The most elegant open-air museum in automotive history, garnished with selected accessories, fashion, automobilia, accessories and literature, plus live jazz with the Strangers and Austrian jazz pianist Burle Baumgartner (82!) in front of the art exhibition in the south wing of the palace will once again form the inimitable ensemble of Classic-Gala Schwetzingen on September 2 and 3, 2017.
The very name Classic-Gala says what sets this Concours d'Elegance apart from all other events of this kind: it is not a car show, but a unique social event with architecture, culture, style, history and technology at a normal admission price.
Unique rarities in the palace park
In the beginning, the Emperor could only be convinced of the automobile by his brother Prince Heinrich, who incidentally had invented the windshield wiper. But after the first Coupe Gordon-Bennett race in mid-1904, the Kaiser also thought that the car had a future. In 1909, the Frankfurt company Adler built a prestigious 18/35 double phaeton with an interchangeable summer and winter body, which was available to the imperial household during stays in Bad Homburg, for example. After years of restoration, this white eagle is the representative car of the Schnauferl Club, which was founded in 1900, and is now on public display again for the first time after being rebuilt by Bad Homburg expert Dieter Dressel.
Today, the Middle East is more distant than ever - but that was not always the case: in the 1930s, the King of Iraq ordered a 500 K with bodywork by Erdmann and Rossi from Mercedes. A second of these Mercedes was built in the 1960s based on the exact model of this car on an original chassis because the original could not be removed from the state collection. Today, this replica is invaluable because the original stood in a damp underground garage after the Iraq war and has since rotted and become moldy. The replica of the representative 500 K Erdmann und Rossi can be viewed at Classic-Gala Schwetzingen thanks to the Technik-Museum Speyer.
Small car show now also features small trucks
The first Concours d'Elegance for small cars was still viewed very suspiciously by their owners and classic car curator Hans Hedtke spent hours on the phone trying to convince them. But now the small car drivers know how enthusiastically they are received and that instead of wrinkling their noses, the road gnomes are admired with great interest. During his visits to collectors, Hans Hedtke repeatedly came across the small vans from Googo and Lloyd, Borgward, Tempo and Vespa and suggested bringing these "ants of the economic miracle" to the castle park. What can be seen there has never been seen in one place before - the western area of the park and the area in front of the Hirschbrunnen fountain will have a lovingly bustling character in 2017.
Classic car curator Hans Hedtke surprises visitors with a special show of the small trucks that were used on German roads from the 1930s onwards to transport 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 trades, with one, two, three and sometimes even four cylinders, with big names: Goliath, which could lift half a ton, or Tempo, which sped off at speeds of up to 40 km/h like the Borgward "Blitzkarren". The never-before-seen ensemble of small commercial vehicles will have its own area, not far from the small cars, and will really spur on the grandfathers' "Do you remember".
The most important of the 90 or so trophies that will be awarded to a winner at the Defilée of Candidates on Sunday, September 3, 2017, is the Hans Hedtke Trophy for small car collectors, named after its curator.
Excerpt from the Rarities Telegram...
- The imperial Adler double phaeton from 1909
- the oldest ALFA Romeo RLSS touring car from 1923
- a Cadillac sports phaeton from 1928
- the Daimler DMG 400K 1925 from the Hagenbeck circus
- Silvia - a forgotten Japanese car from the USA
- the DKW three-wheeled cab with the engine on the front wheel
- the Ferrari 212 Vignale from 1952
- the FIAT 520-Spinto racing car from 1925
- a Franklin Tandem de Chasse hunting car from 1927
- the racing car of the painter "Hans Grade arrived" from 1922
- the eight-cylinder Horsch 853 with Berlin tailor-made suit
- the ISDeRa retrospective in the south wing
- the 1954 Kaiser-Darrin with sliding doors
- Farina's most beautiful Lancia, the Astura from 1939
- the GDR racing car Melkus 1000 RS
- 50 years of the NSU Ro80
- an Opel Super6 with a Saxon Gläser body and American owner
- a Packard duo with 16 cylinders from 1927 and '32
- the only remaining Rockne-Tourer (USA 1933) in the world
- a Stanley Steamer from 1919 under steam
- the original VW Beetle 1936 by Willy Messerschmitt
All this awaits visitors for the fair admission price of just 6 euros for the state palaces and gardens in Württemberg - AvD-Classic-Gala Schwetzingen deliberately wants to invite friends of architecture and garden art, culture and all families and fans of classic cars to enjoy this unique show of automotive history.
Further information can be found on the website.
