Paint supplier Standox has unveiled its new 2017 calendar with the theme “Generations of Colour”. It features 12 images are with classic cars shown alongside current models from famous marques.

The company says that contrasting classic models with today’s reincarnations has a certain nostalgic appeal, while developments in technology and the defining spirit of each era are apparent in the changing shape of the bodywork. In many cases, the classic and current model really only share the same name, but sometimes the family resemblance is unmistakable, such as with the Porsche 911.

These resemblances are particularly marked when car manufacturers have deliberately adopted special design elements from the original classic, as is the case for the VW Beetle, the Fiat 500 or the Mercedes SLS. What is also noticeable in this family reunion is that today’s models are all distinctly larger.

This automotive leap in time is the central theme of the Standox 2017 calendar Generations of Colour, created by photographer Ramon Wink from Bad Ems, Germany. Prompted by a good dose of irony, all images also share another theme. They are all photographed in backdrops that are considered to be typically German: a Bavarian beer garden, a traditional sausage stand, a romantic snow-covered Christmas market. Sometimes it is only something small that gives the images their German character, for example a couple of German Shepherd dogs, cardboard cut-outs from the Mainz Carnival or the dense thicket of signs seen on German motorways.

For over 30 years, Standox has commissioned renowned German photographers to create the brand’s wall calendar which can be ordered from the Standox web shop, www.standoshop.co.uk, in the literature/poster section. System Tools Plus members will automatically receive their free calendar as part of their colour programme update.