„There’s (almost) no rules!”
The Grand Autodrom has 18 cars that can drive at speeds up to 16 km/h at the same time. They are lighter in weight than other models, so they seem faster.
On this summery Friday evening, the sun is already low in the sky, bathing the Wurstelprater– Vienna's amusement park between Praterstern and the Lusthaus – in golden light. At the main gate, I’m welcomed by the words „PRATER – Herrrreinspaziert!” (Come on in!), the smell of lángos and roasted almonds, and distant cries from the Vienna Freefall Tower. To my left, people swing by in the blue sky on the chain carousel, to my right looms an unofficialViennese landmark – the gigantic Riesenrad Ferris wheel. Thumping disco music beckons me to one of the top youth hangouts in the park – the Autodrom. Flashy cars whiz across the track, their pantograph poles scraping against the metal ceiling – boom, crash, laughter. A childlike sense of glee and nostalgia washes over me as I step up to the ticket booth. Here I meet Matthias Grumbir, owner of the Grand Autodrom. Right off the bat, I challenge him to a race. Full of vim and vigor, we jump into the cars. Chips in, let’s go!
Julia Bauereiß: One question that’s been burning in my mind for a while: Is there a special driving tactic for ramming into other cars as hard as possible?
Matthias Grumbir: The best way to do that is to creep up behind someone and bump them from the left or right when they are turning a corner. This intensifies the momentum of the other car. All going well, the car will spin 180 degrees.
Sounds like action! Can you apply techniques learned in the Autodrom to real driving?
Certainly not! The Autodrom is all about driving without rules, you do as you want and in a way that would never be allowed in real traffic: crisscrossing, crashing into other cars forwards and backwards.
„Don't drink and drive!“
The bumper cars are regularly maintained. After about ten to 15 years, they are all replaced in one go.
But you could probably practice parking?
Ha, no way! Although, we did have a young fellow once, a regular full of grit, who practiced for his driver’s license. He passed the test in the end, but I don’t think it was because of his driving at the Autodrom. (laughs)
Is there an unspoken etiquette at the Autodrom?
There’s almost no rules! Don’t drink and drive! Ah, and by the way, the Milan manufacturer of the cars recommends that you do NOT crash into each other. Right, oh well.
„A lifetime for the Prater!”
Each car has a pantograph mounted to the rear that connects to the metal ceiling. When you press the start button, the circuit closes between the ceiling, floor, and car, and low-voltage electricity powers the motor. After three minutes, the circuit is interrupted again, and the ride is over. There is absolutely no safety risk when you touch the floor, ceiling, or pantograph.
A father securely fastens his son’s seatbelt. Tooot! – the go-ahead whistle sounds, and the mother comes crashing into them, bursting with laughter. A couple is also doing laps on the track. She drives her bumper car – with a pink teddy on her lap. “She’s the better driver in reality,” he says and grins. The stuffed animal? “He just won it for me at the shooting range,” she says with a smile. When I ask them for a snapshot of them kissing, they both decline: “Our families can’t know about us.” Before I can learn more about their secret love, they disappear into the bustling crowds of the Prater, amid laughing children, teenagers, wiener stands, and fairground rides.
What was it like growing up surrounded by cotton candy, haunted roller coasters, and shooting galleries?
Totally normal – I didn’t know it any other way. It wasn’t till elementary school that I realized not every kid had an autodrome like mine. (laughs) And that got me lots of friends to ride the cars with endlessly. But we could also roam around the entire Prater grounds for free.
I’m jealous. What is your first childhood memory of the Autodrom?
I was driving along the mirror wall on my own and thought to myself, “Funny, there’s someone who looks just like me.” I also have quite a vivid picture of my grandmother Friederike Grumbir at work. Each and every day, whether it was sweltering hot or snowing, she sat in the ticket booth with her newspaper. It was often so cold that no one came, and she didn’t sell a single chip, but she didn’t mind. A lifetime for the Prater!
„You either got it or you don’t.”
I imagine the Prater of a very different, bygone era and take a stroll in my mind through 260 years of fascinating changes: where today gaudy lights flicker and bass beats drone was once the imperial hunting ground where wild game roamed. In 1766, Emperor Joseph II opened the estate to the public. In the puppet theater, Hanswurst – the rude impersonationof a Salzburg farmer – made everyone laugh – hence the name „Wurstelprater.” In 1926, the shouts of the carnival barkers cajoled visitors to the first electrically powered autodrome. Young ladies raced around the track in their carts – they were called „flies”, and their job was to charm and flirt with young men, and entice them to get in. The floor vibrated, sparks flying.Time passes, but the feeling remains: the exhilaration of speed and unrestrained freedom. In the 1970s, the Grumbir family took over the Grand Autodrom on Riesenradplatz square. In 1987, the ride burned down – but it was rebuilt, in the way it stands before me today, flashing, full of life and stories.
Did you often help out as a teenager?
I made my first money here – selling chips, moving cars around, making announcements over the microphone. Now, as the third-generation owner, I’m more involved in the accounting, marketing, and the technical development of the Autodrom. Unlike my grandmother’s generation who lived only for their work, I am no longer on site so often.
Announcers, or barkers as they used to say, are somehow the heart and soul of the Prater attractions. How do you learn to do that?
You either got it or you don’t, it’s like being on stage. You need a dash of sarcasm, lots of personality, and a sense for fun to master the art of barking. Unfortunately, announcements are rarely made anymore in amusement parks around the world. The atmosphere has become far more clinical, which is likely owed to the fact that family members are less involved in the businesses. Want to give it a try?
„Okayyyy, let's gooo!“
A childhood dream comes true when I open the door to the ticket booth. Even though there’snothing more than a narrow hall, a simple toilet, and the small ticket room, it feels magical. I sit down at the window next to the iPad, which is currently playing „I Like the Way You Kiss Me” by Artemas, turn on the microphone, and start off with the obligatory „Okayyyy, let’s gooo!” There are no effects, just a bit of reverb on the sound system. So I try to create effects with my voice: „And another round-d-d-d-d!” I lean out the window: „Don’t be so shy, we’re here to crash!” So I rev up the guests to drive even faster under the glittering disco lights and pulsating beats – and then I suddenly feel like a kid again. (editor’s note: Matthias says, I’vegot true barking talent.)
How do you make good Schmäh on the microphone?
Start by asking for their name when they buy a chip. Then say something like this: „Hey, Joe, were you out again last night, look at the way you’re driving!” As a teenager, I naturally flirted with the girls. Once, this girl with red hair came to the cash counter, and I thought she was really something. I said into the mic, „Hey, redhead, I think you’re super cute!” All her friends were giggling and pointing at her as they drove around. After the ride, we got talking.
Remember any cute flirting incidents at the Autodrom?
Oh yes! One time, a boys-only class of teens visited the Prater. Besides the boys, there were two girls here who had nothing to do with them. The boys were constantly hitting on the girls, calling out to them, and ramming into them. Both the girls and the boys really loved it, everyone had a blast, and they kept buying new chips for over an hour. It was super sweet to watch this dynamic and observe their first experiences with the opposite sex.
„Timeless classic“
The first autodrome in the Prater opened in 1926. Since the 1970s, the Grumbir family has owned the Grand Autodrom – the largest in the Prater.
The Autodrom has always been one of the most popular meeting places for young people ...
... and it still is! Teens just want to hang out somewhere, listen to music, chat, be on the go. At the Autodrom, you have a big open space, lots to see, and a good place to sit on the sidelines. It’s all about seeing and being seen – first flirts, winning dares, and playing grown-ups while driving cars.
How does the Autodrom fit into the age of e-scooters, smartphones, and social media?
They’re all quite trivial at the Autodrom! Prater is a place where all these modern things exist but are of little relevance. The Autodrom is and remains a timeless classic.
„Great music and flashing strobe lights“
On this evening, it was clear to me that it’s not just teenagers but all generations who come here to enjoy themselves. After a race against his grandson, a grandfather jumps out of his car: „There used to be more sparks around here,” he recalls. Mechanical ones, of course – cause there’s no shortage of flirtatious sparks today. His wife laughs: „He’s like a little boy again.” Across the hall, a young boy climbs into a yellow-and-blue car. My questions are met with silence, but as soon as our analog camera starts snapping away, he lights up. He casually poses for a photo and bathes in the flurry of camera flashes. After a short while, four young men approach me. One of them is a DJ and just finished performing at an outdoor rave, now it’s time to round off the evening here. When I ask for a photo, he laughs and says, „But I have a girlfriend!” Apparently, the Autodrom’s reputation is notorious – who knows where the next spark will fly.
What’s the weirdest thing you ever found in a bumper car?
A dildo! I figure it fell out of someone’s handbag. No one ever came to pick it up, so we threw it away. People always forget their wallets, cell phones, or teddy bears that they won earlier.
The most magical moment of an evening at the Autodrom for you?
When I’m on my bike on my way to work, turn the corner and see the Autodrom packed with people, great music, and flashing strobe lights – then I know that both my team and the guests are simply happy.
A touching story you saw here recently?
In the middle of a ride, a little girl suddenly stopped and fell into her grandmother’s arms, sobbing. The grandmother explained to me in English that they just arrived recently in Vienna, having fled the war in Ukraine. The little girl had been through a lot and was probably so overwhelmed by this moment of happiness that she just wanted to hug her grandmother. Tragic and beautiful at the same time.
„Bright and flashing“
In the meanwhile, darkness has fallen over Vienna and the Prater, which really brings the attractions to life – bright and flashing, they roar on into the night. I say goodbye to Matthias, feeling fulfilled and touched by this evening at the Grand Autodrom. It’s exactly this feeling, he says, that makes this place so special. For over a century, the cars have been spinning here – with each turn, each crash, a new story is born. I walk away from the action, the music fades, the lights soften – but my memories remain deep and colorful.
Matthias Grumbir is the third-generation owner of the Grand Autodrom in Vienna’s Prater amusement park. His grandmother Friederike Grumbir started working in Prater in the 1960s, first with a wooden toboggan ride and later with an arcade. In the 1970s, the family bought the Grand Autodrom on Riesenradplatz.
This article was published in the print edition The Car Issue #8. Order your copy here!
