Our 18 favourite cars at Retro Classics Stuttgart

The German show was packed with superb classics

Stuttgart’s Retro Classics is one of the giants of the indoor show season, and with good reason.

For starters, it takes place in one of the most car-mad cities in a generally car-mad country – both Porsche and Mercedes have called Stuttgart home for generations.

But there’s much more to this event than the hometown heroes, with everything from Goggomobils to Low Chassis Invictas on display and with the vast majority of exhibits also sporting a price-tag in the window.

With the 2019 edition kicking off yesterday (it runs until Sunday), we trawled round the 10 enormous halls in search of our favourites.

1. 1949 Porsche 356/2 Gmünd Cabriolet

Ironically, one of the most special Porsches at Retro Classics wasn’t built in Stuttgart at all, but was rather pieced together in an old saw mill in Gmünd, Austria.

Incredibly, 300 workers crammed into the tiny workshop with barely the room to operate the machinery. A total of 52 cars were built during this period: 44 coupés and just eight Cabriolets.

Engineers at the firm presented one of the handful of open-topped cars at Retro Classics, the restoration reportedly being completed with just a week to spare.

2. The Red Pig

One of German tuning firm AMG’s earliest and greatest achievements was to take a customer’s 300SEL 6.3 to a class victory and second-place finish at the Spa 24 Hours, thanks to a crash diet and masterful engine tuning.

The original machine no longer exists, which is why we would feel perfectly comfortable keeping the dream alive and rolling around in this replica. It was for sale at Arthur Bechtel Classic Motors for €265,000 (£228,000).

3. Bitter CD

The Bitter CD went down a storm when it was first show at Frankfurt in 1969, but orders eventually dried up and fewer than 400 examples of the Chevrolet V8-engined coupe were produced.

As a result it’s always a treat to see one in the metal – even more so when it’s displayed alongside an Opel CD concept.

4. 1974 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia coupé

Karmann Ghias have always been something of an acquired taste – as have some of the more excitable colours to adorn cars in the 1970s.

Combine the two and you’ve got possibly the most polarising vehicle this side of the Marmite factory. We love it, particularly as this car is a true survivor, having covered just 4268 miles.

5. 1980 Ferrari 126 CK

When the Museo Ferrari Maranello turns up, you know they’re going to bring something pretty cool. And it doesn’t get much cooler than Gilles Villeneuve’s 126 CK.

Powered by a 1496cc 120-degree V6, the car produced a whopping 540bhp delivered at a dizzying 11,000rpm.

6. 1993 Lancia Hyena Zagato

Sadly, Lancia didn’t bite when Zagato first proposed a limited-production run of Integrale-based Hyenas, meaning the carrozzeria had to buy complete cars to convert.

As a result just 24 were made, despite their stunning looks and a weight saving of 15% over the standard model.

7. Blitzen Benz

Of the six 21.5-litre, 200bhp Blitzen Benzes built, only two survive. Just imagine the noise of that thunderous engine flat-out at 141.7mph!

8. Nissan Skyline GT-R

The legendary Skyline GT-R celebrates its 50th birthday this year, so it was fitting to see a ‘Hakosuka’ tucked away at the back of the show halls.

The car made its debut as a saloon, with the handsome two-door coupé following a year later.

9. Triumph TR6 Shooting Brake

This one-off TR6 shooting brake was created by a member of TR IG Sudwest using an original TR6 boot lid and the rear end and glass of a hardtop.

The owner reckons the car is now much more rigid than his Swallow Doretti or TR5 – and we have to say it looks a well-resolved conversion.

10. 1972 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL

Few cars have the presence of the W109 series Mercedes, as proven by this beautiful 300SEL which was restored by Janic Customs.

This example is from the last year of production and is equipped with the most desirable 6.3-litre V8.

11. 1953 Pontiac Eight

One of the perennial highlights of Retro Classics is the vast piazza that fills with cars for sale over the course of the weekend – and thankfully there was no snow this year!

Our pick of the bunch was this beautifully patinated Pontiac Eight, which was offered for just under €20,000 (£17,250).

12. 1968 Citroën DSuper

Just when you think you’ve gotten over your desire for a Goddess, you stumble across another example that reignites the passion.

This stunning example was restored by Real Auto and was as well presented inside as it was out. Yours for €26,800 (£23,100).

13. 1973 Toyota FJ40

With owners of Chelsea tractors fawning over early Series Land-Rovers, this Land Cruiser is the road less travelled. This particular car was brought to Stuttgart from Italy.

14. 1980 BMW M535i

We were fortunate enough to drive a rare Alpina B7S Turbo for the May issue of Classic & Sports Car, so we’ve got a soft spot for performance-tuned E12 saloons.

This M535i was BMW’s in-house effort and looked very smart in its Motorsport livery. The thinking man’s M5?

15. 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport 110

We’ve been meaning to visit the Mazda Classic Automobile Museum in Frey since it opened; fortunately, the museum came to us!

This splendid Cosmo was shown alongside a first generation MX-5, an RX-7 and a cute Porter Cab pickup.

16. Alfa Romeo 155 Twin Spark

An old 155 Twin Spark isn’t the most exciting car in the world, but we can’t help but smile at the thought of driving around in a genuine Italian police car. For just €5300 (£4570) you could feel like an extra in The Bourne Identity.

17. 1997 Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR

Wild CLK-GTR road cars made an appearance at Rétromobile earlier this year, but it was in full race trim that the model visited Retro Classics. Twelve cylinders and more than 620bhp never looked so good.

18. 1969 Porsche 917

Only a handful of Porsche 917s were ever built, and this example from the Porsche Museum is undeniably the best.

The first example produced, it was never raced, but rather used as a test bed. To celebrate 10 years of the Porsche Museum, the firm has fully restored the car to the same specification in which it was launched at Geneva in 1969.