So, the British and European Car Show 2021 was scheduled for sometime in March but then promptly delayed by a month thanks to an emergency COVID breakout. In similar fashion, I decided to do the same with my article. So here is a fashionably late review of Brit and Euro 2021!
The Euros
No adventure would be complete without me getting lost and so I did, twice actually. The show was held at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Pakuranga which is a historic icon if you’re from East Auckland. Eventually, I reached and parked up while kicking myself for not at least entering my Golf GTI into the show.
The first thing to greet me as I entered the showgrounds was of course the Alfas! As you will know, I am a self-confessed Italian car lover and Alfa owner as well. My goal with my ‘Alfa Adventure’ was to have it ready for Brit and Euro 2021, that has become 2022 but never mind. It was nice to see four Alfa Romeo 147 GTAs there. Remember that Alfa only made 5,000 of them so seeing 4 in one place is a very rare occurrence. The black one also belongs to a good friend of mine with a Youtube channel dedicated to project cars! Continuing with the GTA theme, there was an even rarer 156 GTA there like this pristine example in black with the matching plate.
The Ferraris were out in force despite a rather wet Auckland morning which would have left the grass ready to soak up these heavy exotics. There were 308s, Dinos (the 246GT of course) along with some more modern 599s and F430s. Great stuff. Even though I do adore the 599, my favourite Ferrari there was the Rosso Rubino 308 GTS which actually lives down the road from me! I always see it around but have never managed to snap a photo of it, now I know the owner so how about that! I also had a very long conversation with a fellow neighbour who’s got a Porsche 911 Carrera and has my dream job of working at the Zoo!
While the Ferraris were out in big numbers, there was something to be said for Lancia as well who had some fine machines turn up. There were Deltas and Fulvias of course but the real Lancia showstopper was an 037! Still, I do think the Fulvia is an utterly gorgeous car so let’s have another photo.
The Italians weren’t the only ones hogging all the limelight in the Euro corner. The Frenchies turned up in style as well. With Peugeot and Renault doing a fantastic job but it was Citroen who really stole the show with some properly bizarre stuff. Only the French could dream up such things! Just take a look at the duo of Citroen SMs below, what a showing.
The Brits
The British turned up in big numbers too. Except the McLarens, rumours told me that they chickened out because of the wet morning. The same could not be said however for Aston Martin, Austin, Bristol, Ford, Jaguar, Lotus, Marcos, Riley, Triumph, TVR and the rest of the British contingent. A special mention goes out to the Austin owner who was t-boned on his way to the show, I hope that you can get your car fixed. There were some proper heavyweights of the motoring world here. The drop dead gorgeous Jaguar E-Types were one of my favourites hence they made the cover photo! The Lotus’ put on a show as well with a heavily modified Elise turning up there as well.
No British car display would be complete without some Aston Martins and there were plenty to choose from. Including a pretty red V8 Vantage roadster that was revving up our morning. However, my pickwould have to be this classic DBS V8.
One of the interesting parts of a car show is the people you meet. Of course, I caught up with my friends from the Alfa Romeo Club, Ford, Lotus etc but then it’s also about the new people you meet. I ended up meeting a Ferrari owner and a Porsche owner both of whom live down the road from me. I also met up with Christopher Luxon and Simeon Brown both of whom are New Zealand National Party MPs and car enthusiasts! Politics aside, it’s good to see there are still people in parliament who care about this hobby. After all, there are worse things that this money could have gone towards.
The music was pretty interesting too. The radio station was not from Auckland by the looks of it but they were playing some properly lairy stuff. Everything from Buddy Holly to the Eagles. The tunes catered perfectly to the average classic car owner there and me of course. The good thing about Brit and Euro is that there are so many cars there that the owners themselves make up strong attendance numbers! I hope to see my Alfa 147 GTA at next year’s British and European Car Show along with some better weather!
