The IAA mobility show is about to start in Munich, southern Germany. The show was previously held every two years in Frankfurt, but it has found a new home in the Bavarian capital.
The German carmakers will introduce their latest high-tech vehicles to the press on Sept. 6, and then to the public on Sept. 7.
The cars will be connected, partly self-driving, mostly electric, and in a lot of ways very futuristic. But for car lovers who long back for the days of exhaust fumes, oil, petrol, and wooden steering wheels, there will also be a safe space.
Motorworld, a German car dealership that specializes in classic cars and old-timer cars, as well as modern sports cars, has taken over a whole hall of the show.
At the company’s Munich showroom, the old days of car manufacturing can be seen. The Mercedes 300 SLS from 1957 is on sale for 1,150.000 euros. Not cheap, but pure quality, says Andreas Duenkel, CEO of Motorworld.
“The parts of a car that are plastic in a new car have increased dramatically. Back in those days, there wasn’t really any plastic available. So there used to be real craftsmanship,” he says.
“These days cars are mass-produced. They are supposed to be mass-produced since they are mass-market models. And back in those days they were in part tailor-made and handmade. That’s the difference. And that’s why people enjoy looking at the historical art of car making.”
Another showpiece is the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, made in 1970 and subsequently adorned with one million Swarovski crystals, ordered by a husband to surprise his wife.
But what cars from this year’s show will be considered classics in 50 years?
“Today you speak about neo-classics,” says Duenkel.
“That means that they are modern cars but because of their design and because they are limited, there might just be 50 or 100 made, it means that they will be the classics of the future.”
“There are some from McLaren, from Pininfarina, from Ford there is the GT40, which is standing behind me. Each large car maker has something special like that and those cars are the classics of tomorrow.”
Motorworld also specializes in Hollywood cars that were used on-screen. The original Skyline GTR r34 used in the movie Fast and Furious is shown, but is not for sale.
Almost all the cars at the Motorworld showroom are petrol or diesel cars. But on the main show floor at IAA, the cars will be mostly electric. And that’s not a bad thing at all, says Duenkel.
“Now we have special cars with electric engines, or hybrid or hydrogen. We don’t have an opinion on the technology of the engines. We must accept what the customers want. We are not the ones that push for something, instead, we let the customers lead.”
Another car in the Motor World collection is this Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward from 1970. It was owned by the boxer Muhammad Ali. “The way it works is that you simply have a high level of respect for the way these cars were made,” says Duenkel.
The IAA car show, including the hall with the Motorworld classics, previews to the press on September 6 and opens to the public on September 7.
The show runs through Sept. 12.
