In rain and snow flurries, Retro Classics Stuttgart celebrated the automotive delights and qualities that once delighted the entire region not so long ago for the last time in February. The vehicles presented were once again somewhat younger, but there were also more young car enthusiasts in the audience, including representatives of the "cyclekart" scene, which is probably still unknown to many. All in all, the trade fair was a nice break and time machine for young and old. Here you will find the highlights for the eye and what the visitors liked best.
Porsche omni-present
Let's start with Porsche; it felt like there were hardly any visitors who didn't already have one in their garage, currently own one or finally want to buy one. As a result, there were plenty of Porsche vehicles on display, in all price ranges, condition categories and flavors. The manufacturer itself was also represented - somewhat hidden - with the anniversary exhibition "Raceborn - 75 years of Porsche Motorsport".
In addition to four special racing cars, visitors to the exhibition were able to meet Le Mans overall winner Timo Bernhard and Porsche works driver and DTM winner Ayhancan Güven. It is not known whether this is exactly what classic car enthusiasts wanted; for the Stuttgart-based company, telling stories from a strong history would be a good way to explain - and sell - not only attractive but also innovative new cars.
Incidentally, it was also a home game for the successful expert organization GTÜ, which was on hand with full commitment and technical expertise to provide advice and information.
For classic Porsche enthusiasts, the 911 specialist "Boxer & Motors" once again had a successful presence at the trade fair. With a black Pre-A 356 Speedster - with a modified king-shaft engine and just under 180 hp in the rear - it offered one of the absolute dream cars at this trade fair.
With exhibits such as these, Retro Classics successfully transported its visitors to an altogether more beautiful, old world - in comparison to the current German reality: The comparison to the state of the nation was a topic of conversation everywhere and literally imposed itself in Stuttgart, because just 100 meters away, the same is once again being discussed by astonishingly self-confident players from the federal CDU; result unknown. Instead, Chancellor Merz briefly took a seat in a Mercedes-Benz 300 Adenauer during a flying visit, which caused a lot of mockery, pity for the vehicle and comments such as "cultural appropriation" on the Internet.
Cars with patina
We prefer to look back again and quickly find what we are looking for: Barn finds! Hardly any classic car has surprised us more recently than some ruins that have been traded at auctions around the world at prices as high as - or even higher than - fully restored cars. The charm of the idea of acquiring a vehicle in its original condition and deciding for yourself whether only the technology should be overhauled and how much highly attractive patina should be retained in order to stand out in style from restored mass-produced goods is too great.
Patina is also in demand for restored or sportily modified vehicles. For example, we learned from Klaus Hagenlocher from Böblingen how to successfully reduce the appearance of racing wear on an Alvis Sport from several decades to just a few years.
Among the presumably genuine barn finds at the show were a Fiat X1-9, a Citroen DS19 Chapron and a Mercedes 300 SL, apparently previously owned by an "NRA" gun enthusiast from Pennsylvania.
The almost forgotten C112
Let's move on to Mercedes-Benz; this company is the only recognizable, officially represented manufacturer in Stuttgart to present the C112 concept car alongside the fascinating 300 SL barn find.
As the planned successor to the C111, it was equipped with an electronically controlled, hydraulic chassis including a co-steering rear axle; all in all, it was so innovative for the early 1990s that it was probably better to keep the technology to oneself and leave it as a prototype.
Opposite Mercedes, visitors to the Zwischengas stand and the Löbner Uhren brand, which is also associated with Mercedes highlights, enjoyed one of the most beautiful exhibits for some visitors, the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza (1931) from the National Automobile Museum (Loh Collection).It was one of the few pre-war vehicles at the 25th edition of this show, alongside several BMW 327s and 328s, which are celebrating their 90th anniversary this year.
This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Mercedes-Benz W123 series; however, far fewer cars from this series were for sale than from the apparently more popular W124 and 126 series, which appear a little more classic and also more elegant every year - also as popular examples in the so-called "peak car" discussion.
In the gallery of Hall 1, there was a lively trade in vehicles from private sellers; from the golden Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 G model to likeable exotics such as the Fiat 750 Vignale Coupé (1963) with special bodywork, probably the only one of its kind in Germany, for around 10,000 euros.
Downsized pre-war sports cars
In addition to well-known models, unusual vehicles appear again and again, even if you first have to find them among the usual suspects. We are not talking about design experiments - such as the modern interpretation of a BMW 507 from the Estella brand based on a BMW Z4; it's all a matter of taste. What surprised us was the passion of the makers of the so-called cyclekarts, mostly built by young people who love pre-war cars from the 1930s and 1940s and recreate them on a scale of 1:2 to 1:3, equipped with a small petrol engine with a displacement of up to 200 cc.
These vehicles are a mixture of model cars and drivable dream classics; similar to the vehicles of the "Little Car Company", but electrically powered. More information about Cyclekarts can be found here and particularly professional models such as a Bugatti Atlantic 57 or the Ferrari 300 P3 and P4 "en Miniatur" have already been sold several times at international auctions.
With auction
The same applied to Stuttgart: no classic car trade fair without an auction. The offerings ranged from the Golf II GT or Fiat 500 to an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super, a Porsche 356B, a Mercedes 500E or the rare Triumph TR2 Superleggera. During the auction, which was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, many cars were initially left standing, including a very beautiful Glas 3000 V8 with Frua bodywork (1968).
Thanks to further renegotiations and in the "free sale", however, some beautiful cars were still able to find a new owner by Sunday evening; including a good replica of a Ford Mustang Shelby GT 350 (1968) for around 80'000 euros or, a real special offer, a Jaguar E-Type 12-cylinder automatic coupé from the third series (1972) for just 25,000 euros, plus 5% commission for the "Classicbid" auction house. A beautiful BMW 3.0 Si sedan from 1972, a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro and several Mercedes vehicles were also sold directly.
Of course, with five exhibition halls and plenty of space, trucks, the Bundeswehr or the fire department should not be missing; an "eye-catcher" here was a very special commercial vehicle and unique piece, the "Superbus Pathé Marconi" from the music publisher of the same name, from 1952. From 1953 to 1958, the vehicle was part of the advertising caravan and support vehicle for the Tour de France, and concerts were repeatedly held on the roof of the vehicle, for example by Edith Piaf. Today, the carefully restored vehicle is owned by the municipality of Mulhouse, to which it was donated by the heir of the last owner.
The large Hans-Herrmann special exhibition in the atrium
Finally, a successful and generously staged special exhibition in honor of the great racing driver Hans Herrmann was offered to racing fans interested in history, which was successfully curated and realized with great effort by his biographer Tobias Aichele.
Thirteen important racing cars from Herrmann's life's work were presented with the support of the Mercedes-Benz Museum and the Porsche Museum. Among other things, visitors were able to experience legendary Porsche models like the Carrera 6 or the 718, but also the famour Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR. For a long time, Herrmann was the last surviving racing driver of the 1950s to have driven front-engined F1 cars.
There was also entertainment with talk formats by Martin Utberg, well-known from Topspeed TV, where not only "Poldi" Prince of Bavaria and racing and rally legends Christian Geistdörfer and Dieter Röscheisen, but also Zwischengas co-founder and F1 photographer Daniel Reinhard wanted to share some anecdotes from their lifelong motorsport experiences with an enthusiastic audience.
Class reunion with like-minded people
For many visitors, Stuttgart is always a kind of "class reunion" with old acquaintances and like-minded people, in addition to the specific interest in individual vehicles. Many a visitor from the region said that they came by every day to meet as many people as possible, as the large audience would change from day to day. And so it was: while on Thursday and Friday potential car buyers, but also "bargain" or rarity hunters came, at the weekend it was a colorful mix of car fans, family day-trippers, gentlemen's clubs and also numerous professionals from the automotive industry who are still working. In total, there are said to have been more than 83,000 visitors over four days.
Next year, RetroClassics will not take place until the end of April, followed just two weeks later by RetroClassics in Essen; the active caravan of exhibitors can therefore move on straight away and the nationwide public will probably opt for one of the two spring dates.
Next up for this year, trade fair fans should make a note of the new Retro Classics in Essen, which will take place right after Easter for the first time this year, from April 8 to 12, 2026.
