Defying the Recession:
22nd TECHNO-CLASSICA ESSEN 2010
more attractive than ever
• The world's largest classic car
show, from 7th* to 11th April 2010
• All 20 halls fully booked, with a
total area of more than 110,000 sq m
• Great interest among international
exhibitors, some 2,500 classic cars on
sale
• TECHNO-CLASSICA promoting the
culture of the automobile
• 7th April 2010: preview, press and
trade day.
The 170,000 people from more than 40
countries who are expected to visit this year's TECHNO-CLASSICA
ESSEN between 7th and 11th April will find a show that is even more
attractive, even more spectacular and even more informative than in
the past. Now that the organisers, S.I.H.A., have completed the
main preparations, the news from the world's largest classic car
show is promising: With over 1,000 exhibitors, all the 20 halls
with more than 110,000 square meters of exhibition space are fully
booked. The more than 300 car dealers will have no less than 2,500
vintage, classic and prestige automobiles and young classics for
sale. And more than 200 clubs will be there, making TECHNO-CLASSICA
ESSEN the largest classic car club forum in the world this year,
too.
This year has seen yet a further
increase in the level of interest from international exhibitors -
evidence of the unmatched global drawing power of TECHNO-CLASSICA,
taking place in this year's world capital of culture. The number of
suppliers from abroad has risen again this year - S.I.H.A. received
applications from more than 30 countries, including Spain,
Argentina, France, Sweden, Portugal, the USA and Italy. Some 1,000
accredited international journalists will be reporting worldwide on
TECHNO-CLASSICA.
The carmakers appreciate the drawing power of
TECHNO-CLASSICA, too: Traditionally TECHNO-CLASSICA provides the
world's largest forum for the major carmakers to stage their -
usually very spectacular and elaborate - presentations of their
historic cars and relay their message to a global public. And
nothing has changed in 2010, despite the slowdown in the automobile
industry: This year again, all the major carmakers are going all
out to impress the public with their historic presentations,
despite drastic belt-tightening in other areas - showing that they
recognise the historic dimension as an important economic factor.
After all, the German classic car market has a volume of more than
5.5 billion Euros p.a.
Although some of the carmakers are
keeping the details of their stand presentations secret until right
before TECHNO-CLASSICA opens its doors, others are happy to reveal
some information at this early stage, for example:
• Mercedes-Benz
will be taking a look back over its sporting past and showing that
the brand with the star has always built fascinating,
out-of-the-ordinary high-performance cars. The Stuttgart-based
company is taking the launch of the new SLS as an opportunity to
present super sports cars from the last 100 years or so. Beginning
with the Mercedes simplex from 1902 to the SSK, the 300 SL, right
up to the C 111 and the SLR McLaren - these fascinating dream cars
testify to the noble ancestry of the new SLS. The huge
Mercedes-Benz stand in hall 1 will also present current offerings
from the young classics range, showcase the work of the
Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, and inform visitors about the
well-assorted range of spare parts available for Mercedes-Benz
classic cars. And Mercedes-Benz will be giving the recognised
German and some international Mercedes-Benz clubs the opportunity
to present themselves and their services to a wide public.
• In hall 12
BMW will be celebrating the BMW 328's success in
the 1940 Mille Miglia: 70 years ago Hanstein/Bäumer drove the
legendary BMW 328 touring coupé to victory in the famous road race.
BMW will also be presenting highlights from the history of the Mini
to demonstrate the variety of different models - also with a view
to the group's New Mini. The works presentation, which will also
highlight the efficient spare parts system, will be suitably framed
by the clubs and their various offerings. BMW are also planning a
memorial exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of
Georg "Schorsch" Meier, the famous German racing driver who died in
1999. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the BMW G/S, the
first multiple-cylinder Enduro motorbike, and the 25th anniversary
of the BMW M3.
• As in previous
years, the Volkswagen Group will be taking over a
large part of hall 7. This year's presentation will remind visitors
that SUVs, fun cars and crossover vehicles - from the 181 to the
Touareg II, which is being rolled out in the spring - are rooted in
a tradition that goes back 40 years. On display will be the last
production VW 181, as well as a VW Tarek, a VW Golf Country (which,
incidentally, is celebrating its 20th anniversary), a VW Dune
Buggy, and a VW Iltis - which won the Paris Dakar no less than 30
years ago, in 1980. A further focus will be provided by the 1st
International K70 Club, with two VW K70s owned by club members: It
was 40 years ago that the NSU-developed car came on the market.
• The museum run by
the Volkswagen AutoMuseum Foundation will be
exhibiting two cars to mark 75 years of the Volkswagen Beetle: a VW
3 replica of the 1935 original and the "50 Years of the Beetle"
anniversary car from 1985. An eye-catcher from the VW Classic Parts
division is the 1952 "pretzel-window" Beetle, known affectionately
as the "pea" because of its green colour. Two Beetle fans entered
last year's Panamericana in this car.
For VW it's very important that all the divisions - Volkswagen
Classic, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, and Vintage Cars and
AutoMuseum/Classic Parts Center - should share one common design to
show that they are all part of the Volkswagen family.
• The
Autostadt in Wolfsburg, with the ZeitHaus, a
museum that includes all the marques that go to make up the VW
Group, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and points out
that, with more than 2.2 million visitors in 2009 alone, it is the
most-visited automobile experience in the world. With 11
fascinating cars, all based on the Beetle chassis, the Zeithaus
will be showing how special bodies changed the face of the Beetle.
The rarities include, for example, a Rometsch Beeskow cabriolet and
coupé, a Beutler special cabriolet, a Volkswagen 14A Hebmüller
cabriolet, a VW Denzel sport, and further little-known highlights
from Volkswagen's history.
• Audi, which also
belongs to the VW Group, will be celebrating "30 years of the
quattro" at TECHNO-CLASSICA. The Ingolstadt-based company is
presenting five cars fitted with the permanent four-wheel drive:
the 1980 urquattro, the 1987 Audi coupé quattro, the 1993 Audi RS2,
the 1995 Audi S2 coupé and the Audi V8 DTM. The latter is
celebrating its 20th anniversary: It was in this four-wheel drive
V8 that Hans-Joachim Stuck brought the exciting season to a close
with a victory in the last race of the 1990 German Touring Car
Championship. The 700 square meter stand in hall 7 also houses the
Audi museum mobile, the Audi Club International (ACI), the umbrella
organisation for all Audi clubs, as well as all the clubs for the
predecessor makes.
• "Sporting
Škoda" - under this motto the Škoda stand will be
exuding the flair of the Rallye Monte Carlo and the
AvD-Histo-Monte. It was 40 years ago that the Škoda 110R was
presented which formed the basis for the 130 RS, the successful
sports car. The Czechs will have seven or eight vehicles on show,
including the 110R which Matthias Kahle and Peter Göbel are
entering in the AvD-Histo-Monte and which is coming directly from
Monte Carlo to Essen, and also a rare Popular Sport Monte Carlo
coupé from the works museum in Mladá Boleslav.
• At their stand,
Porsche will be celebrating their first Le Mans
victory 40 years ago, when Hans Herrmann and Dick Attwood triumphed
over the rest of the field in their 917. The Zuffenhausen-based
sports car makers will be showing the 911 GT1 98, in which the
Porsche works team took their 16th overall win in Le Mans in 1998,
coming in first and second - almost 50 years to the day after
construction of the first Porsche sports car was completed. The
Porsche clubs will also be on hand to inform visitors, and there
will be a restoration project in progress from the factory.
• Ford is again to
be found in hall 3 with a Ford club stand - the focus this year
will be on the anniversaries of the P3, nicknamed the "bathtub" (50
years), and the Kundsen Taunus (40 years).
• 2010 marks the
100th anniversary of the Alfa Romeo marque - a
good reason for the Italians to put on a large special exhibition.
Organised by the works museum in Milan, Alfa Romeo will be showing
an impressive cross-section from 100 years of the company's
history. The details are still being kept under wraps, but the firm
is sure to be presenting a whole raft of automotive treats for
visitors' delectation.
• Citroën will be
presenting the new DS 3 alongside its historic counterparts, but is
keeping mum about further highlights. On the "Citro?n Street" set
up by the clubs, the focus will be on the 40th anniversaries of the
Citro?n SM and the Citro?n GS.
• On the occasion
of the rollout of the new RCZ coupé, Peugeot will
be presenting a retrospective of the Peugeot coupé tradition. The
plan is to exhibit, among others, a Peugeot 404 coupé, a 504 coupé
and the 104 Z - after all, the "Z" in the RCZ type designation is a
wink to the small 104 coupé from the 1970s. As in previous years,
the Peugeot stand will be designed in cooperation with the Peugeot
Lions Club and the Peugeot 504 Coupé/Cabriolet Club. Peugeot are
also celebrating a big anniversary this year - 200 years of the
marque.
• Volvo will be
putting on a very special show this year: 75 years of the Volvo PV
36 Carioca - a streamlined design that was named after a Brazilian
dance that was fashionable at the time. The Swedes will be
exhibiting three of these cars, of which only 400 were built in
all.
Other carmakers such as Ferrari,
Bentley, Bugatti and Seat are not yet divulging any details as to
what their stands will hold in store for TECHNO-CLASSICA
visitors.
Even now, however, long before
TECHNO-CLASSICA opens its doors to the public, the organisers are
able to draw a positive balance: The vintage and classic car scene
is bucking the negative trend, and the carmakers are showing their
respect for that by this year again using Essen as a stage for
spectacular retrospectives that are unmatched by any other classic
car show worldwide.
Car dealers will also be present in
force at TECHNO-CLASSICA, making it a global marketplace for
vintage and classic cars. The profusion of young classics,
collector's cars, classic and prestige cars makes this the world's
largest offering of historic cars under one roof. But what's
particularly impressive is not only the quantity, but also the
quality: To please the discerning and critical TECHNO-CLASSICA
public, professional dealers will be bringing their top-notch
offerings from their showrooms to the exhibition halls in
Essen.
This year offers especially good
prospects of more-than-satisfactory sales figures. More and more
people are discovering that classic cars are a sound investment.
And, compared to securities and gold, they have one inestimable
benefit, besides the promise of good profits - their owners can
indulge in the sheer pleasure of driving them, secure in the
knowledge that they have a crisis-proof investment stashed away in
the garage. And this is borne out by figures recently published by
the Verband der Automobilindustrie, Germany's automobile
industry association: According to the Deutsche Oldtimer Index
(DOX) set up in cooperation with Classic Data, vintage and classic
cars are a safe investment - with a 73% increase in value over ten
years. And the trend shows no signs of slowing down.
The last decade has marked an
increasing trend that has developed developed into a real
TECHNO-CLASSICA tradition: More and more automotive suppliers are
extending their range of products to include parts for classic cars
and are proudly presenting themselves and their products at
TECHNO-CLASSICA, as are the producers of high-quality tools and
workshop fittings. The range of new parts for classic cars is
growing all the time and will be showcased at TECHNO-CLASSICA.
That also applies to the over 250
suppliers of classic spare parts: By grouping most of them in halls
2, 5, 6, 8 and 9, the organisers are making sure that visitors on
the look-out for historic parts will quickly be able to find what
they're looking for instead of having to search all over. And there
will be plenty of treasures for model car collectors to discover at
TECHNO-CLASSICA, too: More than 75 model car suppliers make
TECHNO-CLASSICA a veritable treasure trove for the miniaturists
among the car enthusiasts. And the model makers also use
TECHNO-CLASSICA as a stage to present themselves and their latest
creations.
TECHNO-CLASSICA also attracts
collectors of automotive art and paper memorabilia - paintings,
posters, brochures and other kinds of literature. With some 30 art
dealers, 40 professional suppliers of paper memorabilia, and many
automobilia sellers, visitors will be able to entertain themselves
with a range of products that exceeds those available at other
shows in terms of both quantity and quality. Many dealers prefer to
offer their classic products for sale via the classic sales
channels rather than on the internet. Which gives TECHNO-CLASSICA
the edge here, too: Visitors who take the time to browse are likely
to discover some rare gem that would never make it to the world
wide web.
Satisfied customers are good for
business - and the promise of good business means that most of the
professionals have high expectations of TECHNO-CLASSICA: The
financial meltdown has more or less spared the international
classic car scene. As an economic factor vintage and classic cars
are continuing to show stable growth.
"Crisis? What Crisis?" is the title
of an album recorded by the rock group Supertramp 35 years ago. A
sentiment echoed by the organisers of TECHNO-CLASSICA. For good
reason: Unscathed by the slump in the auto industry, the world's
largest vintage, prestige and classic car show continues its path
of strong and steady growth.
And last, but not least: Ruhr, the
2010 World Capital of Culture has as its motto "New Energy is Being
Generated Here. It's Called Culture". TECHNO-CLASSICA ESSEN is one
of the city's 'energy-generation plants', promoting and propagating
automotive culture and spanning a bridge between history and
tradition and today's world - in an altogether attractive and
exciting way.
Organisers:
S.I.H.A. Ausstellungen Promotion GmbH
Banker Straße 14
D-52118 Herzogenrath
Tel.: ++49(0)24 07-173 00, Fax: ++49(0)24 07-177 11,
E-Mail: info@siha.de, Internet:
www.siha.de
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