14th of February 2021 marked a huge date in my calendar. It was the 50th anniversary of the Ellerslie Classic Car Show and the 6th consecutive one I have attended. 14th of Feb is also Valentine’s Day so you can see where my priorities lie.
Thanks to some slight delays, I reached Ellerslie bang on at 10AM, just when the show was about to start. Turns out quite a few people had the same idea as me! No stress though because the car park already had some good stuff.
Once inside, I felt like a kid in a candy shop! A quick glance at the catalogue introduced me to the wide variety of car clubs that were attending this year. Around 82 of them actually. I thought it best to start with something familiar, the VWs then! I made my way there while keeping an eye out for other special cars. So I say but I ended up actually missing the most special car on display there. The Bugatti Veyron. This year’s show saw a collection of 6 or so Bugattis brought together for the first time in the southern hemisphere.
It was my first time seeing a Veyron and I wasn’t disappointed. The chrome wheels are blinding and so is the shiny bodywork. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest thing at the show but it did grab a lot of attention as you might imagine.
I did a lot of catching up during the day, a big part of car shows is seeing your enthusiast mates around and asking for their favourites! The first round of which was at the entrance. There I also met a man with a vast collection of Fords, a collection you will see in the near future! There were some properly stunning cars from the stables of Jaguar, Lotus, Sunbeam, Triumph and more in the British corner. The E-Types especially were gleaming because the day marked the 60th anniversary since one of the prettiest cars in history went on sale. After this, I thought I’d make a beeline for the Italian section of the show. Voila, all the major Italian brands had put on fantastic displays. Lancia especially came out in strong numbers this year round. Featuring Fulvias, a Stratos replica, an 037 and a Delta Integrale plus some others. It was certainly a hard stand to compete with but my personal favourite was the Fulvia Montecarlo shown below.
Ferrari had a good turnout as always with their display including a quirky 400i GT this year! I’m loyal to the Lamborghinis as you know so dont’t quote me on the Ferrari stuff! Speaking of which, the Lambos were back again this year with a yellow dream spec Murcielago taking central stage alongside a red Countach. I have a model of the same exact spec Murcielgo sitting on my desk currently, one that I have had for the last 16 years.
It was nice to see my friends at the Alfa Romeo Owners Club as well with some stunning cars on display there. They had everything from an SZ to a GTV6 and a Montreal as well!
Next up, the Fords. They too had a strong turnout this year with many Cosworth tuned models showing their faces. Walking through here led you straight down to the 50-50-50 section.
This was a brand new category for cars & owners that were less than 50 years old and worth less than $50k. There were some showstoppers here including my friend Luan’s E55 AMG. It was hard to choose a favourite as there were many immaculate cars there including a 22b STi, RB26 swapped Datsun and more. But the one that stood out the most for me was this bright green Mazda RX-7 Savannah. Yes, it’s in great condition but I thought the unique colour was more noteworthy.
I absolutely adore cars with unique colours as you may have noticed. And there were certainly plenty to please at the show. Another special mention goes to a turquoise Porsche 356A Spider, a worthy former winner at the Concours.
I continued to wander around aimlessly and talk to some more people about cars as you do at a car show. It wasn’t all classics and chat though because there was some new stuff from McLaren, Aston Martin and Lamborghini as well. Volvo’s Owners Club is getting stronger and stronger as years go by. The Daimler SP250s were out in all sorts of colours and oh, how could I forget. The Mustangs, probably the most ponies I have seen in one place!
All these cars were an absolute treat to my eyes but a quick look at my watch told me it was nearing 3PM so it was time to head back. Now comes one of my favourite parts of the show. Treasure hunting around the car park! And here’s where I leave you to enjoy these treasures!
Thanks for reading! Words and pictures by Matthew D’souza.
