When the ADAC Deutschland Klassik starts on June 25, 2015, classic car enthusiasts will get their money's worth. Over 100 historic and classic cars will be taking part in this year's popular classic car tour, which runs for three days through the idyllic Allgäu region.
104-year-old Ford and 18 pre-war classics on tour
The ADAC Deutschland Klassik 2015 in Sonthofen on June 25, 2015 will also feature cars that can otherwise only be admired in museums. Elisabeth and Wilfried Roth from Krefeld are really brave, competing with a 104-year-old Ford-T Tourabout that still has wooden spoke wheels and no front brakes. The car has a windshield and a light soft top, but otherwise no weather protection and the 2.9-liter four-cylinder engine with 20 hp transmits power with only two gears - every hill is a challenge for the "Tin Lizzy".
This also applies to the 101-year-old Buick B-24 from the Hahnen family and the other pre-war cars, which, like the Rolls Royce 20/25 and the Chevrolet Independence from 1931, or the large Opel Admiral from 1939, the two Horch 853 Cabriolets from 1936 and '37, the Lagonda LG 45 from 1936 or the Bentley 3.5-Litre from 1934, will have to contend with high weight and strained engines.
Management car fleet of various Mercedes-Benz 300s in the field of participants
No fewer than five Mercedes-Benz 300s are on tour as the "management car fleet" at the ADAC Deutschland Klassik 2015. All of them are characterized by the famous three-litre engine, which was also used in the 300 SL sports model. With starting number 12, you can experience the original version from 1952 as a saloon, plus the roadster from the sporty 300 S, as well as two state convertibles with four doors with starting numbers 64 and 68. While the saloon, the roadster and the two convertibles still had to make do without fuel injection, i.e. with outputs between 115 and 150 hp, the coupé, which is very rare in this form, already had a 175 hp fuel-injection engine.
Sports car enthusiasts will probably recognize the Jaguar E, which was first presented in 1961, but the fact that FIAT built a Type 1500 with a rocket-like body together with Ghia is probably almost unknown.
The Ghia 1500 GT bears the starting number 30 and competes with the flat Volvo P 1800S, which was built as a coupé in 1966 (32) and the P 1800E convertible, which is unique in Germany and whose prototype is driven by the Swede Ingmar Persson with the starting number 76. Despite its captivating shape, Volvo decided against series production in 1970 because a roll bar in the style of the Porsche Targa would have been needed for the large American market.
A Schwimmwagen in search of water
There can't be enough rivers and lakes for Werner Ott from Aschaffenburg, because his Amphicar 770 from 1963 is a real floating car with a Triumph engine installed in the rear so that it can also drive a propeller. The car was developed by German amphibious pioneer Hans Trippel in the Odenwald at the time and around 3500 of them were even built in Berlin for a time between 1961 and 1968.
Among the many luxury cars on display at the ADAC Deutschland Klassik 2015 is the elegant Facel Vega FV 3B, which was built in 1956 as the last French luxury coupé after Bugatti, Delahaye, Delage and Talbot ceased production due to the high luxury tax. Under the hood is a V-8 engine from Chrysler with 254 hp - a dream value unattainable for others in the 1950s. The wooden dashboard is an imitation, painted onto the sheet metal with so-called beer paint. Instead, the seats are made from Burgundy cattle leather.
But the other vehicles, from a total of around 100 automotive rarities at the ADAC Deutschland Klassik, are also worth a visit on the route between June 25 and 28, 2015, because when else can you see an Isetta with 13 hp next to a Citroen Ente with 26 hp together with a 340 hp Ford Thunderbird from 1962 or a Tatra 603-2 with an air-cooled eight-cylinder rear engine driving through the Allgäu?
Further information on the ADAC Deutschland Klassik can be found on the ADAC website.
