In that year the German crown prince Wilhelm made a visit to D\u00fcsseldorf 25 miles north of Cologne. The crown prince was known to be a keen car enthusiast, and a local car dealer was allowed to provide a 70HP Mercedes exclusively for his use. The news also made its way to Heinrich Graf von Schaesberg-Tannheim who lived 50 miles away on Schloss Krickenbeck<\/a>. Being himself an advocate of the still young invention, he decided to use the crown prince\u2019s visit as an opportunity for a trip by car to D\u00fcsseldorf.<\/p>\n In memory of this event Marcus Herfort launched the \u201cKronprinz Wilhelm Rasanz\u201d run in 2013. As D\u00fcsseldorf today is a rather unpleasant place for veteran cars, it was decided to let the cars make a tour from Schloss Krickenbeck to the moated castle Schloss Dyck and back, mostly on quiet country roads. <\/p>\n Eligible for the run were cars belonging to the following FIVA (F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale des V\u00e9hicules Anciens) classes: A (Ancestor), manufactured until 1904, B (Veteran), manufacture date between 1905 and 1918, C (Vintage), manufactured between 1919 and 1930 (selected by the organiser). While the starter field comprised only 25 cars in 2013, the number of participants already rose to 55 in 2014. The bulk of cars had German owners, but the success of the first event also attracted enthusiasts from Austria, France, Switzerland and the U.K. who greatly contributed to the stunning variety of marques in the 2014 run.<\/p>\n Quite a number of the participating cars came from manufacturers who stopped production as early as the end of the First World War. The run was a worthy memento of many forgotten marques like Autocar, Bayard, Brassier, Brennabor, De Dion Bouton, Duhanot, Clement, Charron, Guerry et Bourguignon, Leon Buat, Le Zebre, Locomobile, Martini, Maxwell, Mercer, Minerva, Overland, Panhard Levassor, Premier, Richard Brasier, Spyker, Star, and Swift.<\/p>\n With his hugely successful launch of the \u201cKronprinz Wilhelm Rasanz\u201d run, Marcus Herfort is himself a pioneer, as events for cars from the dawn of motoring still are extremely rare in Germany. But this appears to change gradually, as the owners of veteran cars increasingly realize that they have to show their treasures to the public rather than just keep them in private collections and museums. In a world where hardly any device can be understood or repaired by an amateur and the underlying processes cannot be perceived by the senses anymore, veteran cars with their visible and accessible mechanics provide an almost unique experience. <\/p>\n The number of pure veteran car events in Germany may be still modest. But the immediate success of pioneering events like the \u201cKronprinz Wilhelm Rasanz\u201d gives rise to hopes that the enthusiasm for the survivors from the early days of motoring can be passed to the future in our country, too. <\/p>\n Details on the \u201cKronprinz Wilhelm Rasanz\u201d run 2015 as well as a lovely film about the 2013 event are available online under: www.anno-1907.de<\/span><\/p>\n Source: Michael Schlenger<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Schloss](\"https:\/\/oldtimer-veranstaltung.de\/service\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Schloss-Krickenbeck-Autos-Messing-Aera.jpg\")
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