No concours wants rain and all previous events on Bürkli-Platz in Zurich over the last 15 years have remained dry. But at some point, even the longest run of luck has to come to an end, and on August 19, 2015, it rained.
0.2 to 2 mm of rain per hour
However, the amount of rain was limited. You did need an umbrella, but there was no downpour or monsoon-like rainfall. However, due to the weather conditions, some Concours participants stayed away, preferring to leave their classic cars in the dry.
The old engines certainly appreciated the comparatively cool weather. After all, the journey to the heart of Zurich involved significant "stop-and-go" phases for many participants, which would certainly have led to overheating in some of the old veteran engines.
Special ambience
There is hardly any other Concours with such a privileged location. In the background, big money greets you in the form of the majestic National Bank building; on the other side, the view of Lake Zurich and the Alps; to the left and right, the Limmat and Bahnhofstrasse border the small parade ground in the heart of Zurich.
However, at the 2015 event, the many construction sites around the area somewhat dampened the mood in the thousands of photos taken with phones, miniature and professional cameras.
Another annual special feature is that the places for the Saturday flea market on Bürkliplatz are always raffled off on Wednesday. There is a great deal of interest, and there is always around three times the demand for places, but the flea market exhibitors are of course not the usual classic car enthusiasts.
"I'm glad that everyone has found a parking space here in front of the National Bank, where the money is at home," said City Councillor Filippo Leutenegger in his opening speech; after all, it's not that easy in the city of Zurich, and he was certainly right.
Wide range of vehicles
Around 70 cars had registered for the ZCCA, as the Zurich Classic Car Award is known for short, for 2015. Judging took place in seven categories, with an additional audience award, a "Best of Show" and a "Best Unrestored" prize for the most beautiful unrestored car. In addition to the usual categories based on type and era, the ZCCA once again featured Formula cars with free-standing wheels and a designer/bodybuilder class, which was dedicated to Zagato in 2015.
Among the 60 or so Concours vehicles present were one-offs (e.g. Palliser Formula 5000), small series products (e.g. the Morett 850 Sportiva SS), but also vehicles that had been produced in larger quantities. Naturally, the sports cars were in the majority, but there were also a few saloons (e.g. Fiat 1500 6C, Alvis 4.3 Litre Saloon and even a station wagon (Pontiac Grand Safari) among the Concours vehicles.
The special stories
The cars are one thing, the stories behind them are another. Almost every owner had interesting things to tell about their car. For example, the owner of the seventh series Lancia Lambda from 1926, who bought his car over 50 years ago as a used car, traveled to the Côte d'Azur with it and has remained loyal to it to this day. The car will certainly outlive him, said the proud owner, who is now at an advanced age and has never had to completely restore the car and has only given it the necessary care, which so convinced the jury that he was awarded the "Best unrestored" prize.
Even more impressive was the story told by the owner of the most beautiful car chosen by the public on Bürkliplatz. He had discovered the 1949 Delahaye 135 M with Saoutchik bodywork in a garage when he was not even eighteen years old. A short time later, the obviously unloved car was sold at a Gant (auction), where the highest bid was CHF 250. This was too little for the owner at the time and he took the car back with him. A little later, the aforementioned youngster contacted him again and asked about the car. "Now the car has cost me another CHF 20 a month in garage rent, you can have it for CHF 270," the then owner said. And thanks to the financial support of his father, a young man was able to buy a car that his colleagues only laughed at him for and which then had to wait decades to be restored. Today, the Delahaye is a sought-after collector's car and has even been shown at Pebble Beach. The 270 francs have paid for themselves several times over ...
Zagato's diversity
Zagato actually stood for particularly lightweight and fast sports cars, especially in the fifties and sixties, but in the long history of the coachbuilder there were also many others, such as the six-cylinder Alfa Romeos of the thirties or the Lancia Flaminia Super Sport Coupés of the sixties, two of which were on display. Together with the small-engined Fiat-Abarth derivatives and the Monster ES30 SZ from the early nineties, they formed a contrasting collection of rare sports cars, which was impressively complemented by the Zagato Fulvia and the beautiful Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Zagato from racing legend Karl Foitek.
The category winner was the cute 1957 Fiat-Abarth 750 Spider convertible.
Celebrated winners
The work of the jury, which was mainly made up of car journalists and chaired by Beat Walti, was not easy, as almost all the vehicles had their merits. And when do you ever see an OSI-Ford 20M TS or a Buick Riviera or even a Pontiac Grand Safari?
Finally, however, the Rolls-Royce Phantom II from 1929, the Alvis TA 14 with Worblaufen bodywork from 1946, the Aston Martin DB 2 Vantage from 1953, the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray from 1966, the Geneva Motor Show prototype Jaguar E-Type from 1961, the Lotus 24 from 1963, which Jo Siffert once drove, and the aforementioned Fiat-Abarth 750 Zagato Spider from 1957 in the race for the category winner (the other places are mentioned at the end of the article).
Japanese Best of Show
There was only one car from Japan in the Eleganz field and the Toyota 2000 GT from 1969 promptly won the main "Best of Show" prize. The vehicle in the Emil Frey Classics collection does indeed have some special features. It is a (rare) Swiss first delivery and the car has never been completely restored, even the engine is still in its original condition and the mileage is low.
Although the car had to be repainted once, it is otherwise just as it left the factory almost 50 years ago.
Camaraderie and petrolheads
For many participants and visitors to the ZCCA, however, it was not the prizes that were most important, but the chance to meet up with old friends, cultivate camaraderie and, of course, talk petrol around the classic cars on display. And the pleasant temperatures and relaxed atmosphere were particularly suitable for this.
This should be the case again in a year's time when the next Zurich Classic Car Award takes place on August 17, 2016, again on a Wednesday of course.
List of registered vehicles and award winners
The following list shows the registered cars, as far as known. Prize winners are noted with their respective awards. All information is subject to change.
The table can be sorted as desired by clicking on the column headings.
| No. | Make | Type | Year | Comment/designation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rolls-Royce | Phantom II | 1929 | 1st place Cat A |
| 2 | Lancia | Lambda 7th series | 1926 | Best unrestored car |
| 3 | Bentley | 4 1/4 Litre Mulliner | 1938 | |
| 4 | Alvis | 4.3 Litre Saloon | 1937 | |
| 5 | Mercedes-Benz | 320 Cabriolet B Mannheim | 1937 | 3rd place Cat A |
| 6 | Cadillac | 314 | 1926 | not on the course |
| 7 | Fiat | 1500 C 6C | 1936 | 2nd place Cat A |
| 8 | Bentley | 3 1/2 Litre Sport Tourer | 1935 | not on the course |
| 9 | Buick | Roadmaster | 1939 | not on the course |
| 40 | Jaguar | XK 140 DHC | 1955 | 2nd place Cat B |
| 41 | Jaguar | Mk V | 1950 | |
| 42 | Alvis | TA 14 Worblaufen | 1946 | 1st place Cat B |
| 43 | Mercedes-Benz | W143 (220) | 1936 | not on the course |
| 44 | Austin-Healey | 100 BN2 | 1955 | |
| 45 | Triumph | TR 3 A | 1958 | 3rd place Cat B |
| 46 | Delahaye | 135 M Saoutchik | 1949 | Public Prize |
| 47 | Lancia | Aurelia B24 Convertible | 1956 | not on the course |
| 60 | Lancia | Aurelia B20 GT 6th series | 1958 | 2nd place Cat C |
| 61 | Alfa Romeo | 6C 2500 GT | 1953 | 3rd place Cat C |
| 62 | Aston Martin | DB 2 Vantage | 1953 | 1st place Cat C |
| 63 | Mercedes-Benz | 180 | 1955 | not on the course |
| 80 | Fiat | 850 Sport Spider | 1973 | |
| 81 | Porsche | 356 T6 Roadster | 1962 | 3rd place Cat D |
| 82 | Mercedes-Benz | 230 SL | 1965 | |
| 83 | Chevrolet | Corvette Sting Ray | 1966 | 1st place Cat D |
| 84 | Chevrolet | Corvette Sting Ray | 1966 | 2nd place Cat D |
| 85 | Ford | Thunderbird | 1964 | |
| 86 | Ford | Thunderbird | 1960 | |
| 89 | Chevrolet | Corvette Sting Ray | 1965 | late registered |
| 99 | Ferrari | 330 GTC | 1967 | 3rd place Cat E |
| 100 | Moretti | 850 Sportiva SS | 1968 | |
| 101 | Fiat-Abarth | 2300S Coupé | 1962 | not on the course |
| 102 | Lamborghini | Countach LP 400S | 1979 | |
| 103 | Lamborghini | Miura P400 | 1968 | 2nd place Cat E |
| 104 | Lamborghini | 400 GT | 1968 | |
| 106 | Maserati | Ghibli 4900 SS | 1971 | |
| 107 | Dino | 246 GT | 1972 | |
| 108 | Ferrar | 365 GT 2+2 | 1969 | |
| 109 | Ferrari | 512 BBi | 1984 | |
| 110 | Lancia | 3C 2.8 Flaminia | 1962 | not on the course |
| 110 | Maserati | 3500 GT | 1963 | |
| 111 | Alfa Romeo | Giulia Sprint GTA 1300 Stradale | 1968 | |
| 112 | OSI Ford | 20M TS | 1973 | |
| 113 | Toyota | 2000 GT | 1969 | Best of Show |
| 114 | Jaguar | E-Type | 1961 | 1st place Cat E |
| 115 | Jaguar | Mk X | 1963 | |
| 116 | Porsche | 356 SC 1600 | 1964 | |
| 117 | Porsche | 911 T | 1969 | |
| 118 | Buick | Riiviera | 1965 | |
| 119 | Lincoln | Continental Mk III | 1971 | |
| 120 | Dodge | Coronet 440 R/T | 1968 | |
| 120 | MG | TA Special | 1936 | |
| 121 | Pontiac | Grand Safari | 1971 | |
| 122 | Lotus | 20 | 1961 | 2nd place Cat F |
| 123 | Lotus | 24 | 1962 | 1st place Cat F |
| 124 | Palliser | F5000 | 1970 | 3rd place Cat F |
| 125 | March | 703 Formula 3/2 | 1970 | |
| 140 | Alfa Romeo | Giulietta Sprint Zagato | 1960 | 2nd place Cat G |
| 141 | Fiat-Abarth | Zagato 750 | 1957 | |
| 142 | Lancia | 3C 2.8 Flaminia Super Sport Zagato | 1966 | |
| 143 | Fiat-Abarth | Zagato 500 Coupé | 1958 | |
| 144 | Fiat-Abarth | Zagato 750 Spider | 1957 | 1st place Cat G |
| 145 | Alfa Romeo | ES30 SZ Sprint Zagato | 1991 | |
| 146 | Lancia | Fulvia Sport 1600 Zagato | 1972 | |
| 147 | Alfa Romeo | Junior Zagato 1600 | 1973 | |
| 149 | Lancia | 3C 2.8 Flaminia Super Sport Zagato | 1965 | 3rd place Cat G |
| 150 | Lamborghini | Espada | 1970 | late entry |
