The Concours under the roof
09/16/2019
The fact that important personalities from politics and business as well as famous stars from the show and music industry have been enjoying themselves at the glamorous Tegernsee for decades is nothing new and is well known.
Now, however, a high-ranking premiere was announced: the most beautiful of the beautiful met for the first time at Lake Tegernsee, more precisely at Gut Kaltenbrunn in Gmund, for the big "Concours d'Elegance 2019" to award the "German Grand Prix for Automobile Elegance".
For three days, classic car enthusiasts were treated to exceptional automotive treasures. The beauty contest for elegant automobiles, which has existed since 2004 and was previously held at the Residenzschloß in Ludwigsburg, was included in the exclusive series of A-Class events by the FIVA years ago. This makes it one of the few FIVA A-Concours events recognized worldwide.
The number of participating vehicles was limited to 60 cars of all makes and types on September 6-8, 2019 at Gut Kaltenbrunn. In accordance with the FIVA guidelines, the most beautiful vehicles from five categories were judged and awarded prizes by jurors, all of whom are proven experts in the fields of culture, technology, design and automotive history and are among the best in their field and have many years of experience in concours judging.
The twelve-member jury of experts assessed the cars according to various criteria such as originality, technical condition and special design features. Furthermore, the focus was on the original and preserved condition of the vehicle as well as the premise that the spare parts must all correspond to the year of manufacture and model. The equipment and accessories were also subject to precise guidelines.
In addition to the category prizes, there were also special prizes and, of course, the "Best of Show".
Although the Tegernsee valley did not present itself in its golden autumn garb, but rather brought out the moody, rainy diva, the organizers of Retro Classics were very satisfied with the course of the event. Thanks to the flexibility of the Kaltenbrunn estate staff, the valuable and delicate treasures were parked in the dry barn without further ado and, during the awards ceremony, the prize-winning cars were driven up the central aisle of the cattle barn instead of on an outdoor ramp and presented again in the dry by presenter Michael Hagemann.
Organizer Andreas Herrmann commented: "This was also a novelty for us and was actually planned quite differently. Fortunately, we had the opportunity to include the huge barn in the Concours. Due to the rainy weather, we decided without further ado to move the award ceremony to the historic cattle barn of the Hofgut. It was a unique ambience and there was a great atmosphere. We are seriously considering maybe even doing this in the future."
The participants were in high spirits during the three-day competition. The social program included a hearty Bavarian evening in the banquet hall, an elegant gala evening in the so-called cattle barn at Gut Kaltenbrunn and many nice opportunities to talk about cars and more.
Undeterred by the rain, the judges, chaired by Prof. Dr.h.c. Peter Pfeiffer and chaired by Gerhard Hametner, Formula 1 legend Jochen Maas and Messrs. Otto Wachs, Bernhard Jaeggy, Fred Jakobs, Gerhard H. Honer, Wilfried Steer, Matthias Gerst, Prof. h.c. Klaus Frenzel, Paul Partschund and Wilhelm Marlock, inspected the cars from all sides, paying attention not only to the mobile equipment - from the interior to the trunk - but also to the condition of the engine, as the cars also had to prove their roadworthiness.
The spectators were particularly impressed by the external condition of the classic cars. Among others, the BMW 328 Wendler, built in 1937 - with 6 cylinders and 80 hp (received the first prize in class D and the special prize for the sportiest pre-war car) or the Auburn 898 Sedan, built in 1931 - with 8 cylinders and 97 hp (received the third prize in class C "Veterans" and the special prize for the "typical American vehicle of those years") or the Bentley 8 Litre Drop Head Coupe from 1932, "a dream in eggplant" with 6 cylinders and 200 hp, which won first prize in Class C "Veterans" and the special prize for the most beautiful car at the "Concours d'Elengance Tegernsee 2019".
Andreas Herrmann drew a positive conclusion after the event: "It was a complete success and a successful first event in Tegernsee with a lot of potential. One of the highlights was the consistently great atmosphere among the participants, the judges and the visitors over the three days, despite the capricious weather. This was downright infectious. On the other hand, we were delighted by the presence of interesting and high-caliber guests at the two evening events."
Next year, the Concours will once again take place on the last vacation weekend from September 11 to 13, 2020. Andreas Herrmann has little intention of changing the tried and tested concept: "From our point of view, the concept works very well. Of course, there are various details that can be improved, especially after experience at a new location. In concrete terms, we will definitely expand the offer for the ladies and make it more attractive. We already see this as one of the success factors that has contributed greatly to the success of the event. We are thinking of even more excursions, wellness facilities, etc. ..."
We would like to thank Alpenrand Magazin for this article and the accompanying photos .
