The next big classic car show is approaching fast: the Antwerp Classics is set to open its gates this Friday. The current thematics, the 100th anniversary of Citroen, the 65th anniversary of the Corvette and the 60th anniversary of the Mini provides ample occasion to showcase brilliant classics. With only a few days until the opening, it is time to recall my favourite moment from past shows.
The Antwerp Classics was the very first classic car show I attended some five years ago, and it made a great impression, that basically lasted ever since. Nevertheless, I’ve seen a lot of great events since then, that just raised the bar by an incredible magnitude.
Antwerp Classics is usually organised without factory support, which is normally my favourite section, so the show is no match for the big A-listers, but it can still give a hell of a good time with the main stage arranged around the special thematic.
The show is also an awesome car spotting experience with crazy Morgan three-wheelers, exclusive De Tomasos (Panteras already count as commodities 🙂 ) or Venturis.
The greatest strength of this event lies in the active participation of car clubs, showcasing a couple of really impressive stages of avid owners’ clubs, arranging nice dioramas and presenting quite exciting classics.
The show will open its gates on Friday, and awaits visitors until 3rd Match (Sunday) 18:00PM, for more information visit the official website. The Antwerp Expo has 5 halls, and Antwerp Classics usually fills most of them.
In 2017, the 70-year-anniversary of Ferrari (as a car company) gave plenty of reason to celebrate in the classic car world. Ferrari is among the most prominent brands of European classic car events, as collectors fill the halls with models of the legendary Italian brand. Yet I did not see much of activity from the Factory itself. Hence the best Ferrari shows I witnessed in Belgium that year, in Antwerp, and later at the Autoworld Museum.
The main attraction of the 2017 Antwerp Classic show was the Ferrari stage in the Main Hall. I could not recall visible support from the Factory, but the cars exhibited were quite exquisite.
On one side, the first decades of Ferrari are lined up, starting with the very first Ferrari 166, followed by an impressive line of the 250 and 275 series cars (that time distinguishing models per names were much harder, as only the engine counted).
It was interesting to see how many models (body versions) could be hidden under the same name in the 60s.
On the other side, I saw a line-up of iconic models from various decades, like the 288 GTO and the F40, the model that most embodies the brand’s modern history, besides being a childhood favourite.
The 288 GTO is the direct predecessor of the F40, but there were also race cars including an F1 car and challenge versions.
[…] This event is affiliated to the organisers of the Techno Classica, but the size is considerably smaller, and the concept is fundamentally different (my favourite stage was the one dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Ferrari in 2017). […]