame Marine, who was now a widow, got in touch with the Smurf Museum. She suggested donating the car, which had been waiting in a shed for a better future since 1955, to the museum. The museum management liked the idea, but there was no money available for shipping and Madame Marine was not keen on the idea of having to pay for transportation. However, she remembered the unused tickets from the 1951 crossing and the shipping company was actually prepared to accept these tickets. As a result, the barely drivable car was returned to France and could then be restored thanks to the great efforts of enthusiasts.
And at Retro Classics 2013, this very car will be one of the 25 exhibits on show.
For the sake of clarity, a separate picture gallery has been dedicated to the Delahaye special show, which reveals further background information on the individual vehicles.
Horch gems
A second special show in Hall 1 offers an insight into the history of the Horch brand. From the one-off Horch 710 with a body by Reinbodt and Christé or the Horch 853 with a body by Erdmann & Rossie to the Horch P240 Sachsenring, which was built over 1,300 times, there is an interesting cross-section of the development of this legendary brand.
Two special Pagodas
Exactly 50 years ago, the Mercedes-Benz 230 SL was unveiled at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show, and now the Mercedes-Benz SL Club Pagoda is showing two special examples in Stuttgart. One is the original rally car with chassis number 000014, in which Eugen Böhringer and Klaus Kaiser finished the 1963 Spa-Sofia-Liège endurance race as winners after a non-stop 92-hour drive, even before the new car was launched on the market.
The car next to it is even older and, with chassis number 000001, the very first production vehicle. And it was precisely this 230 SL that was sold by Daimler-Benz AG to the Mercedes branch in Zurich in 1963, which then exhibited the car with a hardtop at the Geneva Motor Show. After the exhibition, the convertible was sold, changed hands several times and at some point also changed color (we reported on this in a blog post ).
The long winter and the absence of Austrian rarities
Anyone who traveled to Stuttgart for the special exhibition of Austrian rarities such as Steyrs and Austro-Daimlers will be disappointed, however. The long winter put paid to this exhibition. One week before the start of the trade fair, when the vehicles are to be prepared for loading, it is still snowing in the Alpine country. The insurance company is not prepared to bear the additional transportation risk. Without further ado, the exhibition had to be canceled and postponed to a later date.
US cars with their own hall
TV presenter and actor Thomas Schreiner beats the drum for the vehicles of American provenance. The newer and older vehicles from GM, Ford and Chrysler fill almost the entire Hall 5, supplemented by Opel and Ford models from Europe. There is plenty of chrome to see and lots of engine capacity.
And for those who missed Chevrolet's traditional approach to the 60th anniversary of the Corvette at the Geneva Motor Show, the different generations can now be viewed (and purchased) in Stuttgart in a wide variety of versions.
The colorful world of club stands
Once again, the clubs and interest groups have worked hard and brought real rarities to Stuttgart. Be it a Rover 6HP from 1904, a Citroën 2 CV Sahara 4x4 from 1965 or three first-generation Passat models (to celebrate the 40th anniversary), there is plenty to see and admire. And it is a festival of colors, especially the stands with cars from the seventies and eighties.
3,000 cars
In general, the viewer is almost overwhelmed by the variety. Around 3,000 cars can be viewed, compared and, in some cases, purchased. An extensively restored Opel Rekord B 1900 L from 1966, a rare BMW 1600-2 convertible or hordes of Mercedes convertibles and Porsche sports cars - there is something for every brand enthusiast. And those on a financially sound footing can also choose between a pair of Porsche 904 GTS brothers or a wide variety of Mercedes Benz 300 SLs.
No auction
The auction originally announced by the Oldtimer Galerie Toffen ("The Auctioneer") will not take place, as the customs and official hurdles were too great. But postponed is not canceled. Some of the items on offer will go under the hammer at the DolderClassics auction on June 8, 2013.
However, Reinhard Schmidlin was unable to say whether the green Porsche Carrera RS 2.7 liter from 1973 will be included in the auction. In any case, around 30 cars will be on display in Stuttgart as a foretaste of the auction and will also be for sale if there is interest.
Tired legs, aching feet
If you want to see everything and only have one day, you might well complain of sore feet in the evening, the trade fair is so extensive and there is so much to see. But as an introduction to the new season and as an "amuse bouche", Retro Classics 2013 is definitely a good choice.
