“I’ve never been to Berlin but if I was to go to Berlin it would be my first stop.” Explained Alex Penfold, an automotive photographer friend of mine when I asked after what I should see and snap in the post-unification capital of the color grey. He most certainly wasn’t wrong.
Classic Remise might sound like a certain preparation of a cut of beef, but in reality it’s just a former train depot. Glass ceilings, steel girders, a romantic light flowing in and out even on a frigid German winter day. No trains left though, just hundreds upon hundreds of exceptional automobiles in storage and on offer to the highest bidder. It’s a collective of sorts, or perhaps shopping mall is more appropriate, as it’s essentially a huge space filled with individual car restoration specialists, rare and exotic dealers, and one slightly out of place Riva boat brokerage.
Wrapping my hands around a cappucino handed to me by friend of Petrolicious Michael Gross (himself a dealer via ChromeCars.de) I walked the floor enamored with what I could only describe as a laundry list of my favorite cars. Every Mercedes Benz worth a mention was on display. Michael Groß, Jaguar specialist had his finest wears sitting proudly at the southern entrance. Porsches were in some cases quite literally upon each other. HK was manhandling more than one 300SL Gullwing, and one shop seemed to be unhealthily obsessed with Citroen.
Turnover is rapid at this destination, likely because as far as I could tell this was the only place in Northern Germany that a layman could rock up with his checkbook and drive out with a 3.0CSL. They have a few locations apparently, one in Dusseldorf I’m told, but this is allegedly the Mecca of them all.
Needless to say that if you’re within 50km of Classic Remise and you don’t drop in, you are genuinely blowing it.
