The ultimate European automotive events calendar 2021 – december update

Egzostive’s ultimate events calendar enumerates major automotive events in Europe. If you are looking for this year’s calendar (i.e. 2022), better click to the article below:

The ultimate 2022 car show and events list: in highest gear after a prolonged start

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December updates: By october, we were back to the postapocalyptic normality with car shows, but after a short window of two months, the december events saw the axe coming. The IAA was the very first major international car show to take place in September, whereas  in the first semester, all major  car events (Brussels Car Show, Geneva Car Show, Techno Classica, Interclassic Maastricht, Retromobile, Retro Classics) were cancelled.  

The European automotive events calendar 2021 

NEC Performance & Tuning Car Show – 14-17 January 2021, Birmingham, UK – Official website

According to the website, this show was on (or maybe there is nobody there to switch off the lights…).

Brussels Motor Show – CANCELLED – Brussels, Belgium – Official website

This is one of the best international car shows in Europe and the only one that was still held in Europe last year. Sadly the cancellation reached the Autosalon this year with no substitutes.

First impressions and digital shortcut to the Brussels Motor Show

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Antwerp Classics – (CANCELLED), Antwerp, Belgium – Official Website

This event is affiliated to the organisers of the Techno Classica, but the size is considerably smaller, and the concept is fundamentally different (my favourite stage was the one dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Ferrari in 2017).

This event’s greatest strength lies in the active participation of car clubs, showcasing a couple of really impressive stages of avid owners’ clubs, with excellent dioramas and exciting classics. After some months of hiatus, the website announced the 2022 thematic, so no 2021 event.

Festival Automobile International – 29 January – 2 February 2021, Paris, France – Official website

This event usually anticipates the Retromobile, one of the best classic car shows in the world. The event seems to be still on.

Autoretro – (CANCELLED), Roeselare, Belgium – Official Website

Paris Auction Week – the auctions of Artcurial, Bonhams and Sotheby’s (listed strictly on alphabetical order).

These Auctions usually take place during the week of Rétromobile. Last year, I managed to see all three: Artcurial is the official auctioneer of the show, while Bonhams and Sotheby’s bunk in the centre of the city.

Each action is a car show on its own right. According to the websites, the auctions are set to happen at the original time.

GP Ice Race – (CANCELLED), Zell am See, Austria,  – Official website.

Essen Techno Classica, 7-11 April, (CANCELLED!) Essen, Germany – Official website

The Techno Classica is also one of the most important automotive events in the continent, which means pretty much the world. The exhibition claims to be the number 1 of classic car fairs, and this show also delivers.

Except for last year, when the event was first postponed, then cancelled with the hope of arranging it to the Essen Motor Show. In February, the organisers gave in, an cancelled the 2021 edition. Some of it might still show up for the Essen Motor Show in December.

Spa Classic – 14-16 May (CANCELLED), Spa, Belgium – Official website

The Spa event is part of the classic racing series run by the French Peter Auto series.

While the flagship event seemed to be the bi-annual Le Mans Classics (see a bit later), the roaring circus visits Spa every year, and so do I for the past few years.

Oldtimer Messe Tulln – 15-16 May (CANCELLED),  Tulln, Austria – Official website

Nürburgring Classics – 21-23 May 2021 (CANCELLED), Nürburgring, Germany – Official website

Amsterdam Motor Show, August? (Postponed to August, TBC), Amsterdam, Netherlands – Official website

I visited the AutoRAI in 2015, that left a lovely impression. It was however discontinued, and with a new car show event launched a few years ago. In March, it was postponed to a June date, when other June events were already cancelled. The organisers did not give up hope, and still aim at a feasible August date.

Retromobile – 2-6. June 2021 (CANCELLED), – Paris, France – Official website

One of the A-listers, in our books, the best classic car show in most years, that we attended.

Postponed to June, and ultimately cancelled. To catch up with memories, Egzostive covered last year’s event in the most exhaustive manner.

Rétromobile 2020: the queen of classic car shows is on!

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1000 Miglia – 16-19 June, Brescia – Rome, Italy – Official website

Klassikwelt Bodensee – 18-20 June (CANCELLED), Fridriechshafen, Germany – Official website

Concours d’Elégance Suisse, 18-20 June 2021, Chateau de Coppet, Switzerland, – Official website

Spa Summer Classic, 24-27 June 2021 (closed event), Spa, Belgium – Official website

This event is held annually at Spa-Francorchamps. Although Spa Summer Classics is not so clear cut as the Spa Classic mentioned earlier, it is still worth visiting. The event brings together regional classic car series to race at this legendary circuit. The organisers just revamped their website, so the event is one of the few, still set to happen this year. According to latest news, the the event was not rendered public, but remained restricted to participants.

InterClassics – 24-27 June 2021 (CANCELLED), Maastricht, the Netherlands – Official website

The InterClassics Maastricht is a well-established classic car event of the BeNeLux region.

It is usually one of the first car events of the calendar, but as a precaution, InterClassics Maastricht was postponed to June, and was ultimately cancelled. The central theme of this year’s event would have been about Dutch Grand Prix Classics.

The London Classic Car Show, POSTPONED! New date: 25-27 June, London, UK – Official website

The organisers promise a Covid-compliant outdoor covered event to host the London Classic Car Show 2021 at Syon Park. Just to make sure, the date was changed from 16-18 April to 25-27 June.

Le Mans Classics, 1-4 July 2021 (CANCELLED), Le Mans, France – Official website

Le Mans Classics is a biennial flagship event of the brilliant Peter Auto classic racing series. It was due last year, but it has been postponed to 2021, pushing out the Hungaroring Classics and Chantilly to 2022. In April, the event was cancelled with an updated Peter Auto calendar with two new events in France in July (Historic Racing By Peter Auto on 3-4 July at the Bugatti Circuit and the Nogaro Classics to be held on 23-25 july at the Nogaro Circuit).

Le Mans Classic 2021 cancelled

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Retro Classics Stuttgart, 8-11 July (CANCELLED), Stuttgart, Germany – Official Website

One of Europe’s flagship classic car events is playing safe by postponing to July. But even that could not save it from cancellation. At the same time the organisers mobilised themselves for the Winter period with their sidekick event Retro Classics Bavaria (to be held in December).

First impressions from Retro Classics Stuttgart

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Goodwood Festival of Speed – 8-11 July 2021, Goodwood, UK – Official website

London Motor & Tech Show – 16-18 July 2021, London, UK – Official website

Eifel Rallye Festival, 22-24 July 2021 (CANCELLED), Daun, Germany – Official website

Silverstone Classics 30 July- 1 August 2021, Silverstone, UK  – Official website

One of UK’s largest classic car events is held at the legendary Silverstone race track. Personally, I have been looking at Silverstone Classics for quite some time. Still, people out there drive on the wrong side of the street without even noticing! : ).

The photos on the website seem spectacular (and after a few classic car races, I can tell : ) ), both in terms of scenery and cars attending on and off track. Visitors get to see classic sports cars and race cars in their natural environment, i.e. on the race track.

Spettacolo Sportivo – 31 July – 1 August, Zandvoort, Netherlands – Official website

This event was on my wish list for the 110^th anniversary of Alfa Romeo. Unfortunately, it was cancelled in 2020 due to the confinement, and the 2021 event took place on short notice in August.

Classic Days – 6-8 August 2021 (CANCELLED), Schloss Dyck, Germany – Official website

Another lesser-known event that promises a great program and reports confirmed that it’s a must-see. The core programme is a classic car meeting by a lakeside castle, which might sound familiar to those who follow Villa d’Este.

AVD-Oldtimer-Grand-Prix, 13-15 August, Nürburgring, Germany – Official website

It seems a great event from the official photos, definitely worth a visit.

AMTS – Automobile and Tuning Show – 27-29 August, Budapest, Hungary – Official website

This event makes a similar impression as the Essen Motor Show covering classics, motorsport and tuning with an emphasis on entertainment, and a stronger focus on hostesses than any other show this year. The organisers boast with hundreds of hostesses and offer a Miss AMTS feature event.

Last year, AMTS missed the March window, and then the organisers regularly rolled over the date to a next feasible one. To keep their promise, they concluded with a digital show in December. This year, they seem to stick to the summer date, that was last postponed to August so that it could take place during the holiday season with possible travel for tourists.

Salon Privé – 1-4 September, Blenheim Palace, UK – Official website

The 16-year-old Salon Privé might not be that well-known outside the UK, but the event has a distinctively classy and aristocratic flair, covering both classic and supercar shows.

Concours of Elegance  – 3-5 September, Hampton Court Palace, UK – Official website

An interesting concept to arrange a similar event to the same week not far away. This might actually work, as tourists can group the two events for a visit to the region.

Antwerp Concours – 5 September, Antwerpen, Belgium – Official website

One of the very few mainland events in Western Europe that actually takes place. The venue is a castle near Antwerp, and organisers promise 100 cars of all epochs.

First impressions from Antwerp Concours: supercars in super surrounding

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IAA Munich, 7-12 September, Munich, Germany– Official website

The well established German car show moves to a new location after decades of successful trade shows in Frankfurt.

The new location in Munich raised some eyebrows, and I also note the considerably shorter time frame for the exhibition. The event will involve the city centre with publicly available free installations. Our first report is now online:

We travelled 800kms to see the IAA – was it worth it?

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Goodwood Revival – 17-19 September, Goodwood, UK – Official website

Another legendary event in a legendary site. In addition to the Festival of Speed, Revival is one of the events I would like to visit one day. Unfortunately, with Brexit, this is getting even more unlikely.

Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, 1-3 October 2021, Cernobbio, Italy – Official website

The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is one of the most well-known beauty contests of Historic Cars. It is undoubtedly the most traditional event and was held for the first time in 1929. Since its revival in the 1990s, the Concorso has developed into a benchmark of European Concours events.

Milano AutoClassica, 1-3 October, Milano, Italy – Official website

Another event on my bucket list, as a stable candidate for a visit.

Zoute Grand Prix, 7-10 October, Knokke-Heist, Belgium, – Official website

This excellent Concours d’elegance takes place in October by the Belgian coast. The event looks back to a decade of success with a continually growing audience growing beyond 250.000 visitors in 2018.

The Zoute Grand Prix comprises five events held throughout the four days at various locations: the Zoute Top Marques show (this year called Prado Zoute), the Zoute Rally, the Zoute Sale by Bonhams Auction, the Zoute Concours d’elegance and the closing Zoute GT Tour.

Some of these events are public, others might require additional investment. The 2019 event guaranteed a full day of activities with a comprehensive set of programmes. We attended and the reports are available from the landing article:

The 2021 Zoute GP is on!

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Rallye Legend – 7-10 October, San Marino, Italy – Official website

Auto-moto d’epoca – 21-24 October, Padua Italy – Official website

Interclassics Brussels,20-22 November, Brussels, Belgium – Official website

The Interclassics Brussels is a relatively recent event, will be held for the seventh time this year. However, the organisers are far from being beginners. Their main event, the Interclassics Maastricht is the most important classic car event in the Netherlands with some three decades of history. Even as a newcomer, Interclassics Brussels quickly established itself, thanks to the region’s very active classic car culture.

The last few events were quite impressive, in 2019, I think it surpassed the Maastricht event. The 2021 date is in safe distance to be organised, and will hopefully manage to pay the long-overdue tribute to Belgian racing legend Jacky Ickx. We already got out tickets, and the organisers are quite active in promoting on Facebook, so let’s hope that a last minute confinement would not strike that one from the calendar.

Essen Motor Show, 27 November – 5 December, Essen, Germany – Official website

I like to summarise the Essen Motor Show as a European SEMA meets classic car show.

It can not be compared to the international car shows, even if a few dealerships exhibit. For a full-blooded international car show, wait a few weeks and go to Brussels. But it’s safe to say that EMS will leave quite a few lasting memories on other fronts, with a clear aim to please everybody by offering everything on all fronts.

2018, I could witness, VW’s electric Pikes Peak stormer ID R and Porsche’s 919 Nürburgring dominator,

I watched the drift championship training session, I marvelled all forms of beauty and was paralysed by shock and awe in the taverns of tuning.

EMS is organised every year, and with an eventual cancellation of the Techno Classica, I hoped that the EMS could step in as a backup plan.

Spoiler alert! The 2021 Essen Motor Show is on!

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Retro Classics Bavaria, 3-5 December, Nürberg, Germany – Official Website

Retro Classics Stuttgart was cancelled this year, but the Nürnberg event might allow to catch up. One specialty of the organisers is to find dates coinciding with other major events (the Techno Classica event series or the Interclassic series). This time they managed to find the date of the Essen Motor Show…

The ultimate events calendar enumerates major automotive events in Europe, and has become a tradition at Egzostive. But now, we face an uphill struggle to cope with all the reschedules due to COVID pandemic. 2020 year started out as a fine year with excellent car shows, but quickly turned into an organisational nightmare (which is still a first-world problem next to the deaths and loss of existence for many). From April onward one event was cancelled after another, even if some tried to fight it with gradual postponing. In the end, almost every event got cancelled since April, until the first quarter of this year.

Now events face the same challenges, while organisers are engaged in an ultimate game of chess for their own fate, with dates constantly floated to find a perfect deconfinement timeslot. Early months? Sure cancellation. Spring? Maybe not aved by the bell, if vaccination takes too long. Summer then? Everybody will be gone for the first free summer in two years. Will autumn be the safe bet? I bet September will be incredibly crowded, along with the last few months of the year.

There are a few events that happen only in odd or even years, and this order was also messed by the pandemic. 2021 would be the year for the Hungaroring Classic and the Chantilly Concours d’elegance, but the main event, the biennial Le Mans Classic was postponed to 2021 from last year. It was known since the cancellation of Geneva, that it won’t happen this year either. Also the first major European car show, the Autosalon Brussels is cancelled.

Update March: Retromobile is cancelled, even the new date was not sustainable, Spa Classic and Interclassic Maastricht is also cancelled. 

Update February: Villa d’Este is postponed to October, Mille Miglia to June. Tulln and Essen Techno Classica are cancelled.

Update January: the London Classic Car Show was postponed to 25-27 June.