The most beautiful spring weather! Why did people come up with the idea of trudging through eight huge halls in the sunshine and admiring stationary cars? Well, mainly because the Retro Classics 2012 in Stuttgart was truly exceptional!
The arc of almost 90 years of Maserati history in a special exhibition
In 1914, the five brothers Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ernesto and Ettore Maserati founded the Maserati company, borrowing the trademark from a natural fountain in Bologna. Even today, decades after the last great Formula 1 successes, the brand still has a legendary sound; the famous Maserati 250 F, the Tipo 8 CM, but also the 300 S or 450 S sports racing cars are unforgotten. And Björn Schmidt had brought them all together for Retro Classics and displayed them in a special exhibition together with the equally famous GTs and saloons. There was even a reunion with the Cooper-Maserati from 1966.
The Americans are here
American classics were more strongly represented than in the past, including hot rods and new cars. In Hall 5, the entire spectrum could be admired, from the family limousine to the hot-blooded sports car, from the restoration object to the vintage car in mint condition.
Works with restraint
The vehicle manufacturers were less visible than in Essen; they were happy to leave some of the public relations work to the clubs and their own stands were smaller and less intrusive. BMW was celebrating 40 years of Motorsport GmbH, showing vehicles from the three-series and, together with the clubs, some fine milestones from the brand's long history. A glass of V8 3000 Coupé fitted in just as well as the McLaren F1 BMW GTR, which took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997, the legendary BMW 1800 TI/SA racing touring car or a BMW 600 prepared as an exhibition vehicle.
Mercedes focused its presence on the 60th anniversary of the "SL" and, as in Essen, also presented a kind of "mobile" illustrating the spare parts expertise of the Mercedes Classic department.
The Porsche Museum for the first time
The Porsche Museum was represented at a trade fair for the first time. Probably due to the overlap in dates between Essen and Stuttgart, the museum not only presented insights into the museum workshop, but also two vehicles from 60 years of endurance racing successes: a Porsche 356 SL, with which Auguste Veuillet achieved the first Le Mans class victory in 1951, and a Porsche 908 long-tail coupé, which only just missed out on overall victory in the 1969 24 Hours of Le Mans with Hans Herrmann and Gérard Larrousse.
Reutter and Recaro back at home
Newly founded and already present at Retro Classics was the traditional division of Recaro. Recaro, which is primarily known as a manufacturer of sports seats, can look back on an interesting past that began in 1906, 57 years before the founding of Recaro itself, when Wilhelm Reutter founded the "Stuttgarter Carosserie- und Radfabrik". Reutter produced complete bodywork for all the well-known chassis suppliers of the time and began building bodies for the Porsche 356 in 1949. When the body production was finally sold to Porsche in 1963, the seat production was spun off and REutter CAROsserie became RECARO. Under the slogan "back at home", Recaro consequently unveiled an early Porsche 356 from 1951, built by Reutter at the time and one of the 50 vehicles in the first series.
Impressive club presence
Clubs are traditionally an important attraction at Retro Classica, and this year was no different. There was something for everyone to discover, whether it was a group of original Group B and A rally cars from Lancia, a group of cute Puch 500s or a stylized workshop for the Mercedes tail fin saloon. An extensive collection of NSU products found enthusiastic observers, as did the Triumph Stag, which is celebrating its 40th birthday.
Rarities at the major dealers
The many dealers at Retro Classics also made a big impression. Kienle, for example, presented hordes of 300 SLs, Mirbach showed a Talbot Lago 2500 Sport Europa Coupé from 1956 and a Porsche 917, while Koch Klassik had a rare Ford RS 200 S on display and Classic Car Collection Franz Wittner an Aston Martin DB5.
The MBM SP 100, a racing sports car that Peter Monteverdi fitted with two gearboxes and an Osca DOHC engine in 1960 and which was now on the joint stand of Oldtimer Galerie Toffen and Sportgarage Graber, is still a talking point. The Oldtimer-Galerie Toffen will also be organizing next year's auction at Retro Classics, so we will be delighted if vehicles like the MBM are put up for sale.
The numerous dealers offered an enormous range of classic cars of all ages, and there were many a trouvaille to discover, such as the Wartburg 313 Sport from 1958, which looked very elegant in beautiful white.
Should it be one of 3,000 vehicles?
Anyone looking to invest in a classic car was in good hands in Stuttgart. 3,000 vehicles were on offer, from the VW Polo of the first series, first-hand Ford Capri or an unrestored VW Golf GL of the first series in original condition, to Porsche 917 replicas, BMW E30 convertibles or the Aston Martin Lagonda extreme limousine.
The vehicles were offered for sale by dealers and private buyers, who were able to present their cars in the gallery in Hall 1 this year. Anyone looking for an Alfa Romeo Spider, for example, could choose from at least ten vehicles. Where else is that possible? At the Lankes auction, you could bid for an Aston Martin including a starting place at the Mille Miglia, but you can also take part in the famous race in Italy with a VW Beetle, at a lower price, but without a guaranteed starting place.
Purchased cars can be registered on the spot
If you wanted to buy, you could find all the necessary services on site to drive the gem home on the road. Classic car valuations, insurance, TÜV inspections, registrations and even the license plate could be obtained in Hall 6. It couldn't be easier!
Commercial vehicles and buses too
As every year, the hall of commercial vehicles and buses was a reason for many to travel to Stuttgart. Setra buses of all kinds could be admired here, as well as 100 tractors, machines and equipment, which provided an insight into the agricultural technology of the last century.
Positive development continues
Roland Bleinroth, Managing Director of Messe Stuttgart, proudly announced at the start of the press conference that the trade fair was fully booked. The trend towards owning a classic car is unbroken. The number of vehicles over 30 years old in Germany rose by over 10% in 2011 and the value of these collector's items is constantly increasing.
1,278 exhibitors from 13 countries almost completely filled all the exhibition halls. Seen in this light, the unfortunate overlap with Techno Classica did not appear to have any negative effects; only the smaller dealers, who had to choose one of the two trade fairs, are likely to have suffered.
65,000 visitors succumbed to the allure of the old and new classic vehicles in Stuttgart and preferred a tour of the halls to other activities, which the warm spring weather certainly made possible.
Whether the public also had to give preference to one or the other trade fair in case of doubt will become clear once all the visitor figures have been published. In any case, the organizers on both sides assured that there would be no more clashes of dates with Essen in the coming years.
For those who were unable or unwilling to travel to Stuttgart, we recommend the extensive picture gallery. However, the pictures of the trade fair tour also offer visitors the opportunity to remember one or two of the exhibits.
