Original, ingenious, radical!
06/10/2026
Jean-Jacques Derendinger founded Derendinger AG in 1930 and initially only worked on brakes and clutches before expanding his business activities to include the sale of spare parts for cars, initially only in Switzerland and later also in other countries. In 2009, Derendinger merged with Métraux Services SA to form the Swiss Automotive Group. A perfectly organized online service ensures that spare parts reach the consumer within hours, wherever they may be located.
Last Saturday, the satisfied Swiss customers were invited to the Derendinger Classic star tour across Switzerland at the headquarters in Niederbipp. At the end, 120 classic and vintage cars were parked in front of the blue hall with its gigantic high-bay warehouse.
There were actually no plans to take photos that day. I simply enjoyed the day in a 12-cylinder Jaguar XJS, for once without any stress and freed from all tasks. I wasn't looking for a story and didn't even want to take photos of the classic cars standing all over the place, which ended up in front of a blue hall with a gigantic high-bay warehouse at the Derendiger headquarters in Niederbipp.
But then I caught sight of the short vehicle portraits that were behind the windshield of most of the cars. I read one, then the other and found it totally amusing and exciting what the owners wrote about their favorites in just a few words. And that was really worth documenting, so I got out the camera and took some of them.
A Ford A was by far the oldest car, ...
... ... a 7.3-liter V8 tractor-built car was definitely the craziest vehicle and the Radical was by far the rarest thing on Swiss roads....
To be honest, driving over all the Swiss passes in a Radical with a "platinum vignette" (which protects you from all speed cameras) would certainly make for an unforgettable day. His sign said the same thing twice: "Radical" fascinates me about the vehicle and why he bought it "Radical"! I think that says it all.
