Its been some time since the Essen Motor Show is over, but we gathered enough excitement to fill our columns for months. Following the article on Movie cars, it is time to focus on some classics.
The EMS is no Techno Classica, but the timing and location allow a great selection of classics exhibited by museums from the area.
The Technical Museum in Sinsheim and Speyer is a regular guest (they brought along a truly impressive classic 1953 Ferrari 342 America), while PS Speicher built an impressive stage for their premiere.
This article is extended with the classic cars section of Chrome Cars and the two cars on the stage of the Melkus Club. These are not museums (strictly speaking), but they surely fit into this topic.
The organiser’s chambers celebrated automotive anniversaries and themes
The organiser SIHA usually builds a stage to host a dedicated selection of cars. This year, their fleet included several automotive anniversaries, such as the 75th anniversary of Vespa and the 60th anniversary of Jaguar’s legendary E-Type.
The main entrance of the stage is guarded by two Jaguar E-Types, a green coupé and a red roadster, both from the early Series I production. One of the anniversary highlights of 2021 includes the 60th anniversary of the E-Type. This birthday became a featured topic of several museums and events last year, including Autoworld’s anniversary exhibition and the E-Type lineup of the Zoute Concours.
Autoworld threw a birthday party for the 60 years old E-Type
The E-type’s look was sensational back then and swiftly grew into a symbol of the ’60s. With its highly favourable price/performance ratio and over the top specs, the car became an instant success, especially on the American market.
The racing success of the legendary C and D-Types preceded the E-Type, but Jaguar did not stop there. The E-Type was improved constantly, receiving a whopping V12 and several experimental versions.
The next few cars were showcased to commemorate the racing history of Ford’s Motorsport division.
The three GT40 cars paid tribute to the victory of three Ford GTs crossing the line first at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. The fleet included a historic GT40, a GT3 racing car and a current Ford GT in an iconic Gulf livery.
The next few cars recall the 90th anniversary of Ford’s Cologne factory. This lineup includes a few European racers with a pedigree.
The Ford Capri RS2600 won the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race in 1971. This one is joined by a second racing Capri, an RS 3100, and the Ford Escort Mk I Valtellina Group 2.
A smaller stage is dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the iconic scooter Vespa. Back then, Piaggo was among the first companies to provide a stylish solution to mobility problems in the post-war rubble of Italy. The company itself was established in the late 19th century and had a long history in military production.
Vespa owes its name to its distinctive shape with a slim waist and a curved rear but, most importantly, to its characteristic insect-like sound. Vespa means “wasp” in Italian, and Enrico Piaggio gave that nickname personally when he heard the prototype.
The SIHA booth’s Vespa stage features three specimens. We recommend our impressions from Autoworld’s Vespa exhibition with 75 Italian two-, three- or four-wheelers for a more comprehensive exhibition:
The PS Speicher made one heck of a first impression
The PS Speicher is one of our favourite museums, and it was a pleasure to revisit them in Essen as well. The German museum attended the Essen Motor Show for the first time.
Their stage in Hall 2 showcased a cross-section of their fleet, which must be Europe’s largest collection of vintage vehicles, covering all from motorcycles to heavy trucks.
Their stage reflects this diversity, showcasing a massive Mack Superliner truck, a classic 1965 Ford Taunus Transit with a Kreidler works service livery, a 1902 Rochet Petit, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SE and an S10 from the defunct German pre-war brand Stoewer.
The Museum hosts a massive collection of two-wheelers, partly in its publicly accessible depos, and their Essen stage also featured a few highlights from the 1200 bikes of their collection.
The most recent exhibit was a BMW HP4 Race with a carbon body limited to 750 units. The classic bikes include a Benelli Sei, a Moto Guzzi V7 LeMans and a Saroléa 23RC.
The central podium showcased a masterpiece from the Museum’s ongoing 100 years of AVUS exhibition. The silver Borgward 1500 RS is one of three rebuilds of the 1958 model with original parts.
The car was equipped with the AVUS tail, a removable aerodynamic backpack designed for the high speeds on the Berlin race track, entered in the 1.5-litre class. Consider it the German version of the Ferrari breadvan…
Chrome Cars honoured the racing history of Lotus
In addition to its genuinely awesome movie car exhibition, Chrome Cars honoured the iconic British Lotus brand.
The smaller corners were filled with a specimen of a Lotus-Lola B12/80 Coupé LMP2 endurance race car from the 2012 WEC season. Their result was nearly not as cool, as its iconic JPS livery: they finished last, at 8th place, with hardly any memorable finishes.
The stage featured a lineup of road-legal cars, including two specimens of Lotus’ iconic Espirit models: one was a Lotus Esprit S2 World Championship Edition (one of only 100 cars with the JPS livery), and the other a Lotus Esprit S2 in a gold colour that was used as a personal car of Colin Chapman.
The classics were escorted by a 2018 Lotus Exige Cup 430 Type 79 and a Lotus C-01 Bike.
Right next, there was a lineup of Formula 1 cars paired with a Norton F1 motorcycle with a Wankel engine.
The race cars include a Lotus 77 driven by Gunnar Nillson (with the team finishing fourth in and his teammate Andretti winning in Japan), a Lotus 92 driven by a young Nigel Mansell in 1983 and a Lotus 81, driven by Mario Andretti (only scoring a few points in the 1980 and 1981 season).
The Melkus RS1000 Register gave a wonderful insight into the technology of the DDR
The Melkus RS1000 Register built a small stage with a lot of content, following the same philosophy as the Lamborghini Polos Storico in Retromobile and Techno Classica.
They showcased two cars, one in perfect showroom shine, while the other was only 50% ready. This second RS1000, however, was prepared as a tech demo with chassis, engine and suspension still naked under the metal sheet.
We lost a lot of time there, listening to stories and discussing the old DDR tech. These guys were really passionate about their cars.
If you are looking for more impressions, check out the landing article for the Essen Motor Show (with all the articles linked), please click on the article below:
For an overview of this year’s car events, check Egzostive’s ultimate European automotive bucket list!
The ultimate 2022 car show and events list: a prolonged start for this year
In order to access the full gallery of over 120 images, you have to click on the second page of this article (the “2” tile a little bit further down below).
