| Yesterday I was in Canberra to attend Wheels 2022 with the Mercedes Club ACT. I found out that this weekend was also the Rolls Royce Club Federal Rally. Not sure if it was a coincidence, but the public display was about a 10 minute walk from Queanbeyan showground. Based on that proximity, it would have been almost criminal not to go along and see the display. Given the wild weather of the past few weeks, I was impressed with the number of cars sporting interstate plates. There were plenty of cars on Victorian, Queensland and South Australian registration. This is […] The Rolls Royce Owners Club run an annual display/picnic day at Historic Linnwood House. I’ve been a couple of times before and it is always a nice informal day. In some ways it is like a mini all British day. The highlight is obviously the Rolls Royce and Bentley cars. They also invite guest marques from other British brands like Rovers, Wolseley and so on. They also sometimes feature American luxury cars. This year the numbers of Rolls Royces and Bentleys was down considerably. From what I understand this wasn’t the actual concours day, and I’m not sure if this […] I first visited the Gosford Car Museum a bit over two years ago. Back in 2016, the Museum had recently opened. Since it operates as a hybrid dealership/museum, the collection slowly turns over. This means a return visit two years later provides a lot of new cars to see. I would estimate that at least 50% of the collection has turned over since that visit. It is still a very impressive museum, although the collection is now 10-15% smaller. In addition, there are probably fewer jaw dropping cars than before. For example last time in the Mercedes Benz section there […] The National Motor Museum arose out of the collection of the previous Lord Montagu (3rd Baron Beaulieu). It is housed at the Montagu family estate at Beaulieu in the New Forest. Lord Montagu’s father was a keen early motoring enthusiast and his personal vehicles started out the collection. Starting with the five original cars in the 1950’s the museum has expanded out to hundreds of cars, representing all parts of British Motoring history. Today the museum is run by a separate trust. The museum is probably best known for its racing cars and expensive collection of Edwardian vehicles. As well […] The Alpine Eagle is a variant of the infamous 40/50 ‘Silver Ghost’. It was actually referred to by Rolls Royce as the Continental model. However, the Continental was a replica of the cars entered in the 1913 Austrian Alpine Trial. During the 1912 Trial, the three speed gearbox had proven insufficient. Therefore, four cars were prepared for the 1913 season with four speed gearboxes. Power was increased to 75hp (from 60) through increased compression and and improved carburettor. The four cars were known as Alpine Eagles. The success of the Alpine Eagle allowed Rolls Royce to market the model to […] The 2017 Rolls Royce Concours was held at historic Linnwood House, Western Sydney. As usual, they had a number of guest clubs including the Antique and Classic Car Club, Rover, Alvis, Wolseley, Jaguar, Range Rover etc. For some reason the Rover display was very small – perhaps they had another event running at the same time? I attended in 2015 when the Rover club was also a guest and they had a large selection that year. This is a nice event. It is not well known by the general public and has a relaxed atmosphere. As usual there was […] The annual British car display day at the Kings School is not be missed. Over 1500 classic British cars, trucks and commercial vehicles. The weather was lovely so the turnout was excellent. Last year, the show had to be postponed due to a sodden field. Not only is the display quite a sight, but its one of the few times of the year you’ll sit in traffic behind a Jowett and have a Daimler behind you. One of the highlights was seeing a Bentley 6.5 liter in the Vintage Sports Car Club. I was hoping to see a Derby Bentley […] In 2010 I attended the Concours d’Elegance of America, at Meadow Brook hall. This is still the best concours event I have ever attended. I was living in Detroit, Michigan at the time and the event was held in the Detroit suburbs. The Detroit location also meant that there were various concept cars and other rarities that may not be at other shows. The event is no longer held at Meadow Brook hall, but is still in the Detroit suburbs. I was able to visit again in 2018. Some of the highlights for me included: The matching pair of Bugatti […] In my view, the British car show is probably the pick of the Sydney car shows each year. It might not be as big as the Eastern Creek show, but it has a broader range of really interesting cars, and there is always something new you’ve never seen before. This year the new one for me was a 1948 Healey Elliott. Quite a striking shape and not a car I had ever seen before. Donald Healey is always associated with the Austin-Healey but had a number of other ventures throughout the years. For the 2016 British car show, I brought […] The Gosford Car museum just opened, and Australia now has a classic car museum to rival some of the museums of the world. Having been to some great Museums around the world, this one certainly holds its own. I was able to accompany the RROC and explore the museum. Plenty of the cars on the drive up would have fit right into the collection. What stands out is the range of the collection – there really is something for everyone and not everything is a multi-million dollar Ferrari there is some really interesting stuff in there. They had a really […] | |
