Situated on the picturesque shores of Lake Tegernsee, Gut Kaltenbrunn already looked as though it was directly teleported there from the pages of a fairytale, but last weekend’s atmospheric weather and the dozens of dream rides that arrived for Concours of Elegance Germany truly made this year’s event nothing short of magical.
After the classic and collector cars rolled in early on Friday morning, we immediately gravitated towards the Chapron Class, which payed tribute to the legendary coachbuilt wonders of Henri Chapron. While we were spellbound by the perfectly patinated green leather interior the 1971 Citroën SM Mylord, in the end it was the 1931 Delage D8 S Cabriolet that rightfully found favour with the jury and won its class. Speaking of which, it was Classic Driver’s JP Rathgen behind the microphone all weekend acting as Honorary Concours Director, joined in the commentary stand by Richard Charlesworth.
Another must-see attraction at last weekend’s event was the Wundercar Collection, dedicated to BMW’s iconic E3 series with a display of four amazing examples of the breed, each embodying a different theme and assembled by Dr Christian Zschocke. Our favourite? Impossible to say, but we do have a soft spot for the Pink Panther-themed art car, titled ‘The New Horizon’.
Elsewhere, the Emerging Collectors Concours sponsored by A. Lange & Söhne put a spotlight on young classic car collectors, and we couldn’t miss Aloisa Ruf in here wonderful 912 or Alexandre De Silva in his immaculate, black first-generation Fiat Panda, which looked right at home amongst the multi-million euro classics that filled Gut Kaltenbrunn’s courtyards.
On that note, we must naturally mention the winners of the Decade Awards, whose elegance and provenance were recognised in front of a sea of umbrellas as a light rain descended on day two of the event. The pre-war era cars occupied some of the most hotly-contested classes, but in the end the winners of the 1920s and 1930s were the 1929 Mercedes-Benz 710 SS Roadster by Corsica and 1936 Horch 855 respectively. Meanwhile, the effortlessly elegant Barou-bodied 1949 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupé etched itself into our memories and took home the rosette for the 1940s class, followed by the winner of the 1950s, a 1956 AC ACE Bristol which edged out the equally-stunning 1959 BMW 507 Roadster.
Moving the clock forward to the 1960s, we were borderline obsessed with the extremely rare and scarcely seen 1967 Serenissmia Agena, which finished runner-up for its class, while the 1960 Maserati 3500 GT Convertible with coachwork by Vignale took home the top prize. There were no surprises when the 1976 Lamborghini Countach LP 400 emerged on top in the 1970s class, not because the runner up — a gorgeous metallic brown 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 — was lacking in appeal, but simply for the undeniable magnetism of Gandini’s crisp penmanship on this wedge wonder.
As for the cars from the 1980s and onwards, which all duke it out in arguably the most difficult to judge class of the entire event, it was the incredible Ferrari 312 T5 Formula One racer driven by Gilles Villeneuve in several Grands Prix during the 1980 season that secured best in class. However, while there’s no escaping the aura of such an incredible piece of engineering, we were totally spellbound by the runner up: a 1985 BMW M635 CSi tuned in-period by MK-Motorsport.
Finally, as the weekend’s festivities began to draw to a close, it was time to recognise the winner of this year’s Best of Show presented by A. Lange & Söhne. As you may remember from last year’s event, which saw a 1939 Lancia Astura Pinin Farina Cabriolet take home the title, Concours of Elegance Germany takes a unique approach to deciding the top contestant, with the winner being selected by the collectors themselves rather than a traditional jury. We must therefore congratulate Gerhard Huber for winning Best of Show this year with his 1932 Austro Daimler Bergmeister, which was almost 100 years ahead of the curve with its combination of a two-tone pastel green exterior over a tan interior.
Overall, it was another fantastic weekend filled with coachbuilt curves, great company, and excellent music from the live band. The light drizzle didn’t put a damper on festivities in the slightest, instead only adding to the mystical atmosphere of this incredible event. We can’t wait to see what next year has in store for the shores of Lake Tegernsee!
Photos by Jasper Schwering
