A car show out of the ordinary, and in Sweden!

This weekend, 5-7 July, it was time for the premiere of the car festival The Aurora to take place outside Båstad in Skåne and more precisely in the botanical garden at Norrviken. The main organiser behind Aurora is the car sales company Motikon and Filip Larsson, based in Uppsala. Motikon is relatively new but has really put itself on the map with its unique and exclusive cars it sells. So taking the step to an exclusive car show really feels right!

As one of the main exhibitors, Koenigsegg itself was there. Koenigsegg is actually located just a stone's throw from the botanical garden at Norrviken with its factory in Ängelholm. Christian von Koenigsegg himself and his wife Haldora were also present. Koenigsegg showed off a number of cars, including the Jesko Absolut that recently broke the world record for 0-400-0 in the breathtaking time of 27.83 seconds. In addition, a new "one-off" model was presented on Sunday. A Koenigsegg Chimera which is a special model built for Formula 1 General and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. However, I was only there on Friday and Saturday so missed the Chimera. However, I got a nice picture of the von Koenigsegg couple in the CC850 they had with them. The day in honour was also Haldora's birthday and got a "Yes, may she live" sung to her by the guests and exhibitors. I also had a nice chat with Christian where I had to complain a bit that I had lost contact with Koenigsegg after all the negative things I unfortunately experienced that started with my motorcycle accident in August 2022. When I mentioned that I would like to get back in touch with them, Christian filled in that I obviously had a place after everything I did for them and that it started so early. My first visit to Koenigsegg was back in 2009 when I was down with Martin Westerstrand photographing a CCR for Slitz magazine. Now, I'm not going to bring up this article to talk about my relationship with Koenigsegg, but of course the Auroara car show. But it was nice to share a few words with Christian and hear him say what he said. 

In addition to Christian and Koenigsegg, there were of course many others on site. One of the main sponsors of Aurora was BMW. BMW had brought a lot of cars that they showed. In addition, BMW also took the opportunity to have a Swedish premiere and show the new concept and platform Neue Klasse. They did this by showing two models. The sedan version and an X model. Kai Langer is the chief designer for BMW and presented the two models and told about them. The key for the Neue Klasse is that it will bring together the heritage of BMW and several models says Kai Langer. The first model of the Neue Klasse will arrive as early as 2025.

Daytona Automobile from Västerås had also brought a lot of cars. Among others, the music artist Jamiroquais La Ferrari painted special in Signal Green that Porsche often uses. 

Of course, Motikon themselves had brought a number of cars to show. Among other things, a Lamborghini LM002 station wagon but also a Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, a Lamborghini Mijura and a Countach but then also a number of classic cars. The list could be very long.

Rolls Royce, which was also present, took the opportunity to show its new model Specter, which is completely electric. Specter has not been shown before in Sweden. Inside the VIP area, they also had the new Cullinan in place.

 Inside the VIP area and in the restaurant they had also let the former Formula 1 driver Stefan Johansson hang out some of his paintings. I got a picture of Stefan with his painting of Markus Ericsson in his Indy 500 car. 

Another person who brought some of his cars was Chante von Hovspin aka GTMeister. In addition to his Lamborghini Aventador SVJ, Chante von Hovspin also brought his Porsche 962, which ran in the Group C Class and has been raced in the classic 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car is one of three Porsche factory cars that belonged to the legendary Rothmans Porsche factory team. 

There were even rolling film stars on hand. The Dodge Charger that chases Steve McQueen in the classic film "Bullitt" was there. Then there was the incredibly famous Ford Mustang nicknamed Eleanor that Nicolas Cages and Angelina Jolie drive in the film "Gone in 60 Seconds". Then there were fans of three cars that appeared in the "Fast & Furious" film series. Toyota Supra from "2 Fast 2 Furious", Volkswagen Jetta from "The Fast & Furious" and Plymouth Hemi Cuda from "Fast & Furious 6". In addition, it fans the Ford Model A from "Public Enemies" and "Road to Perdition". The car appears in Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks.

In addition, there was also a competition with different classes. Here are the results. 

Best in Show Hypercar Concours: 2012 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport 'Wei Long'

Best in Show Classic Concours: 1955 Lancia Florida Coupe

Decade Awards Best of the 1920s: 1920 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Best of the 1930s: 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K (owner only pictured) Best of the 1950s: 1955 Aston Martin DB 2/4 Best of the 1960s: 1969 Lamborghini Islero Best of the 1980s: 1989 Ferrari F40

Northern Lights Award to the participant who drove the furthest to join The Aurora: 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing (1400 km)

Even if the rain chose to fall from time to time, the premiere year was really a hit. People's interest in exclusive cars is really high, the festival proves that one hundred per cent! I really recommend Aurora if, like me, you have a great interest in cars. After this year's success, I feel pretty sure that Aurora will return next year. At least I will plan to be there all weekend so I don't miss anything.