Stuttgart is a car metropolis, with two manufacturers based in the city in the south of Germany - Porsche and Mercedes-Benz. This is also evident at Retro Classics, which opens its doors every year in the south of the city, and will do so again on March 17-20, 2016.
With its 125,000 square meters of space and 1555 exhibitors (trade fair fully booked), Retro Classics is an Eldorado for Porsche and Mercedes enthusiasts, because they get the most out of it.
There is hardly a dealer stand that does not show at least one example of one brand or the other, many presentations that are almost or even exclusively equipped with the two manufacturers.
Porsche and Mercedes with a factory presence
It is these two companies that officially run large stands as manufacturers. Mercedes took the opportunity to once again present the 300 SL in the right light.
But a little further back there was also an interesting prototype of a W201 convertible, more precisely a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.6 from 1990, which had been opened exactly twice as a prototype and fitted with a fabric roof. The result can be considered a success and paved the way for open-top successors.
Porsche also showed a prototype, the predecessor of the 924, internally known as the EA 425.
Today, we are certainly glad that the designers were allowed to do some retouching, because the development prototype still looks rather inharmonious. It is all the more interesting to be able to see it together with its descendants 924, 944 and 968.
And the fact that these are also really colorful exhibition specimens makes the pleasure even greater.
Species diversity at Louwman
Right at the east entrance in the atrium, visitors came across one of the highlights of Retro Classics 2016. The Louwman Museum from The Hague displayed some of its treasures, which were all originals, not replicas, as the curator assured at the press conference. The Jaguar D-Type, the Maserati 8CM, the Mercedes-Benz SSK and the Talbot-Lago T 150 SS were all the more impressive.
The few exhibits certainly whetted the appetite for more, and a visit to the beautiful museum is definitely recommended.
Veritas in the center
Right next to the Louwman special exhibition, visitors came across a second attraction consisting of a series of Veritas vehicles.
And here, too, there was a surprise, because when the specialists lifted off the body of the Meteor II record vehicle, it was revealed that an almost complete monoposto was hidden underneath.
A total of five different Veritas sports and racing cars were on display, the technology having been adopted from the pre-war BMW 328 models in the post-war years.
Once and (almost) never seen before
With around 2000 cars (and some motorcycles, tractors and commercial vehicles), there are of course also vehicles among the many Porsche and Mercedes variants that have almost certainly never been seen live before. This year's Retro Classics was no exception. And it is precisely these trouvailles that you won't forget so quickly.
In the middle of Hall 1, for example, there was a strange sports car painted in various shades of blue, which at first glance might have been dismissed as an Iso Rivolta or a modified Fiat Dino Coupé. But the car turned out to be a veritable one-off. An Italian industrialist, who didn't think much of Ferrari and whose Maserati always hit the exhaust pipe when driving on the ferry, commissioned the car from Michelotti in order to finally own the ultimate sports car that was still suitable for everyday use.
Michelotti drew a two-seater coupé, which was then placed on a stable square tube frame at Meccanica Maniero and fitted with a front-mid engine from the Shelby 350 GT family.
The car was presented at the 1967 Geneva Motor Show and apparently as many as 24 orders were received. However, the client decided that one car was enough, especially as the coupé apparently had to contend with a few teething problems such as narrow wheel arches. However, the car survived and was shown in its unrestored original condition for the first time in Stuttgart, but is apparently quite comfortable to drive.
Another surprise was to be seen on the MG Club stand, where an MG TD Vignale from 1952 was on display. The elegant coupé could almost have been mistaken for a Fiat Otto Vu, as the lines can also be found on later Vignale special bodies based on Fiat models. And here, too, the designer was Giovanni Michelotti.
The convertible that Jean Bugatti developed in the 1930s on the basis of the Type 31 Royale chassis was of a completely different design. It had a boat line visible from the side or, as was smilingly mentioned, the silhouette of a woman when you put the car upright. The elegance is indeed striking, but the one-off was stripped of its body when the owner at the time decided it was time for a closed body.
However, an enthusiast had the so-called Esders Roadster completely rebuilt; only the engine could be snatched from a railroad locomotive, the rest is new. But when you see the vehicle today, you understand the desire to bring it back to life.
A sensational new battery
At the press conference, a new type of battery was also announced with big words, which was nothing less than a revolution. In fact, the makers of Olife batteries have completely dispensed with lead and constructed an energy storage system made of lithium-ion cells and super capacitors in their EU-funded development project.
The result is lighter and, according to Olife, significantly more durable (15-year guarantee) than the usual lead-acid batteries. However, the new technology (still) comes at a price, as it is easily 5 to 10 times more expensive than a conventional starter battery. However, the manufacturer hopes that economies of scale will enable it to produce at a significantly lower price and if there is also a black instead of (apple) white version, this could certainly convince one or two classic car drivers.
Southern Germany as a trading center
Of course, Retro Classics is not just a marketing event, but also a trading center. Around 1000 to 2000 vehicles were offered for sale in the various halls, at prices that left many a potential buyer breathless.
A Porsche Turbo for 220,000 euros, a Mercedes-Benz 280 SL Pagoda for 249,000 euros? We've seen it all and then some.
But there were also cheaper and no less attractive vehicles for sale, such as the Sunbeam Venezia Superleggera from 1966, which we found in the gallery of Hall 1. Euro 43,000 seemed pleasantly realistic for this rare and visually attractive coupé.
Cramped conditions
Incomprehensible from the point of view of a visitor who does not necessarily want to buy a car was the sometimes almost painfully cramped arrangement of the vehicles on the dealer stands. The cars were lined up almost as tightly as in a second-rate backyard dealership, and the beautiful shapes could only be glimpsed. Even internationally renowned dealers were tempted to degrade their stand to a mere sales parking lot.
It was a shame, because some of the cars no longer looked at all and the public constantly got in each other's way when looking at them. The presence of the major dealers at the Rétromobile in Paris, where there is significantly less space available and the stands still look more elegant and attractive, shows that there is another way.
Records
According to the trade fair organization, last year's record number of visitors (86,738) has now been surpassed with over 90,000 entries. The number of visitors was already high on Thursday, and there was no sign of a decline in interest in old cars. This is also confirmed by the latest studies, according to which many people would like to have an old car. And this year's motto of the FIVA, which has named 2016 the "World Motor Heritage Year" and secured the patronage of Unesco, also fits in with this, as Mario Theissen reported at the press conference.
And Karl Ulrich Herrmann announced the expansion of the trade fair to 140,000 square meters in 2018 thanks to the additional hall that will then be available. We can only hope that there will then be a little more space left for the individual cars and that a little more pleasure and love will take precedence over pure commerce.
