Francisco Carrion
TEXT AND PHOTO: FRANCISCO CARRÍON / PHOTO FEATURES: JAVIER ROMAGOSA
Retro Malaga 2017 It has reached its fourth edition, already consolidated as the main meeting place for fans in southern Spain. And this is not just an opinion, but a fact: there is no longer a Rute fair, in Seville it has also been years that similar events have not been held, and the only one that still stands is Murcia, a minor entity .
Between January 20 and 22, the Palace of Fairs and Congresses of Malaga was full of cars, motorcycles ... and public. We still do not know exact figures, but from the beginning to the end - a little less Friday afternoon, yes - the fair was boisterous.
This was helped by the incessant trickle of fans who came with their classics to the covered parking, with the corresponding reduction of 50% in the amount of the ticket. And, unlike in other fairs, the quality was remarkable. Little tuning - although there was some of it, currently it seems inevitable - but mostly very well restored and preserved cars were seen. Several Porsche with old Spanish license plates, a lot "Haiga" and English roadster ... after all, the foreign presence was also very noticeable.
Retro Malaga 2017, international
In the middle of the Costa del Sol, Malaga's carnival It is, perhaps, the most international of how many are currently held in our country. In the corridors you could hear a lot of English, a lot of German, a lot of French ... not in vain, two of the main buying-selling professionals were foreigners although they settled in Malaga. The company 'Supergarage', which took several English luxury vehicles of brands such as Jaguar, Morgan or Rolls Royce, is run by the Dutch, and 'Coast Classics', Perhaps the most striking stand of the event, it is owned by Germans.
In this, in addition to music and other shows, you could see several hotrods, a prepared Beetle, a rare 6-cylinder MG C, and mainly several American cars from the 50s and 60s. No less spectacular It was the stand of the Club Ferrari Spain, which commemorated the 70 years of the brand with an exquisite selection in which a modern LaFerrari, an F40 and the 250 GT Speciale stood out, which was the subject of an extensive report in this magazine.
Likewise, in the exhibition section they highlighted two Seat 600 clubs with a large selection of units of all kinds, the local Renault club (with a Renault 16 with original Spanish registration!) or the club 'South of Europe', with an interesting sample showing the evolution of the post-war Alfa Romeo, Mercedes Benz, MG and Porsche convertibles ...
There was little free space at the Malaga fair
The center of the pavilion was dedicated to the professionals of the spare part, miniatures and magazines, but there was also a large presence of the motorcycle sector.
Lost among all this were some surprises, such as one of the best replicas of Porsche 550 that we have seen - at the stand of volkstunning- or a 912 with original Madrid license plate surrounded by books and miniatures.
Ultimately, the pavilion was packed and there were hardly any free spaces. Even the "car corral", for sale between individuals, occupied part of the visitor parking. The Malagueña Association for the Restoration of Trams and Buses also occupied part of this space with two beautiful Pegaso buses from the 70s perfectly preserved, and they were not the only industrialists present, because inside the pavilion you could also see a beautiful Leyland Comet restored up to perfection by a local fruit company.
High-flying horses in the parking lot
Another huge attraction of this fair are the meetings organized around it by the local brand clubs. There was everything, but we have to highlight the presence of the Ferrari Club, given that among the attendees there was a whole Ferrari 250 GT SWB with English registration, another surprise of the weekend.
The stand of Malaga Museum it was also surprising, mainly thanks to the exuberant Lancia Astura Pinin Farina of 1939 that received visitors as soon as they entered the door. And we must not forget that the museum's collection is of Portuguese origin, another example of the internationality of this fair organized by the company. Motor Events. Perhaps, if the space limitation of the Malaga pavilion did not exist, it could catch up with others with greater tradition. We'll see next year.
