After our enthusiastic advance notice we thought we should at least take a look at Capital Cars & Classics ourselves. We do not regret that, because the event was worth it!
Compact stock market
Anyone expecting a huge classic fair was not in the right place in the Kromhouthal in Amsterdam-Noord. The power of the event is that it is a compact trade show; as a spectator you don't have to walk along endless rows of cars, as an exhibitor you hardly have to build a stand. Due to the atmosphere of the hall, the event does not have the appearance of second-hand cars in a parking garage; anything but that, even.
Completely different
I myself had missed the previous edition of the fair, so I was not sure what to expect. I only knew in advance that the Kromhouthal was by no means the size of the RAI, nor that of the MECC in Maastricht. InterClassics takes place in the latter complex and we can in any case say that it is a completely different fair than Capital Cars & Classics.
Excellent quality
The nice thing about the Amsterdam event is that exhibitors, due to the limited size of their stand, are forced to take their most beautiful cars with them. Only Louwman Exclusive is a major supplier, but otherwise the number of cars everywhere is limited to at most a handful. The quality of the cars that stood there? Overall excellent. The Louwman Museum had sent some cars to Amsterdam, to name a few. However, the majority of the cars came from specialists, who naturally hoped to sell something. In addition, there were also exclusive new cars on display (hence the 'capital cars' in the name), including the Mercedes-AMG GT R - a Dutch scoop.
Successful event
What could still be improved? Surely. For example, it was not always clear which car belonged to which exhibitor. And the range of new cars should be slightly wider, because now there are a handful of top brands; in any case, try to get the top brands. In addition, it is clearly not a fair for sympathetically priced classics (but there are other events for that). These are only minor comments about a further successful event. You bet we will be back next year!
Photography: Luuk van Kaathoven
