19th Int. Concours d'Elegance - report

In mostly sunny, hot weather, around 22,000 spectators saw the exciting range of automotive history in the circular baroque garden at the most traditional German Concours d'Elegance Automobile, “ASC Classic Gala Schwetzingen 2023”.

Among the approximately 200 historic vehicles built between 1885 and 1990, which were presented to a 35-person international jury of experts to award prizes for the most faithful classics, there were many unique gems from automobile history that were on public display for the first time.

In order to do justice to the high quality of the vehicles in the top group, instead of a “Best of Show” there will be a trio of front runners in Schwetzingen, which also includes the “Star of Classic Gala” and the “Classic Gala Grand Prix”. because this is the only way to evaluate the outstanding quality of the front runners in a nuanced way without making any compromises.

The differences between the three winners prove the conclusiveness of this concept:

Best of Show 2023 was the ALFA 6C 2300 MM Touring Coupé 1938 from the Mörch family,

The “Classic Gala Grand Prix” was won by a Mercedes 500 K Windovers Roadster from 1935 from the Steim and collection

The “Star of Classic Gala 2023” was the Lagonda 2.6-liter Convertible 1953 from Helmers.

The jury's struggle to find the best is also clear in the runners-up at the Triennale:

In the “Best of Show” a Lancia Appia Sport Zagato took second place on the podium ahead of a Talbot Lago T14 Coupé,

A flawless Ferrari 275 GTB from Vintage&Prestige achieved second place in the “Classic-Gala Grand Prix” and in the “Star of Classic-Gala 2023” this was the ALFA 6C 2500 SS Touring Barchetta from E. Tauscher.

The award ceremony was a parade of rarities: the Baden-Württemberg state prize went to the Maybach W6 DSG Cabriolet Spohn 1932 from the Zapf family, the ASC Classic Gala Cup was won by the unique Voisin C11 Berline from the Ittner family and third place The predominantly completely original Panhard X56 Berline LeMaitre 1930 from the Zapf Collection received FIVA class.

Five ALFA 6 Cs fought for victory and place, including the Pininfarina convertible from the Dassen Collection from Holland, whose pontoon body stretched over the leather interior without any waves.

The jury's big favorites were also the Horch 8 350 stroller, built in 1929 at Hornig in Meerane, in perfectly restored original condition, which won the third Star of Classic Gala Schwetzingen and the Coachbuilt classification, and the Opel Admiral factory convertible from 1938.

The special Lamborghini classification was won by a dark blue 400 GT from Halder from Berlin, while the elegant Urraco P 300 from the Bader family won the FIVA class G.

The 125 Years of Renault show was particularly attractive, for which the friends of the Renault Oldtimer Club Viersen, under the aegis of DeuVet board member Martin Zabel, presented around 25 milestones in history, led by the Vanderbilt racing car Agathe, built in 1907, which took third place in the Classic Gala Grand Prix and secured the FIVA Class B, while the 5 winners of the Renault anniversary classification Renault 4 CV, Alpine A 310/4, Fuego, Espace 1 and Renault Twingo illustrate the diversity of this innovative brand.

The audience and jury were amazed by the variety of classics throughout the park, such as the aerodynamic wonder of the FIAT 1100 Mille Miglia 1947, which was specially brought from Luxembourg and won the Prix Superieur, but also the streamlined Tatra T87 from 1948, which alongside the victory also achieved 2nd place in the Württembergische Versicherung Grand Prix in his FIVA class. Under the aegis of the Württemberg insurance company, a Maybach Zeppelin Cabriolet D from 1939 traveled on its own to Schwetzingen in Baden to meet up with a Rolls Royce Phantom 1 Landaulet 1929 and a Mercedes 500K Cabriolet B from 1935, the 2nd place in his FIVA class.

The Mercedes-Benz-IG celebrated 70 years of the Mercedes “Ponton” and at the Hirschbrunnen in the west of the circular castle park, 75 years of Porsche automobiles could be admired, ranging from the Berlin-Rome car to the early 356 with bent windows and various 911s, the 914 , 924 and 928 up to the current Porsche 911 Dakar Edition.

In Class H of completely unrestored original vehicles, which was invented in Schwetzingen in 2001, a SAAB 92 as a barn find was just as impressive as a Mercedes 123 with just 32 kilometers on the clock.

The US Classic Car Concours USCCC and the Corvette Anniversary Prize were won by the 1954 Chevrolet Corvette with a Bell glass dome roof from the “Corvette Pope” Rolf Gersch in front of a 1957 DeSoto Fireflite Station Wagon from Jokiel and the Kaiser Darrin 1951 with sliding doors from Fam. Arbor.

Over the weekend, almost 22,000 spectators enjoyed the classic automobiles from 1885 to 1990 in the unique circular baroque garden in bright sunshine after a rainy Friday and then dry weather, accompanied by live jazz and with numerous Automobilia and many culinary offerings as well as the artistic curator Curt-Achim Reich C.A.R. compiled art exhibition with the works of well-known artists and highly qualified new discoveries.

On Saturday, a parade of 15 Lamborghini from the last 20 years complemented the Lamborghini display on the castle terrace and, thanks to the great support of individual vehicle collectors, other special shows were on the themes of FIAT 600, Gutbrod automobiles, NSU-Ro 80, the Ford Escort versus Opel Kadett and dedicated to the history of Adler automobiles.

As the only independent event of this format, ASC-Classic Gala Schwetzingen has further expanded its top position among the international Concours d'Elegances and has established the Palatinate Castle among the major international Concours d'Elegances such as Pebble Beach, Villa d'Este, Bagatelle and others in such a way that that in connection with Schwetzingen people have long been talking not only about Mozart, the asparagus and the castle, but above all about the world's best vintage cars. The future of this unique event is secured by multi-year agreements with Württembergische Versicherung, DEKRA and other partners - the organizers are already planning the 20th anniversary competition ASC-Classic-Gala Schwetzingen on the last weekend in August 2024, for which many renowned participants will once again be coming all of Europe have agreed.

You can find the award-list her:

► www.classic-gala.de/praemierungen