Royal Enfield

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Lutziger Classic Cars: Hunters and gatherers

Koni Lutziger is not only one of the most prestigious classic car dealers in Switzerland, he’s also a serious collector. Classic Driver was allowed to take a look inside Lutzigers’ lair and, needless to say, we weren’t disappointed…

The line between dealer and collector is narrow, and one that Lutziger treads carefully

The line between dealer and collector is narrow, and one that Koni Lutziger treads carefully, overseeing a true treasure trove at his dealership near Zurich in Switzerland. Around 80 exceptional cars of all vintages are stored there, distributed among several halls and garages. Of these 80, about 25 of them are typically for sale. 

What matters: Originality and history

As a child, Koni Lutziger was fascinated by fast cars and motorcycles. In 1966, aged 21, he founded a company that specialised in the repair and sale of bikes. As a skilled mechanic, he also oversaw the Swiss motorcycle racer Bruno Kneubühler during his championship years and around that time Lutziger began collecting racing bikes, of which he still has a considerable number today. Later came the cars, before this true enthusiast at last became a dealer. The cars’ history and original condition was important to him, and still is: you won’t find any over-restored classics here. 

An exciting ensemble

Lutziger also operates a small workshop, but only for the dealership’s needs. He’s keen to preserve the boundary between dealers and restoration specialists to avoid any conflicts of interest. As a child, Koni’s son Fabian played among the exotics and has now been involved with the family business for several years. He showed us around, explaining what treasures are gathered there.

We marvel at dusty Porsche Carreras, Turbos, Targas, a frog-green 2.7RS and even a G-series model with just 2,000 miles on the clock. In addition, there are historic racing cars (which are run at events around the world) and classics of all the notable marques and ages. We pass a Zakspeed Ford, laid up next to a race-ready De Tomaso Pantera. Next to it sits a Pininfarina-bodied Bentley Mk. IV. Our attention is drawn to a beautiful Lamborghini Miura, still wearing its original paintwork, and then to an untouched Bizzarrini. And the pièce de résistance? A jaw-droppingly gorgeous Alfa Romeo 6C, with which Lutziger recently won the a revered Zurich classic car award. It’s quite an ensemble. 

Hospitality and understatement

Given these gems, the Lutzigers could easily be unapproachable, seeing themselves as rather special, but far from it. Their understatement and hospitality are rare in this exclusive scene, and that’s why customers travel from all over the world to appreciate this special dealership. We thoroughly look forward to our next visit. 

You can find Lutziger Classic Cars’ inventory, as well as contact information, in the Classic Driver Market.

Riding The Well Of Death

Sometimes we can get all too caught up within our own existence, problems and daily grind. But the thing with the Speedhunting world is that it’s almost without limits, and it’s on the outer periphery that we find films like this one. It looks into a culture unfamiliar to most of us, whilst celebrating something we can all relate to – pushing the limits of what you do and know. London-based four piece band Django Django became obsessed with the Indian Well of Death riders and decided nothing would be better to accompany their track Wor. We like their thinking.

The well of death is called that for a reason, but what makes this film directed by Jim Demuth different, are the riders and drivers that take to it. No team colours, no flash graphics, just plain old, stunningly captured daring and courage.

Roll up, roll up, they might not be here tomorrow…

Yamaha Star Bolt Scrambler - Doc’s Chops

Doc's Chops is a household name in some parts, especially if the parts you are talking about are located within the borders of the glorious Custom Yamaha Land. There he's pretty much the undisputed ruler, save for the odd incursion by John Ryland and his band of merry metal men. DC's army of work on Yamaha's XV750 has been victorious to say the least and now Greg Hageman, the man behind the brand, has turned his golden hands to something decidedly non-XV. In a build-off organised by Yamaha America, Greg's now in battle with nine other shops to see who can take a 2014 Star Bolt and make her the fairest in the land.

In late July, the folks at Yamaha America contacted Greg about customising a 2014 Star Bolt for them. He was told that 9 other builders, including Roland Sands and Jesse Rooke, along with some of the nations top motorcycle mega-shops had been contacted to do the same thing. The catch? The other shops had already been hard at it for two full months. Undaunted by the immensity of the task, Greg rolled up his sleeves, set his social calendar to ‘non-existant’ and got stuck in.

Greg asked himself two simple questions. Firstly, he wondred what was missing from todays line-up of factory motorcycles. Then he pondered what he could design that would float the boat of the ‘King of Motorcycle Cool’ Steve McQueen if, rest his soul, he were alive today? The answer was deceptively simple. A DT400 scrambler.

Greg made a conscious decision not to cut the bike into pieces by way of showing off his fabricating skills, but to produce a realistic build that could be inserted into Yamaha's line up and sold ‘as is’ at their dealerships. The motor remains relatively stock. A set of custom laced wheels and dual sport tires were added, alone with many other details that's turned this (let's face it) HD Nightster clone into something that's so much more.

As a true testament to his skills, most all of his build-off competitors has endless amount of funds and equipment to work with. But greg is a one man operation, working out of his home garage. And it looks as if he's been able to take it to the likes of Roland Sands and Jesse Rooke without breaking a sweat. How's that for some sweet chops?

“I'm just a vintage kind of guy I guess,” says Greg.  “I'm always looking back to things that made me smile when I was a kid. That's a big influence on my bike designs, I guess. I always wanted a DT400 when I was growing up, but I couldn't afford one. Now I probably could, but most you find are trashed. I figured I'd compromise here and build a bike that reminded me of my dream.”

“My favorite thing about the build is probably the paint/tank scheme. I really like the tires too, but it's one of the biggest things I've had to defend. They are DOT enduro tires, not motocross tires like a few of the armchair critics have assumed. I built this bike to keep riding where your normal street bike has to stop. Gravel, fire roads, dirt trails etc. But still she's definitely not a pure dirt bike. No jumping or hardcore off road - they make new plastic bikes for that.”

At the time of writing, the bike was neck-and-neck with a build from Broward Motorsports; a battle that Greg and the boys absolutely deserve to win. Help him to get the gold by heading over to the Star Motorcycles Facebook page, click on ‘Doc's Chops’ and cast your vote...

[Extra big thanks to Erick Runyon from erickrunyonfotosmotos.com]

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