Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Celebration of the Motorcar, 2012


After a nine year hiatus the Celebration of the Motorcar exhibition of classic and prestige motor vehicles returned to Perth on Sunday 16 December 2012.  The exhibition was held in the beautiful grounds of the Cottesloe Civic Centre, overlooking the Indian Ocean.  Fortunately, after a week of unseasonable storms and rain, the weather cleared over the weekend and it turned into a glorious spring day.

Resurrecting the show has been a labour of love for Paul Blank and the Automotive Events Management team.  http://www.classicrally.com.au/  The exhibition was a showcase of exceptional classic, vintage and prestige cars, all located in Perth and Western Australia.  It took some considerable effort to track down many of these vehicles and coax them out into the public gaze.  And it was certainly worth it.  It was a very impressive display and all the funds raised went to the Kalparrin charity.  http://www.kalparrin.org.au/

The exhibits

The star attraction of the show and a definite crowd favourite - the Ferrari F40 supercar.
Ferrari row.

1965 Ferrari 250 GTE. I must admit I'm not a fan of the Ferrari, except for this very elegant model.
1958 Porsche 356A Cabriolet, factory hard top
1962 Porsche 356 TGB Super 90 Notchback
1929 Cadillac Series 341 Roadster. The sole survivor of two Cadillac's imported into Sydney.
A row of big American cars including a 1963 Chrysler Imperial Crown Convertible formerly owned by the Emir of Kuwait (second from the right).

A lovely 1939 Buick 8/40 Special Sedan

1963 Studebaker Avanti. The novel and styling Avanti featured fibreglass body panels
The only genuine AC Cobra 427 in Western Australia. It was recently imported from the US.
1955 Aston-Martin DB2/4. Not quite as sleek as James Bond's DB5.

Jaguar Grand Prix replica

Jaguar racer

1948 Jaguar XK120 Roadster with polished aluminium bodywork. This one was the fourth XK120 off the production line.

Jaguar E Type

1936 Jaguar SS100 roadster

View over the lower garden with the three Tatras in the foreground

View of the French car collection

1914 Hispano Suiza Alfonso XIII - an extremely rare vehicle in Australia. It was originally owned by a fire chief in Melbourne who justified the purchase by claiming he needed a fast car to attend fires.
Facel Vega - its first outing after a decade long restoration

1925 Amilcar

A trio of Tatras - a 1980 Tatra 613, 1948 Tatraplan T-600, and a 1964 Tatra 603/2
This elegant Tatraplan is part of the York Motor Museum collection.

To all intents and purposes the Tatraplan was a slightly updated version of Tatra's startlingly space age pre-war streamliners.

The enormous Tatra T603 was the successor of the pre-war Tatra streamliners. It was primarily used by Czech and Communist Bloc diplomats and functionaries. This car was used as a Czech ministerial car.
The gigantic rear mounted V8 engine.

1951 Morgan Plus 4

The modern Morgan Aeromax. The only one in Australia.

1938 Alvis 4.5 Litre Drophead Coupe

1929 Supercharged "Blower" Bentley. There were two magnificent '29 Bentley's on display.
1936 Bentley 4.25 litre Franay-Style Drophead Coupe

1984 HTP replica of 1936 Mercedes-Benz 500K. Twelve were made. To the rear is a 1959 Mercedes-Benz.

A pair of magnificent Mercedes-Benz 190SLs. The front car from 1960, the rear from 1961. The 1961 car has been completely restored from a state of atrocious ruin. All the body panels had to be re-manufactured.

1939 Rolls-Royce Phantom III. This car looks a lot like the Rolls from the Percy Markham Collection. http://www.heinkelscooter.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/percy-markham-collection.html
A view down the row of Rollers, topped off by a 1928 Rolls-Royce 20 HP Hooper Landaulette.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Day of the Volkswagen, Perth 2012


 The Shannons Day of the Volkswagen is the biggest show of the year in the WA Volkswagen Calendar. It was held this year on Sunday 2nd December 2012 at Taylor's Reserve, South Perth (adjacent to McCallum Park).  The show was not restricted to Volkswagen branded vehicles but all VW family vehicles (Karmann Ghia, Audi, and Skoda to name a few) were welcome. http://vwclubwa.com/day-of-the-volkswagen

Thursday, November 15, 2012

2012 Maurice Brockwell Run, Perth

Sunday 11th November 2012 was the centenary Maurice Brockwell memorial run.  The run commenced with a display at South Beach, Fremantle from 9.30am to 10.30am, before setting out along the coast to the motor museum at Whiteman Park.  There was a fantastic turnout and a lot of public interest. 
It was a beautiful spring day in Perth which undoubtedly helped with the excellent turnout.
Citroen Traction Avant arriving at South Beach.
Cadillac
Vauxhall.  As English as England!
More English - there was a large turnout from the Rolls Royce Owners club
A great Ford T commercial in the old Boans livery
French class - Delage
A lovely little Fiat Topolino and a Ford Mustang.
We set off from Wilson Park, South Beach
Display in front of the Motor Museum
Buick 8 at the head of the queue
Chevrolet Impala
Cadillac
Studebaker
I managed to grab a spot in the shade
Jaguar Mark IV
Rolls Royce Phantom
1939 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith
Two vintage Lancia's
An Austrian Haflinger trundles through the park.