Here Nik Hartmann shows off his first car

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He travels to the past with his car! TV star Nik Hartmann (50) does not want to miss the anniversary exhibition held recently in Switzerland for the 75th anniversary of Volkswagen. “I’m a Volkswagen kid,” he says during our visit to Lucerne. “My whole family has always driven with Volkswagen.”

A comprehensive look into the eventful past of the popular car brand in Switzerland can be seen using the numerous models at the Swiss Transport Museum. The successful years, which started with the contract signed between Volkswagen and AMAG on April 29, 1948, continued with many cult models until today’s all-electric era consisting of ID. Family with ID.3, ID.4, ID.5 and ID. buzz

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In any case, Nik Hartmann doesn’t have to wait long for his first déjà vu when he visits the 1st floor of the “Road Traffic” hall: The bug alone brings back the presenter’s childhood memories. “My father had a beetle. Today I still think these cars are cute!” The big anniversary caravan at the end of April was really important to him.

We continue with the VW Golf GTI II, the next standout model from Nik’s automobile history, produced from 1983 to 1992. “This was my first car in my early twenties,” he recalls. “It was just as white as this one and belonged to Carla’s neighbors, my then girlfriend and now wife. Later we were allowed to use the ‹zBode› car.» Something he regrets today. “When I saw how good this model still is, it’s almost a sin not to look at my Golf anymore.” Even though a car didn’t look like a classic car at the time, it suddenly turns into a classic car!

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The host of the 3+ show “Masterchef” (the new season is currently airing on Tuesdays) is well aware of the time spent in the Golf GTI. “One of our first trips took Carla and me to Brittany for vacation, which was great. We often remember our trips abroad, back then it was the days of traveller’s checks, cash, phone cards and maps. There was no trace of Navis back then! »

“He has already completed his student driving time with one of his family’s Golfs,” the broadcaster continued. paid by his father. However, there was an assessment about it. “Dad was a passionate balloonist at the time, and we boys had to take him to the launch area on Sundays after he passed his driver’s license test, then follow him and pick him up again from the landing area.” They were going to make these trips in a superior, extremely rare golf country. “It was a kind of SUV long before today’s SUVs existed.”

The exhibition continues: right next to the Golf is the VW Beetle and the modern rare XL1, a one-liter car with a diesel hybrid drive. It was built in a small series of 200 copies in the 1910s. The model on display is one of seven models in Switzerland.

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A very special vintage Grimselexpress is the Grimselexpress, a VW T1 Samba delivered to Switzerland in 1955, owned by the Urweider family of hoteliers and grocers in Innertkirchen BE and used as a shared taxi in the Grimsel area on weekends. The car is on display in an unrestored find condition.

Looking at this old VW bus is impressive how much the size of the cars has changed compared to before – because right next to it is the all-electric Bulli successor ID. Buzz Hartmann says in amazement, “It’s unbelievable that today’s cars can get this wide.” As a Bulli driver, the Zug native has a lot of experience to bring with him. The Hartmanns’ current family vehicle is a T6 Multivan. “We use it almost every day. You can also regularly go to the Lower Engadine for the weekend or vacation.”

Nik Hartmann is experiencing another déjà-vu with the display of Bullis: VW Type 2 T1 Samba, the VW bus that accompanied the “SRF bi de Lüt – Live” series for three seasons, is on display at Verkehrshaus. “I was behind the wheel a few times back then,” Nik says, and insists on sitting in the vintage car again. “This was so much fun!”

“Weisch no?” effect exhibition

Many iconic models – many stories! And Nik Hartmann is probably not the only one who feels reminiscent of the past because of the cars on display. According to the curator Martin Sigrist, the exhibition is a “weisch no?” Playing with the effect. “But the exhibit is aimed at the whole family,” says Sigrist. “The old can remember the old days, and the children and grandchildren can see how their father or grandmother used to go around.”

The special exhibition “75th Anniversary of Volkswagen in Switzerland” at the Swiss Transport Museum will run until the end of April 2024. In addition, more Volkswagen rarest products will be displayed in four exhibition blocks in the showroom of the Swiss Transport Museum. The visit is included in the Swiss Transport Museum entrance fee. Working hours: daily from 10:00 to 18:00 (from winter time to 17:00).

_{* VW ID.3 Pro, 204 hp, 16.5 kWh/100 km, 0 g CO2/km, cat.A}

Source: Blick