The classic car gallery in Toffen celebrated its 40th birthday on June 14, 2024 with a big anniversary party and over 200 guests.
It was 1984 when Reinhard Schmidlin, not even thirty years old, founded the classic car gallery. First of all, an industrial hall had to be transformed into a presentable state, which required around 2000 liters of paint that Schmidlin applied himself. In addition, carpets and many utensils were added, transforming the barren concrete hall into a temple for mobile cultural assets.
In the village at the time, they thought it would never amount to anything and that it wouldn't be profitable anyway. "At the beginning, everyone thought I wasn't half a percent normal," Reinhard Schmidlin recalls. In fact, the classic car boom as we know it today was barely imaginable in 1984.
But Reinhard Schmidlin saw his chance and he seized it.
All beginnings were difficult
In the beginning, the team in Toffen had to come up with all sorts of ideas to attract people to the classic car gallery. There were special exhibitions and, in May 1986, the vote for the most beautiful Chevrolet Corvette. This was publicized by Blick, television and the like to such an extent that the municipality of Toffen was literally flooded with American plastic flounders. Not everyone in the village found this amusing. And there was even a petition to keep the vintage car gallery closed at the weekend, but in the end a peaceful agreement was reached.
Entry into the auction business
In the early nineties, the classic car trade was supplemented with auctions, which have been a mainstay of the business ever since.
The legendary "No Limit" auctions are just as memorable as the glamorous sales events at the Dolder in Zurich. In addition to the auctions in Toffen in March and October, external auctions at the Swiss Classic World in Lucerne and in Gstaad have also been part of the portfolio for several years.
More than just cars and auctions
The Oldtimer Galerie in Toffen is also an event location and has had a restaurant run by its own team for several years, which is frequented by guests from near and far and offers tasty Thai cuisine in addition to local dishes.
Cozy anniversary celebration
Naturally, the 40th anniversary celebration was organized in the restaurant's own hall.
A groovy rock and blues band provided atmospheric music. There was of course Egger beer to drink and food from the barbecue or Thai cuisine to enjoy.
Reinhard Schmidlin used the "official part" of the ceremony, moderated by Mark Siegenthaler, to publicly hand over the baton (or steering wheel) to Serge Stotzer, who has been managing the classic car gallery full-time for some time now and also runs the auctions as auctioneer.
Zwischengas wishes the Oldtimer Gallery another 40 successful years! You can be sure that the makers in Toffen will never run out of ideas ...
For information on auctions and events, as well as the current range of vehicles in the classic car gallery, please visit the company website.
