We compile the best car events we attend every year, taking stock of the best events. It’s been a tradition for our team ever since we got hooked on car events, and it was a rather routine exercise until 2020. Since the pandemic struck, many events have been cancelled and also the occasional return of COVID peaks meant extra difficulties for planning. 2022 could see the return to some level of normality.
Some early events got cancelled others got rescheduled. Given the uncertainties in planning, most Q1 events could not take place at the original time. The important thing is that they still took place.
We managed to attend 10 events this year, and every single one of them was great. There is no shame in finishing last on this list. We were happy to see a balanced offering of events, despite a clear trend towards open-air events.
10. The InterClassics Days of elegance is a premiere we’d like to see becoming a tradition
The last place doesn’t do justice to this premiere event. The Days of elegance is the open-air event of the team behind the successful classic car shows InterClassics Maastricht and Brussels. Pairing the familiar concept of chateaux Concours with the organisers’ long experience with classic car shows, this one had great potential.
In the end, it still finished in last place on our list, but it does not mean we left unimpressed. The show enlisted many impressive cars, and the scenery of the Chateau worked quite well. It’s just that it was not as good as Chantilly or Zoute. We hope that the 2023 event will continue along the same path, and we will surely mark the date for our 2023 planning.
9. Spa Classic delivered the same awesome experience
After three years of waiting, the classic car series of Peter Auto returned to Spa with style, and so did we. In the past 5 years, we have always strived to attend, and we have always left with lasting memories. This year was no different, as the Spa Classic brought back all the virtues of past events.
This year, we beefed up our trip with a few locations around the race track that specialised in classic cars. Altogether, we spent a great day at Spa and would love to come back next year.
8. Antwerp Concours
This event was one of the best surprises of 2021. The venue is a castle near Antwerp, and we left with truly remarkable memories in 2021. After that, the 2022 event was a clear candidate for our bucket list.
This year’s event also looked promising with its thematics, and it did deliver on those promises. The 8 themes of 2022 were a guarantee of quality. We particularly appreciated the first theme, dedicated to the duel of the giants, which was effectively a BMW vs Mercedes face-off, and the Ferrari line-up was a treat.
This show was one of the best car events for photographing automotive legends. Some of the Ferraris were also presented at InterClassics Brussels later this year, where we could only photograph from outside the stage barrier. Here we could almost sit inside, seeing the owners showing their million euro cars inside out, and even with a running engine. Antwerp Concours proved to be a true car-spotting bonanza.
7. Techno Classica did not deliver for the first time
This is unprecedented. Techno Classica is literally the greatest classic car show on earth, we often call it the king of classic car shows. Its sheer size, paired with the car industry’s impressive efforts, guaranteed a podium finish each year. German manufacturers usually prepare a stage worthy of an international car show, and many import brands try to keep up. The 2022 event came after a two-year hiatus, and seeing the map with the standard layout, our expectations were high.
Thus we really felt cheated when we realised the show does not deliver on these promises. Where we expected magnificent stages, we only found spaces for cars used by private cars courtesy of German clubs.
Unfortunately, every single manufacturer reported being absent this year. This came as a surprise as the latest map still indicated quite a few brands as exhibitors. Vendors and traders tried to save the day with many exciting specimens, but the presentation fell short of our expectations. Quantity was still there, but it was not the same Techno Classica we were used to.
6. The Essen Motor Show held better than its classic car sibling
The event map led us to conclude that the EMS 2022 continues with the best traditions and may break the negative trend that almost every show took back quite quickly, either in size or quality.
EMS had the best cards to reverse that trend. The 2022 edition occupies 8 halls of the vast Expo Essen area. The EMS certainly did not take back on quantity and presented its usual virtues. Classics, supercars, race “vehicles” of all sorts even BMW showed up with a fairly nice factory stage. At the same time, we could not see anything memorable on a larger scale, like the factory stages of previous Techno Classica or the Ferrari stage of InterClasics.
5. InterClassics Brussels saved the year for the organisers
The InterClassics Brussels is a relatively recent event, but they impressed every year, and outcompeted many established shows. This year’s edition still got all the ingredients that make classic car shows so much fun: factory stages, museums and stages announcing events to come, and of course, car spotting among legendary classics for sale.
This year’s InterClassics occupied only three halls, which makes it the smallest InterClassics to date. But we had the impression that the organisers found the best balance between to keep the show running. The two thematic exhibitions would normally be no match for the factory stages of Techno Classica, but the Essen shows lacked factory support this year.
4. Chantilly lived up to its reputation
This year, we had our first visit to Chantilly Art & Elegance 2022, the open-air Concours event of Peter Auto. They are responsible for the best classic car series in the world, so our expectations were quite high. Peter Auto’s open-air events in Chantilly debuted in 2014 and rose to fame with their elegance and stylish flair. The pandemic spearheaded the rise of open-air programmes, which placed Chantilly at a pole position in the new era. After 2022, we have no doubts, as Chantilly showcased more actual car brands than the Paris Motor Show. By actual, we mean that their cars we can actually buy in Europe right now.
Many high-end brands were present with pavilions and some of their finest products. They brought rarities and concepts paired with predecessors and milestone classics. Some smaller manufacturers were punching above their weight, even compared to their usual presence at the Paris Car Show (especially since many did not even show up this year). Bugatti brought a dozen cars from their vault, while Lotus presented its Eletre SUV. DS came with the Intense Concept that stole the hearts of many in 2016 (including the jury of Chantilly) and which they use now to test electric drivetrains. But their presence was not limited to exhibits, as they also came with a tent showcasing their complete 2022 offering.
There were also thematic exhibitions like the one dedicated to British Racing Motors that alone could take a prime spot at any car show. The best part of the event was still the Concours, with several dedicated topics, like sections dedicated to pre-war and post-war cars tailor-made by Touring Superleggera.
The only reason the show did not finish at our podium was the size. The one-day format is undoubtedly fun but does not yet have the weight to replace the Paris Car Show, or even Retromobile.
3. Retromobile offered a lot of substance despite cutbacks
Retromobile is the queen of classic car shows. Its incredible quality brings it on par with Techno Classica year after year, especially if you count the three world-class auctions that take place at the show or at least coincide with it in the city centre. This year the show had to be moved to March, thus, the Bonhams and Sotheby’s auctions are no longer coinciding with the event. Also, the premises changed to a new, more modern hall.
Despite this upgrade, there is much less to see, with quite a few familiar faces reporting an absence. In particular, we missed British traders like Girardo2 and Fiskens and brands that were central pillars of the old Hall 1. Even without considering the unavailability of the Paris Auction Week, the show itself offers about half the content of the 2020 event.
What we got left is still one of the best classic car shows of the year that still offers quality on all fronts. Factory stages still delivered, despite some major local brands reporting absent (or only exhibited through club members).
Many museums exhibited or at least contributed to thematic exhibitions. Their role grew with the absence of traders, and showed that the call of the organisers still has great strength.
2. The Paris Car show was a once a year spectacle
Europe’s international car show returned to Paris after a four-year hiatus. This was the first traditional indoor car show since 2019, as the 2021 IAA followed a hybrid concept in Munich. This year’s Pars Car Show satisfied on all fronts but not without losses: the surface area and the whole show suffered a significant downsizing. The entire exhibition occupied merely three mid-sized halls, including an indoor go-kart track.
The most important part of a car show is, of course, the presence of manufacturers. There was an alarming trend of absence, but this year it probably hit rock bottom. Apart from a few exotic Asian brands, only French manufacturers bothered to show up. Well, even Citroen and PSA’s Opel stayed away. With all the other European brands. This is particularly striking, as we have seen more brands at the Prado Zoute or even at Chantilly Concours than here.
Those who came, on the other hand, did not spare expenses. Local heroes delivered a decent show with concepts, premieres and a bit of extra flavour.
The show may be smaller in size, but still offered plenty of quality. We spent about half a day at the show, and left with positive impressions. Car shows are not dead, but indeed, they could use a new momentum. The car industry is under pressure from several fronts, and this was well reflected in Paris.
1. The Zoute GP remained the undisputed king of car events
The Zoute takes a special place in our hearts, as it combines all the right elements for a true petrolhead event. Its open space layout made it the fittest for survival in the era of dying car shows. So much so that Zoute was listed as our very favourite car event of 2021. And we were not the only ones, as Zoute was crowned winner in the category Historic Motoring Event of the Year at the Historic Motoring awards.
This year’s Zoute remained true to its roots and delivered on all fronts. The Zoute Grand Prix comprised five events held throughout the four days at various locations: the Zoute Top Marques show, the Zoute Rally, the Zoute Sale by Bonhams Auction, the Zoute Concours d’Elegance and the closing Zoute GT Tour.
All five disciplines proved to be great (at least the four we got to see). The organisers promised 21 premium brands for the Prado Zoute, ranging from small high-end manufacturers to mainstream premium companies. We did not count them all, but we saw more noble brands than in IAA Munich 2022 or Paris Mondiale. The official Auction organised by Bonhams was simply spectacular, and the Concours d’Elegance was a treat for the eye. Zoute did not lower the bar anywhere. They will surely need to keep up as the 2023 Brussels Car Show promises to be really good.
