Sunday, August 16, 2009

Rare cars at Altbüron Bergprüfung 2009

This years "Bergprüfung" (hillclimb) at Altbüron was a full success. The weather was great (although hot), roughly 200 cars and 30 motocycles raced up the hill, no major accident happened. Events like Altbüron may not attract so much public interest as Goodwood or the Gaisberg race, but the cars shown were worth looking and some of theme were really rare!
It was the first outing of the JWF Milano GT in Switzerland and it didn't come as a surprise that most spectators saw it the first time and didn't really know what they were looking at. The car enjoyed the crowd with its remarkable sound and beautiful shape.
The Lagonda Rapier was one of more than 15 pre war race cars. Pre war cars make technology and engineering visible second to none.
The third car I would like to mention was the Matra-Bonnet Djet. It's said to be one of the most original Djets in existience, as it's still with the first owner and nothing was change since the car competed in the Swiss championship in the sixties.
And lastly three Enzmann 506 made it to Altbüron. These cars shared a Volkswagen chassis and a quite remarkable body shape without doors. The cars were quite quick thanks to reduced weight and increases power output of the Volkswagen and partially Porsche engines. To see three of these rare cars at one event is certainly remarkable.
Besides the cars mentioned there were also a group of Recreations/Replicas with a Kraftwerks Porsche 917, a Porsche Carrera 6, A Ferrari 330P4, to mention just a few. I also spotted a group of very beautiful Abarths (from the Möll collection) and a great many other cars you don't see every days.
So, there was something for everybody and all the drivers enjoyed the hillclimb as well, not being put under time pressure, just to drive for the sake and fun of it.
The next "Bergprüfung" will be in 2011.

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