A strong signal for the classic car scene in southern Germany: Retro Classics Bavaria 2025 closed its doors on Sunday after three successful days - and once again attracted an enthusiastic audience to the halls of Messe Nürnberg in its ninth edition.
For the first time, the event took place in combination with the traditional Consumenta - and around four weeks earlier than before, from November 7 to 9, 2025.
The new trade fair concept proved to be a complete success: around 56,000 visitors took advantage of the weekend to experience classic cars, fine rarities and historic vehicle culture up close.
Plenty of space
More than 160 exhibitors presented around 500 vehicles on over 26,500 square meters of exhibition space - from restored pre-war models and elegant classics from the 50s to 80s to sporty youngtimers and tuning vehicles. The parts market and model car dealers were particularly popular this year.
The focus was also on the Audi Quattro Rally special show, which impressively presented the legendary rally history.
The Berg-Classic-Würgau and the anniversary exhibitions celebrating 50 years of the Opel Manta B and Ascona B and 60 years of the Kadett B, which vividly showcased the model history and fascination of the popular classics, were also in great demand.
Wide range on offer
With their admission ticket, visitors were able to experience all the trade fairs accompanying Consumenta - from driving culture and nostalgia to lifestyle, enjoyment and leisure trends in nine exhibition halls. The inclusion of "Car & Style" in particular, with its tuning theme, opened the doors to the younger generation and brought a breath of fresh air to the trade fair. In addition to long-time classic car fans, numerous new visitors came to the exhibition grounds to discover the variety of driving culture with great enthusiasm.
"The first-time combination with Consumenta was a great success," summarize Henning and Thilo Könicke, Managing Directors of Retro Messen GmbH. "We reached new visitor groups and brought the fascination for driving culture to an even broader audience - that was a win-win situation for everyone involved."
Synergies
From the exhibitors' point of view, the trade fair proved to be a valuable platform. Tilo Macht from Autohaus Macht emphasized that the expanded trade fair concept was well received: "In my opinion, the combination with Consumenta and the tuning area is an absolute gain for the event. We have seen significantly more visitors, including many younger and new interested parties. Thanks to the expanded program, there is something for everyone to discover - we really like that and it makes the trade fair even more attractive for us."
Christian Silberhorn from Silberhorn Classics emphasized the significantly higher number of visitors: "The stand was already much busier on Friday than in previous years. The merger with Consumenta brings real added value, not only for us as larger exhibitors, but also for smaller suppliers such as the parts market. We were able to hold very good discussions and gain new customers."
Hubertus Kettner, owner of Nuremberg-based Scuderia Auto-Neuser, also expressed his satisfaction: "As a company firmly rooted in Nuremberg, Retro Classics Bavaria is particularly close to our hearts - it also offers us an excellent platform for exchanging ideas and maintaining valuable contacts."
"This year, Retro Classics Bavaria 2025 once again offered a wonderful opportunity to meet many like-minded people and share a common passion for classic vehicles. We would like to thank everyone for the numerous visits, interesting discussions and the great interest in our award-winning BMW Classic & Type Club stand. We look forward to seeing you again at the next show!", said Maximilian Heubeck, Chairman of the BMW 5 Series E34 IG e.V.
Niko Liopiaris from ACS - Auto Center Süd explained: "The combination with Consumenta has brought new groups of visitors to the trade fair. What is particularly interesting is that the broader range of products means that many interested customers have more time for sales talks and generally more time to visit the trade fair. We are looking forward to seeing how follow-up business develops."
The International Trabant Register e.V. also drew a positive conclusion from the trade fair. Wolfgang Kießling reported: "This year we had a large crowd at our stand. Many visitors sat in the Trabant 601, were able to try out a small race track and experience the vehicle up close. We are delighted to be here. We were particularly pleased with the great interest in the Trabant Wankel, a special prototype from 1966 with an original Wankel engine. The vehicle aroused a great deal of curiosity and enthusiasm."
The August Horch Museum was delighted with the response and the interest shown by visitors. Representatives of the museum reported: "We had very good and interesting discussions. Many visitors showed genuine interest in our museum and indicated that they would like to visit it. That was particularly pleasing for us."
After the successful start to the trade fair double, one thing is certain: the collaboration between Retro Classics Bavaria and Consumenta will continue. The next edition will take place again at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center from November 6 to 8, 2026.
