Rare vintage cars in Senjin: They weren’t popular back then, and they’re rare today

Manfred Meers is thrilled that classic car drivers are welcome at Hegau. “When we go out, we always get a thumbs up from other road users,” he says on Classic Sunday in Singen. From May through September, the MAC Museum of Art and Automotive invites car enthusiasts to meet every last Sunday of the month. Here the old and young owners have the opportunity to talk and exchange ideas. Interested visitors can admire the highly polished treasures.

Nobody wanted the white car back then

This weekend it was the fanatics who made their way to Singen, despite the bad weather forecast – like Manfred and Andrea Merz, who drove from Donaueschingen in their white VW Scirocco GTI, built in 1977. Thanks to his fondness for white cars, he owns A Volkswagen, according to Manfred Merz. The car dealership owner’s wife really wanted a white car as a showpiece, which was unusual in the 1970s. “At that time, white as the color of a car was a no-go,” says Manfred Meers. All attempts to sell the car later failed due to the unusual color. The car remains in his possession to this day.

It was a pure summer car and had never seen salt before. And perhaps that was a good thing, because most vehicles in this era are now victims of rust. The complete closure of the bore in the Scirocco prevents this.

Today is unimaginable: green upholstery in a green Mercedes

The Mercedes 450 SLC owned by Alfred Knapps of Signen is almost the same age as the Scirocco. He bought the car, built in 1976, eight years ago. There are still about 1,000 copies on the road in Germany. He was actually looking for parts for another car. And so he got the all-green coupe, which is still in original condition and was a typical Sunday car. In this case, completeness means that not only the body, but the entire inner part is green. “No one will do anything like this anymore,” Knappers says, and he’s glad it’s rare.