The popularity of classic car events is increasing. If you want to visit a classic event and view the classic car agenda, you have to choose regularly these days. Moreover, you will increasingly find new and/or young events on the calendar. Naturally, the necessary fixed values are also included within this extensive range. Such as the Hoornsterzwaag Oldtimer Festival, which was also traditionally held during Ascension Day in 2023.
Speaking of traditions: for years it has been a regular occurrence that I travel to Hoornsterzwaag with Michel, Piet and Jens. The last two times this happened with two Fiat 2000 Spiders, and during the pre-COVID editions we also took Michel's VW Typ2 T3. I then drove with it, also to transport the necessary trade. The VW bus is temporarily retired, so this year too Piet picks me up with his red Fiat 2000 Spider (a 124 CS2). Early in the morning.
In the early hours it is already quite busy. In the queue we get into a conversation with the owner of a Beetle, which is used in a pleasant customized trim for the classic kilometers. A little later we turn onto the terrain. The organizers receive every participant enthusiastically, and that is a major achievement. Because the number of participants seems to have grown again, and that means: a lot of work to be done. One of the volunteers also grabs my attention in a different way. I hear him welcome the owner of a special car with the text: "Do you ever go into the water with this?" Immediately there is the trigger, because even before I turn around I think there is an Amphicar behind us. That turns out not to be the case.
The car in question is a truly beautiful convertible: a Renault Floride. Fifteen minutes later owner Edwin and the car are parked next to us. And immediately Edwin and I start talking to each other. A classic Renault range passes by, Edwin is a big fan of the French brand, and owns several rarities (including, for example, an R14, today an exotic). Soon I will make an appointment with him, so that we can and may make a nice July report with the Floride.
Not much later we discover - within the already extensive classic range - a jewel of a coupe. Drawn by Vignale, based on the Fiat 600. But this car is not a Fiat. This example is a Neckar Jagst 770 Riviera. And this beautiful car derives its existence from the German Fiat 600: the Neckar Jagst 770. You can see it in the Neckar-NSU pictures, for example. The body comes straight from Italy, and went to Heilbronn to be born as a car. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls: how beautiful!
The classic gem is a direct reference to the glorious design past of the numerous Italian coachbuilders, who often tackled an already beautiful basic Fiat starting point. And then to give it a face in a completely individual way. The glory of the past never comes in the shadow of the fleeting present, that's what the extraordinarily beautiful coupe tells us. With the aforementioned Floride and the Neckar I - as it turns out later - also immediately caught two of the most beautiful classics of Hoornsterzwaag 2023. The Packard 200 de Luxe, an American gem from the fifties, also fits within that list of favourites. Such discoveries also make a visit to every event worthwhile.
I stroll around the grounds in Hoornsterzwaag with Piet, and it is as usual. The atmosphere is relaxed. No fuss. Countless classics in all shapes and sizes, within an atmosphere in which being yourself always wins over etiquette and quilted State of Art jackets. That is Hoornsterzwaag, where a Trekker Pulling Competition is now taking place that really gives Johan Vollenbroek the hiccups. But in Hoornsterzwaag you can. And much more is possible. The site is large and offers space for enthusiasm in multiples.
For example, we speak to an owner of a Volvo PV544, who is very happy with his car, drives it regularly on a daily basis and has it serviced punctually. We are talking about year codes, about the impeccable condition (“I don't even have to do much”) and about the history of the Volvo brand. Piet returns to the Spiders, Michel and Jens are there too and in the meantime another friend of the Spidershow appears. Also an enthusiast who likes to talk about classics. This is how the day goes. Relax, and that whole setting in Hoornsterzwaag is perfect for that.
Thomas also came, with his latest acquisition: a 1302 from 1971 with a sliding roof. The VW is parked brotherly next to an Opel Olympia A. See - apart from years of construction and production periods - the differences. The Opel is beautiful, it works perfectly and the 1.1 SR engine proudly shows two air filter housings painted in red. It is not for nothing that I have an exact copy of the car in Hoornsterzwaag in my closet, and I also own the Coupé F version of the Olympia-A in Scale 1:18. But - and that has always been the case - the Type 1 has my preference, I've been a big Beetle fan from an early age, my first classic was a VW 1303 for a reason. For several reasons.
Together with Thomas I stroll over the grounds one more time. And while the smell of petrol and frying fat is increasingly mixed with the pleasant character of the Oldtimer Festival, we walk across the parts and automobilia market. Numerous stands with all kinds of paraphernalia, parts, books and related matters are once again doing a seductive dance with the wallet. And the purse, yes, I'll take it, because I'm taking a scale model of a VW 1302 LS Cabriolet (1:43) with me. That is not the only thing that passes through the homely gate after a day in Hoornsterzwaag. Because Piet gives me, among other things, a few Autovisie volumes (1982/83).
So the afternoon moves on, with conversations left and right, with photos, with a beer, a burger, a Rivella at the Spiders. Everything is recognizable, the day goes almost in a traditional way. And again not. Because I see a striking number of newcomers within the classic range in Hoornsterzwaag. And at the end of the day I seem to have missed many acquaintances present. That's not a blemish, because I'm sure I'll meet them again. During one of the many other events, or next year in Hoornsterzwaag. Because that I can be found there again is certain. Because nowhere else do I enjoy people and classics in a more carefree way. On the way back in the Spider I realize that - next to Piet - again. And that thought never gets old. In fact, it makes me very happy.
And some photos from the event.
Nice photos, looks like a fun event.
I recently really enjoyed the EMWalhalla in Raamsdonksveer, organized by the association Elk Brand Worthy, for the “outcasts” of car history. You can go to the visitors' car park with a Beetle, because it's too ordinary.
But an Austin Alllegro, a Fiat Multipla, Renault 14 or Talbot Tagora are very welcome. Obscure Japanese, an almost factory-new Austin Metro, but also a Xantia and an XM and many other cars of which you now say: where have they all gone. Unfortunately my Rover 200 BRM was not ready yet, otherwise HD that was there.