The presentation of the Swiss Classic Awards in late fall has already become a cherished tradition. On Saturday, November 25, 2023, everyone gathered once again at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne to see who the public had chosen in advance (via internet voting) to receive the coveted awards.
The evening program was routinely hosted by Dino Graf, who even had a few "horses" in the race himself. He immediately explained that he was glad that the audience had made the choice and not the jury. The Lifetime Award is an exception to this rule, but more on that later.
Neel Jani and the classic cars
The guest of honor was successful motorsport driver Neel Jani, who has actually won every major endurance race except Daytona. While Jani drives modern hybrid prototypes in racing, he enjoys every drive in old racing cars for a change. At Goodwood, for example, he had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Lotus Cortina or the AC Cobra.
In the old car, it's all about the pure driving physics, in the modern car you have to work with the software to be as fast as possible, explained Jani to interviewer Dino Graf.
He even has a classic car in the garage himself, Neel Jani told us, a Datsun 240 Z. And his favorite classic on the road is the Porsche 550 Spyder. Even at 50 km/h instead of 80 km/h, this car is fun to drive and, in his opinion, a good classic is a car in which you don't have to drive as fast as possible to feel the joy of driving, Jani explained.
Seven audience awards
The "Rookie Award" went to "MyOldtimer.fun", a sharing platform where you can rent classic cars, modern classics and other special vehicles provided by private vehicle owners.
The other candidates for this award were "transam.com" and "Spirit Magazine"
"The Motor Chain" was honored with the "Innovation Award". Launched in 2020, the online platform allows the history of classic vehicles to be reliably and securely documented and preserved for subsequent owners.
The AMAG/EMPA project "Oldtimer mit Synfuels" and the VW parts dealer "Cagero" came in second and third respectively.
The "Lägern Classic" won the most votes in the "Door Opener Award". The classic and modern classic car meeting, which has only been taking place since 2018, has quickly established itself as an event that is open to all brands and eras.
The "Int. VW Meeting Château-d'Oex" and "The Drivers.App" did not receive any awards
The "Historic Motorsport Award" went to Western Switzerland, specifically to the "Alpine Challenge", a rally for classic cars and GT vehicles on a secret route with an average speed target.
The "Kilomètre Lancé" and "seilercar.ch" had to make do with one entry.
The "Passion Award Suisse Romande" went to the "Oldtimer Motor Broye" event, which has been attracting everything that moves on wheels since 2010. And "camions" are also part of it, explained the organizers Dino Graf.
The "runners up" were "Bielles et Camouis" and "Léman Rétro".
The "Gottardo Classic" scored the most votes in the "Passion Award Svizzera Italiana".
"Trabicoivecc" and the "Historic Formula Show Lugano" had to take a back seat. The Gottardo Classic is an annual event for classic and vintage cars that offers picturesque routes and culinary delights and attracts over 100 teams from various regions to the area south of the Gotthard.
Finally, the "Passion Award German-speaking Switzerland" went to the "Ace Cafe" in Lucerne. It is the only Ace Cafe in Switzerland that has been run enthusiastically for years and has a broad fan base.
The "Oldtimer Treffen Bleienbach" of the Friday Night Cruisers and "Route 66" had to go home without an award.
All awards were presented by a jury member (Roberto Bernasconi, Hannes Gautschi, Maja Guetg, Dino Graf, Urs P. Ramseier, Isabelle Riederer, Martin Sigrist, Dörte Welti and Norbert Wicht) with a laudatory speech.
Lifetime Award for Roger Gloor
The winner of the "Lifetime Award" was not chosen by the audience, but by the jury. In 2023, the winner was Roger Gloor, who actually needs no further introduction. After completing a commercial apprenticeship, he worked at Automobil Revue for several decades, covering topics such as motor racing, design, vehicle tests and classic cars in particular. He wrote several books, including standard works such as "Cars of the Fifties" and "Cars of the Seventies", as well as works on Monterverdi and Bertone, to name but a few.
Roger Gloor not only received the award on November 25, 2023, but also a tailor-made jacket with matching Swiss Classic Award lining!
After the award ceremony in the Filmtheater, the festivities ended with a cozy stand-up lunch in the Autohalle, a good opportunity to make and maintain contacts in the classic car industry.
