From September 1 to 3, 150 selected classic vehicles from different eras will be judged by a jury of experts according to FIVA criteria (Federation Internationale des Vehicules Anciens) in the circular baroque garden of Schwetzingen Palace. This jury combines the recognized expertise of renowned technicians, designers, experts and historians to form a vote that is recognized worldwide - only then is a Concours d'Elegance worth something. Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017 is the only international Concours d'Elegance where the classic cars are lined up according to year of manufacture and fitted precisely into the world-famous axis garden.
International jurors as experts
A Concours d'Elegance is only as good as its judges, because only the judgment of experts carries international weight. Under the direction of pre-war car specialist Ing. Robert Schramm, the judges include long-time Rosso Bianco museum owner Peter Kaus, long-time Mazda chief designer Peter Birtwhistle, Porsche designer Gabor Herczeg, FIA classic car experts Klaus-Peter BenderKlaus-Peter Bender and Maikel deMunnik (NL) and the Swiss classic car expert and long-standing head of the Swiss National Automobile Commission, Mark Rufer, discussed which vehicle in which FIVA class proved to be particularly true to the original. Dutch FIVA delegate Meikel de Munning and his son will be working with German historian Erik Eckermann on the pre-war vehicles and designer Eberhard Schulz will be exchanging ideas with well-known photographer and historian Werner Eisele before one of the 90 trophies is awarded to a winner on Sunday, September 3, 2017 at the Defilée of Candidates.
5th US Classic Car Concours USCCC with Sedans and two-tone as the main theme
The US Classic Car Concours, USCCC for short, which was only introduced in 2013, has quickly established itself as a quality event in the scene of collectors of American vehicles, because although there are many "show-and-shine contests" for modified "custom cars" with chrome and mica paint, but not a concours in which true-to-original condition is important. The USCCC deliberately never brings together more than 40 vehicles, but these are as authentic as the Ford Mustang Fastback Coupé that Mrs. Lowe from Wiblingen received as a wedding present from her American husband in 1964 and which she has kept in perfect condition to this day. One theme of the 5th USCCC is American limousines and their siblings as coupés, convertibles and station wagons. Like the 1955 Oldsmobile, they are sculptures of automotive history.
50 years of the NSU Ro80
NSU Ro80: those who didn't like it back then admire it today, because its clear lines by Klaus Luthe are the model for every modern VW, Audi and even Porsche Panamera. Designer Luthe wanted to show how flat the hood could be and skillfully refined the rising lines in the wind tunnel - the NSU Ro80 Club presents all the variants and tells the story of this automotive revolution.
Special shows (including Jaguar and Rolls Royce)
The classic car clubs from Brühl and Heidelberg as well as the Jaguar and Rolls Royce friends will be lovingly decorating their own areas with rare treasures, the NSU Ro80 Club will be showing all the important Wankel limousines and the Adler friends will be bringing cars from the Frankfurt factory that are otherwise never seen together.
Small cars
More than 30 small cars from the economic miracle era crowd around the Hirschbrunnen and form a charming contrast to the fat road cruisers of the US Classic Car Concours, which is dedicated exclusively to original American cars. The small cars include the rare Kroboth as well as the Maico 500 or the Mopetta of the former racing driver Egon Brütsch, whose engine is almost as small as the single-cylinder ILO 125cc of the famous Kleinschnittiger from Arnsberg in Sauerland, whose rims made of boiling pot lids hang on an axle suspended with rubber bands.
And because German aircraft designers were no longer allowed to build airplanes after the war, Classic-Gala Schwetzingen features the Messerschmitt cabin scooter, the Janus by Claudius Dornier, the Heinkel cabin and the Tiger Tg500 as competitors to the Goggomobil by agricultural machinery manufacturer Hans Glas and the legendary Isetta, which is also represented as a Hoffmann cabin. Schwetzingen is the first Concours d'Elegance to offer a large forum for the smallest cars - the heroes of the economic miracle era leave no eye dry.
The little vices of the fifties
Classic car curator Hans Hedtke surprises visitors with a special exhibition of the small trucks that, from the 1930s onwards, transported on German roads what had previously been moved by horses. Three- and four-wheelers, sometimes with a loading area in front of the driver, as box vans for the post office or the trades, with one, two, three and sometimes even four cylinders, with big names: Goliath, which could lift half a tonne, or Tempo, which, like the Borgward "Blitzkarren", sped off at speeds of up to 40 km/h. The never-before-seen ensemble of small commercial vehicles will have its own area, not far from the small cars, and will spur on the "Do you remember" of the grandfathers.
In the park, selected companies will also be presenting automobilia, stylish clothing, literature, model cars and accessories. There will also be live jazz with the "Strangers", piano jazz with the Austrian old master Burle Baumgartner, and the castle gastronomy will treat visitors on the terrace and in the beer garden. Renowned artists exhibit their automobile-related works in the Südflügel.
Stroll, enjoy and experience automotive history in an inimitable way at Classic Gala Schwetzingen: more than 19,500 enthusiastic visitors attended in 2016. Visitors can expect all of this for the entrance fee of just 6 euros for the state palaces and gardens in Württemberg - further information can be found on the event website.
