In the inaugural Grand Basel automobile exhibition coming up in the first week of September, over a 100 cars will be displayed in Basel, Switzerland, including prototypes, racing legends, iconic roadsters, classic vintages and many more. In anticipation of the grand show, the organisers have given us a sneak peek into some of the automotive masterpieces to be exhibited. We have for you a select preview of the top three picks that caught our fancy.

1994 Benetton-Ford B194

The car that secured one of the world’s fastest racing driver Michael Schumacher first world championship was the 3.5-litre V8 Benetton-Ford B194, in which he won eight of the 16 races in 1994. Known to be a bit of an unpredictable beast, the Benetton could only be ‘tamed’ by Schumacher, with his teammates finding the car a bit of an handful to manage in that eventful season. Fittingly then, more than a decade later, Schumacher’s son, Mick, drove a Benetton-Ford B194 in demonstration laps at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2017 to pay a knowing tribute to his father’s success.

1947 Cisitalia 202 SC

Founded by industrialist and amateur racing driver, Piero Dusio, the Cisitalia automobile brand is named after his conglomerate, Consorzio Industriale Sportivo Italia. Having already experimented with Italy’s first post-war racing car, Dusio next unveiled the 202 model, meant for roads this time, at Villa d’Este in 1947. So beautiful is its aesthetics that one of the models is exhibited at the MoMa (Museum of Modern Art) in New York, where it is showcased as one of the ten best automotive designs of all time. The car shown at Grand Basel has been restored from a ‘barn find’ condition.

1956 Porsche 550 1500 RS Spyder

First introduced at the Paris Motor Show in 1953, the Porsche 550 model is known to be a confirmed winner in racing events. The particular model of Porsche 550 1500 RS Spyder displayed at Grand Basel is, however, more remarkable than its brethren, because it achieved the feat of being the winner of its class at the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring in 1956. However, some of the other 550 models have been part of other hair-raising tales of driving glory – it is said that, in the 1954 Mille Miglia, Hans Herman managed to drive the 550 under a level crossing barrier just seconds before an express train sped past.

The Switzerland chapter of the Grand Basel show, which takes place on 6-9 September 2018, paves the way for upcoming shows in Miami, from 22 to 24 February 2019, and in Hong Kong in May 2019.

Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay