Report - Concours d'Elegance 2025

More than 28,000 visitors enjoyed sunny weather in the circular baroque palace gardens while experiencing the fascinating breadth of automotive history at Germany’s most traditional Concours d’Élégance, the ASC-Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2025. Among the more than 180 historic vehicles from the years 1885 to 1990 that faced a 40-member international jury of experts — in order to award the most authentic classics according to the criteria of the world federation FIVA — were many unique automotive treasures, some of which were presented publicly for the very first time.
The oldest representative in this category was a Gladiator touring car built in Paris as early as 1903, alongside a collection of Adler automobiles up to 1915, featured in the special exhibition 125 Years of Adler.

Among the debuts was also the overall winner, Best of Show ASC-Classic Gala Schwetzingen 2025: a British Triumph TRX Roadster, specially brought over from Malta to make its first public roll-out in 75 years. This one-off, painstakingly restored by its owner Chris Cachia and presented to the public for the first time, was the first British sports car equipped with pop-up headlights, electro-hydraulic windows, adjustable seats and top — yet only three examples were ever built. After his victory in Schwetzingen, Cachia plans to participate in further international Concours d’Élégance events.
Second Best of Show went to a Hispano Suiza 12-cylinder with Belgian d’Ieteren bodywork from the collection of Czech Jan Strilka in Prague.
Another jury favorite was the third-placed 1929 Bugatti 44 Roadster by Villars, owned by Swiss Andrea Capra. Three Best of Show winners from three nations underline the international stature of ASC-Classic-Gala Schwetzingen.

Also from Bugatti was the 1938 Stelvio Cabriolet from the Type 57 series, which won the Grand Prix Classic-Gala Schwetzingen awarded by Württembergische Versicherung. The second Grand Prix was taken by the forefather of all Jensen luxury cars, a 1934 S-Type Convertible owned by Jörg Hüsken, ahead of a fully authentic 1960 Aston Martin DB4 Coupé by Berlin restorer Mathias Beetz.

In addition to the mentioned international and national awards, the cross-year Star of Classic-Gala Schwetzingen, under the patronage of expert partner DEKRA, was again presented. It went to a 1922 Rolls Royce 40/50 two-seater owned by Swiss collector Cäsar Peier, who impressively drove the 103-year-old vehicle without front-wheel brakes all the way from Zurich to Schwetzingen on its own wheels.
Behind this Star of Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2025, the nearly 40-member jury placed the Mercedes 190 SL of Prof. Tobias Brecht, followed in third place by the exotic Intermeccanica Murena 429 GT. Built in only 10 units in 1969, it was presented in running condition by Andreas Wietzke as the fastest and most luxurious station wagon of its time.

Both audience and jury were thrilled by the variety of classics throughout the park — such as the aerodynamic wonder, the 1936 Adler Trumpf 2-Liter, once driven at Le Mans by “Racing Baron” Huschke von Hanstein, which won the Time Witness Award. Another highlight was an early Mercedes 190 SL by Timo Eisner, which secured the State Prize Baden-Württemberg of the City of Schwetzingen.
The ASC celebrated its 125th anniversary with a special show of decade milestones on the terrace and also awarded the ASC-Classic-Gala Cup 2025. This went, fittingly, to the unique 1903 Gladiator Tonneau owned by Verena Letzerich. The veteran is expected to participate again in the legendary London to Brighton Run in November 2025.

True to the character of ASC-Classic-Gala Schwetzingen, the US-Classic-Car-Concours USCCC was won by a design icon: the 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 by stylist Raymond Loewy, owned by Hans-Jürgen Röcker. It triumphed ahead of a giant 1977 Cadillac Fleetwood Formal from Martin Grätz and the third-placed Swiss Romeo Camenzind, who brought a stunning 1969 Oldsmobile 98 Convertible.
Among the more than 90 trophies, the special honor for 12-year-old Maksim Petrovski stands out. As the youngest participant, he restored a 1947 Tomos Mopi microcar from Macedonia together with his father and preserved it for posterity.
All further results and a continuously growing photo gallery can be found at Winner-2025 and  www.classic-gala.de