On a total area of around 140,000 square meters, the unique trade fair concept of Retro Classics Stuttgart impresses with a comprehensive range of classic cars, youngtimers, NEO CLASSICS, US cars, historic two-wheelers and commercial vehicles as well as a first-class supporting program, a huge vehicle sales market and highly interesting special shows. In 2018, the trade fair will take place from March 22 to 25.
New hall
It will finally be inaugurated in January 2018: the tenth hall on the Messe Stuttgart grounds, the Paul Horn Halle, offers an additional exhibition space of almost 15,000 square meters and forms the architectural conclusion of the ultra-modern trade fair building. After the CMT tourism trade fair, RETRO CLASSICS 2018 is one of the first trade fairs to make full use of the new space - making it the largest classic car fair in the world.
The classic car trend barometer is rising and rising: "The demand from exhibitors is enormous," says Karl Ulrich Herrmann, managing partner of organizer RetroMessen GmbH. "The new hall will be ready just in time, so to speak, so that we can meet this demand. At the next RETRO CLASSICS, we will have around two more football pitches at our disposal."
According to Herrmann, the new hall will be "an equivalent counterpart to Hall One", a "premium hall that offers a number of highlights in addition to an elaborate overall Mercedes-Benz presentation". One of these is the special show of the "SK Oldtimer Collection" with exquisite pieces from the collection of Lithuanian entrepreneur Saulius Karosas. Among the exhibits is a Mercedes-Benz 380 Special Roadster from 1933 with a body from the Berlin luxury forge Erdmann & Rossi. The exhibition "50 Years of Irmscher Automobilbau", meanwhile, will make the hearts of all racing and tuning fans beat faster.
Italian lifestyle
Elegant design, racy machines - Italian two-wheelers are generally associated with more than just horsepower. Legendary names such as Ducati, Laverda and Moto Guzzi evoke images and emotions. With the Campionato Italiano Velocità, the "boot" in the Mediterranean also has a long motorcycle racing tradition. The special show "Italian Motorcycles" by the Allgemeiner Motorradsport-Club Leonberg e.V. (AMSC) offers an overview of the high art of engineering south of the Alps in the "Italy Hall". (Hall 7)
Super sports car
From 1976 onwards, a futuristic-looking study by chief designer Paul Bracq was developed into one of Munich car manufacturer BMW's best-known classics: the M1. Finally designed by Giorgio Giugiaro and manufactured in Stuttgart, the superlative car was presented to the astonished experts at the Paris Motor Show in 1978. By the end of 1981, the specially founded BMW Motorsport GmbH had only produced 460 examples of the sleek powerhouse. Some of them are now on display at RETRO CLASSICS as part of the special show "40 years of the BMW M1". (Hall 4)
Dream cars
Interest in exclusive collector's cars is growing steadily: Manufactured cars, one-offs and "young classics", which are not yet considered classic cars in the true sense of the word, have long been an important focus of the RETRO CLASSICS trade fairs under the collective term NEO CLASSICS. When purchasing these dream cars, which are generally not exactly cheap, the focus is less on financial investment and more on driving pleasure and individuality - although the achievable increase in value is by no means uninteresting. (Hall 5)
A look into the treasure chamber
The engineer, entrepreneur and founder of the foundation Saulius Karosas is not only the richest man in Lithuania, he is also a world-famous collector of rare pre-war automobiles. At RETRO CLASSICS, he is opening the door to his treasure trove a crack wide: The high-caliber special show of the "SK Oldtimer Collection" will stage, among other things, an extremely rare Maybach DS 8, of which only a few examples still exist. (Paul Horn Hall/Hall 10)
Art and motor vehicles
At the foot of the Hohentwiel in Singen lies the MAC, the Museum Art & Cars, where the Südwestdeutsche Kunststiftung makes its collection accessible to the general public. In regular temporary exhibitions, art is placed in a refreshing dialog with automobiles. The museum owes its supra-regional fame not least to an exhibition of Andy Warhol's last cycle of works that attracted a great deal of attention from the press and the public. The MAC organizers will be presenting their unusual concept at RETRO CLASSICS. (East Entrance, Atrium)
...even more museums
At the world's largest classic car fair, the museum comes to the visitor! Well-known automobile and technology museums present interesting and rare exhibits from their collections on the Museum Mile - including the Messkirch Classic Car Museum, the Erwin Hymer Museum and the Zündapp Museum. And when it's not "retro"? In everyday museum life, the living cultural asset that is the automobile does not necessarily gather dust on display pedestals, but can regularly be found where it actually belongs - on the road. Many time-honored museum classics are driven regularly. (East entrance)
Technically one step ahead
Five decades ago, Günther Irmscher began converting the first vehicles for use in racing. The company, which was set up in a simple double garage, has since grown into an international group of companies with locations throughout Europe, which can boast numerous motorsport victories. The anniversary exhibition "50 years of Irmscher Automobilbau" at RETRO CLASSICS will make the hearts of all racing and tuning fans beat faster. (Paul Horn Hall/Hall 10)
Useful giants
The Bulldog- und Schlepperfreunde Württemberg e.V. invite fans of historic agricultural machinery on a very special journey through time: Under the title "Ackergiganten", the association is presenting a probably unique special show in which the motorization of agriculture is comprehensively presented. From the steam plow to the first gasoline-powered vehicles to modern large tractors, there are many impressive commercial vehicles to marvel at - such as the early American tractors that once coined the term "tractor". (Alfred Kärcher Hall/Hall 8)
Further information can be found on the website.
