A lot has already been written about it, the "Autohalle" in Andelfingen, located on the Zurich-Stuttgart traffic axis and built almost out of nothing.
As is well known, Thomas Meister is behind the project. Together with a young team, he has created a new classic car and modern classic car meeting center in the form of a new building. A small but fine hotel (4-star quality, official certification is being sought), a tastefully furnished restaurant with grill, a cozy smokers' lounge, various event rooms, a workshop and, of course, long-term parking spaces for old cars together offer a well-rounded whole that will be open to classic car enthusiasts from 1. The aim is to attract car and classic car enthusiasts from Switzerland as well as from nearby countries from November 1, 2021.
The "Autohalle" was officially opened on the evening of October 30, 2021 with a big party and a lot of media hype.
Experience Drive
Before the opening party, some media representatives were given the opportunity to experience one of the Autohalle offers, the so-called "Experience Drives", in person. The participants experience various classic cars at the wheel as part of a tour through the wine country and can thus compare and "experience" them in a short time. This experience elicited several "ahs" and "ohs" from the mostly young media people, as the VW Beetle lacked the seat belts that are omnipresent today, the MGA had to be put into gear with a starter cable and the braking effect and lighting system of the classic cars, some of which were over 60 years old, naturally no longer keep up with today's cars.
The enthusiasm during and after the ride was great, tour guide Simon Schmid, for example, said on the radio looking in the rear-view mirror: "It's almost like a 'Räbe-Liechtli parade' for adults ...".
The participating classic cars from the Autohalle collection (VW Beetle, Alfa Spider 2000, Jaguar XJ, Porsche 944 S2, Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL and MGA) survived the round trip without any problems thanks to the comprehensive preparation by the Autohalle workshop.
Enjoying the restaurant
After an aperitif in the event hall, it was time for a cozy dinner in the Autohalle restaurant "Lucie's Finest". Between courses, Nik Hartmann first hosted a conversation with Thomas Meister and then a "talk" with guest star Stefanie Heinzmann and Thomas Meister, during which Stefanie expressed her enthusiasm for the old cars, but also talked about her career and experiences. The trio seemed to enjoy the conversation and skillfully passed the ball to each other.
Host Thomas Meister explained why he has been fascinated by cars since childhood. At the heart of the Autohalle, however, he sees hospitality and the convivial and cultivated get-together, with the classic cars providing the backdrop and topic of conversation.
Concert by Stefanie Heinzmann
At 22:30, Swiss musician Stefanie Heinzmann, who became famous in Germany in 2007/2008 after winning Stefan Raab's talent competition, took to the stage of the spacious event room at the Autohalle as the show act and delighted the invited guests together with four accompanying musicians ("unplugged") with samples from her extensive repertoire, which now includes six studio albums.
The musician was the choice of Autohalle CEO Simon Schmid and Head of Marketing Ivana Iuric, but Thomas Meister was also impressed by the likeable power woman from Valais.
With the exception of the Volvo PV444 in front of the stage, the cars tended to take a back seat in the second part of the evening.
