Interclassics Brussels 2021

Brussels Expo, Belgium 19^th/20^th/21^st November 2021; The sixth edition of the Brussels Interclassics is a fact, dedicated to one of Belgium’s pioneers in autosport; Sir Jacky Ickx. And edition is also dedicated to the British car brand that leads to one of today’s most iconic supercar brands today; Mclaren. Three days of pure car history, auction, car art, and the opportunity to buy or sell an older timer.

Text: Benjamin Wefer

Picture: Benjamin Wefer

Interclassics is an oldtimer exhibition which was first organized by ‘oldtimersclub Gronsveld’ (1994-1995) and later by MECC Maastricht itself (from 1996 until now). In 2015 the exhibition expanded to Belgium, where Brussel Expo is now hosting this prestigious classic event. The event theme, which was first introduced in 2003 at the Maastricht edition is the center of attention during the exhibition. This Brussel edition is dedicated to former motorsport champion; Jacky Ickx.

[gard]

One of Belgium’s true legends, who not only raced in Formula 1, but also raced and won the 24-hour Le Mans six times. Ickx had a major impact on the Le Man race starting procedures. Several cars from Ickx’s career were displayed, like the Porsche 935 ‘Baby Martini Racing’ brought by the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart Germany. Jacky himself was also present during the event signing the car memorially from the spectators. Not good enough? Well, the big boys had the opportunity to buy the 2018 Heritage Blue Ford GT40 which was hand-signed by Jacky Ickx. This bad boy carries chassis number 031 and was the first GT40 delivered to the Benelux.

Next to Ickx Interclassics paid tribute to several other racers like; Emerson Fittipaldi, Thierry Boutsen , Domenico Schiattarella and dutch F1 driver; Jos Verstappen. And yes if your not old enough and are you doing the math at the moment. Yes, Jos is Max Verstappen’s father!

In addition to the tribute on Jacky Ickx, this edition of Interclassics paid tribute to a British race car brand; Elva (from the French word Ella va, meaning she goes). Who? Well, Elva brand contributed to the birth of the famous car brand; McLaren! The last Elva build was also the first McLaren; The McLaren-Elva MK1A. And now, 65 years later, McLaren pays tributes, by launching the 2021 800 horsepower McLaren-Elva Barchetta.

Interclassics has more to offer, besides all the tributes. For the ones looking for parts or memorabilia, Brussels Expo was for sure the place to be. And for the new generations car enthusiast, Monceau Automobiles provided the solution. Monceau Automobiles is Belgium car custom specialized in converting classics Mercedes Benz into EV’s. Why? Because they want to preserve the iconic cars for new clean future! The donor car (example eighties/nineties Mercedes SL) wil be completely stripped. The body will be analyzed thoroughly and reinforced where needed. After the bodyworks passes the required test, the process of electrification can starts. The result; an 200 Horsepower SL with a 51.8 Kwh battery pack integrated in the bottom of the trunk and engine bay.

Besides the exhibition itself, Interclassics was the place to be for anyone looking for an early Christmas gift. As interclassics is well known for selling and/or buying classic cars. And the autoscout24 area was the place to be for all which was for sale..

Around 20.000 car enthusiast found their way to Brussels expo for the Internclassics. This Jack Ickx editions was for sure a success and great tribute to the European history. Next step is the Interclassics at Maastricht.