SCHÖNE STERNE® festival 2017 at LWL Industrial Museum Henrichshütte in Hattingen.
Schone Sterne 2018
MB classics return to Industrial Museum
Stuttgart. Take a dip in a sea of stars at the site of the iconic ironworks: In 2018, the SCHÖNE STERNE® festival at the tradition-steeped ironworks in Hattingen promises another magnificent variety of vehicles with the Mercedes star. This year’s SCHÖNE STERNE® will be bigger than ever before. That is because this is the tenth anniversary of the online magazine “ Mercedes-Fans”, published by E-Mags Media GmbH in Essen. The Stuttgart brand will be the main sponsor of the event on 25 and 26 August 2018.
On Saturday 25 August, the event will be enriched by two racing drivers and brand ambassadors: Sebastian Asch and Luca Ludwig are absolute experts behind the wheel, and the Mercedes-AMG GT3 is their professional tool on the race track.
ALL TIME STARS, the vehicle trading platform of Mercedes-Benz Classic, will be in attendance for the third time at SCHÖNE STERNE® and will present automobiles from its current range. These will probably be:
- Smart Crossblade, manufactured in 2002, 11,000 kilometres: No roof, no windscreen and a safety bar instead of doors – it was with this openness that the crossblade caused a sensation in 2002. Production, which ended in 2003, was limited to 2,000 units.
- Mercedes-Benz 280 SE (W 126), manufactured in 1982, 35,500 kilometres: The first owner ordered this beautiful S-Class with extensive optional extras – and did relatively little driving in it. The vehicle is therefore in good condition.
- Mercedes-Benz SL 320 Special Edition (R 129), manufactured in 1998, 86,000 kilometres: Just 500 units of the Special Edition were produced in 1998. The vehicle on show is from first-hand and in excellent condition.
The Mercedes-Benz Dortmund branch will also be present with a selection of vehicles.
Diverse selection of Mercedes-Benz Classics within the weathered industrial backdrop. Photo from 2017.
Open for all Classics
Set against the backdrop of a blast furnace and chimney, the event location for the ninth edition of SCHÖNE STERNE® has grown by over two-thirds compared to 2017 to around 80,000 square metres thanks to the inclusion of the grounds of the LWL Industrial Museum Henrichshütte. This means plenty of space for around 2,000 vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz brand and some 13,000 visitors, including numerous clubs and interest groups – that is the forecast of the organisers for 2018 following the great success of the event in recent years.
Classic cars, both young and old, as well as performance-tuned vehicles: The gathering is open to every facet of the enthusiasm surrounding the Stuttgart brand. And so the motto for 2018 is: “All model years, all model series – the main thing is: ein schöner Stern (a beautiful star)!” The programme reflects the same approach. It starts at 10 am and ends at 6 pm on both days: Will the centre of attention be the birthday child “Stroke Eight”, which made its debut in 1968, i.e. 50 years ago? Or what about the performance-tuned vehicles of the 1980s and 1990s based on Mercedes-Benz automobiles?
High-performance vehicles, such as the Laureus “Drive for Good” Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé Black Series (“Masters of Speed” team) and the powerful three-axle G-Class from the “Speed Monkeys” team, also promise a visit at SCHÖNE STERNE® 2018. The event will be rounded off by planned demonstration drives by a GT Masters team from the successful customer sports programme of Mercedes-AMG.
Among the highlights of SCHÖNE STERNE® will be a presentation on the central Mercedes-Benz Classic show stage of many vehicles that have been driven especially to the event, as well as the award ceremony on the Sunday. A panel of judges will assess all the vehicles at the event. The experts will award a total of over 50 trophies for outstanding automobiles across all model years and all model series. Added to this will be special prizes, such as one for the vehicle that made the longest journey to the event.
Mercedes-Benz 500 SL rally vehicle (R 107) from 1981, presented by ALL TIME STARS, the vehicle trading platform of Mercedes-Benz Classic. Photo from 2017.
Programme with star
SCHÖNE STERNE® is also the appropriate platform for animated discussions about motoring as well as an exchange of information on topics such as club life, car maintenance and tuning. Café Bertha will make for an atmospheric meeting point. For the youngest visitors, the organisers will be setting up a Kids Area.
Anyone wishing to explore the extensive grounds of the LWL Industrial Museum in style can take a tour in a Mercedes-Benz O 319 vintage bus. The free trips will take place on both days between 10 am and 6 pm. The private car boot sale will be of interest to all owners of a Mercedes-Benz classic car, whether young or old. It is a place where those attending the gathering can sell spare parts or accessories from their personal trove.
A further highlight will be the climbing ramp of the Unimog Museum in Gaggenau, where a Unimog U 5023 will demonstrate just what this amazing all-rounder can do. In addition, it will be possible to take a ride.
View of the event grounds. Photo from 2017.
Offer for brand clubs
For festival visitors without an automobile, admission on the day will be 5 euros (adults) and a reduced rate of 2 euros (children and young people aged 6 to 17). Advance ticket sales for those attending the ninth edition of SCHÖNE STERNE® with an automobile have already begun. Tickets, which are each valid for one vehicle with up to four occupants, cost 15 euros for one day and 25 euros for both days. They can also be purchased at the ticket office on the day.
Exclusively for members of worldwide officially accredited Mercedes-Benz brand clubs, the ticket office on the day will offer a 25 percent discount on the admission price on presentation of a Mercedes-Benz ClubCard. Further information is available on the website of the organiser E-Mags Media GmbH at www.schoene-sterne.de .
A place with an industrial past
The Henrichshütte ironworks in Hattingen, Museum for Iron and Steel of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL), is an outstanding venue for the SCHÖNE STERNE® automotive festival. For 150 years, iron was produced here in blast furnaces and refined into steel. At peak times, up to 10,000 people produced and processed the metal on the huge industrial site in foundries, rolling mills and forges. The last blast furnace in Hattingen ceased operation in 1987. Today, the Henrichshütte ironworks is one of the eight sites of the split-site LWL Industrial Museum – Westphalian State Museum of Industrial Culture.
Mercedes-Benz 500 SL rally vehicle (R 107) from 1981, presented by ALL TIME STARS, the vehicle trading platform of Mercedes-Benz Classic. Photo from 2017.
images/text courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Classic
>Was this article interesting? Subscribe to our e-newsletter.