THE SILVER ANNIVERSARY
25 Years In — and It Still Delivers
Retro Classics has been running since 2001, and the 25th edition felt like it knew that. The show floor was denser, the special exhibitions more ambitious, and the crowd more engaged than ever. 83,000 visitors came through the doors over four days, up from 77,000 in 2025, which tells you everything about the trajectory this event is on.
The scale hits you as soon as you walk in. Multiple halls, each with their own personality: restored road cars here, full racing machinery there, a sprawling parts market somewhere in the back, and enough model car miniatures to fill a small museum. It's the kind of event where you plan two hours and spend the whole day.
Worth knowing: Thursday evening is Retro Night, the fair stays open until midnight with a different atmosphere altogether. If you're driving up from Switzerland, arriving Thursday and staying the weekend is the way to do it.
PORSCHE RACEBORN
The Best Motorsport Display I've Seen at a Trade Show
The headline act this year was Porsche's "Raceborn — 75 Years of Porsche Motorsport" launch. Four racing cars from different chapters of the brand's history, archival film footage, and a panel discussion on Saturday with two-time Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard and works driver Ayhancan Güven. Real content, not just shiny cars on carpet.
Standing in front of those early Porsche racers, the pale-green open-wheelers, the spiders, the 550s, you get a very clear sense of how much the DNA of motorsport runs through everything the brand has done since. The number 704 car in particular stopped me for a long time. Completely exposed, almost brutally simple, and somehow more beautiful for it.
Porsche also revealed the car that will serve as their motorsport ambassador throughout 2026, appearing at events across Europe all year. If you're into the brand, it's a good year to pay attention.
GROUP B, ART CARS, AND MORE
The Cars That Stopped People Dead
The rally section was a genuine highlight. An Audi Sport Quattro in full Group B spec, Lancia rally cars, Porsche 911 SC Safari variants: all proper competition history, not replicas. The Audi in particular drew a crowd all day, and deservedly so.
The BMW presence was strong too. The Art Cars, those swirling red-and-white race cars that sit somewhere between motorsport and fine art, were displayed alongside competition BMWs spanning decades of racing. The orange BMW CSL #27 with its Palfinger livery was one of the most photographed cars of the weekend. The M1 Procar in Canon livery nearby was arguably even better.
Elsewhere: a perfect red Ferrari Dino, a Mercedes 300 SL surrounded by people the entire time, early Lamborghinis with genuine patina (the kind you can't fake), and a very original Porsche 356 that looked like it had just rolled out of Gmünd. The variety is genuinely hard to describe. Every corner hides something.
Anniversary spotlights this year: 50 years of the Mercedes W123, 50 years of the Porsche 924, and the BMW 6 Series E24, all with dedicated special shows.
THE VERDICT
Should You Go?
Yes. Retro Classics Stuttgart is one of those events that rewards the drive. The level of cars on display, from concours-quality restorations to full Group A touring cars with cage and livery intact, is hard to match anywhere in Europe at this time of year.
It's also one of the best places to actually talk to people. Exhibitors are engaged, fellow visitors are knowledgeable, and the atmosphere is noticeably different from a static museum. Cars get discussed, debated, and occasionally sold. The live auction on Saturday afternoon adds another layer if you're in the market.
From Switzerland it's a straightforward run up the A81, just over two hours, park at the Messe and you're straight in. Plan for a full day minimum, budget for the parts market, and if you're coming from further, the Friday–Sunday combination gives you time to actually see everything properly.
