Swiss Classic Award: these are the 2023 winners

The presentation of the Swiss Classic Awards is already a tradition on the classic car agenda. Once again, the audience gathered at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne to find out who had won the coveted awards in the Internet vote. The evening program was routinely hosted by Dino Graf, who even had a few "horses" in the race himself. He immediately explained that he was glad that the audience had made the choice and not the jury.

Neel Jani and the classic cars

The guest of honor was motorsport driver Neel Jani (pictured left with presenter Dino Graf), who has actually won every major endurance race except Daytona. While Jani drives modern hybrid prototypes in racing, he enjoys every drive in old racing cars for a change. At Goodwood, for example, he had the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Lotus Cortina or the AC Cobra. In the old car, it's all about the pure physics of driving, in the modern car you have to work with the software to be as fast as possible, explained Jani to interviewer Dino Graf.

These are audience awards

• The "Rookie Award" went to MyOldtimer.fun, a sharing platform where you can rent classic cars, modern classics and other special vehicles made available by private vehicle owners.
• The Motor Chain was honored with the "Innovation Award". Launched in 2020, the online platform allows the history of classic vehicles to be reliably and securely documented and preserved for subsequent owners.
• The Lägern Classic won the most votes in the "Door Opener Award". The classic car and youngtimer meeting, which has only been taking place since 2018, has quickly established itself as an open event for all makes and eras.
• The "Historic Motorsport Award" went to the Alpine Challenge, a rally for classic cars and GT vehicles on a secret route with an average speed target.
• The "Passion Award Suisse Romande" went to the Oldtimer Motor Broye meeting, which has been attracting everything that moves on wheels since 2010.
• The "Gottardo Classic" received the most votes in the "Swiss Classic Passion Award Svizzera Italiana". As an annual event for classic and vintage cars, the Gottardo Classic offers picturesque routes and culinary delights and attracts over 100 teams to the area south of the Gotthard.
• Finally, the "Passion Award Deutschschweiz" went to the Ace Cafe in Lucerne. It is the only Ace Cafe in Switzerland that has been run enthusiastically for years and has a broad fan base.

Lifetime Award for Roger Gloor

The winner of the "Lifetime Award" was not chosen by the audience, but by the jury. In 2023, the winner was Roger Gloor (pictured right with juror Urs P. Ramseier). After completing a commercial apprenticeship, he worked at Automobil Revue for several decades, covering topics such as motor racing, design, vehicle tests and classic cars in particular. He wrote several books, including standard works such as "Cars of the Fifties" and "Cars of the Seventies", as well as works on Monterverdi and Bertone. Roger Gloor not only received the award, but also a tailor-made jacket with a matching Swiss Classic Award lining.

Photos: Bruno von Rotz
swiss-classic-award.ch
intergas.com