It’s been over a week since InterClassics, but January is so dense that we can only publish our impressions ex-post. InterClassics is back in Maastricht, filling the halls of the Maastricht expo area with a special program aimed at younger generations. With this sidekick and a dense field of classics amassing all the available exhibition halls, the show attracted over 35.000 visitors on a four-day long weekend. Looks like we are back into the age of car shows!
The InterClassics brand dates back to 1994 and has evolved considerably throughout the years into a very comprehensive exhibition and trade show, with a spin-off event in Brussels. We attended the 2016 and 2019 events, and while the first one was truly memorable, 2019 still had a lot of things to go for with its impressive Lancia stage.
COVID changed many things, but it could not break the InterClassics. Last year the organisers diversified their portfolio by launching an open-air event. Still, their core competence remained traditional indoor classic car shows.
This year, InterClassics Maastricht finally returned with its familiar concept featuring a primary topic. This year they pay homage to Dutch Grand Prix classics, an exhibition that has been in the making since 2020.
The original idea was to honour Max Verstappen’s 2020 Formula 1 championship title right on time in January 2021. These plans were washed away by the successive waves of COVID in 2021 and 2022, despite the planned return of the Dutch Grand Prix in 2021, after several decades of hiatus.
So much need for speed should be lived to the Max, and 2023 offered a chance at redemption. The main stage paid tribute to Dutch Grand Prix Classics by presenting Formula 1 cars from every decade of the Dutch Grand Prix.
Visitors can see the very first car that won the Dutch Grand Prix: a Talbot Lago T26C driven by Frenchman Louis Rosier. Other highlights include the Ferrari 156 Sharknose and the Lotus 21 belonging to F1 world champion Jim Clark, both of them ended up in the 1961 Zandvoort F1’s winner’s circle.
The 2023 event’s main poster stars a Lotus in John Player Special livery. InterClassics featured two of these black and gold racers, including world champion Nigel Mansell’s Lotus 87.
The rest of the cars were selected to honour their Dutch driver. The obvious choice was national racing hero and 2x F1 champ Max Verstappen’s car. In addition, the organisers also procured the Shadow DN9 belonging to Jan Lammers with the exuberant Samson tobacco advertising.
The Louwman Museum from the Hague was also exhibiting Carel Godin de Beaufort’s Porsche 718/2 painted in the Dutch racing colour orange.
As for the rest of the show, this year’s InterClassics occupied about the same exhibitor area as the editions before COVID. As the stages were crowded with cars, there was plenty of stuff to see. And quite a selection too: from modern supercars to timeless classics, and affordable youngtimers to pre-war legends, the show offered something for all.
And for the younger generations, the external section of the exhibition complex offers a special programme, the Sim Racing Expo, organised by Sim Formula Europe. At the Sim Expo, visitors can see the latest tech and actually try some of the set-ups created by simulator developers.
