In less than a week, the 23rd edition of Retro Classics will herald the start of the driving culture season in Stuttgart and an unprecedented range of vehicle anniversaries, special features and special shows await visitors from April 25 to 28, 2024.
"The braggart from the Elbchaussee and his Indian cars" - Chris Hahn and SGS
Chris Hahn, the former mastermind behind the "Styling Garage Schenefeld" SGS, was considered the uncrowned king of refined luxury cars in the 80s and 90s. True to the motto "there's no such thing as can't", he fulfilled the individual car dreams of solvent customers from all over the world based on Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche & Co. . He not only set design standards with his stunningly beautiful convertibles based on the Mercedes-Benz SEC C126, but also realized sophisticated roof constructions that later went into series production with many manufacturers.
Also unforgettable are its gullwing versions of the SEC, which, like the cabriolets, captivate with their beauty and perfectly thought-out technology - then as now, sophisticated vehicles for the boulevards of this world. See the spearheads of SGS in the form of the Gullwing, Marbella, Arrow and St. Tropez at Stand B51 of the Styling Garage in Hall 3.
"Always forwards, never backwards!" - Erich Honecker's Citroen CX
A piece of German history can be admired at the Citroen CX Club stand in Hall 5: Anyone who thinks that the former ruler of the "workers' and peasants' state" ("GDR"), Erich Honecker, only relied on Volvo, Chaika or East German vehicles is mistaken: The Citroen CX was also part of the "MfS" vehicle fleet from the summer of 1978, and according to tradition, Erich Honecker greatly appreciated the French sedan, which incidentally was a personal gift from the Citroen director at the time.
See this prominent Citroen CX as part of the large special show "50 Years of Citroen CX", which not only shows a cross-section of the model range of this great French luxury class model, but also introduces visitors to the innovative hydropneumatics of the CX using a cutaway chassis model.
"Driving Home for Christmas" - Chris Rea's Ferrari at BEAU-CAR
Everyone knows the song "Driving Home for Christmas" by Chris Rea, but not many people know that the Brit is also a big Ferrari fan. He has collected several sports cars with the black stallion, and in 1995 even realized the album "La Passione" out of love for Ferrari and his idol Wolfgang Graf Berghe von Trips, who died in an accident in Monza in 1961.
Now one of Chris Rea's "racehorses" is for sale in the form of the Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 at stand C32 of the Belgian classic car specialist BEAU-CAR from Wommelgem / Antwerp in Hall 1.
"Variation on a theme" presented by the Lancia IG and the Lancia Club Germany
Lancia Thema and Lancia Kappa. Two almost forgotten luxury class models from the once so proud, sporty and innovative Italian manufacturer.
Reason enough to bring these two back into the collective memory and celebrate: 40 years of Lancia Thema and 30 years of Lancia Kappa is the special show theme of Lancia IG and Lancia Club Germany, who are presenting two top-class vehicles at stand D58 in hall 3: An extended Lancia Thema, which once belonged to Lancia President Cesare Romiti, and an equally extended Lancia Kappa, which in the 90s chauffeured none other than "l'Avvocato" Gianni Agnelli, Italy's most powerful industrial magnate at the time.
Cars from the island - 20 years of the "British Corner"
For decades, British automobiles enjoyed an excellent reputation in the world and stood for sportiness (pithy roadsters...), racing successes (Le Mans & Co...), engineering (Mini, Imp...) and luxury (Rolls Royce, Daimler, Jaguar...).
A look back at this glorious time is best achieved in the "British Corner" in Hall 7, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Go on a journey through time and admire over 900m² of pithy roadsters, opulent luxury limousines and ingenious small cars from the major brands Austin, Triumph, MG, Morris, Rover, Jaguar, Lotus, TVR and Morgan, presented by various brand and type clubs.
"Made of cotton and phenolic resin" - 60 years of the Trabant 601
Making a virtue out of necessity - that was a common and necessary formula in post-war Germany, both in the West and the East. In and around Zwickau in the 1950s, people were busy working out how to replace expensive and difficult to obtain body panels with alternatives.
The solution was "Duroplast", which essentially consists of cotton and phenolic resin and stands for the body panelling of the Trabant 601, which was introduced in the summer of 1964 and represents a milestone in the "Volksmotorisierung Ost". See the evolution of the Trabant, its variants, prototypes and racing cars at the Intertrab e.V. stand C12 in Hall 3.
Heavy boys in the furrow, on country roads and highways
What would a Retro Classics be without "heavy boys"? Exactly, it's hard to imagine, as historic commercial vehicles such as tractors, trucks, buses and the like have traditionally been an integral part of the largest trade fair for driving culture. The heroes of yesteryear, the ones that replaced the horse and ox from the field, that freed the post-war republic from rubble and brought the first goods from A to B and, when people started traveling again, opened up regions near and far, can all be admired in Hall 7, presented by Bulldog- und Schlepperfreunde Württemberg e.V. and Automobil-Park Auwärter.
The papal crown in Hall 5 at Mercedes-Benz
The tiara commonly refers to the papal crown and is known, if at all, from crossword puzzles. The fact that the former Swiss car manufacturer Monteverdi adorned its last production vehicle with this name in 1982 is probably only known to a few, not least because of a "small series" of only three prototypes, two of which still exist.
And why is one of these two examples on display at the stand of the Mercedes-Benz brand club for the 126 model series in Hall 5? Because the W126 S-Class, which appeared in 1979, forms the basis for this "Monteverdi of superlatives" (according to the contemporary brochure of the Basel-based manufacturer), which only becomes apparent when the two luxury-class saloons are compared in detail.
And this is just a selection of the many themes and special shows that will be presented and celebrated at the 23rd Retro Classics in Stuttgart from April 25 to 28, 2024. It is certainly worth a visit.
Further information can be found on the website of the classic car fair.
