19 top spots at Techno-Classica Essen 2022

Essen excels once more

Germany’s largest classic car event, Techno-Classica in Essen, returned in a blaze of sunshine after a three-year hiatus on 23-27 March.

The show enjoyed thousands of visitors milling about both the inside and outside halls. It was on a slightly smaller scale than in the past, but you’d be hard pushed to tell going by the numbers attending.

Owners’ clubs rallied to put on their own special displays in the absence of official Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen stands, with everything from auction record-setters to obscure microcars filling the eight halls, plus outside spaces, of the exhibition centre.

Here are our favourites from a brilliant classic show.

1. Krazy kompressors

One of the most curious stands in the Mercedes-dominated Hall 1 was of the Mercedes-Benz Kompressor Club with its eclectic selection of pre-war oddities.

Attracting most attention was 1936 500K with bodywork by Erdmann & Rossi, its streamlined design custom made for the former King of Iraq.

Next to it, in a dramatic hue of purple, was a 1928 630 with coachwork by the French firm Jacques Saoutchik. A dust-covered 500K sat at the back, one of the increasingly popular ‘untouched’ barn-find classic cars.

2. Shapely Veritas

One of the shining lights of Germany’s immediate post-war racing scene, this 1949 Veritas-BMW 328 RS is one of just 32 such cars rebuilt by the West German concern run by Ernst Loof, Georg Meier and Lorenz Dietrich.

The 1972cc straight-six was good for 125hp and performed well enough for Veritas to fund its own Komet coupé and other models, but sadly very few cars were made before the operation faltered in a matter of months.

Hamburg classic car dealer Thiesen had this 328 RS on its stand, in prime position and surrounded by other exotica.

3. Bavarian brilliance

The BMW Classic & Type Club stand in the centre of Hall 6 had a great outward-facing circle of classic cars on show, with this 1928 Dixi starting off a line of sports cars including a Z3M, Z8 and an E30 equipped with Hartge goodies from new.

The executive cars lined up on the other side included a fine E9 3.0S. 

4. Audi amazes

The Audi Club International was just next door to rivals BMW and, although not given the prominent central location, put on a great display – particularly from this angle, where, over the bootlid of a 1964 DKW 1000SP Roadster we see a 1969 NSU TT, early Audi 100 and later Audi Coupé.

From here the years advanced up to the latest car on the stand, a modern-classic Audi TT.

5. Private purchases

Hall 4 was set aside as a space for private owners to display their cars, with some even for sale.

One such car was this 1966 Porsche 912, an early three-dial car – referencing its instrument binnacle.

Although the hall was only about half full, the variety of cars ranging from a safari-style Porsche 911 to an Abarth 130 with a wide bodykit attracted plenty of observers and potential buyers.

6. Summertime vibes

Intense sunshine blessed Essen in March and gave the large corner outside between Halls 2 and 6 an atmosphere of a summer show.

Owners gathered around cars and sat on deckchairs while visitors flocked to the nearby bratwurst and beer stands. Conversations between owners and visitors ran into the evening.

A mixture of German, American and even French machinery was gathered here, including a BMW E34 M5, two Mercedes-Benz 126-series 560SELs, a Chevrolet Blazer Silverado, a Pontiac Bonneville, a Citroën DS Safari and a rare Renault 6 4x4.

7. Marvellous microcars

Microcars were in good supply at the 2022 Techno-Classica, even rarities well beyond the expected Messerschmidts, like the Zündapp Janus on the Metropole Classics stand in Hall 7.

It’s this 1960 Goggomobil TL 250 Transporter that struck us most, though. More often used by the German postal service, this one is Dutch registered, has 43,187km on the clock and was decked out with a roof-rack.

8. In the shadows

A distinctive pair of 1970s Volkswagens were nestled at the back of Reller Automobile’s stand at the end of hall 7.

A bright orange Passat B1, with just one owner, sat next to a just-as-bright yellow K70.

While they received cursory glances from the crowds, it was Reller’s collection of Beetles that captured the attention of most, including a 1951 example in very good, original condition, leaving these two to sit brightly, but quietly, at the back.

9. Waiting for the hammer to fall

A vast vintage marquee was erected in the centre of Hall 2 to house auctioneer Bonhams, where small sales were held.

Dead centre of Hall 2, it certainly created an atmosphere thanks to its soft lighting and mixture of glamorous and racing classics on display, not to mention the rather vast four-sided façade of a Roman building.

Other vendors in the hall included Gassmann, which had a 1955 Arnolt-Bristol on show and 1935 Horch 853 Spezial Roadster, the latter of which sold on Thursday morning.

10. Fascinating Fords

The Ford Oldtimer und Motorsport Club Cologne display in Hall 3 was a broad mix set over a vast blue square, colour-coded with the marque.

Capris occupied one corner, with two 2600RS models and a later Mk3 2300 Super GT wearing a loud bodykit, while on the opposite side was a rare selection of exotic-looking 1970s sports cars, comprising two LMX coupés, one a 1974 prototype and a OXI 20M TS, all using the 2.3-litre Cologne V6.

Around the corner from these Italian glamour machines was a lowly 1983 Ford Sierra 1.6 GL, completing the circle of variety.

11. Matra re-emerges

This strange work of aerodynamic shapes is the 1969 Matra 640 prototype race car.

It was quickly succeeded by the MS650 due to this car’s tendency to lift off the ground at speed, much to factory test driver Henri Pescarolo’s misfortune: that first prototype was destroyed in a crash and Pescarolo narrowly escaped with serious burns.

This second prototype was withdrawn and consigned to the history books – and shows like this.
 

12. Rescued Weidner

One of a few restoration projects on show was this Weidner Condor 70s, which was also looking for a new owner.

Found abandoned at a country home near Florence, in Italy, it’s thought to be one of just seven remaining in the world.

Created by Hans Trippel, of Amphicar fame, this 1958 example retains its three-cylinder, two-stroke, water-cooled Heinkel engine but, much like its glassfibre body, it isn’t entirely complete.

A future restoration project, perhaps.

13. Rare Bugatti trio

Three of the seven prototype Bugatti EB110s were gathered at the CC-Cars stand, A1, A6 and A7 in attendance.

They were in various states of finish, with missing tail-lights, conspicuously shrouded headlights and unusual rear-wheel spats.

Placed somewhat awkwardly on the edges of the stand, they were exposed to the admiring glances of a busy walkway nonetheless.

14. Barn-find beauty

What could be considered the peak of the barn-finds at Techno-Classica is this alloy-bodied 1969 Ferrari 365GTB/4 covered in the dust of its 40 years spent in hiding.

It sold in 2017 for $2.2m and is again for sale, CC-Cars, who displayed it at Essen, inviting offers some distance north of that.

Discussion around the car stirred between restorations and keeping it as is. It certainly had presence.

15. Something spezial

An original 1936 500K Spezial Roadster with provenance traced back to its earliest years adorned the corner of a pre-war collection of Mercedes – and attracted plenty of attention.

One of the most desirable models from the marque’s 1930s period, only 29 Spezial Roadsters were made before it was replaced with the 540K, three of which were also exhibited on this stand.

16. British bus seeks new home

This obscure 1972 Volkswagen Transporter is the sort of thing you look out for at Essen’s Techno-Classica, for its brave take on the classic VW bus.

However, this narrowed, wheelarch-stamped, split-screen creation originated from the UK.

It attracted plenty of attention, but whether or not it drew a buyer for its €47,500 asking price is another thing.

17. Lloyd trio

A trio of Lloyd cars represented just some of the German marques lost to history but proudly on show via their respective clubs in Hall 8.

Here, from right to left, is a LS 600, LTK 600 and LP 900 Arabella, late examples of the Lloyd Motoren Werks GmbH, which went bankrupt in 1963.

With most Lloyd cars using two-cylinder engines, the Arabella is a rarity with its four-cylinder 897cc motor, making it good for 75mph.

18. Call of duty

The German recovery service ADAC, also Europe’s largest motoring association, brought along two liveried classics to promote the 118-year-old firm: one an Isetta bubble car and this rather more fit-for-purpose VW 147 van.

This 1967 model, from right in the middle of its 1964-’74 production run, features a 44hp 1300cc engine giving a 62mph top speed.

19. Working classics

The best views of Hall 6 might have been from the cherry-picker lifted up by this 1973 VW T2b ‘Ruthmann Steiger’.

Ruthmann Steiger is one of the oldest names in the cherry-picker business, introducing its first in 1954, after 53 years of manufacturing bicycles and pushcarts, and remains in operation today.

The Interessengemeinschaft T2 Freunde des VW-Busses 1967-1970 also had a former Hamburg police van and Bundespost van on its stand.

Essen’s Techno-Classica will return in April 2023.