Classic Cars and Coffee - Wednesday 31 December 2025

The New Year's Eve Classic Cars and Coffee is always the biggest event in the CC & C calendar and this year was no exception. The organizers made allowance by opening up another car park, which did allow the crush to be dispersed somewhat.

Given the inevitable congestion I decided to ride. It was the right decision. The Ariel ran really well and I was slip right in and park without any hassles.

A magnificent 1925 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost

Austin Healey Sprite

Renault 750

Mercedes-Benz

1964 Jensen Interceptor



Soviet ZAZ 965 

The iconic Jaguar E-Type and a Lotus kit-car

Volkswagen Type 4 transporter and Ford Bronco

1937 Dodge D5

Australians' of a certain age will remember 'The Sullivans', a 1980s television soap opera set in Melbourne during the Second World War. Their car is a Dodge D5.

1958 Plymouth Belvedere

Fiat 125. This car formed the basis of the Soviet Lada

There were a couple of Datsun 125Y's in attendance. My wife still has a soft spot for the 125Y, it being her first car. good to see them on the road.

Ferrari 

Another magnificent Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, paired with a Bentley.

A elite pairing

Citroen 5CV model. Two CV's were on display to commemorate the first circumnavigation of Australia by motorcar by two missionaries. The story is reminiscent of the trip by Arthur Grady of Fremantle, also in the same year - see here: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2025/05/arthur-grady-day-may-2025.html 

For more on this historic trip, see here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-18/bubsie-citroen-circumnavigation-1925-retraced-in-2025/105257744

Lotus

Mercedes-Benz cabriolet for sale

1967 Triumph GT6 for sale

1951 Allard K2 roadster project for sale

KBG members

Morgan Three-wheeler

Austin 7

This 1926 Dodge just returned from competing in Perkolilli https://www.motoringpast.com.au/red-dust-revival

A real rarity, a BSA 3-wheeler. https://www.bsafwdc.org/

The frame and much of the chassis is wood. The engine is very unusual. BSA chose not to use one of their motorcycle engines (which would seem to be a no-brainer powerplant decision), instead choosing a French Hotchkiss rotary aero-engine. The normal Hotchkiss engine would have had 5 cylinders arranged around the central crankshaft, but BSA lopped off three cylinders turning it into a V 2-cylinder. This proved to be a problematic engine that was unbalanced and rarely ran in tune. The owner has had to make many carburetor and fuel-line modifications to get this engine to run reliably. Needless to say, the BSA 3-wheeler was not a success.

Cadillac Aerodynamic

A pair of MG YTs

A view from UWA

2026 dates

2025 Celebration of the Motorcar

Celebration of the Motorcar is an invitation only display of prestige and classic vehicles in Perth. The first Celebration was held in 1993; the show fell into abeyance for several years before returning in 2012. Since its restart it was held in the stately grounds of the Cottesloe Civic Centre, except last year when the show wasn't held. This year the show moved to a new location, JH Abrahams Reserve, on the Crawley foreshore near the University of Western Australia.

My Tatraplan was invited to attend. As we had commitments on the Saturday night, I dropped the car off on Saturday afternoon. About half the exhibition vehicles were already in place by 4pm.

The Tatra was parked with a small group of unusual vehicles, most notably the rare Australian-built Giacattolo, one of only 15 ever made.

The new location offered a lot more shade than Cottelsoe Civic Centre - and it damned well needed it. Unfortunately we had an unseasonably hot day of 40 celcius with the threat of thunderstorms and hail in the afternoon. This kept many people away.

English cars lined up along the riverfront. Despite the intense heat, a breeze blowing up the river had a cooling effect.

1934 Singer Le Mans roadster

All class - the Bentley Le Mans



Quite rare everywhere, the Bristol 405

A pair of Bentleys.

1970 Marcos. A British-built sportscar with a wood framed fibreglass body.

1934 MG Sports

Mercedes row

Some "supercar"

New Aston Martins

No, not French - Dodge Viper

1970s Italians - Lancia Stratos and De Tomaso Pantera

Ferrari F40.

Lamborghini 400 GT

1967 Nardi 750S (Fiat based sportscar)

Porsche 356

Rolls Royce 

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

Cadillac row

The stunning 1934 Cadillac Aerodynamic, which has just completed a comprehensive restoration

The Cadillac crew lined up for a photo

The show was cut short by half an hour as the boiling tropical heat led to thunderstorms in the afternoon. Fortunately we all managed to get away before the heavens came belting down about 4pm.

Car shows take a lot of time and cost to organize and given the heat and thunderstorms, visitor numbers were down this year. If you'd like to support the team and the charity, Wheels for Home, you can do so directly here: https://www.wheelsforhope.org.au/