What a coincidence!
Coincidences happen all the time—you just have to notice them. On August 27, 1960, the day I was born, issue No. 18 of “auto motor und sport” was published and available at newsstands for DM 1.50. Then, in 2026, I logically turned 66 years old on August 27 again, and lo and behold, another issue of “auto motor und sport” was published—this time No. 19, now priced at EUR 4.90. According to my calculations, there were about 1,690 issues in between.
In addition, the issue also appeared on my birthday in 1980, 1993, and 2009.
At the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix, I worked as a motorsports photographer for the automotive press for the first time, and from then on, through 2016, I was able to photograph all Formula 1 races for the publisher.
A lot has changed between 1960 and 2026, as a direct comparison of the issues shows.
The two birthday issues reflect a significant shift in the times: the current issue's cover features many, many colorful cars, whereas 66 years ago, the cover was filled solely by a fantastic rain portrait of Joakim Bonnier.
The subtitle reads: “Race Reports: Schauinsland and Portugal,” whereas motorsports have since almost entirely disappeared from the covers of today's car magazines.
Today we laugh at the titles of these articles, but perhaps history will repeat itself in 66 years.
“Borgward Isabella with Hansamatic” versus “Volvo EX60—Does the Popular Swede Drive Even Better Now?” or “Opel Rekord: A New Look” versus “Ferrari Amalfi—Driving a Convertible Can Be This Beautiful When It's a Ferrari.”
In 1960, motorsports was still a topic of general interest.
Back then, there were reports on the Great German Mountain Grand Prix, the Schauinsland Race, where first and third place went to Heini Walter (Porsche) and Harry Zweifel (Cooper), the current issue is headlined “Holland's Highest Mountain,” and the photo shows Zandvoort winner Lando Norris in his McLaren atop Holland's Mount Everest.
Although Audi is in the process of scaling the motorsports Olympus, its F1 car will likely not make it onto the cover even after the feat is accomplished.
Does it always have to be more? Today's issue features 146 pages with 312 editorial color photos, compared to 52 pages with 37 black-and-white photos 66 years ago. It should be noted, however, that during its golden age (the '80s and '90s), the magazine ran well over 200 pages and featured even more photos. In 1960, the test report on the VW Käfer—with its 30 modifications—took up four and a half pages; today's report on the Volvo EX60 spans eight pages, and the photos are clearly much larger.
In the 155 classified ads from back then (today there are only 35), you can see highly interesting vehicles that are now extremely rare, such as a four-year-old Porsche 1600 Speedster for DM 5,850,— a two-year-old Austin-Healey 100/6 with 20,000 miles for DM 7,000, or, and I quote: “Bentley, 5-seater. Grabercoupé, '53, automatic, in absolutely immaculate condition, original price DM 73,000—for sale at a reasonable price by bid due to purchase of a new car.”
Yes, times change, but now I'm simply looking forward to the possibility that in 2060, issue No. 18 or 19 of “auto, motor und sport” might once again be published on August 27.
