For the first time, the ZCCA was organized by Bruno Crameri and Remo Brunschweiler from Schwungrad AG, two busy classic car entrepreneurs. Ulli Safferling, who had already held this position for a while under Christof Lehmann, acted as jury president.
The first impression early in the morning when the 70 or so participating vehicles arrived was excellent. The paved area by the lake, the infrastructure with restaurants, sanitary facilities and even the opportunity for a quick dip in the lake can hardly be compared with Bürkliplatz. The disadvantage in Zug, however, is the low frequency of passers-by and the uninitiated. However, we suspect that both the relative distance from the actual office district and the vacation period contributed to the fact that people initially kept to themselves in Zug on August 13.
Exciting location
With various platforms and small landings, the location, which rises slightly from the lakeside promenade towards the old town, seems to have been created for a purpose such as this. With the former Swissair double-decker shuttle bus - used at the time due to the lack of a railroad line from the main station to Kloten - now owned by Motorworld AG, the whole thing had a clearly recognizable center, not only organizationally but also visually. Less angled, but also less shaded than Bürkliplatz, the numerous photographers could have had their true joy.
Because there was no shortage of high quality. As jury president Safferling had mentioned at the morning briefing, this year there was not only a clear movement in the fields of participants towards high-priced cars, but this was also what was wanted. And as we would find out later, the hosting was also able to keep pace with the demand. Instead of a queue in front of the sausage stand in Zurich and not-so-fresh urinal facilities, there was a reserved terrace in the pizzeria directly adjacent to the square with three menus to choose from, accompanied by plenty of salad and generally the kind of flair you would want for an event of this kind, which is certainly not at the top end of the scale, but is nevertheless well-kept.
Why we mention this here, when we are so eagerly awaiting the results of the beauty contest, is because Zug has presented itself so positively - despite the title of "alternative destination" - that the organizers should probably give serious thought to whether this special edition should be held in Zug.whether this special edition of the ZCCA has not whetted the appetite for more activities in the small central Swiss town with the large international corporations and the highest density of high-quality cars (and millionaires)?
Safe values for pre-war cars
André Wallimann remembers with a smile that he didn't quite realize the seriousness of the Pebble Beach Concours drive at the time. He simply skipped the drive. The result was that he was refused permission to drive his superbly restored 1935 S.S. One - Four Light Saloon over the ramp in California.
It was a completely different story in Zug: Wallimann not only won the pre-war car class, but was also awarded the title of "Best Documented Car" by specialist The Motorchain.
The latter was awarded to S.S. and his owner - who restored the car himself - although Wallimann explained that the documents he had brought with him were only a fraction of what was available for the car.
Second place went to the Mercedes 290 Cabriolet with Sindelfingen (works) bodywork.
The newly appointed new curator of road traffic at the Swiss Museum of Transport, Guido Voigt, made a great debut. Third place in the pre-war car category for the museum on Lake Lucerne is proof that the scene appreciates it when Switzerland's largest institutional car collector not only looks after its collection, but also uses it appropriately. Proudly sporting its own "LU 1" license plate - a large cake plate as it was issued from 1932 onwards and specially recreated on the original tools in 2005 - the Cadillac Series 314 Golfer Coupé presented itself as anything but a museum piece, but full of life.
Two Americans and a European with American influence
The media presence of the Hansgen Special in recent months may well have ensured that the judges were familiar with the car from Christian Jenny's collection. However, it was not only the history of the special Jaguar XK 120 built by Walt Hansgen in 1952, but also its current condition that convinced the jury to grant Jenny and his car the class victory in the 1950s cars category.
Second place went to a car that was at least American-inspired and inspired, a Mercedes 300 SL. As is well known, it is based on the idea of the Austro-American and importer on the American East Coast, Maxie Hoffman, to civilize the Mercedes racing car for the American market.
In third place was the 1953 Buick Roadmaster Skylark Convertible, a car that is one of the American style icons from the first half of the 1950s.
Compulsory for the 1960s?
Whether it always has to be the Ferrari is open to question. However, there was no doubt about the quality of the 1969 Ferrari 365 GTC and the car from Maranello initially took the class victory, later also winning overall, which meant that the colorful jury of media people and industry experts did not venture out on any limb and opted for safe values.
After all, the Corvette Mako Shark II followed in second place, with the best of show at Wald Rollt 2025, the very first De Tomaso Vallelunga built, coming in third. Perhaps the jury was not only guided by historical significance, but also by technical aspects and - who would begrudge them it - probably also factored the impact on the public into their unsurprising choice.
Expression of joy
Ralph Weibel could hardly have expressed his joy more clearly when the handsome trophy for the class victory of the cars between 1970 and 1979 were pressed into his hands on the red carpet. The collector had obviously made the right choice again this year with his exceptionally well-presented Maserati Ghibli SS - last year, the man from Basel drove to Zurich with his father in a Bugatti T50.
The Morris Spiaggetta, the beach car that had already caused a stir two years ago in Coppet, took second place. Unfortunately, this design by Giovanni Michelotti for British Leyland remained a one-off.
The background lies in the Australian distribution's desire for a car of this kind, but nothing came of it. A hot BMW 2002 ended up in third place on the podium.
A good acquaintance
The day in Zug for the Mad Motors team with Martin Rudolf and Jonas Stahel was certainly not as octopus gray as the car, quite the opposite. The Citroën CX 2400 GTI from 1981, to which we have dedicated a detailed driving report , absolutely rightly secured the class of the cars of the 1980s.
This CX is not only an epoch-making vehicle, Stahl's CX also presents itself in almost immaculate original condition, including the protective film still present on the door sill trims.
One of Peter Monteverdi's last strokes of genius was the Monteverdi Tiara. Perhaps it was also an inane undertaking to modify the Mercedes W126 S-Class with its own rear and front and bring the whole thing onto the market as the Monteverdi.
Fortunately, the jury did not pursue such questions when they chose the Tiara as the runner-up in the class. Finally, the third-placed car is a hot-rodded Alfa Sud Sprint; as a Veloce Trofeo, the car rightly bears its name: it drove home from Zug fast and certainly with a trophy.
Missed opportunity
Whether it makes sense to invite only the ever-suspicious Ferrari, Porsche and the like under Modern Classics is left open here. A particular highlight in this class was definitely the Porsche 964 Speedster, a car that was only built around 930 times - instead of the 3000 units Porsche had hoped for.
It finished in third place. The winner was a Ferrari 512 TR ahead of a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL R107. This was definitely a missed opportunity to take a look into the future and, if not to anticipate the coming trends, then at least to provide some suggestions as to what could be exciting. The aspect of promoting young talent was also completely omitted, which is a shame.
Also worth a special mention
The Ferrari 275 GTB II "Long Nose" was voted the public's favorite, which speaks for the taste of those present. The ZCCA 2025 honored a Ford F-100 pick-up as a special guest, while the "Swiss car" at the Concours was the Monteverdi Tiara. And the spectacular red Mazda Cosmo Sport, the first production car with a twin-disc Wankel engine, can in future adorn itself with the title: "Best Preserved ZCCA 2025".
Zug was a complete success, everyone involved agrees. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to move the ZCCA here in future. After all, it should also be possible to hold an event like this on the Limmat in the future. With the OSMT, Zug already has a highly popular event for classic vehicles that is held on a regular basis.
But it's hard to resist the allure of the lakeside promenade. The only question is whether there is even a free day in the packed calendar that could be filled with another Concours d'Elegance.
The results:
Pre-war
1st SS Jaguar Fourlight Saloon
2nd Mercedes-Benz 290 Convertible
3. Cadillac Series 314 Golfer Coupé with Fisher Body
1950s
1st Jaguar Hansgen Special
2nd Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
3. Buick Roadmaster Skylark
1960s
1. Ferrari 365 GTC
2nd Corvette Mako Shark II
3rd De Tomaso Vallelunga
1970s
1st Maserati Ghibli SS
2. Morris Spiaggetta
3RD BMW 2002
1980s
1st Citroen CX 2400 GTi
2nd Monteverdi Tiara
3rd Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint Veloce Trofeo
Modern Classics
1. Ferrari 512 TR
2. Mercedes-Benz 300 SL
3. Porsche 911 (964) Speedster
Special Guest
Ford F-100 Pickup
Swiss car
Monteverdi Tiara
Audience Award
Ferrari 275 GTB II 'long nose'
Best documented Car
SS Jaguar Fourlight Saloon
Best Preserved
Mazda Cosmo Sport
Best of Show
Ferrari 365 GTC
