Drove to Belgium Attend the Interclassic Car Show – Cars360
Last weekend my friend Berndt and I went to Brussels, Belgium to see the classic car show, Interclassics.
I ordered tickets online a day in advance. Berndt brought his Rover 200 Cabriolet and we sat down at ten o’clock on a Sunday morning. Berndt has three of these Rover 200 Cabriolets. One is really old and is no longer in a condition to walk. He will use it for spare parts. Then there’s his most recent acquisition, the black one. He also has a green one, with an automatic gearbox and it runs on LPG. very nice cars. We were off to Brussels in less than 90 minutes.
The Ring Road around Antwerp and Brussels can be very congested but on a Sunday morning, it was fine. Here in the Netherlands LPG is still cheaper than petrol and diesel. Less than half the price of petrol.
Europe hosts a large number of classic car shows throughout the year. During the last three years, most, if not all, had to be canceled due to the pandemic. It has resurfaced since spring/summer this year. But I noticed that none of the car shows we visited, or other events, were on the scale of the pre-Covid era. I think it takes a while for all the exhibitors to be convinced.
Interclassics in Brussels is considered one of the top high-end classic car shows in Europe. And we weren’t disappointed. Although it was slightly smaller than in previous years. But it was a spectacular display of some very special and unique classic cars. This year’s theme is a celebration of 75 years of Ferrari.
Various mainstream manufacturers were in force, including Ferrari, but also Porsche and Volkswagen.
The first car we walked past as we entered the exhibit was this lovely 1967 Alfa Romeo Duet. Many alphisti consider it to be the only alpha spider.
These days a good Duetto will set you back some Euro 65-75000 (INR 60,00,000)
Volkswagen was presented with a lineup of all its bus models. From T1 to T7. When I grew up, (60-70) VW bus was a popular family car. Especially with Roman Catholic families because they had large families. In those days there were no seatbelts or limits on how many people you could carry. So a typical Roman Catholic family of mom, dad, and at least 10 kids could easily fit in a VW bus.
Did I mention Ferrari? How about the 2019 Ferrari Omologata? This car is considered to be a tribute to the legendary 250GTO. It is based on an 812. It was commissioned by a Ferrari collector and took Flavio Manzoni and his team two years to build.
Of course, there’s a lot more to see besides cars, but mostly car related. The Interclassics in Maastricht are half-filled with lifestyle stuff, but here in Brussels, almost everything was car-related. From books, models and posters to watches.
Well, a little so-called lifestyle existed. I’m not sure what this has to do with cars, I guess car owners buy this stuff.
In these interclass exhibitions, they also showcase some modern cars. But they are always supercars. That’s why they are less likely to be found in the wild. But you can see them occasionally in places like London, Amsterdam, Dusseldorf etc. A lamb and a Bentley.
I love this 1964 Bentley S3 Continental. Gorgeous shape and color. Berndt is a die-hard, hard-core, British classic car purist. He didn’t like this version. The original had a single main headlight. For the US market, these became doubles. (happened to a lot of cars in those days).
A very special and unusual Daimler! This is an SP250 Sportwagon. Again, this model was specifically aimed at the US market. It is powered by a 2.5L V8 cm, 140 HP engine. It can run at a speed of 200 km/h. It cost UKP 1395 (INR 1,37,900) when introduced in 1959
There were also several classic tractors for sale. There were four of these, all of the same colour!! Since we now live in an old farmhouse in a rural part of the Netherlands, I keep pestering my wife to buy me a classic tractor. I think it would look great in our driveway and be very authentic. But so far this brilliant suggestion of mine has been vetoed.
This is an original Lamborghini, as most people will know Lamborghini started as an industrial agricultural type manufacturer long before making supercars. But you have to admit that this tractor is great looking. Euro 50000 (INR 43,00,000) and it’s yours
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