There are around 37,000 car workshops in Germany – but only one of them is located at Bilster Berg.

Grey roof, white walls, two plain garage entrances – from the outside, the car workshop of Tanja and Uwe Düchting looks like any other warehouse. A look into the workshop reveals what a treasure trove the two car enthusiasts have built at BILSTER BERG since founding their company Classic & Speed in 2017. The sports cars that are currently standing on the four lifting platforms have a combined performance of more than 1200 hp.

A sure instinct is required

150 hp of this comes from an old BMW 502. Uwe Düchting is currently checking the gearbox unit. “Only about 250 cars of this model were built worldwide. For such a valuable classic car, you need a sure instinct and a good understanding of outdated technology,” the trained master car mechanic, who once repaired VW Beetles during his apprenticeship, explains. He dreams of one day having an old Porsche 917 on the Classic & Speed lifting platform. His wife Tanja has quite different wish: “I would love to have a Bugatti Veyron in the workshop one day,” says the former racing driver, who is now responsible for customer care at Classic & Speed. It is not all that unlikely that her wish will come true – after all, the eight-man car workshop at the BILSTER BERG specialises in old and new sports cars.

“We live for cars”

“Many of the cars that are here in the workshop are not registered for the road and are only driven on tracks such as the one at the BILSTER BERG. Our customers are happy that they don’t have to drive their sports cars to the garage in a trailer, but can drive right up to our door,” says Managing Director Uwe Düchting, who founded the company as a spin-off of CP autosport GmbH in 2017. A further advantage: after the work is done, the optimised vehicles can be tested on the track straight away. Even one year after founding the company, this is still a dream for the Düchtings: “We live for cars – we don’t need anything else,” says Tanja Düchting with a smile on her face. No wonder that their two sons, Tim and Luca, can already check air pressure and change tyres.

 

Author: Julia Jansen (Zimmermann Editorial)
Photos: Classic & Speed