Red Baron is our nickname for the 1of1 BRABUS 6.5 - Based on 1of147 Factory E60 AMG
For our final event in Europe, the Red Baron competed in the 20th International Classic Gala Concours d'Elegance, Germany's biggest and oldest concours event. As it is now +30 Years old, it competed under the International FIVA Standard class H (1980 Onwards), this was a new and higher level than previous participations.
+20 Cars competed in the same class including:
6 x Rolls-Royce,
5 x Alfa Romeo SZ / RZ Zagato,
Deloean DMC 12,
1996 Chrysler (yes rare european order) Viper GTS with 44Kkm. Owned by a Swiss lady that owns 5 vipers.
1991 BMW ALPINA Z1 RLE - 1of66 made
1994 Porsche 993 Carrera Cabriolet
1994 BMW 850 CSI (M8)
1985 BMW M635 CSI - Multiple FIVA concours winner
1989 Volvo 780 Bertone Coupe
1982 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC Lorinser
For people not experienced with FIVA Concours, note that cars don't win because its the fastest or most expensive. Its all about the condition, documentaion, authenticity and level of detail, and these cars were the benchmark. Never have I seen this level of detail, this is old school German precision at its best. When we arrived on Friday, we evaluated the situation, and determined the most competitve participants: M635, 780, Z1 and the rolls royces... I did not check out the Alfas and GTS until sunday! We could have easily gone home empty handed and had no reason to complaint.
I was already aware of the M635 level as it beat a China-Blue 1995 993 GT2 RS Club Sport with 3000km a couple of years ago, and has just won its class at the suisse concours. The retired engineer had the M635 CSI since the year 2000, he is the second owner and bought it directly from the first owner who also had the car in the same condition. 83K km, full history since new, no-repaints, everything was original and the car was tuned by the BMW dealership when new. The unprecidented level of documentation and detail (engine bay, interior, underbody, trunk) was unmatched.
The Rolls Royce examples, which as you would expect, all low mileage concours example, Z1 Alpina is the first example I have seen, it was like new, and that 780 Bertone with 171K miles was a new car in every way.
Big dealerships don't show up at these FIVA concourses, this is all about the details. The winning cars are always preped for weeks by the owners themselves, dry icing everything does not get you points neither will fresh paint.
I started in June, buying new insulating material for the wiring and vacuum hoses, the throttle cable , and changing the short power steering hose. Vacuum and clean from underneath the car. The concours preparation was three weeks before the concours, and that's on a car that was already near concours level and waxed last year.
In contrast to the competition mentioned earlier the Red Baron has a huge engine sitting in a tight engine bay, a former daily driver and it has seen everything from snow to sand storms. If you think I exaggerated with the detailing, I have included pictures of the competing cars engine bays. Red baron was covered and transported in a closed transporter.
Jury evaluation was Saturday morning from 9:30 to 1PM. Which meant we were there at 8:30 for the final prep, this lasted for 1 hours and 20 minutes. Then I had to wait for the jury for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Most of the other car owners were finished when I just stated the final prep, because they were there earlier!
I knew I had to excel in aspects that the other car owners might not have considered, and this will come down to knowledge and Concours experience. The jury members were knowledgeable in the E500, asking to see the wiring harness and the battery bay!!
Sunday, I get to the car in the morning and did not see any ribbons, an hour later the 1971 Renault Alpine next to us was given the Red Ribbon by the organizer team, and they turn around to leave then suddenly the organizer stops in the middle of the Class H row and was looking at all the car, it could be anyone! then says: "I have something for you", it was the Red Ribbon for the Red Baron!! The FIVA Class H - 1st place. The BMW M635 was second and the Viper GTS is third.
Then things settled down, the other car owners were sad, as the effort and investment they put into their cars was clear, but they were unsuccessful. I went and congratulated the 2nd place and 3rd place winners, even the other participants. Between 1st and 2nd was very close!!
1 hour before the start of the ceremony, a member of the organizers stops by and says: "I have another one for you" , it was another Red Ribbon! But I did not know for what class until the end of the ceremony because they forgot to give my the second cup up on the stage
Tuned / Super class from 1971 - 1st place , with the ALPINA Z1 RLE being second place.
The Best in Show was a 3.5 Million Euro 1936 Bugatti 57 Atalante, it beat a Talbot for the top spot.
So there we have it, the Red Baron's European tour is concluded with the double 1st place win in its native country of Germany. Respect and admiration to all the cars competing in Class H, I thank them for pushing us beyond the limit and into a higher level.
From an Autobahn burning daily driver and vacation car, to a weekend fun car and then to a multiple concours and awards winner, the Red Baron has in its 30 years demonstrated every aspect of the W124.036 and stood in defiance against time, environmental factors, technical factors and social factors.
For our final event in Europe, the Red Baron competed in the 20th International Classic Gala Concours d'Elegance, Germany's biggest and oldest concours event. As it is now +30 Years old, it competed under the International FIVA Standard class H (1980 Onwards), this was a new and higher level than previous participations.
+20 Cars competed in the same class including:
6 x Rolls-Royce,
5 x Alfa Romeo SZ / RZ Zagato,
Deloean DMC 12,
1996 Chrysler (yes rare european order) Viper GTS with 44Kkm. Owned by a Swiss lady that owns 5 vipers.
1991 BMW ALPINA Z1 RLE - 1of66 made
1994 Porsche 993 Carrera Cabriolet
1994 BMW 850 CSI (M8)
1985 BMW M635 CSI - Multiple FIVA concours winner
1989 Volvo 780 Bertone Coupe
1982 Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC Lorinser
For people not experienced with FIVA Concours, note that cars don't win because its the fastest or most expensive. Its all about the condition, documentaion, authenticity and level of detail, and these cars were the benchmark. Never have I seen this level of detail, this is old school German precision at its best. When we arrived on Friday, we evaluated the situation, and determined the most competitve participants: M635, 780, Z1 and the rolls royces... I did not check out the Alfas and GTS until sunday! We could have easily gone home empty handed and had no reason to complaint.
I was already aware of the M635 level as it beat a China-Blue 1995 993 GT2 RS Club Sport with 3000km a couple of years ago, and has just won its class at the suisse concours. The retired engineer had the M635 CSI since the year 2000, he is the second owner and bought it directly from the first owner who also had the car in the same condition. 83K km, full history since new, no-repaints, everything was original and the car was tuned by the BMW dealership when new. The unprecidented level of documentation and detail (engine bay, interior, underbody, trunk) was unmatched.
The Rolls Royce examples, which as you would expect, all low mileage concours example, Z1 Alpina is the first example I have seen, it was like new, and that 780 Bertone with 171K miles was a new car in every way.
Big dealerships don't show up at these FIVA concourses, this is all about the details. The winning cars are always preped for weeks by the owners themselves, dry icing everything does not get you points neither will fresh paint.
I started in June, buying new insulating material for the wiring and vacuum hoses, the throttle cable , and changing the short power steering hose. Vacuum and clean from underneath the car. The concours preparation was three weeks before the concours, and that's on a car that was already near concours level and waxed last year.
In contrast to the competition mentioned earlier the Red Baron has a huge engine sitting in a tight engine bay, a former daily driver and it has seen everything from snow to sand storms. If you think I exaggerated with the detailing, I have included pictures of the competing cars engine bays. Red baron was covered and transported in a closed transporter.
Jury evaluation was Saturday morning from 9:30 to 1PM. Which meant we were there at 8:30 for the final prep, this lasted for 1 hours and 20 minutes. Then I had to wait for the jury for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Most of the other car owners were finished when I just stated the final prep, because they were there earlier!
I knew I had to excel in aspects that the other car owners might not have considered, and this will come down to knowledge and Concours experience. The jury members were knowledgeable in the E500, asking to see the wiring harness and the battery bay!!
Sunday, I get to the car in the morning and did not see any ribbons, an hour later the 1971 Renault Alpine next to us was given the Red Ribbon by the organizer team, and they turn around to leave then suddenly the organizer stops in the middle of the Class H row and was looking at all the car, it could be anyone! then says: "I have something for you", it was the Red Ribbon for the Red Baron!! The FIVA Class H - 1st place. The BMW M635 was second and the Viper GTS is third.
Then things settled down, the other car owners were sad, as the effort and investment they put into their cars was clear, but they were unsuccessful. I went and congratulated the 2nd place and 3rd place winners, even the other participants. Between 1st and 2nd was very close!!
1 hour before the start of the ceremony, a member of the organizers stops by and says: "I have another one for you" , it was another Red Ribbon! But I did not know for what class until the end of the ceremony because they forgot to give my the second cup up on the stage
Tuned / Super class from 1971 - 1st place , with the ALPINA Z1 RLE being second place.
The Best in Show was a 3.5 Million Euro 1936 Bugatti 57 Atalante, it beat a Talbot for the top spot.
So there we have it, the Red Baron's European tour is concluded with the double 1st place win in its native country of Germany. Respect and admiration to all the cars competing in Class H, I thank them for pushing us beyond the limit and into a higher level.
From an Autobahn burning daily driver and vacation car, to a weekend fun car and then to a multiple concours and awards winner, the Red Baron has in its 30 years demonstrated every aspect of the W124.036 and stood in defiance against time, environmental factors, technical factors and social factors.
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