Retro Classics Stuttgart 2022

It was an early start for me, for the two and a half hour drive to collect my pal and then on to the Retro Classics 2022 show, which was held as usual, at the Messe Halle (aka exhibition centre), next to Stuttgart airport. If you are planning to visit, it’s very easy to get to – there’s a train station right there and it’s right next to the autobahn. This was the first time in a couple of years that it had taken place, thanks to corona restrictions and it was also my first visit for at least nine years.

Even before you get through the entrance, there are cars for sale outside. An unusual early “soft window” 911 Targa and a very glossy VW split screen “hippy bus”, with matching trailer.

As you might expect for a classic car show held in the home town of both Porsche and Mercedes, both those brands featured rather heavily, with not only many marque specialists in attendance, but Porsche themselves, who brought along quite a number of their vintage racing cars from the museum collection. Incidentally, if you ever visit Stuttgart – and I’m assuming that if you’re reading this, then you’re something of a car fan – then it’s well worth taking a day to visit both the Porsche Museum and the Mercedes Museum, which are situated some miles apart, on opposite sides of the city. The Stuttgart trams will take you right to both.

The classic car show itself is a mix of trade and manufacturer stands, museum stands, car club stands, classic car spare parts, model cars and tools for sale. But a large part of the proceedings is given over to cars for sale, both privately and by auction. Not everything there could necessarily be called ‘classic’ though. In addition to quite a selection of what the Germans refer to as ‘youngtimers’ (as opposed to ‘oldtimers’ obviously) which can be loosely defined as “enthusiast type vehicles built from 1970 onwards”, (or 30 years old, depending on who you ask) there were more than a few supercars to be had, if nearly new Ferraris and McLaren’s are more your thing. Though I’d say that some of the prices being asked across the board seemed a little optimistic, if not outright eye watering – you can’t blame sellers holding on for that one special buyer, I guess.

There seemed to be no shortage of ‘restomod‘ type 911s on display, with various firms offering to backdate your 964 or 911 in the retro style, made popular in recent years by Singer.

One particular highlight for VW fans was the sale of a well-known collection, that had been featured in magazines over the years. The owner (now sadly deceased) had started collecting in the 1970s and 80s, when the cars were not so old and certainly not so valuable. He made a name for himself as ‘that VW guy’, to the point where he had people offering him their old cars. He would break some of them and sell parts but save the best examples, until he had eventually ended up with one of every year VW Beetle from the 1940s until the end. And that was only part of it. Photos showed halls full of his cars all jam packed with spares. Nor was it only Beetles. If you were looking for a virtually as new, low mileage, 1970s watercooled car, then there were also plenty of those. A two door Jetta Mk1 (in pensioner spec GLS automatic form), early Polos, Sciroccos and Golfs and a Passat coupe being just a few. There were some beautiful Karmann Ghias and Beetle Cabrios too. 

We paused for a chat with the guys at Kienle, as my friend had worked there in the past. They’re a classic Mercedes specialist and are some of the top ‘go to’ guys if you are having your classic Mercedes restored, be it a 300SL Gullwing, 600 Pullman, or even pre-war car. Needless to say, there were plenty of 300SLs to be seen throughout the show. 

I noticed an increasing number of companies offering to convert your classic car to an EV. VW campers, Beetles, 911s and even an "E-Lorean". 

Spaced out across 5 halls, the show was actually somewhat smaller than it has been in the past. This was no bad thing in my opinion, as although it was still something of a hike to see everything, you at least had the feeling that you could see everything. This wasn’t necessarily the case in the past, when it seemed like you’d need two days to do it justice. I was on my feet from 9am to 6:30pm, so it was certainly a long day, but it was highly enjoyable, and I’ll certainly be back next year.

Text & Photos: James

Additional Photos: Florian Hiller