Classic car enthusiasts are ready to visit the trade fair (Question of the week)

Bruno von Rotz
01/31/2022

Frage der Woche 200: Besuch der Oldtimermessen im März 2022?

In January 2022, the number of infections in Central Europe is at an all-time high and the virus is constantly mutating and changing. Experts are debating whether the pandemic is likely to end soon.
However, the organizers of classic car fairs must decide whether they will hold their event in March or April 2022. General conditions and potential restrictions as well as coronavirus measures do not make this decision any easier.

But will visitors come if the fairs actually take place in March 2022? We wanted to find out from Zwischengas readers and therefore posed the " question of the week" : Are you prepared to visit classic car fairs again in March 2022?

And indeed, the majority of those who can well imagine attending a trade fair in March. Over two thirds of the almost 300 respondents plan to visit one of the trade fairs in March (or April) 2022.

29.3% will do so without reservation, as they are convinced that things will have largely returned to normal by March 2022.

19.9% assume that everything will have calmed down in just a few weeks, making it possible to visit trade fairs.

24.9% want to wait and see whether the current restrictions can be lifted. If so, then a visit to the trade fair is possible.

Only 15.2 percent would rather wait until the situation has eased, while 8.8 percent would definitely not visit a trade fair.

One percent stated that they would not visit any trade fairs at all, while a further one percent were unable to answer any of the questions.

So there is optimism that the trade fair spring can take place as usual.

Here is the evaluation in graphic form:

Frage der Woche 200: Besuch der Oldtimermessen im März 2022? Ergebnis

The next "question of the week" is already in the air. The aim is to find out whether classic car owners drive their cars to the limit.

And of course you can read all the results of the "Questions of the Week" so far in the dedicated topic channel.

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When people were still modest

Bruno von Rotz
01/30/2022

Fiat - Ausschnitt aus Werbung von 1972

If you look at the " Marktspiegel" from "auto motor und sport" , which was published 50 years ago, you will notice several things:

Firstly, back then there were great cars for - from today's perspective - little money. An Alfa Romeo 1300 Spider cost DM 13,290 new, which would be the equivalent of around EUR 6900. A Fiat 500 was available for DM 3,990, or just under EUR 2100, and so on.

You didn't have to spend much on used cars either; you could buy a six-year-old BMW 2000 CS for DM 3000 and a five-year-old Fiat 850 Spider for DM 2200. Of course, these prices would be significantly higher today after adjusting for inflation. But they would probably remain in four figures.

However, the comment on used car prices at the time was also interesting:
" The situation on the used car market remains quite favorable for technically and visually well-maintained mid-range cars of more recent model years. There is particular interest in offers in the price range between 1800 and 3500 marks."

The modesty with which car buyers once searched for a vehicle is long gone. Today, even new drivers can afford really expensive cars thanks to leasing, sharing and subscription models. They often no longer even think about buying an old car, changing the oil themselves or replacing the spark plugs. The wheel change is done by the authorized dealer, who also stores the tires. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the next generation lacks a little connection to technology and the aged car ...

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Forgotten design studies - Colani 2CV

Paul Krüger
01/29/2022

Citroën 2CV Rekordwagen mit Colani-Karosserie

Even with its pre-war-style body, the Citroën 2CV was a very economical car. But even the 5.4 liters of regular gasoline per 100 kilometers stated in the brochure could be significantly undercut, as Luigi Colani proved in the summer of 1981. The designer from Karlsruhe hated angular shapes and a streamlined body was the ultimate goal of automobile development.

So he wrapped the chassis of a brand-new 2CV in a plastic shell that corresponded to his idea of the ideal body shape. The result looked like a cyberpunk version of the Jaguar hearse from "Harold and Maude", whose technical basis could only be identified by its characteristic wheels.

Just how right Colani was with his theories about the backwardness of the body design of production cars was proven a little later by his plastic 2CV on the Contidrom test track. Equipped with special low-rolling resistance tires from Goodyear, the streamlined duck only needed 1.7 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers, setting a new world record for the lowest fuel consumption of an automobile.

This raises the question of whether the Colani 2CV is really a forgotten design study - or rather a forgotten record-breaking vehicle like the Audi 200 Turbo Quattro.

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The Volvo that was a jet fighter

Paul Krüger
01/28/2022

Volvo 850 Turbinen-Prototyp

Turbine propulsion for cars was only a brief aberration of the jet age. The last project in this direction was terminated unsuccessfully by Chrysler in 1963 - so much for the prevailing theory. But in 1978, Volvo, a brand that was anything but avant-garde, made a new attempt to domesticate the jet engine for use in passenger cars. As you might imagine, given the fact that we still only burn fuel in reciprocating piston and Wankel engines today, it was not a success.

In 1993, they went one step further: the Swedes paired the turbine with an electric motor, which was intended to compensate for the moderate economy in the partial load range and, above all, the sluggish response of the turbine. This made the two Volvo 850s in which the system was tested two of the first cars with hybrid drive and several years ahead of their time. Optionally, they could also be driven purely electrically and even recuperate. Nevertheless, Volvo abandoned the project after only 4000 test kilometers. The fuel consumption was simply too high, even with electric assistance.

Incidentally, one of the two turbine prototypes will be auctioned by Bonhams on February 3. The estimated price is between 60,000 and 80,000 euros. That's quite a lot for a Volvo 850 - but how often do you get the opportunity to buy a car with a turbine drive? SOCÉMA-Grégoire and Fiat Turbina are not for sale.

Volvo 850 Turbinen-Prototyp

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It is not easy to predict the future

Bruno von Rotz
01/27/2022

Erwartungen für zukünftige Modelle im Jahr 1972 (© ams)

It is part of the craft of automobile magazines to announce new models when there is still no image material and only rough ideas about the technology. Auto Motor und Sporttried this in 1972 and announced the successor to the ADO16 models from British Leyland, known in this country as the Morris 1300 and Austin 1300, among others.

Austin Allegro

The yellow design came pretty close to the future, even if they were obviously a little optimistic about glazing. The Austin Allegro then appeared in 1973 and looked quite similar to the drawing.

However, the forecast for the future Peugeot 104 was less successful, although the presentation took place only a few months after the drawing was published.

Peugeot 104

The final design had significantly less glass and also appeared considerably more angular than the brown-red design in the magazine. But you can't always be right.

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Forgotten movie cars: The Citroën 2CV from "Bon voyage, Charlie Brown"

Paul Krüger
01/26/2022

Szene aus dem Film "Gute Reise, Charlie Brown"

A dog who is a fighter pilot in the First World War, a tennis ace, a famous ice hockey player and even a world-famous supermarket cashier can of course also drive a car. So in the movie "Bon voyage, Charlie Brown", it is Snoopy's job to chauffeur the "round-headed kid" and his friends Linus, Marcie and Peppermint Patty to their exchange students.

After an adventurous trip by plane, train and hovercraft, the six (Woodstock comes along as well) are given a surprisingly accurately drawn, blue Citroën 2CV as a rental car in France for the last leg from Calais to Le Héron. Only the interior, with its crank windows, stick shift and three-spoke steering wheel, is a little more luxurious and sporty than usual.

Szene aus dem Film "Gute Reise, Charlie Brown"

Snoopy, who can only see out of the car with his suitcase under his butt, admittedly has a hard time with the manual gearshift and operating the clutch. It grinds and scrapes when engaging the gears, the clutch jerks, and the car hops off the parking lot – undecided between stalling and driving. Only for someone to promptly crash into the back of it on the road.

On the way, the Citroën leans spectacularly out of the bend, breaks down at one point and lets the windshield wiper motor smoke out in the pouring rain. Nevertheless, the dog and the car get the friends safely to their accommodation and, after two weeks, away again – not without another rear-end collision, of course.

Szene aus dem Film "Gute Reise, Charlie Brown"

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Tyrrell P34 - Continuation of a legend

Stuart Adams / Bruno von Rotz
01/25/2022

Tyrrell P34 (C) von 1976/2018 (© Stuart Adams)

In 1976, one racing car attracted far more attention in Formula 1 than any other: the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34. Driven by Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler, the monoposto designed by Derek Gardner finished third in the manufacturers' standings. The race car achieved one victory, 14 podium finishes and one pole position in 30 races, around half of which were in its second year with a modified P34B variant.

Although driver Scheckter was not very enthusiastic about the six-wheel Tyrrell, as the racing car often broke down, the results were good overall for such a revolutionary design. The car ran better in the first year, when the tires were better suited to the chassis. As money was an issue, the cars that had not crashed in the first season were rebuilt for the second season.

Tyrrell P34 (C) von 1976/2018 an den Boxen (© Stuart Adams)

When the American gentleman racer Jonathan Holtzman, who apparently has a soft spot for innovative Formula 1 cars, wanted to buy a 1976 P34, he had no luck. So, without further ado, he decided to rebuild the car.

Thanks to successful negotiations with the descendants of Ken Tyrrell, he was able to secure the rights to the replica, meaning that the two six-wheel racing cars, which took many thousands of hours to build, are now genuine "continuations" with chassis numbers 009 and 010.

And the car looks just as special and attractive as it did when it competed against Ferrari, McLaren and the like. It is definitely an asset at historic racing events.

If you want to see this for yourself, please refer to the collection of excellent photos by Stuart Adams .

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50 years of the Bobby-Car

Daniel Reinhard
01/24/2022

50 years ago, the toy manufacturer "Big" presented the small car for the first time at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, which can be found in almost every household with children today. The "Big" plant in Burghaslach, which is located between Nuremberg and Würzburg on the A3, still produces 2000 of these little speedsters made of polyethylene granulate every day.

More than 20 million Bobby-Cars have now been sold worldwide. This puts it in the slipstream of the VW Beetle and Golf. The VW Group therefore also congratulated its "competitor" on Twitter. Volkswagen is celebrating "Big" as the first CO2-free vehicle producer in mobile history.

As is the case with car manufacturers, who today have an x-fold range of models, over the course of time "Big" has also developed a wide variety to choose from, from the Porsche in different colors to the ADAC emergency service or police car, everything is available in the product range.

At home, the children practise their powerslide on the so-called slide car and sometimes crash into the barrier, i.e. the freshly painted plaster wall, much to the delight of their parents and landlords. But this is the only way to grow the racing drivers of tomorrow.

I'm far too old to have ever tested one of these cars myself, but my children did countless laps of the living room, where there are still traces of the crashes that remind us of the search for the limit.

My daughter, born in 1999, emulated our mutual idol, Michael Schumacher, from an early age. Unfortunately, unlike Michael's son Mick, she never made it into F1. Well, the reasons were not just talent, but also financial, because a bobby car (approx. EUR 45) was just about affordable for the "average earner", which unfortunately can no longer be said of all the formula racing cars.

But at least she managed to get an autograph from the seven-time world champion at the young age of 2!

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Of plums and red wine (car connoisseur quiz)

Paul Krüger
01/23/2022

Dodge Challenger 1970

Some paint colors of classic cars have become so famous that enthusiasts recognize them at first glance. Muscle car fans will certainly have immediately identified the vibrant purple of the Dodge Challenger as "Plum Crazy". Mercedes enthusiasts will be just as quick to provide the matching color code 904 for a dark blue W124. And for Citroën DS drivers, the gray metallic on the Pallas model can only be "Gris Palladium".

But what if there is no bodywork to help with identification? Can a color be clearly identified purely by its color? That's what we wanted to know, so we collected a few known and a few unknown paint colors from the last 60 years and isolated them in the style of a manufacturer's color chart. The result is our most colorful car connoisseur quiz yet. Of course, we know that the colors look a little different depending on the screen calibration, so we don't ask for nuances. So you don't have to tell Chianti red from almandine red and calypso red or guess the composition of each.

Would you like to try?

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The allure of the unique piece

Paul Krüger
01/22/2022

Ferrari Meera S

First of all: I don't like it either. At least not really. The vertical air vents in the flanks in particular make the Ferrari Meera S look a bit awkwardly cobbled together. For me, this car draws its appeal above all from its uniqueness. So if I were a collector of eighties Ferraris and I were to buy the Meera S to complete my collection, I would take great care to ensure that the car retained its uniqueness.

But apparently the last owner didn't see it that way. Yes, I know: you can't argue about taste; and everyone can do what they want with their property. But that doesn't mean they should. Why would you buy a one-off, two-thirds of whose appeal lies in its crazy, plush, technocratic interior, only to rip out the crazy, plush, technocratic interior completely? It's a bit like buying the only Aston Martin DB2/4 with a Supersonic body just to use it as the basis for a replica of the Touring Spider because no one else was available. Isn't the funny thing about a one-off that nobody else has the same thing?

Without all the wonderfully contemporary frippery, the Meera S is no longer a one-off - but only a third of a piece. Because the other 66 percent now looks exactly like every other Ferrari 400i - albeit in a color combination that is hopefully unique. But since I don't collect eighties Ferraris, I couldn't care less what the next owner will do with the Meera S.

So if you'll excuse me now, I'm going to buy the original movie Mustang from "Bullitt". I think Acapulco Blue would look much better on it.

Ferrari Meera S

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