InterClassics opened its gates last Friday, marking the 8th edition of Belgium’s successful classic car event.
Even if the show encompassed only three halls, InterClassics offered another action-packed event. In addition to the central theme honouring Le Mans, semi-official stages, museums, and stages announcing events to come, this year’s show still had all the ingredients that make classic car shows so much fun.
InterClassics is located on the premises of the Brussels Expo area (metro station Heysel, with a generous amount of parking places). This year’s InterClassics again occupied only three and a half halls, much less exhibition space than the pre-COVID peaks of 5-6 halls.
The extra half of a hall makes InterClassics 2023 slightly larger than last year, and the show made good use of it. Whether interested in artists, clothing shops, parts specialists, miniature models, or car clubs, the show offered something for everybody. And, of course, the show’s central theme is the most important anniversary of 2023: the 100th anniversary of Le Mans.
This year’s central theme revolves around the 100th anniversary of Le Mans. This is one of 2023’s most affluent anniversaries, and exhibitions started already last year with Chantilly Concours dedicating two categories showcasing a dozen race cars. Several museums launched anniversary exhibitions: we visited the one at Autoworld and might still catch the one in Speyer.
We also visited the anniversary edition of the Le Mans Classic in July, so you can also expect our report from the Le Mans Museum.
The special exhibition was moved to a dedicated room in the Patio accessible from Hall 5. In this hall, the organisers built a replica of the circuit’s landmarks, including the tyre-shaped grandstand, grid markings, and even a set of simulators.
The exhibition brought up an impressive collection from the history of Le Mans from several museums (including the Porsche Museum, Matra Museum, Le Mans Museum and the Louwman Museum) as well as from private collections. The oldest Le Mans classic that will be exhibited once stood on the starting line of the first edition in 1923: a Vinot Deguinand.
The organisers promised 24 Le Mans race cars (a fitting number indeed), each with its own unique story. The cars include race winners such as the 1957 Jaguar D-Type (winning three races between 1955 and 1957) and a 1992 Peugeot 905 (winning in 1992 and 1993). We also noticed historically significant models such as the Howmet TX, a 1968 experimental racer with a gas turbine drive train.
The exhibition showcased several cars that defined its period, such as the Porsche 917 (winning in 1970 and 1971), Audi R18 TDI Ultra (winning five titles in the 2010s) and a Toyota LMP1 car, the most successful race cars of the LMP1 era, along with exotics like the Cadillac Northstar or Toyota’s Group-C endurance car.
InterClassics Brussels also saw the return of brands, even if not at the level of the golden age, like the factory stages at Techno Classica until 2019. The organisers highlighted Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lotus and Donkervoort as brands that would be represented at importer level. Nevertheless, we recall stages with Smart models, Shelby American’s offering (Ford GT and AC Cobra), and several club corners. The stage of Volkswagen united both, with interesting specimens like the white XL1 and the defunct Phaeton.
The largest share of cars arrived courtesy of traders. The collectors and traders aim to showcase as many cars as possible while trying to leave lasting impressions.
In the mean time the organisers published impressive visitor statistics, announcing another visitor record. 26,865 enthusiasts and buyers of classic cars, youngtimers and supercars visited this year’s edition of InterClassics, representing a growth of 12% over the year.
We will post another article on the most memorable cars. Get ready for a few surprises.
