Techno Classica Essen March 26 - 30 2008.

VIP, Preview day March 26.

20th TECHNO-CLASSICA ESSEN from 26 to 30 March 2008:
The Classic Fair of the Superlatives

History of Success of the World's Largest Classic Fair

Big jubilee in Essen: For the 20th time, the S.I.H.A. organises the TECHNO-CLASSICA, this year from 26 to 30 March. The classic world fair has written since 1989 an unparalleled story of success.

No other classic fair can account for such success as the TECHNO-CLASSICA, globally the largest classic fair. But the story of success of the world fair for fanciers of historic and exclusive automobiles started rather retentive in the year 1989 in six exhibition halls of the Essen fair grounds. But a small sensation already gave notice at that time that the first German vintage car show was facing a unique career: with approx. 30,000 visitors at the first TECHNO-CLASSICA in the year 1989, about twice as many classic enthusiasts came to the Essen exhibition halls than expected before.

Even the most optimistic people did not expect such an initial success, as the S.I.H.A. as organiser was not able to draw back on empirical values: until this date, there had never been a serious fair and vintage exchange for classic automobiles and motorcycles in Germany with a challenging international flair. The scene was dominated by flea markets and spare part markets marked by hobbyists.

About 250 dealers of vintage cars and parts presented their company and product range together with the approx. 70 clubs at the tentative start. "There still had been gaps between some of the exhibition booths", the organiser remembers. However: the premiere of the two-day event was highly successful, the reviewers were enthused and the special interest magazine "Motor Klassik" titled: "Essen mit Spass" (Essen is fun).

The following year 1990 was already themed "Take two": twice as many exhibitors and twice as many visitors enjoyed genuine trade fair atmosphere with classic automobiles and motorcycles. 90 clubs were showing off their best side and the exhibition period was extended from two to three days. It became apparent at this time already that by the strong presence of the German automotive industry the TECHNO-CLASSICA should become the world's largest platform for the classic and historic presentations of the automobile industry in the following years.

The third edition of the TECHNO CLASSCIA history already occupied with twelve exhibition halls in the year 1991 twice as much hall space as the first event. 530 professionals and 100 clubs showed their offering to 80,000 expert visitors - without any gaps between the booths as happened at the premiere. The corks popped in the year 1992: the number of visitors of the fourth TECHNO-CLASSICA already exceeded 100,000. Two years later in 1994, more than 1,000 classic objects were on sale with professional and amateur vendors in 16 exhibition halls and more than 700 exhibition stands presented all aspects of the international classic scene. The TECHNO-CLASSICA was able to claim the title of "Europe's biggest vintage car show".

But the end of the line was not at all reached: The 11th TECHNO-CLASSICA in the year was themed "The World's Greatest", and during the 13th event, now titled "The Vintage Car World Fair", more than 800 exhibitors and 130 clubs contributed to the success of the most attractive classic show - and about 1,700 vintage cars were on sale.

For the 15th TECHNO-CLASSICA in the year 2003, S.I.H.A. Ausstellungen Promotion could again announce an increase of all fields: more than 820 exhibitors occupied approx. 85,000 square meters of exhibition space, about 2,000 classic vehicles were on offer and about 130 clubs, communities of interest and associations provided for an interesting program of information and entertainment. Another record was achieved by the number of 129,000 visitors at the 15th TECHNO-CLASSICA.

One year later in 2004, the exhibition space had to be enlarged from 85,000 to more than 110,000 square meter to satisfy the increased demand in space of more than 850 exhibitors. In the following year 2005, the number of exhibitors initially exceeded 1,000 and more than 2,000 classic vehicles were on sale.
New scopes as the topics of "Young classic cars", "Classic tuning", "Prestige automobiles", "TECHNO-CLASSICA Academy", "TECHNO-CLASSICA Open Air", for the first time the watch sales show "TECHNO-CLASSICA Eurotime" and the premiere of the separate area "Historic commercial vehicles and fire engines" increased the attractivity of the TECHNO-CLASSICA. An optimised structuring of the classic world fair provided for better overview. The classic scene rewarded this further development with continuously growing number of visitors: the TECHNO-CLASSICA set new benchmarks with 141,000 classic enthusiasts.

Another threshold was crossed in the year 2006: for the first time, more than 150,000 enthusiasts of vintage and veteran cars visited the TECHNO-CLASSICA, the exhibition space was enlarged to 120,000 square meters to be able to provide enough space for the 1,000 exhibitors for their presentations. Alfa Romeo and Ferrari initially presented their official factory exhibition stands. By their performance, the Italian brands emphasized the internationality and the importance of the TECHNO-CLASSICA as the world's largest classic platform of the automotive industry.

In 2007 about 154.300 visitors from 38 nations came to the 19th TECHNO-CLASSICA, to get comprehensive information from the 1,036 exhibitors from 26 countries. 212 clubs and associations were exhibiting and TECHNO-CLASSICA consolidated its as leading and global fair of the classic car scent with about 2,500 classic vehicles on offer as well as an overwhelming presentation of the automotive industry.

In 2008 the TECHNO-CLASSICA will further extend its position as the most important fair for the public and for commercial visitors of the classic scene. Even more exhibitors than last - particularly also from abroad - make the TECHNO-CLASSICA this year even more international and a global barometer of the classic scene.

Still more cars up for sale and another increase in the performance of the automobile manufacturers will again increase the attractiveness. The story of success initiated in 1989 is thus going to be continued also in 2008.