All eyes on the pre-war Silver Arrows in Essen

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Established in 1988, the Techno-Classica in Essen has grown to be the biggest Classic-Car-Show in Germany, if not worldwide, with ca. 1250 exhibitors, about 220 club-stands and 2700 cars for sale this year. As we are in Germany, I´m sure you will find Porsche 911 and Mercedes SL in every color and every motorization, but of course, you will also find lots and lots of pre-war cars between the youngsters. Traditionally the big German brands bring some of their museums-highlights to the Techno-Classica and of course, this tradition didn´t end last year.

So let´s have a look at two special pre-war cars Mercedes and Audi will present. As BMW and of course, Porsche and Volkswagen are focused on post-war classics this year.

Audi is going to show the legendary Auto Union Type-D Grand Prix racer. One of the types, that caused a sensation with its V12-center engine, built to new 1938 regulations. The Type-D features a supercharged 3L V12 that develops almost 550 HP. But for the Auto Union team, 1938 was not as successful as expected. Bernd Rosemeyer died in January and with the drivers Hermann Müller, Rudolf Hasse, Christian Kautz, Hans Stuck, Ulrich Bigalke and famous Tazio Nuvolari, only one 1st place (Nuvolari at the GP of Italy) was celebrated. Such a great modern car, but only one victory? You may riddle, how this could have happened. The reason, of course, was the fantastic Mercedes W154, also presented in 1938 and built according to the new regulations, too.

Audi Typ-D: Goodwood 1998, driven by Frank Biela.

Like the Auto Union, the W154 was powered by a supercharged V12, at the Mercedes front-mounted in a frame, that was constructed using oval tubes made of nickel-chrome molybdenum. Those Mercedes were hard to beat and Rudolf Caracciola, Hermann Lang, Manfred von Brauchitsch, Richard Seaman and not to forget reserve driver Walter Bäumer (who had one short commitment, taking over Lang´s car during the German GP, but retired from the race with engine problems) eked out three third, three second and also three first places during the short four races GP-season in 1938. With both cars exhibited in Essen, we will see the two cars on which 11 of 12 medals were won in 1938.

Mercedes W154: 1938 in Tripolis, driven by Hermann.

But what else will we see? For the anniversary exhibition, the organizer provides a special exhibition. On the occasion of the 95 years of existence of the 24 hours of Le Mans, the S.I.H.A. presents seven icons of the long-distance classic. A special highlight is the 220(!) Club stands, often in an amazing design, battling for the “Club Grand Prix“, at which the most attractive club presentations are honored and I can tell you, it´s unbelievable, how creative the stands are arranged. But there is one thing, you have to bring to the show yourself and that is TIME (OK, good hiking boots are recommended, too), as there are 120.000 m2 divided into 21 halls and 4 open-air areas waiting to be explored.

The 30th Techno-Classica Essen will be held between 21st - 25th March 2018. For more info, visit their website.

Photographs (Techno-Classica 2016) and words by Hubertus Hansmann.

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