Only a few hypercars will hold their own as cherished classics (Question of the week)

Bruno von Rotz
08/31/2020

Frage der Woche 163 - Hypercars und ihre Zukunft

They are fast, not very practical, extremely rare and often unreasonably expensive - hypercars such as the Bugatti Veyron, McLaren P1 or Pagani Hyara. At auctions, they change hands for sums that are often even higher than their original new prices, as they are still almost as good as new. But will this continue, we wanted to know from our readers. "Will hypercars continue to enjoy high appreciation in the future?" was the question of the week.

The Zwischengas readers are somewhat in agreement that not all of these hypercars will be a good investment in the medium to long term. 66.1% said that only a few of these cars will hold their value if everything is right. Others, however, will lose value.

20.4% are less skeptical, believing in principle that these hypercars are so exclusive that they will remain valuable in the future.

9.1%, on the other hand, think that current developments in the world (driving bans, climate, etc.) will ensure that these cars will become cheaper and cheaper.

And 4.3% of the almost 190 participants were unable to answer any of the questions.

Here is the evaluation in graphic form:

Frage der Woche 163 - Hypercars und ihre Zukunft - Ergebnis

Of course, we have already posed the next "Question of the Week " . This time we would like to know how the stock of the eighties will develop in the future in the eyes of Zwischengas readers.

And of course you can read all the previous evaluations of the more than 160 questions of the week in the corresponding topic channel.

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Performance of classic cars along the individual condition grades over almost 10 years

Bruno von Rotz
08/30/2020

Bewertung Porsche 912 entlang der einzelnen Zustandsnoten

We have been asked several times whether it would be possible to show the performance over time along the individual status grades. Until now, this was only possible along an average value.

From now on, however, (Premium PRO) users can also see the Classic Data value developments along the status grades 1 to 5 in graphical form. So you can find out retrospectively that a Porsche 912 Coupé was worth EUR 46,500 in condition 2 four years ago, but is now being traded at a slightly higher price. A little tip: move the mouse pointer over the curve to see the detailed values.

The individual value developments for the individual condition grades are shown graphically one below the other, but only for Premium PRO users.

Give it a try! Click here for the current market valuation of the Porsche 912 ( as an example).

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Vintage cars and masks

Bruno von Rotz
08/30/2020

De Tomaso Deauville

Who knows, maybe in five or ten years' time we will hardly be able to remember the days when wearing masks was a political issue. Perhaps by then we will have become completely accustomed to masks and put them on as a matter of course when the situation demands it. Or perhaps the pandemic as we know it today will have long since disappeared from everyday life in a few years' time and masks will therefore be unnecessary.

Oldtimer und Masken

Either way, these images still look unusual today. But better old-timers with masks than no old-timers at all (and having to stay at home).

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How about an Aldi GTI or a Lidl 1200 GL?

Bruno von Rotz
08/29/2020

Allstate von 1952

Cars from the wholesaler? Buying a new car at the department store. It's always widely advertised, but it hardly ever really works.

And yet it's actually old hat. Henry J. Kaiser had the idea back in the early 1950s, when he wanted to have his American two-door compact sedan Kaiser Henry J sold as the "Allstate" by the Sears chain of stores. However, the sales figures were far below expectations, which was also due to the fact that the Kaiser dealers were not at all keen to repair the cheaper competitor products ...

Interieur des Allstate von 1952

We have just documented the entire history of the Kaiser Henry J in a comprehensive vehicle report . Even the manual is included ...

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Finally found your retirement home!

Bruno von Rotz
08/28/2020

Daniel an der Arbeit ...

Dear readers, I would like to thank you all very much for your congratulations on my birthday yesterday and as you can see from the picture, I finally found my retirement home on my birthday. A loft apartment in this environment would certainly be the absolute coolest thing you could wish for. This is the world I love and it will remain so until my last breath.

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60 years bright and happy ...

Bruno von Rotz
08/27/2020

60 Jahre (Mercedes)

...Dani, keep up the good work!

Agreed, this saying is not really original, and it is also reminiscent of the Swiss national comedian Emil. But it hits the nail on the head, because our Daniel Reinhard is 60 years old today. Congratulations from all of us!

Daniel Reinhard im Jahr 2020

Dani and I used to go to school together, swot up on Latin vocabulary and, above all, draw lots of cars in class. We counted the car brands passing by the classroom and we attended the first classic and vintage car meetings together, such as the Ferrari and Bugatti Owners Club car slalom, when a Ferrari Daytona was still a used car and a 330 GTC wasn't even a classic car yet.

Daniel was already driving through corners when he didn't even have his driver's license yet. And the fact that you can engage reverse gear (automatic) at 120 km/h in a BMW 2000 naturally had to be tested on the highway. In fact, the young Reinhard showed a lot of talent behind the wheel and perhaps he could have become a really successful racing driver, but in the end he pursued a career as a photographer, which he was born into, and here too he managed an impressive career. The camera was always with him, even on joint motorcycle trips in the Far East.

Daniel Reinhard im Jahr 1988

In 2009, Dani and I decided to turn our passion for historic cars into something journalistic and the idea for zwischengas.com was soon born. Just one year later, in November 2010, we went online and since then we have devoted a lot of our life energy to developing our online platform into the most comprehensive website that thousands of people enjoy using. The pictures show that we have grown a little older and lost a few hairs in the process.

Daniel Reinhard bei der Arbeit

After all, 60 is no longer an age; the 60s are the new 40s, as you can read in the relevant lifestyle magazines. And as long as we can still get into (and out of) our lightweight sports cars, we will continue our work on zwischengas.com. I am definitely glad to have Daniel Reinhard as a partner. After all, we still have a lot planned ...

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Racing car for the commute to work

Bruno von Rotz
08/26/2020

Lotus 11 von 1957

It is no coincidence that we are showing a picture of a bicycle here. A modern racing bike is just as suitable for taking part in the Tour de France as it is for commuting to work. Of course, there are a few compromises in terms of comfort, but maximum efficiency in the conversion of power into distance is guaranteed.

Orbea Aero Carbon (© Orbea)

It used to be the same with the automobile. Anyone who bought a Lotus 11 (pictured above) in the 1950s owned a competitive racing car that was also suitable for the road and was often used for commuting. And the owner was able to use the capabilities of the little racer even on normal country roads.

We are a long way from that today. Modern super sports cars and hyper sports cars offer driving performance that no longer has any place in everyday life. Nevertheless, they are often not suitable for use on the racetrack. In fact, they have become so expensive and complex that most examples hardly ever get over 10,000 km on the clock.

This was different with the Lotus 11, and in the pre-war period anyway. Hardly anyone transported their car on a trailer back then and you had to use the same car during the week as on the (racing) weekend.

With modern racing bikes, it is still possible to use the advantages of the sports bike in everyday life, but today's high-performance automotive technology can only be experienced in a protected environment ...

Some time ago, we also published a detailed article on this topic, which, among other things, looked back to the beginnings of the super sports car ...

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2000 km through Germany

Daniel Reinhard
08/25/2020

In 1933, a long-distance marathon similar to the famous Mille Miglia took place north of Switzerland for the first time as the "2000 km through Germany". On hermetically sealed roads, 454 participants took part in Germany's most important long-distance race. In wind and weather and at high speed, the riders raced across Germany in different classes without stopping.

The route led from Baden-Baden non-stop via Munich, Saxony, Berlin, the Ruhr area, Cologne and the Palatinate back to Baden-Baden. The participants drove around 1200 kilometers over winding and steep roads in various low mountain ranges. Depending on the vehicle class, the cars averaged between 56 and 88 km/h over the entire route.

In 1933, twelve Opel cars took part in the race. The first to cross the finish line after 26 hours and 23 minutes and an average speed of 78.8 km/h was the Opel sports two-seater Erich Sander, equipped with a 1.8-liter six-cylinder engine.

Auto Union also developed ten special cars together with the coachbuilder Hornig in Merane. Four Horch, three Wanderer and three Audi vehicles with streamlined bodies were built in just two and a half months. The Horch with the special body shown here was based on the 830 model and had to reach an average speed of 82 km/h in the race in its displacement class up to 4 liters.

At the second and final event in 1934, 650 cars and 1088 motorcycles took part.

Although planning for a third edition in 1935 was already in full swing, it was stopped by the National Socialist rulers in Berlin. The reasons for this were, on the one hand, the Italian success of the Fiat Balilla and the poor performance of the German brands in the previous year, which of course could not be marketed profitably. On the other hand, off-road sports with automobiles became increasingly important.

In 1989, the "2000 km through Germany" was revived as a normal classic car rally over several days.

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From then until today

Daniel Reinhard
08/24/2020

Times change, but the landscape usually remains the same. Trees grow and houses crumble, but the topography rarely changes.

On my motorsport journey through time, between the two DTM Lausitz races at the Eurospeedway, I spent three days criss-crossing the former GDR. With the help of a friend and professional colleague who had spent his youth behind the Wall, I found a lot of exciting and forgotten motorsport relics from a time when not everything was better.

In the sensational motorcycle museum at the Ausgustusburg, I then saw this great drawing of the "Heitere Blick", a passage of the Sachsenring from days gone by, which of course immediately inspired me to look for this spot and show what it looks like today. You can see the result in the picture (above).

And of course that wasn't the only story I've collected in the last few days. More will follow. You'll be surprised ....

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One way or another, life plays out

Daniel Reinhard
08/23/2020

While one half of the Trabant is standing on a pedestal in the Horch Museum in Zwickau, the other is stuck accident-free to the fence.

How did the famous poem about the picket fence by Christian Morgenstern begin? "Once upon a time there was a picket fence, with a gap to look through..."

As everywhere in life, you can see that one half of the Trabi seems to fare better than the other. But now let's stop philosophizing and enjoy the two pictures.

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