Technoclassica 2018 in Essen, Germany

[e72phil]

I will again be attending the Technoclassica car show in Essen late March if anyone else from the Forum is also planning to be there. let me know if you are so we can meet for dinner or a beer. Two years ago I was able to catch up with Mark Johnson who was in Germany at the time and he met Sheryl and I plus 2 of our car enthusiast buddies form Scotland who came to the show.
Its the largest Classic car show in the world and I definitely recommend anyone to visit if you get the chance. I think this will be my 6th time at the show. Of course I will be posting pics and a report.

[Merv]

Good plan Phil. I keep promising myself every year to get to what has to be the best Porsche event around. Again this year we will be in Europe too late. I am doing some work for the EU and they set the time unfortunately. We expect photos!

[e72phil]

Merv, its not only a Porsche show but just about every other classic car you can name plus all the bits that go with them. Coupled with visits to the Porsche factory and Benz museums plus a look at the Nurburbring on the way south, its an ideal way to spend a week or so in Germany.
I will certainly post some pics if I have a good internet connection where we are staying.

[Merv]

Thanks Phil. We are booking into the Porsche drive through Europe next year with a new 911 turbo and then down for the Monte Carlo GP. That will have to do (my wife explains).

[e72phil]

There were some noticeable changes at the Technocalssica show this year, some due to the clash with the Retro Classics who held over the same weekend in Stuttgart. This presented problems for many exhibitors like Porsche who were split between the 2 shows.

Many dealers had to decide which show to display certain cars for sale at in the hope of getting the right buyers. Apparently there is plenty of rivalry between the 2 show organisers with Retro Classics trying to steal exhibitors and patrons from the more established Technoclassica show. I was at the show Thursday and Friday and there seemed to be plenty of visitors attending, especially on Friday. I cant imagine how busy the weekend was but with great spring weather, I am sure it was packed.

There were still plenty of cars available for sale including numerous early 911’s although with the 30 year anniversary of the 964 there were plenty of these on offer also. Dealers were saying early 911’s have come off about 30% over the past couple of years and prices tended to reflect this. I saw several 73 RS’s for sale starting at 675,000 Eur (Touring) and another for 825,000 Eur.
In the million euro plus range was a 1967 Muira for 1.2M and a 300SL GullWing at 1.45M. I only saw one Lancia Stratos for sale at 345,000 Eur so these are still heading north.
2018 is the 50 years anniversary of the Dino and there were plenty available for sale and on show. I saw an early 246 with limited edition Scaglietti alloy body (only 153 made) originally owned by the Lilly Coffee empire boss but the price was “upon enquiry”. I probably counted at least a dozen 246 Dinos for sale and there were also a handful of excellent old and rare V12 Ferraris at the top end dealers.
I noticed a lot more 1965 model 911’s since the last show 2 years ago and its obvious many have now completed their restorations and are offered for sale. Expect to spend around 250,000 Eur for a good one. There was also one restorer with possibly the earliest 912 on display pre-resto . It was chassis #7 off the line. Certainly the early 911’s outnumbered the available 912’s for sale.
Also noticeably less were the parts dealers and I guess they were split between Essen and Stuttgart. I managed to buy a good period correct radio from one of the usual dealers there and I was surprised there seemed to be 2 more old radio dealers displaying restored units.

I was researching MFI pumps for Kane Hearn and noticed only 2 service-only dealers exhibiting with the “old Bosch guy” I used to talk to no longer exhibiting. I saw several used pumps for sale between Eur. 2500 to 5000 depending on the model. MittelMotor had an excellent display (as usual) if completely rebuilt early 911 engines plus brand new sets of throttle bodies and fuel injection systems as well as all manner of intake and exhaust manifolds. But their prices are eye-watering….

Porsche had several display concentrating on their main Porsche Classic stand in Hall 7 plus the club displays in Hall 3. Magnus Walker showed up again for book and poster signing on the Friday at the Classic stand as he usually does these days. He has plenty of cult following in Europe as well as the USA. And he still hasn’t washed or combed his hair.. (or washed his jeans. Don’t even ask if he polished his boots).
It seemed to be as busy as ever with good crowds attending. Friday was way more busy then Thursday and it’s a lesson to go early to this show if you are serious about buying at the show. Paying the premium to get in at noon on Wednesday is worth it as all the good stuff gets snapped up fast in the first 2 days.

I think I might consider visiting the Stuttgart show next time around as it gives me the options for Museum and factory visits at Porsche and Mercedes Benz in the same area.

[e72phil]

Some pics to add to the report:

[e72phil]

More pics:

[e72phil]

And more pics:

[e72phil]

So you call yourself a Porsche nut ? Check this guys tattoos. And no, they arent just painted on, they are real inked tattoos. Keen.

[patrick911]

Thanks Phil, great update!

[mickc]

cheers Phil, looks like fun

[e72phil]

I will try to post more pics over the weekend. Unfortunately the internet connection in our Essen hotel was very slow and not suitable for uploading pics. So I waited till I got home and a fast connection. It might be easier to load them onto DropBox and post a link to view them.

The show was the usual and I guess once you have attended as many time s I have, you tend to gloss over many of the stands as its a case of "same cars, different colour" most of the time. Its definitely a good show to attend with a group of like minded car nuts and I was always trying to encourage a TYP901 tour of the show and other events in Germany but could never get enough people interested.

[marcus_cottrill]

Thanks for the photos and update, it looks great

[Merv]

Many thanks Phil. Loved the 6808 colour Targa.

[e72phil]

As usual Mercedes Benz occupied an entire hall and their focus this year was the G Wagon. On display was a G wagon that had covered 890,000 kms over the past 26 years as it trundled around the world. Fancy doing this in an early 911 ? Mercedes also had a massive display in Hall 3 (traditionally the Porsche hall) of their club cars from all eras. This display has grown in past years ad you can see they also realise the value of supporting their classic cars and the serious following they have, especially in Germany. Many other manufacturers are starting to following suit and Volvo dedicated a stand the the P1800 coupe with a heavy Saint/Simon Templar theme.

Opposite Porsche Classic in Hall 7 was a comprehensive display of Porsches for sale from Authorised Porsche centres around Germany. Magnus made his appearance on this stand on Friday afternoon for a big autograph signing event. I spotted our Porsche-tattoo guy there getting his pic taken and Magnus admiring the tattoos. Maybe it will inspire him to get one too !

The blue Stratos pictured was offered at 395,000 EUR and it was only a Stradale not a race car and the yellow 1972 2.4S was a bargain at 129,000 EUR. It showed SOLD on Friday morning.

I also found an early Peugeot 404 ute for sale - 19,500 EUR. A 404 sedan was my first car. This one proudly exclaimed it was "Erste Lack" which I had to laugh at but which translated means - first (or original) paint.

Porsche Classic were showing a lot of new parts offerings including a repro tool kit for F series cars. Whilst it looked original at a glance, all spanners are marked "Porsche" as are the screwdrivers. They reallt replicated the original designs of the tools, but not the markings. Plus its in a pepita/black vinyl too roll. I think it was around 495 EUR + tax for the kit and they had them available at the show. Porsche Classic sell a lot of stuff direct off the stand especially all the clothing and car models.

The yellow 912 (unrestored) in the pics was supposedly chassis # 0007 and the earliest 912 still in existence. This restorer had in on display and "as found" condition so in the next year or 2, it will probably be on display in its restored glory. There were a few other 912's on display for sale but nothing like the qty of early 911's which would have outnumbered them 10:1 easily.