20.4.10

Long established as the Globe’s largest classic car show, the 5 day Techno Classica took place from 7-11th April at the Messe Essen exhibition complex in Germany’s Ruhr region. With over 1,100 exhibitors and a record 172,800 visitors spread comfortably across the venues ten halls there was something for everyone whether you needed a service manual for your 330GTC, a hood for your Mercedes Pagoda or a Rudge wheel for your Frazer Nash!

Unsurprisingly German manufacturers Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi had a significant presence, occupying a hall each, with cars from their Oldtimer collections, supported by those of private collectors. Chairman of Daimler AG, Dr Dieter Zetsche was much in evidence over the weekend, as were ex F1 racer Jochen Mass and multiple DTM champion Bernd Schneider. Affectionately known in the U.S. as “Dr Zee”, the Turkish born Zetsche, was spotted in the BMW pavilion on more than 1 occasion - maybe he too was seeking the elusive 507 V8!

Core to the Essen event are the prominent displays (mainly in Halls 8 and 10) by some of Europe’s leading collectors and specialist vehicle dealers – E Thiesen, C F Mirbach, Carclassic.com, Hall and Hall,  Klaus Werner and Lukas Huni AG amongst many others. They displayed a mouth-watering selection of rare and unusual vehicles, from the moderately priced classic, to the multi-million pound Pebble Beach Concours winner. Elsewhere, these were my highlights:

• Debuted in 1962, 348 examples of the well proportioned, Vignale designed Maserati Sebring were built and the car displayed by Hamburg based E Thiesen, was a superb example of this 3.7 litre, straight six design.
  
  
• In 1981, the Christian Dior perfume house decided to promote their new “Jules for Men” brand, with a wacky attempt to participate in the Paris-Dakar rally, in a Rolls Royce Corniche, complete with a 5.7 Chevrolet V8! Builder, entrant and lead driver Michel Mokrycki, combined much of Crewe and Detroit’s best, with bits of Toyota Land Cruiser….by halfway, the Corniche was thirteenth, before ultimately retiring!
  
  
• Centre stage on Dutch dealer Red Willow Racing’s stand, was the unique Maserati Bellagio Fastback. Built in 2008 on a Quattroporte platform, with a body design by Carozzeria Touring and a rear loading area finished in bamboo wood (!), it was first displayed at that year’s Villa D’Este Concours and is most likely available at a fraction of its build cost.
  
  
• On display and built as a promotional exhibit for the Technik Museum Sinsheim, site engineers have mated a 1908 chain drive La France chassis, to BMW’s largest ever engine, a  water cooled, 47 litre V12 - the result is Brutus!!
  
  
• Hans Glas was the German equivalent of Ferruccio Lamborghini, an industrialist who had considerable success in the manufacture of agricultural equipment, who subsequently graduated to scooter and latterly car production. The high point of his automotive success was the Glas Frua V8 (nicknamed the Glaserati), built between ‘66 and ’68 and an immaculate, red example was on the Glas club’s display. Glas was purchased by BMW in late ’66 and the primary production plant, Dingolfing still remains, manufacturing 5 and 7 series saloons, alongside Rolls Royce sub assembly.

Amongst the many Wanderers, DKWs and Porsches, sadly there was only 1 dedicated Ferrari display, supported by Ferrari Eberlein of Kassel, promoting the Classiche programme. This was compensated for by Klaus Werner’s 250 SWB derived Breadvan on the ADAC stand and a display of significant cars by RM Auctions, ahead of their Monaco sale, which will include 2 Ferrari’s (California Spyder and 250SWB), consigned by a very enthusiastic FOC member. Several dealers displayed Daytona’s and 308’s, whilst 2 that caught the eye were the ex Colin Crabbe ’57 500TRC presented by H and H Auctions and a concours standard 365GTC by The Gallery, Brummen.

Many dealers reported a successful weekend, with "Verkauft" (sold) written on plenty of exhibits and in the adjacent “car corrals”, including €245,000 for an Ace Ace Bristol (!) - proof if it were needed, that interest remains strong in the collectors car market.

So the European Historic season is now well and truly underway, with the Tour Auto Optic, Monaco Historique GP and Mille Miglia Retrospective on successive weekends. Volcanic ash permitting…. I’ll see you there!