Motorclassica 2019
Although relatively unknown outside Australia, Motorclassica is now one of the country’s premier classic festivals
Thousands of classic enthusiasts descended on the historic Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne from 11-13 October to celebrate the great and the good of the Australian classic car scene as Motorclassica, the Australian International Concours d’elegance & Classic Motor Show, marked its 10th birthday.
The anniversary event kicked off in fine style with a parade of 70 vehicles that began at the beautiful Alexander Gardens and made its way to the show venue via Melbourne’s central business district. A dazzling array of curated displays, many marking significant brand milestones, awaited tour participants.
Among them was a special tribute to the Japanese car industry organised by Nissan, with several Z-cars complementing a display to mark the 50th anniversary of the original Skyline and 30 years since the introduction of the R32 GTR. But it wasn’t all Nissans, with a number of landmark designs from the Land of the Rising Sun including a stylish Mazda Cosmo.
Grandee manufacturers Bentley, Citroën and Alvis were honoured in their centenary years, with the latter drawing a 12-car display in tribute to the Coventry marque. Bentley highlights included a 1930 Speed Six Vanden Plas tourer once driven by founder WO, joined by the second 1929 4½ Litre factory demonstrator and a 1934 3½-litre Derby with stunning drophead coupé coachwork by Park Ward.
Not to be outdone, Citroën’s global CEO Linda Jackson turned out to cast an eye over an impressive selection of Gallic machinery that represented some of the firm’s finest achievements. A 1927 B14F lined up alongside a 1952 Traction Light 15, a brace of DS21 droptops – one with a rare Chapron Cabriolet Usine body – plus an ID19 and a Maserati-engined SM.
Abarth also marked a significant anniversary, its 70-year display including a 1958 Fiat-abarth 750 Zagato ‘Double Bubble’, a 1963 Simca-abarth racer with local competition history, and perhaps
the angriest X1/9 you will ever see – a wild 1974 Fiat-abarth Prototipo of the type that made a brief yet memorable impression on the rally world in the early 1970s.
Unsurprisingly, the Abarth group was dwarfed by a collection of Minis gathered to honour the model’s 60th. Road and race cars spanned all generations, paired with a selection of specials such as Broadspeed and Innocentis, taking up residence on the gallery level of the Royal Exhibition Building.
This year’s Australian International Concours d’elegance proved a big draw, with 140 entrants across a variety of classes. The top gong went to Anna Purcell’s 1959 Aston Martin DB MKIII (see panel), while the People’s Choice award was collected by Nick Grakini’s 1971 Toyota Celica GT. The rare coupé also scooped the hotly contested Japanese Sports Cars category.
Pre-war cars scored some highprofile wins in the concours, with Ross Morgan’s 1924 Hispanosuiza H6B picking up the chief judge’s Spirit of Motorclassica trophy. From the same year, Wayne Fitzgerald’s Bentley 3 Litre Speed Model Vanden Plas tourer won the Restoration of the Year, testament to the commendable attention to detail of Simon Elliott from Derby Works, who oversaw the project.
Geoffrey Mitton’s 1904 De Dion-bouton V came out on top in Pre-war Open, with spoils in the Closed category going to Chris Meany’s 1931 Rolls-royce Phantom II Continental Sports Saloon.
The Post-war Open and Closed classes were won by John Grieve’s 1955 Citroën Big GH and Paul Lethouras’ ’56 Mercedes 190SL, while the Modern Classic groups were dominated by Bentleys. Graham Lawrence’s ’65 Continental
Flying Spur Saloon and Peter Fox’s 1960 S2 Continental Drophead Coupé shared Closed and Open honours, and a homegrown 1969 Ford Falcon XW GTHO Phase 1 saloon muscled in to secure the Modern Classic GT division.
Modern Classic Sport and Performance classes were separated into two categories catering to over- and under-3-litre classics. Richard East’s 105-series 1965 Alfa Romeo GTA Stradale took the junior sports cars title, with Spiro Mitropolous’ 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 winning the big-banger group.
Entrants in the Preservation classes stood out for their captivating patina and originality – always a hit with showgoers. The classes were divided between cars and ’bikes, with the ’65 Toyota Crown S of Brian Trevan taking top honours in the former, Phillip Caldwell’s ’59 Ariel Square Four in the latter.
Among the anniversary displays, Sam Patten’s 1928 Bentley 3 Litre Speed Model Red Label Vanden Plas four-seater tourer, Bob Northey’s 1933 Alvis SA Speed 20 and Robert Little’s 1961 Citroën ID19 headed the centenary groups. The Abarth gong went to the 1974 Fiat 124 Abarth Rally of David Judd, while top Mini was Arthur Crosthwaite’s 1961 Morris Mini 850.
Away from the concours, the Live Restoration Theatre returned with five demonstrations focusing on different aspects of renovation, hosted by coachbuilder Brian Tanti and restorer Greg Maskell. On the central stage, meanwhile, the only Australian to drive for the Abarthlancia team, Lucio Cesario, regaled the audience with tales from his time in the World Sportscar Championship and of his father’s Abarth-simca 1300 racer, recently re-acquired by the family.
The popular Future Lab Zone was attended by some 550 pupils as part of the schools programme, giving the automotive moguls of the future insights into everything from clay modelling to motorsport and investment. Adult enthusiasts could enjoy the return of the After Five initiative, which allowed visitors discounted evening access to the show, complete with live music.
Outside the halls, the popular ‘Club Sandwich’ announced a new supporter (see panel), beside a 30-strong supercar display. On the same theme, Motorclassica played host to the world premiere of a new supercar from a famous Aussie name, the Bolwell Nagari 500.