Our review of the vintage/youngtimer year 2016
12/31/2016
What will 2016 stand for in retrospect? What will we still remember in a few years' time? We have compiled some of the events that surprised, delighted or gave us food for thought in 2016 and summarize them here:
2016 was also a year of anniversaries, notabene BMW celebrated 100 years, Daimler-Benz 90 years, but of course there were also countless vehicle type birthdays to celebrate.
After 2015, when the Baillon collection of more or less restorable vehicles was auctioned off at record prices in Paris, 2016 also saw two auctions at which scrap metal was gilded. RM/Sotheby's put 2,000 wheels under the hammer on November 25-27, 2016 , achieving some incredibly impressive prices, while Osenat had already set the standard on November 10, 2016, achieving very high prices for vehicles that were sometimes in very poor condition.
However, cars in top condition were also auctioned off and here, too, many new auction records were set, such as for the most expensive American car (Shelby Cobra), the most expensive Jaguar (D-Type) or the most valuable pre-war car of all time (Alf aRomeo 8C 2900B Lungo Spider).
The phenomenon of "continuations" is not entirely new, but in 2016, other notable new classic cars were announced, including the Jaguar XKSS, the Lister Costinand the Aston Martin DB4 GT.
2016 ushered in a true classic car show inflation. After 2015, when Berlin made its debut, it was Nuremberg 's turn in 2016 (Retro Classics Bavaria) , and new trade fairs are expected in Cologne and Hamburg in 2017.
As of July 1, 2016, Paris wanted to ban all cars built before 1997 from entering the city. At the last minute, an exception was made for classic cars , but no satisfactory solution could be found for modern classics.
We had to say goodbye to two much-loved museums in their previous form: the Monteverdi Museum in Binningen and the Busch Museum in Wolfegg. Nevertheless, solutions were found for both collections that ensure their continued existence, albeit in a different setting, something that was not possible in the case of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in the USA.
And of course there were once again almost countless classic car events in 2016, planned and organized by enthusiasts and clubs as well as professional organizers. On some weekends, they competed against each other almost by the dozen, making it sometimes difficult for vintage and classic car drivers to choose. In all probability, there have never been as many events for old cars as in 2016, and 2017 will hardly be any sparser.
What have we forgotten that was certainly worth remembering? And how do you illustrate such a list of events and special features? We decided on a picture from the Rétromobile in Paris because it summarizes some of the above points well.
Oh yes, we almost forgot. 2016 was also an eventful and busy year for zwischengas.com: we edited and published almost 470 reports, over 370 blogs and 340 news items during 2016, plus almost 31,000 images, both old and new. We reached over 1.5 million readers who accessed over 13 million pages. And we are very proud of our second 260-page annual magazine, which was sent out in December 2016. We are already working on the next one ...
