This Thursday, the Techno Classica opened its gates to the public and awaits visitors until Sunday, the 27th of March. This car show is among my favourite car events but has been discontinued since 2019, thanks to COVID.
Now it’s back in its full might, or so we hoped, as the year so far was filled with disappointments (cancellations and postponing). The good news is, the show takes place (and this is already a big thing), and the maps promise a complete programme, even if a few brands fell off the list last minute.
Upon arrival, we realised that the maps did not reveal the complete picture. We were used to that the factory stages constitute the most impressive part of Techno Classica. These stages follow the layout of the current modern corporate design language and offer some of the best spectacles we have ever witnessed.
Unfortunately, every single manufacturer reported being absent this year. This came as a bit of a surprise as the latest map still indicated quite a few brands as exhibitors.
In fact, there were no stages with factory support at all: apparently, the brads indicated on the map were clubs only. Where you could find an awesome line-up of Mercedes C111s in 2019, or rare concepts, classic race cars surrounded by a state of the art decoration, you will only find some classic cars from club members in front of a poster or club deco at best.
The very few cases where the efforts remained constant, were from those brands that were never represented by the factory. So the stages of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Maserati became a highlight of the show.
Also the organiser’s stage featured a selection of modern Aston Martin Zagato editions. These cars were genuinely interesting and each was a piece of art.
The factory stages were usually escorted by specialists of those brands.
Now the stages of HK Engineering and Brabus have to fill the primetime of the exhibition.
Museums were also represented in Essen this year. I saw several cars from Sinsheim and Speyer in Hall 1, and they also built a smaller stage with their Brutus vehicle somewhere in Hall 2 that we apparently missed.
The PS Speicher joined the event after their debut at the Essen Motor Show 2021. There were other exciting stages, e.g. by FIVA and ADAC as well.
The biggest bulk of the action was delivered by traders. Their stages filled several halls and offered plenty of sights with exciting, weird or historical cars.
They also had to, as there was no public auction this year, compared to the 2019 event with two auctioneers joining the show.
This is an area, where this year’s Techno Classica offered more than before.
Traders brought a lot of exciting specimens, rarities and decorations.
Some these cars are historical masterpieces, like one off Bugattis and Veritas race cars.
Looking back at this report, we can’t help noticing that our enthusiasm faded a bit. Seeing the most important ingredient of Techno Classica fading away did catch us by surprise.
On a positive note, the show did not really shrink compared the 2019. The same halls are used as always, and traders fill them with immense quality and quantity. If you have a chance, you should certainly pay a visit. You still have a few days, as Techno Classica 2022 will close its doors this Sunday.
Our detailed reports will follow later and will be linked to this landing article. I advise you to check back regularly. If you click the second page, you will reach the gallery with our first selection of photos.
For an overview of this years car events, check Egzostive’s ultimate European automotive bucket list!
The ultimate 2022 car show and events list: a prolonged start for this year
