Classic Gala Schwetzingen 2026
We just had a wonderful weekend at the Concours in Schwetzingen and also a quite successful one.
Our front-runner was one of the oldest Alfa Romeos on the planet: VIN 3114 is a 20-30 HP, built mostly in 1914, but not registered until 1921. It survived in the dry climate of Egypt and was found in a garage in Cairo in the 80ies with almost no paint left on it, but absolutely complete and practically free of rust. We were awarded 2nd Best of Show overall and it also won its FIVA class C 1919-29. This was certainly also due to the excellent preparation by Classic Skills from Lomm, NL (near Venlo), who restored the tonneau, the wheel discs and improved many other things prior to the event.
The car is probably also the only remaining car built by Carrozzeria Falco, who's premisies were the birth place of Carrozzeria Touring in 1926. Since Falco produced mainly planes and not cars, they were possibly the inspiration for the Superleggera principle.
Schwetzingen had a special exhibition to celebrate 100 years of Maserati. I am happy that we could bring two very early and extremely rare examples.
A 1948 Maserati A6 1500 Pinin Farina, one out of a total of 59 produced and, among these, one of three with a factory three carburettor set-up. This car was restored by Classic Car Venlo, who did a fantastic job. As a result of their efforts, it was 1st in the Maserati Trofeo and 3rd overall for Jury Award.
An extremely rare 1957 Maserati A6 2000 Frua Spyder. There were just nine cars produced, and of these nine, six are in very large collections and are therfore mostly locked away. Of the three remainig cars, one is in the USA and the other two are both in the workshop of the man who restored this one in superb quality, Christian Tedeschi of Autoklassiker in Poliez-Pittet/CH. It was great to have him and the car here. The A6 2000 was awarded third prize in the Grand Prix of the event and 3rd in its FIVA E2 class 1956-1960.
I addition to these two we had a line up of three very early Alfa Romeos standing in front of our tent. The above mentioned 1914/21 20-30 HP with a four-cylinder monobloc engine, then next to it the oldest RL in existence, a 1923 model, already with overhead valves and push-rods,, and the the 1933 6C 1750 GS with a DOHC outlay, aluminium crankcase and valves driven by an upright shaft. What a technical development in only 15 years.
The last car we had in front of our stand was a very impressive Invicta 4.5 Litre, technically upgraded to 5.2 Litres and close to 200 HP, steel crank, dog gears and everything you can think of to make it extremely quick. A really impressive, no-expense spared job by our partner HC Services near Antwerp. They are also doing complicated engines for us and other problem-stuff. This car is completely different from other Invictas or Lagondas and handles more like mix between a British car and a lightweight Alfa, only that it pulls like a raging bull and with a stopping power that make you lose your fillings.
All in all a fantastic weekend with nice and friendly people, many new contacts and great cars in a beautiful surrounding.
Also congratulations to our friend Nico Maier (Maserati 5000 GT Resarch) for winning with his beautiful 5000 GT Allemano.
See you next year in Schwetzingen!
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