Basel-based MCH Group launches new world exhibition for automotive icons
Following Art Basel for art and Baselworld for watches and jewelry, the MCH Group is launching a third trade show with global appeal. The new format is called Grand Basel and is designed to offer a fresh perspective on the automotive industry.
The new fair will take place in Basel for the first time in September 2018, as it was said on Thursday at the preview. As with Art, offshoots of Grand Basel are also planned in Miami and Hong Kong. The MCH Group promotes the Grand Basel as the first salon for the world's most important and valuable automobiles. The vehicles are to be presented in the cultural context of design, architecture and art, something that has never happened before.
With the Grand Basel, the organizers primarily want to address international connoisseurs, experts, collectors and investors.
The new format is not an exhibition for everyday cars, said Grand Basel boss Mark Backé, who was responsible for marketing at BMW Switzerland before joining the MCH Group.
Like in a modern museum Initially, 100 to 200 vehicles will be on display at the Grand Basel; later, it could be as many as 300. However, Backé said that an upper limit was deliberately set. The selection will be made by a board of trustees, which is to ensure high quality for the event.
The MCH Group had a modular architecture and exhibition concept drawn up especially for the Grand Basel. This is intended to enable historical, contemporary and trend-setting automotive icons to be displayed in the quality of modern museums. The individual exhibitors can present a maximum of seven cars each. For driving presentations and auctions, a course will be laid out in the atrium of the exhibition hall designed by the Basel star architects Herzog & de Meuron.
The Grand Basel will be open for seven days at a time. The first three are reserved for selected guests. Such VIP days to the exclusion of the general public are also held at Art Basel. (SDA)
