The Older Classics is a casual classic car meetup at the Kemptthal Valley in Switzerland between Zürich and Winterthur. The event is held four times a year and people can show up with their cars casually and without prior registration. A fee of five Swiss Franks is charged to display the car in the valley. The only requirement is that the car needs to be older than 30 years. Youngtimers are not allowed at the Older Classics and need to be parked elsewhere.
The Location
Older Classics is held at the Kemptthal Valley which used to be an industrial park where the food brand Maggi was at home. It is the location where the famous beef-cube "Bouillonwürfel" was invented by Julius Maggi. The area has since been converted to host offices, garages and other business venues. The Kempthal valley is growing fast and hosts more and more car and classic car businesses such as the Motorworld.
For example, there is a cute vintage shop that sells old road signs, a gas pump, a retro pinball machine and much more. Also, the valley hosts a few classic and tuning garages as well as other businesses. Food-wise unfortunately there is not much selection at the meetup. The only thing I could find was a stall selling salmon burgers and another one offering only bratwurst. There are almost no food options which makes this part of the event a bit of a disappointment. Getting a drink is as hard and limited as finding food with two small stalls selling beverages. If you want a coffee, it's coming only out of a Nespresso machine for an expensive 4 Swiss Francs. But there is a restaurant which offers seating and more drink as well as a few food options. The biggest issue is that there are no toilets, or I couldn't find them. At least there are none at the food square.
The Older Classics Meetup is held between Winterthur and Zürich along the A1 Motorway. It is also possible to reach Kemptthal by train. There is a train station right next to the entry of the valley and connections go to Zürich, Winterthur and Schaffhausen.
The diversity of cars is great and you'll definitely enjoy all the cars. The event itself is free for visitors, starts at around 9 am and ends fairly early at around 3 - 4 pm when cars are leaving again. In pre-corona times there used to be over 1'000 cars, but at the August 2022 event only an estimated 300 - 400 cars showed up. That's not as bad as it sounds because it's a great variety of very special cars. On the other hand, not many visitors showed up to actually admire the old steel which is due to the lack of advertisement and social media activities. In all, it's a great event if you live nearby and don't have other plans on a Sunday morning or afternoon.
Gallery
Check out the photo gallery with some of the pictures I took during the 2022 event.
Nils Willner
Nils is a Swiss-German engineer who is obsessed with old cars and engines. He is the author of "The Ultimate Classic Car Guide - How to Buy, Maintain & Repair Classic Cars" and the founder of EVC. His passion has always been with old cars and everything that has wheels and an engine.
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