This year, for the very first time, I ventured into the glorious madness that is Wheels Mariënwaerdt. Not as a professional, mind you, no clipboard, no press pass, no mission. Just me, my two eldest kids in tow and a camera Why? Because every time I say I’m off to a car show, they ask, ‘What do you actually do there?’ So this was the perfect chance to show them.
And what a show it was. They even snapped a few photos themselves, budding petrolheads in the making, clearly. But let’s talk about Wheels Mariënwaerdt. What is it, really? Imagine a place where automotive dreams collide: from the most elegant classics that smell of leather and nostalgia, to the freshest, most futuristic beasts on four wheels. The highlight? The unveiling of the Bugatti Brouillard on Dutch soil but more on that in a separate post.
In short: something for everyone, and everything for someone who loves cars. Bloody brilliant.
As you can see, this wasn’t just a car show it was a full-blown automotive buffet. Right from the moment we parked, we were surrounded by Lamborghini’s. Not just one or two, but a whole herd of them, courtesy of the Lamborghini Club Nederland, who clearly decided subtlety was overrated.
But wait it gets better. Nestled among the supercar royalty was a Volvo 242, sitting pretty on Work VS-KF wheels. Yes, a Volvo. On Japanese split rims. It’s the kind of thing that makes you question everything you thought you knew about Scandinavian restraint.
And then, like a thunderclap in a quiet cathedral, there it was: the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II DTM. A car so serious, it makes most modern performance cars look like they’re trying too hard.
Released in 1998, the 22B was Subaru’s way of saying “We’ve conquered the World Rally Championship, now let’s conquer your garage.” It commemorated both Subaru’s 40th anniversary and their third consecutive WRC manufacturer’s title. Only 400 units were made for Japan, and 25 more for export markets. Making it rarer than a polite online comment section.
This is number 63 and is for sale for a hefty price of €319.000 at Metropole Classics in Druten Netherlands.
This Lamborghini STO was parked with the rest of the raging bulls from the Lamborghini Club Nederland. And I’ll be honest it’s a car I’ve never quite understood. It’s like it’s trying to be everything at once: a racecar, a road car, a track toy, a fashion statement… and in doing so, it sort of misses the mark.
It’s the automotive equivalent of someone showing up to a black-tie gala in a carbon-fiber tuxedo — impressive, yes, but also slightly confused. That said… in this particular shade of red, it looked absolutely stunning.
This is the Donkervoort F22 Final Five, hypercar performance for a fraction of the price. It is the Dutch supercar maker’s ultimate send-off to its iconic Audi-sourced five-cylinder engine. Power comes from a Audi sourced 2.5 liter turbocharged inline-5 engine with 500bhp and 660Nm.
This thing weighs just 750 kg, giving it a power-to-weight ratio of 666 hp/tonne. Yes, that’s devilishly fast. It corners at 2.15g, which is more than most racecars can manage.
To me this is the ultimate Lamborghini, the Aventador SVJ. The Super Veloce Jota version of the Aventador is the final, most extreme evolution of the Aventador line, and it’s nothing short of a fire-breathing V12 monster. This is Lamborghini at its most unhinged, no turbos, no hybrid trickery, just raw, high-revving fury. It even set a Nürburgring lap time of 6:44.97, beating the Porsche 911 GT2 RS.
This Lancia Delta Integrale is a faithful homage to the 1992 Monte Carlo Rally-winning beast once tamed by Didier Auriol and Bernard Occelli, it’s been rebuilt with the kind of obsessive detail that would make a Swiss watchmaker blush.
The shell? Stripped bare. The roll cage? Welded in like it’s preparing for war. The engine? Rebuilt to deliver turbocharged thunder. It’s covered just 125 kilometres since its transformation barely enough to stretch its legs.
If you want it, there is still time to place a bid at Collecting Cars.
At the event there were several rally iterations of the famous Audi Sport Quattro including a road going version. Seeing these side by side made me rethink my knowledge about these cars, because I only recognized the 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 and the 1987 Audi Sport Quattro S1 Pikes Peak version. Although I do believe that both versions were replicas. But even that is something I’m not sure of.
What I do know for certain is that this is a replica of the Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.5-16 Evolution II DTM. It started life as a 1991 Mercedes-Benz EVO2 bodyshell and rebuilt using period-correct parts and specs that would make any touring car purist nod in approval.
Inspired by the legendary 1991 DTM car driven by Ellen Lohr, the only woman ever to win a DTM race, this machine pays tribute with style and a wink. The original car wore ‘East’ sponsorship. This one? ‘Wüst’. A small nod to the owner and builder of this car, Marcel Wüst.
Under the bonnet sits a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine pushing out a glorious 320 horsepower. Gear changes are handled via a proper H-pattern manual box. And then there are the wheels. Magnesium, of course. In short: it’s a tribute, a track weapon, and a rolling homage to one of the coolest chapters in German motorsport.
Porsche Centre Gelderland went full throttle with their Sonderwunsch exhibition. Including these fine examples that are just a little different than all the others out there. f you want a Porsche that no configurator can offer, something that’s truly yours. Enter Sonderwunsch it is the ultimate expression of individuality. Whether it’s a brand-new Taycan or a classic Carrera GT, Porsche will turn your vision into reality… as long as your wallet can keep up.
A special shout out to the Porsche GT3 RS in Delfts Blauw livery. It is a rolling celebration of 75 years of Porsche in the Netherlands. It all started back in 1949, when a certain Ben Pon decided the Netherlands needed a bit more Stuttgart in its life just one year after the 356 rolled off the line.
And here’s the kicker: that move made Porsche Nederland the oldest Porsche importer in the world. That’s right before America, before Japan, before anyone else, the Dutch were already getting their hands on rear-engined German brilliance.
So there you have it, a day filled with roaring engines, carbon-fibre dreams, and enough horsepower to make the tarmac tremble. From rally legends reborn to track monsters, it’s clear that passion for cars isn’t just alive, it’s redlining. Whether you came for the nostalgia, the noise, or just the smell of high-octane fuel in the morning, one thing’s certain: events like this remind us why we fell in love with cars in the first place.
I will be back next year!