To see the twelve candidates of this year’s special exhibition outside the Bremen Classic Motorshow 2026 in real life, classic car enthusiasts would have to travel all across Germany – if not through large parts of Europe. And even then, there’s no guarantee they would catch them all. These vehicles are extremely rare and, being in private hands, are hardly ever on public display. Under the title “4×4 Performance”, it’s not the off-road representatives of the all-wheel-drive segment that will be showcased, but rather those that pushed the limits of driving dynamics.
The history of all-wheel drive in passenger cars is already more than 125 years old. In 1900, the Lohner-Porsche was presented to the public at the Paris World Exhibition. In the early years of all-wheel-drive history, there were only a handful of racing cars – either built for city-to-city races or hill climbs, such as the Bugatti T53 on display in Bremen. The first series-produced passenger car with permanent all-wheel drive was the Jensen FF in 1966. One of the only 320 units ever built will be featured in the special exhibition – alongside perhaps the most famous representative of this breed, Audi’s Sport Quattro. In the early 1980s, the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer popularized all-wheel drive, collecting countless laurels in both rally racing and later on racetracks with the Quattro system.
Many of the 4×4 vehicles exhibited in Bremen – such as the Ford RS 200 designed for Rally Group S, the VW Golf Bimotore “Pikes Peak”, or super sports cars like the Porsche 959 S – were produced only in very small numbers, or merely as prototypes. Because the performance of these all-wheel-drive cars was at times unmatched and demanded everything from drivers at the limit, they became rare exceptions in racing. In some cases, their use was even banned, as in Formula 1 or the DTM. That’s yet another reason why this species is so rare. As a complete dozen, they may only ever be admired once – at the Bremen Classic Motorshow.
