Tag: quattro

Wheels Mariënwaerdt | Concours d’Elegance

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.

Wheels Mariënwaerdt

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.

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Audi Ur-Quattro test car from PON Automotive

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When it comes to many classic cars, it’s all about the history and provenance. Often, you’ll come across a fairly ordinary car, but it’s the story behind it that makes it truly remarkable. That’s certainly the case with this Audi Ur-Quattro bearing license plate GL-79-XB. You see, this happens to be the first one registered in the Netherlands by Pon, the Volkswagen and Audi importer for the country. Naturally, that makes it particularly enticing for collectors.

Back in those early days, this car served as a test car for the press, so you’d often spot it in the magazines of that era. All the journalists back then were absolutely gushing over its performance and the pioneering 4WD system, better known as Quattro, which Audi has since become synonymous with.

It’s precisely these tales behind the cars that make it enjoyable for me to delve deeper than just the exterior appearance of the car. I spotted the car in the cellar at the Gallery Aaldering in Brummen, a place in which you never know what you might find.