What is a classic? Having carried this buzzword in our name for 25 years, we at Classic Driver have come to the understanding that a car can only become a true classic if it was innovative, even ahead of its time when it first came out. Therefore, and this sounds like a paradox, tomorrow’s classic cars will be the ones that change the game today and are frowned upon by the traditional classic car community in Germany, France, the UK and the US: the electric cars, the stance cars, the drift cars, the excessive and exaggerated DIY machines built by passionate teenagers in the garages of Poland and Croatia, Pakistan and Taiwan. And just like the coachbuilders of the 1920s and 1930s displayed their latest and wildest creations at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, today’s biggest talents – like the virtual vehicle designer Khyzyl Saleem, known to his millions of fans as ‘The Kyza’ – show their new builds at custom car festivals like Ultrace.
This year’s Ultrace will take place on the weekend of June 10-11 in Wrocław, Poland. After we first attended the show with our agency project Rennmeister in 2022, Classic Driver returns to Ultrace will its very own stand – and a mission to find out more about the classics of the future. Playing into the narrative, we are proud to announce that we will host an actual future classic, the Porsche 928 reimagined by Nardone.
Designed by restomod wunderkind Carlo Borromeo (who also gave us the Automobili Amos Futurista), the retro-futuristic Nardone 928 feels like the perfect bridge between the verified style icons of the past and a future that is all about customization, sampling and remixing the greatest hits of automotive history. On the Classic Driver stand, the tailor-made Nardone concept will be joined by an early Porsche 928 from 1978, so guests will be able to compare these two brilliant cars. On Sunday, Classic Driver will host a panel talk under the title ‘Classics from the Future’ to further explore the car culture of tomorrow. Classic Driver’s very own J. Philip Rathgen and Błażej Żuławski will be joined by Thierry Nardone, the CEO of Nadrone, as well as the visual artist Jacek Kołodziejski who owns the classic Porsche 928.
Meanwhile, Rennmeister will also be present at Ultrace with a display of the iconic orange track machines of Jägermeister Racing. This year, the Renn crew is bringing, amongst others, a Porsche 935 and a 962, a BMW 320 Group 5 and a Ford Capri. So we highly suggest to drop by, get a glimpse of the orange racers – and catch a piece of the limited-edition merch before it’s all gone!
Of course, there are many more mighty (and meticulously modified) machines on display at Ultrace: ‘The Kyza’ is bringing several of his latest project cars, while the line-up includes much-hyped brands like Rotiform or Peaches, and many unsung heroes of the custom car scene. Our friends from BMW Classic and the Hfmstrs crew also announced their attendance and will bring a fine selection of Bavarian motor legends, including a BMW E9 3.0 CSL Race Replica, a BMW M1 Procar raced by Carlos Reutemann and James Hunt, and the BMW M3 GTR Sandro Chia Art Car. Feels like the future already!
Photos by Nardone / Błażej Żuławski
