Grand Basel 2018

Basel. Home of Switzerland’s pharmaceutical industry and birthplace of the world's greatest tennis player. A rather calm and charming city. It also happens to be called “city of museums” because apparently, there’s a lot of those. Maybe it's for this reason that it hosts some of the most prestigious fairs and exhibitions in the world.

Each year the "ArtBasel" attracts numerous strangely dressed people who love looking at some art. At the "BaselWorld" the watch-enthusiast can admire the newest watches but not actually see or buy them for some reason. The organizers of the shows somehow felt, that a third prestigious show was missing. Some moments after they decided to launch the world's most exclusive automotive show. The "GrandBasel".

The Cars

Over a hundred collectors’ cars were elected by a board of professionals to be displayed at the first ever show. Whether it was a Ferrari 250 SWB formerly driven by Enzo Ferrari himself, or the brand-new Bugatti Chiron, there was definitely something for everyone’s taste. Eugenio Amos premiered his Lancia Delta Futurista and some other unique projects found their way to Basel. In the galleries below you'll find a fraction of the cars displayed.

The Frames

On every other car show you’ll find the car’s packed into rather tight spaces which sort of ruins the presence of the car. Not here though, because each car was put into a frame which beautifully elevated the car from a mean of transportation into a piece of art. Considered as the "architectural" part of the show, the frames were the main reason for the unique aesthetic appeal of the show.

The Atmosphere

Everyone that’s ever been to a major car show knows that it’s unbearably hot and extremely difficult to navigate through the masses without constantly having someone's elbow in the face. There’s a lot of chattering, different music from every exhibitor and people trying to sell you a car you have absolutely no interest in.

On the GrandBasel however there’s a unique atmosphere of simplicity and calmness. No annoying music or sound effects, a decent number of people and all the time in the world. Ignoring the sheer size of the venue, the overall feel and the combination of architecture, art and design make it resemble a museum, which in the end is quite fitting for a city like Basel.