Retro Classics Bavaria was the last trade fair of 2023 to close its doors. On 30,000 m2 of exhibition space in three halls, the seventh edition showcased some interesting exhibitions. From December 8 to 10, 15,900 visitors streamed through the Nuremberg Exhibition Center.
In honor of Erich Bitter, who died in 2023 at the age of 90, and the 50th anniversary of his Bitter CD, the "90 50" stand showcased numerous vehicles from what was once Germany's eighth-largest car manufacturer in a fantastic special exhibition. Bitter's customers also included a number of celebrities such as footballers Günther Netzer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and skiers such as Christian Neureuther and Rosi Mittermeier, who appreciated the optical Ferrari with smooth Opel technology.
Some Trabant cars from the Sachsenring factory museum found their way to Nuremberg. Among them was the fastest of all Trabants: a 601, tuned by Klaus Schumann and producing a whopping 70 hp from its 597 cm3 instead of 26. With a top speed of 180 km/h, the "Rennpappe" became GDR champion five times and runner-up three times. But the first of all Trabants - the AWZ P 50 prototype from 1954 - was also on display.
Enthusiast Thilo Macht brought a whole arsenal of historic rally cars to Nuremberg under the name "Rally Legends Cup": Opel, Audi, Fiat, Lancia, Ford, Skoda, Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Renault and Porsche were lined up closely together in Hall 3A. The "Rally Legends Cup" was founded in the Corona era and brings classic rally cars back to the roads and gravel tracks, albeit only in regularity events. Even Walter Röhrl and Harald Demuth did the honors in Nuremberg on Saturday together with Gerhard Müller.
A number of vehicles were also on site in Nuremberg under the theme "Lower - Wider - Faster", which was actually the motto of the Essen Motor Show, which was running at the same time. The automotive scene has never been more individual and flashier than in the eighties and nineties. Tuning knew no bounds back then, anything seemed possible: wide bodies with a Testarossa look, counter-like rear spoilers à la F40, gullwing doors like the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, rims bigger and deeper than Miele washing drums, plus bright colors like rubber candy and the finest hi-fi. The conversion of a Mercedes-Benz 560 SEL into a station wagon was almost restrained in comparison, even if it cost a good quarter of a million Deutschmarks.
In general, the classic car range in Nuremberg was rather young. There were only a handful of pre-war cars. It was striking that not a single Mercedes-Benz 300 SL - neither as a gullwing nor as a roadster - was on display in the three halls. Instead, there was a wide range of Ferraris from the 250 GT/L to the 512 M. In fact, unusually, there were more Ferraris than Porsches to be admired on German soil. A special specimen was the gray Ferrari 250 GT from 1961: not only because it was one of the few that was not red, but also because it had a very famous previous owner in Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips.
The Goggomobil and BMW Isetta, which are small enough to find a place under the Christmas tree as a present, were particularly festive. They mark the end of the 2023 classic car trade fair year, but a new one begins in February 2024.
