Techno Classica can replace a visit to a museum just as well as the grazing of many garage forecourts and backyards.
Held for the 25th time, it once again overwhelmed visitors with the huge range of around 2,500 cars for sale, over 220 club stands, presentations from more than 20 car brands, as well as hundreds of sales stands with books, spare parts and all kinds of accessories. Was one day enough to take in the wealth of this year's offerings in peace and quiet? Probably not, although peace and quiet should be seen in relative terms anyway, because when 193,400 visitors stream into the halls of Messe Essen over four or five days (including the preview), freedom of movement becomes a luxurious commodity.
The enthusiasm seems unbroken and the long winter probably contributed to the fact that the 25th Techno Classica was able to report another visitor record. And just in time for the last day of the fair, spring arrived with a vengeance.
International showcase
As you wandered through the hall, you were made aware of the international character of the trade fair both visually and acoustically. Dutch, English and even Italian mingled with the most diverse dialects of German, and the exhibitor signs showed suppliers and clubs from 30 countries.
Impressive development
It all began relatively modestly. The first Techno Classica took place on March 4 and 5, 1989, with 250 exhibitors in 6 exhibition halls. Co-organizer Anton Leon Franssen commented: "We couldn't have expected anything, before that there were really only spare parts markets, we were entering uncharted territory; instead of the expected 15,000 visitors, 30,000 came; and we were already showing a new car back then, namely the Pininfarina Jaguar XJ concept car."
From then on, things took off dynamically, the following year everything was doubled and visitor numbers increased every year. After just five years, more than 700 exhibitors were showing vehicles and accessories, and by 1992 over 100,000 visitors had already been counted. Techno Classica Essen established itself as the world's largest classic car trade fair.
SIHA's Automobile Masterpieces
As every year, SIHA presented a special show of special automobiles. In 2013, the theme was "Automobile Masterpieces" and was dedicated to the haute couture of automotive engineering.
Eight exquisite vehicles, including a Bugatti 57C with Gangloff bodywork, a Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport with Saoutchik bodywork, a Delage D6-70 from Figoni, which once won Le Mans, a Delahaye 135 MS streamlined coupé with Pourtout bodywork and one of the famous teardrop-shaped Talbot-Lago T150C by Figoni et Falaschi as well as a Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadster competed for the public's favor and demonstrated the skills of the coachbuilders of the thirties and forties in many facets.
25 vehicle brands for the 25th anniversary
The brand representatives also made a big impression in 2013. Of course, as expected, the major German manufacturers were also cultivating tradition.
Also on site were Peugeot and Citroën from France, Jaguar from England and a large body from Alfa Romeo and Ferrari/Maserati (represented by Eberlein), to name just a few examples.
Opel with a view to the top
The Rüsselsheim-based manufacturer offered a journey through the world of open-top Opel vehicles from all eras. Not only convertibles of the Opel Rekord A or the Opel Monza could be admired, but also the patented car "System Lutzmann" from 1899, of course just as open.
There was also a Hebmüller Cabriolet based on the Opel Admiral, a Gläser Cabriolet on the chassis of the Opel Super 6 and the pretty Moonlight Roadster with a 1.8-liter engine among various other vehicles. The Opel stand was certainly one of the highlights of this year's Techno Classica.
Luxury tradition at Mercedes Benz
The S-Class and its heralds were at the center of the Mercedes-Benz presence to prepare for the world premiere, so to speak, of the next generation, which has been announced for this summer.
The Mercedes Simplex from 1904 can already be seen as a luxurious touring car, the predecessor of the later S-Class, and examples of the Type 770 Nürburg and the Type 300 (Adenauer) were also on display.
The exhibition took visitors through all generations of the S-Class, starting with the W111/112, through the W108/109, W126, 140 series to the 221 series. Not only the beautifully presented vehicles were impressive, but the informative texts also pointed out specialties and innovative thrusts.
40 years of the Golf GTI
Volkswagen presented all seven generations of the VW Golf GTI, including the current-generation GTI, which was presented in Germany for the first time. But wait, the first GTI only came onto the market in 1976, so why was Volkswagen representative Kittler talking about 40 years? "Exactly 40 years ago, the idea of the GTI was developed privately," he said at the press conference. At the time, of course, nobody could have guessed that this idea would lay the foundations for an extremely successful and widely copied vehicle category. The GTIs were lined up nicely on the VW stand, with a white example from 1978 pointing back to the original GTI.
And then there was a very special GTI, namely one that never went into series production. In 1977, VW engineers built a Volkswagen Passat GTI in elegant Bahama blue métallic. Red trim strips, front and rear spoilers, fender extensions, sill trims, a stiffer chassis with wider tires and, of course, the 110 hp injection engine distinguished the fast family transporter from the rest of the B1 series. Who knows, perhaps this Passat would also have started a trend, but it remained a one-off.
50 years of the Porsche 911
Once again, Porsche naturally focused on the milestone birthday of the 911. The model series was illustrated with vehicle 134, which is currently being restored, an early 2.0-liter model and the Turbo Cabriolet study with all-wheel drive from 1981.
Peugeot in rally fever
Peugeot positioned two legendary rally cars on the spacious stand. A Peugeot 205 Turbo 16, with which Michèle Mouton won the German Rally Championship, and a Peugeot 504 Copué from 1978, with which, among other things, the East African Rally ended victoriously, stood side by side next to the 205 GTI, which has received a successor this year.
Three anniversaries at Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo celebrated three anniversaries at once: 90 years of the Quadrifoglio Verde, 50 years of the Autodelta and 20 years of the DTM championship. The origin of the four-leaf clover is legendary: at the 1923 Targa Florio, works driver Ugo Sivocci felt unlucky when he was given starting number 13. He was about to withdraw from the race when his mechanic painted a four-leaf clover on his flanks. Sivocci was reassured and won.
Autodelta was founded 50 years ago by Carlo Chiti and was the factory racing department of Alfa Romeo until the 1980s. Unforgettable vehicles were created, including the Alfa Romeo 33, the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ and the TZ2.
20 years ago, Nicola Larini won half of the DTM championship races in the all-wheel-drive Alfa 155 V6 TI touring car and became champion.
Historic open-air models from Citroën
Particularly rare convertibles were on display at the Citroën stand. Next to a factory convertible of the DS series stood one of four Traction Avant 15-Six convertibles and the Mylord-SM convertible converted by Chapron.
Incomparable pairs from the Autostadt
The Autostadt museum came up with some interesting vehicle comparisons. A vehicle with just one cylinder, a Hanomag 2/10 PS, was compared with a V16 luxury vehicle of the Cadillac V16 Series 452 type.
A lightweight Messerschmitt/FMR cab scooter stood next to a heavyweight Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost or a Beutler-Volkswagen convertible, which was only built three times, stood next to the VW Beetle, which was produced over 20 million times.
V8 tradition, Rapid and the essence of speed
The Volkswagen Group was represented with all its brands in Essen. Audi presented eight-cylinder vehicles from Horch and Audi, Skoda focused on the history of the Rapid at its stand, Seat showed the 600 and 133 models, Lamborghini reminded visitors of its 50-year sports car tradition with a red 350 GT and a yellow Miura SV, and Bugatti and Bentley focused their presence on elegance and speed.
From small to very large
As expected, there were vehicles from the Mini, BMW and Rolls-Royce brands to admire on the BMW Group stand, although the latter were perhaps somewhat overshadowed by all the BMW exhibits. But this can perhaps be explained by the 80th birthday of the BMW kidney grille, which first appeared on the BMW 303 from 1933.
This kidney grille was still visible on a heavily patinated BMW 327 from 1939, which generated a lot of interest and discussion right behind the BMW stand. The pre-war BMW coupé, which was relatively well preserved but still in need of restoration, could be purchased as shown or fully restored.
Even rarer than the BMW 327 was a one-off that a dealer only showed on Thursday, the BMW 3000 V8 Coupé from 1967, which was intended to arouse the interest of buyers at the IAA. The car built by Pietro Frua was based on the technology of the Glas V8 Coupé and was eventually sold to a Spaniard after various trade fair appearances. By Friday, the site was already empty and the car had probably been sold and taken away.
Rarities at Volvo
Those who visited the Volvo stand probably couldn't believe their eyes at first. There was a beautiful Barchetta in blue, bearing the classic features of the Ferrari 500 Mondial. Only on closer inspection did you recognize the differences to the original, for example fittings from the Mercedes spare parts shelf or the frame of the Austin-Healey 100. And if you managed to encourage the owner present on site to open the hood, you could see the B16B Volvo engine with four cylinders.
In the 1950s, Swedish racing driver Erik Ockelbo borrowed his friend's Ferrari 500 Mondial and made a copy of the mold for a polyester body. However, the fact that the paint on the original came off during the process made the Ferrari owner quite unhappy. Only after a complete repainting was he reassured. Ockelbo then used the mold to produce around 50 plastic bodies, which talented DIY enthusiasts then fitted to chassis from Alfa Romeo, Frazer Nash, Healey and Volvo.
Stoffel Mulier found one of these vehicles a few years ago and, despite the badly damaged bodywork, set about restoring it when he was told that a body shell was still lying in a garden. After five years, the parts were turned back into a beautiful racing car, which could now be admired on the Volvo stand.
But that was not all, Volvo also presented a PV445 Valbo Cabriolet, which was built just ten times by the Valbo body factory and was around twice as expensive as the normal humpback Volvo PV444 at the time.
The Volvo TR679 from 1934, which was built 114 times at the time but only two of which are said to have survived, is now even rarer.
2,500 vehicles for sale
Every year, Techno Classica is not only a temporary museum but also a trading center. Dealers and private individuals offered a total of around 2,500 vehicles for sale. As expected, classic cars from German manufacturers were of course strongly represented, but there were also a wide variety of rarities to explore. From the Simca-Gordini and various Bentley vehicles to a Fiat 8V that once took part in the Mille Migia, there was something for everyone, provided the wallet was sufficiently bulging, as the prices were often evidence of healthy self-confidence.
The Bizzarrini GT Europa 1900 from 1969 on sale, for example, showed that roaming the halls could also be instructive. This was a so-called semi-finished product. When Bizzarrini was sent into bankruptcy in 1969, production of the small sports car had just got underway. Around twelve examples had already been completed and several more were in the works. According to the vendor, the example on display was the most complete of these unsold cars. It had an unpainted polyester body including windows, suspensions and wheels. The engine/transmission, interior and chrome trim were missing.
Rare sports cars at Coys
The annual Coys auction at Techno Classica has already established itself. Desirable rarities were once again on the auction house's stand in 2013, although this year the vehicles were somewhat hidden away in their own halls and the number of visitors was limited, at least on the first few days.
Wrongly so, because the two Cisitalia sports cars or the streamlined Bentley alone were worth a close look, not to mention the various other classics, including a beautiful Alfa Romeo 2500 SS Villa d'Este, a Lancia Aurelia or a Siata Gilco 750 Siluro.
Enchanting club stands
230 clubs gave an insight into their activities and showed vehicles that were the focus of their activities.
Entire scenarios were set up, for example a Borgward was cleaned in a bathtub in Isabella Sauberland, Wartburg vehicles were transported to a forest landscape with snarling foxes, a camping scene was created around a Volkswagen Type 3, and so on. And the good thing about the club stands? Not only could vehicles be viewed in detail here, but there was also the opportunity to talk petrol away from any commercial interests.
Anyone who had to leave the halls in Essen in the evening without having learned something or discovered something interesting was probably beyond help given the abundance of what was on offer. However, the impressive number of visitors and the great interest shown by the exhibitors (over 500 entries had to be rejected) shows once again that the trend towards classic cars and youngtimers is unbroken.
Comment on the picture gallery: The sorting of the pictures in the very extensive gallery with around 280 pictures is largely alphabetical according to the brands shown.
