The 35th Techno Classica is supposed to be the very last, but the organisers decided to go out with a bang. The Organisers went all in: Essen Techno Classica 2025 occupied the entire Essen expo area, covering 120,000 square metres, the equivalent to the area of 17 football fields.
The exhibition spaces include eight halls, the Galleria, and the open-air showground, but would they be able to fill them? We noticed the gradual disappearance of manufacturers since COVID-19, and several brands announced their absence well in advance. We also noted on the way that Classic Remise’s fleet remained in stock. That’s a first since we attended Essen. Will this be a fiasco or an event worth commemorating the end of one of the world’s greatest car shows?
Our answer was definitely maybe… Techno Classica definitely missed its former grandeur. 10 years ago, we could witness factory stages from 10-15 brands, from German local heroes to exotics. This year, only a few small stages with some manufacturer (or rather importer or flagship trader) support, but even with that, we saw many more breathtaking classics and exotics than in Stuttgart or Maastricht.
Hall 3 hosts most stages tied or dedicated to a brand. Even if we missed a few old familiars like the Men in Benz stage, Ferrari is still there with a trader stage filled with prime specimens from Maranello.
Ferrari is joined by Cadillac, pairing a modern (electric, Chinese market) model with a classic land yacht, and they even brought two cars to the open space.
Ford usually brings some classics restored by enthusiats, while Land Rover came with a tiny stage.
On the other hand, Porsche was honoured by several exhibitions, including a “factorish” stage showcasing car clubs.
Another stage was brought to us by Robert Bröcker, a renowned expert worldwide in the Pre-A Porsche 356, showcasing 14 vehicles from his collection. These include a preproduction Gmünd Coupé with an aluminium body from the year 1949.
The Dutch collector also brought a Speedster, once piloted by US singer Roy Orbison. This was one of the coolest stages of the show, albeit with the grumpiest wards who did not let us in to take a closer look.
The exhibitor RARE.SPHERE teamed up with restoration specialist EARLY 911 S to celebrate the stylish interior upholstery fabric Pepita with the project Porsche 911 S 60 Years of Pepita. This unique classic fabric pattern adorned a Porsche 911 for the first time in 1965, exactly 60 years ago.
There was also a stage dedicated to Japanese cars with several exotics from the golden ’90s, like a Supra, an NSX, an RX7 or several iterations of Mitsubishi’s iconic Lancer Evo homologation specials.
Here, we take a rhetorical break to continue with the remaining halls. Stay tuned!
