Record Crowds Join In as Motorclassica Gets Better and Better

Images: Motorclassica

The beautiful halls of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building are just that little less enrapturing today, as the last of Motorclassica 2013’s stunning collection of  historic, vintage, veteran, classic and collectable cars and motorcycles has hit the road after a hugely-successful event held over the last weekend of October.

Kicking off with Tour Classica, which saw a field of 70 classic cars and bikes cruising through Melbourne’s CBD and down the red carpet into the Royal Exhibition Building, Motorclassica played host to the Australian International Concours d’Elegance, an exhibition celebrating Italian style house Bertone and Theodore Bruce’s annual collector car and memorabilia auction along with a stunning collection of historic, vintage, veteran and classic cars and bikes.

The Australian International Concours d’Elegance Best in Show 2013 was taken home by Frank Kuulkers and his 1921 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, which featured in The Great Gatsby. The Spirit of Motorclassica award was presented to Andrew Cannon and his Ferrari 275 GTB Coupe and People’s Choice went to the 246 Ferrari Dino of John Matthies.

Graeme White’s 1978 Maserati Khamsin Coupe took out the best Bertone design on display and for bikes Adrian Newman’s 1930 Harley Davidson V Series Solo was awarded the Harley Davidson prize.

To go with the many well-prepared and shiny classics, were some shiny new things in the form of the launch of Mercedes-Benz’ new S-Class, new cars from Jaguar, Morgan and Caterham, and bikes from Triumph, Benelli, American Ironhorse and more.

Theodore Bruce’s annual collector car and memorabilia auction got everyone into a record-setting mood when the very first Holden built in Australia, a prototype 48-215, sold for $668,750. This is believed to be the most paid for a Holden of any type.

Attendance was similarly-spectacular, with more than 20,000 people swamping the Royal Exhibition Building to enjoy the event.

Motorclassica will be back bigger than ever in 2014, and will return to the Royal Exhibition Building over the weekend of October 24, 25 and 26, 2014.

Read on for the full details from Motorclassica.

Via Motorclassica

Images via Motorclassica

RECORD CROWDS ATTEND 2013 MOTORCLASSICA

RACV Motorclassica 2013 attracted an all-time record crowd to its fourth-ever event, staged at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building last weekend.

Attendance was over 40 per cent up on last year’s exhibition, with more than 20,000 people streaming through the doors to view Australia’s premier event for rare and exotic, historic, vintage, veteran, classic and collectable cars and motorcycles, plus automotive art, memorabilia, models and other collectibles.

Significantly, RACV Motorclassica this year also featured the Australian debut of Mercedes-Benz’s urber-luxury S-Class, as well as the latest models from Jaguar, Morgan and Caterham, plus an extensive display of contemporary models from Lamborghini Melbourne.

Motorcycle enthusiasts didn’t miss out either, with very latest bikes from Triumph, Benelli, custom cycle manufacturer American Ironhorse also on display, along with classic bikes from a number of retailers including Classic Style and Antique Motorcycles.

“Everyone at Motorclassica is delighted with the attendance on the weekend, with numbers surpassing even our wildest dreams,” Paul Mathers, RACV Motorclassica Event Director said.

“One of the most pleasing aspects of the attendance this year was the increase in the age diversity. We had the enthusiasts of course, but many, many family groups, and often three generations together, that’s very heart-warming for us.

“There was real momentum behind this year’s event … Australia’s automotive enthusiasts really embraced the event and anecdotally we’ve seen a big rise in visitors from interstate and overseas.

“Motorclassica’s unique format of classic and collectible vehicles inside, the brilliant ‘Club Sandwich’ car club displays outside and, for the first time, participation from contemporary manufacturers has proved to be a big hit … we’ve never had such a positive reaction to the show.

“I think it’s the interactivity of our exhibits that resonated well with visitors … nothing is roped off, everything is accessible and the owners are there, happy to talk about their cars and motorcycles.

“Special guest Valentino Balboni was a big hit this year and he had great time reminiscing about his time with Lamborghini.”

The 2013 RACV Motorclassica kicked off on Thursday morning with Tour Classica, where not even Melbourne’s grey clouds could deter over 70 classic cars and motorcycles from taking to the streets of the CBD before being welcomed into the Royal Exhibition Building with a red carpet arrival.

Celebrations continued that evening with an exclusive cocktail party to premiere the all-new Mercedes-Benz S-Class to Australia, before the doors opened to the public on Friday morning.

Theodore Bruce conducted the annual collector car and memorabilia auction on Saturday evening, where the very first Holden built in Australia, a prototype 48-215, sold for $668,750 (including buyers premium), believed to be the most ever paid for a Holden of any type.

A rare 1968 Lamborghini Miura also found a new owner at $757,550 (including buyers premium).

Run as part of the RACV Motorclassica, the Australian International Concours d’Elegance saw 21 cars and motorcycles singled out as the cream of the crop in the Awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon, with a 1921 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost owned by Frank Kuulkers and used in the film The Great Gatsby, taking out the Best in Show 2013 accolade.

The Spirit of Motorclassica award went to Andrew Cannon’s Ferrari 275 GTB Coupe, while People’s Choice was won by another Ferrari, a 246 Dino owned by John Matthies.

Trevor Maddern’s 1963 Corvette C2 Stingray Coupe took out the Corvette award, Mark Newman’s 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Coupe wears the Aston Martin crown, a 1969 Lamborghini Miura S owned by Mark Jansen took out the Lamborghini award, Graeme White’s 1978 Maserati Khamsin Coupe won the best Bertone design on display and a 1930 Harley Davidson V Series Solo entered by Adrian Newman was awarded the Harley Davidson prize.

“Feedback we’ve received from visitors and exhibitors has been overwhelmingly positive with many signing up for next year already,” Paul Mathers explained.

“We’Ve also had some real interest from a number of high-end manufacturers about displaying their latest models and celebrating their heritage as Mercedes Benz and Jaguar did this year … this is a very exciting step in Motorclassica’s development.

“Already we’re straight into planning for 2014 Motorclassica, which will include celebrations of 100 years of Maserati and 50 years of the Ford Mustang, plus some very big projects we’re currently working on and hope to confirm shortly.”

Motorclassica will return to the Royal Exhibition Building October 24-26, 2014.

For further information on Motorclassica, go to www.motorclassica.com.au.