Techno Classica highlights: Original Range Rover, Alfa Romeo's 1900 Sport Spider
Techno Classica regularly attracts between 100,000 and 200,000 visitors and all of the major storied car marques, from BMW to Ferrari and Alfa Romeo, making it the world's biggest event dedicated to classic and collectors' cars.
Hosted in Essen, Germany, Techno Classica is used as much as a platform for launching new products and services for helping customers maintain classics as it is for carmakers to showcase their own historical collections and the models they believe are heading for future classic status.
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For example, Land Rover will be using the show to launch its new Heritage division that has been set up to build replacement parts for Range Rover and Land Rover models that have been out of production for more than 10 years. The parts won't just be genuine but will be made using the same materials and production techniques. As a visual demonstration, the company will be displaying an immaculately restored Original Range Rover.
John Edwards, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations, said: 'It is estimated that 70% of all Land Rovers manufactured since 1948 are still in existence so there is a large and very passionate owner base to support through Land Rover Heritage.'
BMW meanwhile will be looking to the future in terms of collectability and will be using its stand to showcase pristine examples of models from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s that are starting to increase in value and therefore require greater levels of care.
The star of Alfa Romeo's stand will be the world's only working example of the 1900 Sport Spider. Built in 1954 it is one of the rarest and most exclusive Alfas of all time and is under consignment from the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum. It will be on show alongside another very special classic Alfa, the 1300 Sprint, as well as the company's current four-model range.
And while neither of Alfa's classics will be on sale, one of the main events of this year's show will be a classic car auction, scheduled for Saturday, April 18 and which will feature over 60 cars worth €8 million.
'This year we are offering a fabulous selection of historic cars, ranging from a Porsche 959 Coupe, very much the new darling for Porsche collectors and very rare too, through to a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing, one of the greatest German cars of all times, ' said Chris Routledge, Managing Partner of Coys auction house.
Other potential star lots include a 1971 Maserati Ghibli Spyder, a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE and a pre-war BMW 328 Roadster. 'Pre-war cars are a market that has been remarkably active recently and are also well represented at the auction,' said Routledge.
Techno Classica runs April 15-19.
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