Long live the Wörthersee GTI-Treffen!
I have to applaud the XS Car Night team. When everyone else – including Volkswagen and the Maria Wörth municipality – turned their backs on this iconic gathering with more than 40 years of history, they stepped up to lead the charge for the unofficial return of the GTI-Treffen.
I covered the atmosphere on the streets of Wörthersee in part one of my coverage. In part two, we’ll head straight into the weekend’s main event: the XS Car Night Wörthersee Edition.
After a week of rain, traffic jams, and taking in the sheer scale of the unofficial GTI-Treffen against the backdrop of Wörthersee’s stunning Alpine scenery, anticipation for the main XS Car Night event was high. The show took place in Klagenfurt, a city that had largely remained on the sidelines throughout the week. But on Saturday evening, everyone converged on the lakeside capital for the weekend’s finale.
The show is about as quintessentially European as it gets: pre-selected cars spread across six halls and the outdoor venue, electronic music blasting, and a distinct absence of any competitive element. The main hall, with its constantly sweeping spotlights, felt more like a concert than a car show, with a Red Bull Racing F1 car taking center stage.
I found the ‘Golf Club’ to be particularly unique. Half of an entire hall was dedicated to Volkswagen’s iconic hatchback, complete with a green-themed layout and Golf-inspired decorations. Considering the Wörthersee scene began with the humble Golf, it makes perfect sense to dedicate a space to celebrating the car that sparked a four-decade tradition.
With Volkswagen officially absent from the Wörthersee scene, another German OEM stepped in to make its presence felt at XS Car Night. Opel showcased several of its performance-oriented GSE models, alongside the brutally wide Corsa GSE Vision Gran Turismo concept.
As day turned to night, the show only got better. After dark, the venue’s lighting added a whole new level of dynamism for photographers. In the main hall, the moving spotlights meant every frame in a burst sequence looked completely different from the last.
The second nighttime highlight was found in Hall 5. Kept almost completely dark, it was illuminated by lights that continuously shifted between blue and red. Photographing here meant pushing my camera to its limits, but the results were worth the effort.
XS Car Night Wörthersee Edition 2026 was a fitting finale to a festive weekend in Austria. It’s worth noting that this year’s Wörthersee gathering coincided with an exceptionally busy weekend on the European automotive calendar, with the Nürburgring 24 Hours, the Concours d’Eleganza on Lake Como, and Tuning World Bodensee all taking place at the same time.
Even so, I never felt like I was missing out. The Wörthersee meet occupies a special place in car culture – an event unlike any other that has stood the test of time. Judging by the atmosphere this year, it looks set to continue doing so for many years to come.
