javier romagosa
From today, December 5 and until Sunday, the 8th, the thirtieth edition of Retro car. This year, the oldest fair in our country is located in pavilions 2 and 3 and in Plaza Universo, occupying an area of approximately 31.000 square meters.
With approximately 300 exhibitors and about 700 vehicles on display, spaces for buying and selling -both professional and car corral-, spare parts, automobilia, vintage market and other products and services related to the hobby of vintage vehicles, the show will open its doors from 10:00 to 20:00 hours during the four days indicated.
The price of general admission is 15 euros, while that of the reduced one, offered for children and adolescents aged 8 to 14 accompanied, is 5. Both give the right to access, in addition to Auto Retro, to the Occasion Room - open until December 8 in pavilions 1 and 8- and at Barcelona Motorcycle Museum, before January 31st. Finally, the little ones in the house can start or continue their initiation for free.
Well, the basics said, Let's move on to listing the weekend's hot spots. For starters, Auto Retro will commemorate, apart from his own, various anniversaries. This is the case of the Club d'Amics del Volkswagen de Catalunya, which to celebrate its 75th birthday and XNUMX of the first stone of the Wolfsburg factory has gathered in its stand, together with the German brand, to numerous historical air-cooled models. Beetles, T1 and T2 vans or Kharmann-Ghia, among others, will meet in 625 m2.
Also, on Saturday at 10 in the morning a VW rally will take place in the space reserved for this purpose in the Plaza Universo. If you want more information, please click here.
Secondly, the commemorations of a true battery of Seat anniversaries will take place: the 60 years of the 1400 -model with which the Spanish brand began its production-, the 50 of the 1500, the 30 of the Ronda and the 20 years of the Ibiza SII and the Martorell factory which, at least by age, could already be considered as classic.
There is another vehicle intimately linked to our History that also celebrates a hill of years: It's about the Biscuter, which, produced from the original design of Gabriel Voisin by the Autonacional company, motorized the inhabitants of large Spanish cities during the 50s. The Classic Motor Club del Bages is in charge of celebrating this anniversary and, to On the occasion, it has managed to gather in its space the entire range of the popular microcar: passenger cars, trucks, vans, and even a sports car.
On Saturday the micro-exhibition will be complemented by special activities, namely a meeting of 30 Biscúter in the Plaza Universo, who will then parade through Montjuïc, and the presentation of the reissue of Manuel Garriga's book Biscuter, in which he and Philippe Ladure will give lectures in Catalan and French on the figure of Voisin.
"Biscúter" will not be the only work presented, but the same will also be done with "The Catalan Preparers of the 60s and 70s", written by Ángel Campos, and with «History of the Penya Rhin», by Pablo Gimeno when we have the information. Regarding other brand concentrations that will arouse interest in the Plaza Universo, mention should be made of the Club 600 Barcelona, which will bring together more than a hundred pellets on Friday; that of the MG Catalunya Club, on the same day, and that of the André Citroën Club, which will take place sometime on Saturday.
We are going to rest a bit on dates, although we will return to them later. The Antic Car Club de Catalunya has awarded an annual award to a relevant personality in the motor world for four years, and on this occasion the award went to the figure of Joan Villadelprat. This one worked like mechanic of F1 in McLaren between 1984 and 1987, year in which he was signed as boss by Scuderia Ferrari; then in 1989, it would pass as team manager to Tyrrel, to later found in 2003 -and close in 2011- the interesting Epsilon Euskadi.
In short, it seems that he has made more than enough merits to receive the Antic award. This club will also host at its stand a rare specimen of Morgan bodied by Serra.
Porsche, buses and Terramar
Fortunately, Auto Retro is also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911. In the space of Nou Onze, specialist in the German brand, is the 904 GTS driven by Juan Fernández during the 1964-65 season, which has been brought from the US after thirty years of absence and still retains its well-known Swiss license plate. Fernández himself was present at his presentation.
In addition, at the stand of the Catalan specialist it is also possible to admire four 911s from 1964, in different stages of sports preparation: from a strictly standard model to another modified to the limit, passing through two units tuned with accessories of the time and according to FIA specifications. , respectively.
And speaking of competition, I will take the opportunity to mention the always interesting space of Spirit of Montjuïc, which in this edition of Auto Retro keeps a Ferrari 288 GTO and an F18 Lotus 1 that Jim Clark and Innes Ireland drove at the end of the decade. of the fifties. Two good machines, no doubt.
Finally, when it comes to anniversaries, the Mercedes-Benz Club España celebrates the Pagoda's 50th birthday.
In another vein, I am sure that many will like the unusual bus and truck display which aims to illustrate a retrospective of the national history of passenger transport. Thanks to entities such as Sagalés, AutoCorb, Soler i Sauret, ARCA or Palau Cars, it is possible to contemplate fifteen machines manufactured between the twenties and the eighties, each more refreshing - you don't see much of them!
Possibly, the same will happen with the new private initiative that aims to recondition the venerable Terramar circuit, to host high-level events from the world of motor and leisure, which will be presented during the fair. And it is that the old 2-kilometer oval layout made with 12-centimeter concrete slabs and whose slopes oscillate between 60 and 90 degrees, will be renewed, without losing its essence, according to the following scheme:
[your_quote]
«The oval circuit will be restored, renovated and soundproofed, building an internationally approved karting track outside, also recovering the existing grandstand since 1923 with a new glass façade that will welcome visitors. There will also be a recreational and commercial area in the interior of 15.000 m2, in a building with 136 stores. "
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[su_quote cite = 'Source: Auto Retro']
“With a radially fanned structure, the Motor Museum will be erected, with rooms for the exhibition of vehicle collections and a place for future schools related to the sector, which will allow the complex to have a motor theme park.
There will be a Social Club in the 133th century Palace "Torre del Clot dels Frares", already existing, and the construction of 200 villas of 2 m4 distributed in 800 buildings for members, with 110 parking spaces and boarding in the subsoil. On the outside of the oval there will be a hotel with circular and sinusoidal shapes following the language of the racetrack itself, with 24 rooms, 24 suites and XNUMX apartments. » [/ su_quote]
How will this all turn out? Big and interesting, right?
Elizalde, David and other works of art
Let's jump to another matter: At the RACC stand you can find at least two centenary cars of Spanish production. On the one hand, there is an Elizalde, a brand that produced extraordinary cars such as the 8-cylinder Type 48 and 518 models, as well as other more popular 4-cylinder models, achieving some international renown and numerous sporting triumphs in the interwar period.
On the other hand, there is a David, an important firm in the field of cyclecars. This brand had its great success in the design of the chassis, as well as in a peculiar gear change with pulleys that allowed to always use the most suitable ratio. Between 1914 and 1921 he experienced really brilliant moments ...
In the field of art, the painter Juan Carlos Ferrigno -author of the poster for this edition of Auto Retro- and the street illustrator will be present in their respective spaces. known as Lapin, who will not only exhibit his work but will also portray some of the fair vehicles accompanied by his students. Apparently, we should not miss taking a look at the Classics Cemetery located at the RACC stand, a model created by Jacobo Ros.
And we come to the end of this guide with a fun activity: Apparently, Moritz offers us the possibility of examining the driving license with the regulations of thirty years ago, on the back of one of his 600. The examiners, who will be working as 11:00 a.m. to 13:00 p.m. and from 16:00 p.m. to 17:30 p.m., they come from the Foro 600 Club and, if we manage to pass all their tests, they will give us a basket with the water that has made the Barcelona company famous.
There will also be time for mystery: the exhibition Discovered treasures muestra a series of vehicles that have just been taken from a garage in the Catalan capital after spending fifty years in the shade.
Finally, the reader has to know that Sunday will be the American Day, whose main attraction is a concentration of Harley-Davidson and Indian; that in the Plaza Universo, thanks to the Gené brothers, there is a children's karting track set up for beginners, and that, within Auto Retro, there is also room for classic nautical sports.
