The turn of the millennium had people in an uproar. Fear of electronic devices self destructing and computers taking up all the pieces had practically change into a running gag. Over 20 years later, the hype surrounding the Nineties and 2000s is back like never before.
Nostalgia for a time before all the pieces became digital is flooding just about all areas of popular culture, and the automotive scene isn’t any exception.
One space that seems to supply this retro atmosphere is the AVUS in Berlin, Germany. The Automobil Verkehrs und Übungs Straße (translation: Automobile Traffic and Practice Road) was certainly one of the world’s earliest race tracks, and particularly famous through the golden era of DTM racing.
It was last used for motorsport in 1998, but today little is left of its former glory. The AVUS Motel, topped by the enduring Mercedes star, is the one real remnant of racing heritage at a facility that when welcomed hundreds of spectators during a race weekend.
A recent barbecue hosted by VHCLE and ` and held next to the AVUS Motel aimed to resurrect vibes of the past, while providing an amazing opportunity for the local BMW community to show their classic and young timer cars.
Back within the day, manufacturers comparable to BMW and Mercedes-Benz promoted powerful engines, durability, and the image of a successful racing automotive by entering their latest models within the DTM. ‘Race on Sunday, sell on Monday’ was the slogan, and other people were thrilled. Nearly every automotive on the BBQ had some racing pedigree, which to today still holds a powerful fascination for his or her owners.
It’s not only nostalgia, but much more so the sensation of unfiltered mechanics that makes people form an attachment. To have the opportunity to regulate all the pieces, and to feel every bump within the road as feedback within the steering wheel – that’s why we still decide to drive these cars today.
Very similar to analog photography, the approaching together of technology, chemistry and engineering in a feast of emotion is what keeps us glued to our dinosaur-burners.
It’s also the ability (or necessity) to tinker with these cars yourself that makes them so appealing. Whether it’s easy maintenance, latest suspension and wheels, and even modifying the engine – classics offer possibilities for the average Joe which can be rarely present in modern vehicles.
The aesthetics don’t come up short either. In times when safety had not yet taken over automotive design, classic lines and shapes were created which can be still unmatched. The person touches that owners give to their cars complete this quest for beauty.
The cars and placement weren’t the one reminder of simpler times. Fittingly, I made a decision to bring my old Nikon F60 and exactly one roll of expired Kodak Gold 35mm film along to the BBQ. In hindsight it was a superb decision, because I don’t think anything could have captured the sweltering heat higher than the magic of colliding light particles on silver halide.
For me, being limited to only 36 images made me slow right down. Each frame and every image were rigorously considered and unique, unlike in my digital photography, where I might have taken tons of photos of the identical subject for safety’s sake.
‘Slow’ is an odd word to see on a site like Speedhunters, but once in a while you do should slow all the way down to catch the fleeting nature of the moment. On this case, it was a reminder of simpler, pre-digital times when the cars on show on the BBQ were built.
Allen Dumler
Instagram: sophisticatedsmoothtalker
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