Foreign Collectors Managed To Shine At the Cincy Concours

The Foreign Collector class is always one of the more popular groups at the Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance. This year's 44th event saw a strong class of European cars from 1946 through 1985. Among them was this 1971 Mercedes Benz 280SE 3.5 coupe. The last year of the W111 chassis code, 1971 was the only year to see the 200 horse power 3.5 liter V8 engine.

Another Mercedes on hand was a 1966 200D Fintail. Based on the smaller W110 chassis, this model was often used as a taxi in Germany because of its durability and reliability. Packed with a small 2.0 liter inline four cylinder diesel engine the car had 54 horse power.

For a decade starting in 1950 Alfa Romeo produced the 1900 series which was the first Alfa car built entirely on an assembly line. This 1954 1900 CSS Coupe had a zippy 115 horse power 2.0 liter Tipo 1308 inline four cylinder engine making the car both practical and fast. This led to Alfa's sales slogan or "the family car that wins races."

Imagine a car that can sail on the water or a boat that can drive on the land. That's what Germany's Quandt Group did starting in 1961 with the Amphicar. In all fewer than 3900 were built and only about 600 are known to still exist. This 1967 Model 770 is a former concours winner and was once owned by Finnish NHL hockey star Teemu Selanne.

Here is a 1968 Volvo 123 GT. The Swedish firm sold the 120 series in the United States between 1959 and 1970 and there are fewer than 10 123 GT models known to survive here. This car won first place at the BOC 2021 Volvo Club of America Nationals. It has a 95 horse power 1.8 liter inline four cylinder engine. Because of its durability Volvo had an interesting sales slogan for this car: "Drive it like you hate it."

This 1952 Mercedes Benz 220 Lieferwagen has a chassis number of 011 and is believed to be the only survivor of this body type. The body was by coach builder Autenrieth Karosserie of Darmstadt, Germany. It ran on a 2195 cc OHC inline six cylinder engine that put out 80 horse power.

Stored for over 40 years this 1973 Triumph Stag is one of only 2800 ever imported to the United States. It was found in 2018 and given a complete mechanical overhaul. The engine on this car is a 2977 cc SOHC V8 that is rated at 146 horse power. The car still has it's original interior. 

To many the name Messerschmitt is known as a German fighter plane from World War II. After the war the company was barred from manufacturing aircraft. One alternative was to produce small three wheeled motorcycle based bubble cars. This 1955 KR 200 Kabinenroller or Cabin Roller was one of about 40,000 made by the company. Designed by aircraft engineer Fritz Fend it runs on a 191 cc two stroke single cylinder engine.