Motorclassica opens for 2017

Melbourne's automotive and social glitterati have gathered to pop the champagne corks (literally) at the official reception for the eighth annual Motorclassica car show which runs this weekend at the Royal Exhibition Building in Nicholson Street, Carlton.

And why not? It would be hard to mount an argument against Melbourne being Australia's premier location for major-event fancy tucker and beverages.

So there were Allan Moffat, Larry Perkins and Vern Schuppan sipping refreshments and rubbing shoulders with friends and fans near a horde of multi-million dollar Ferraris. Count them: there are just 10 Bathurst wins, a Le Mans 24-hour victory, European F3 Championship, four Australian Touring Car Championships, F1 and IndyCar experience from that lot.

Serious business gets done at Motorclassica and last night we heard about a wealthy European-based Aussie who was displaying one of his collection of Ferraris while also making overtures to buy a beautifully restored historic Rolls-Royce. He has a serious car collection but it's private with a capital 'P'.

Mercedes-Benz astutely knows the net worth of the Motorclassica opening night crowd and, in the last few years, has whipped the covers from something new and exotic each time. Last night it was the latest Mercedes-AMG E 63 S 4MATIC and GT R.

Benz also has its 'Drive Experience' team on-site, affording the opportunity for show-goers to sample some on-road experiences.

And of course, this year is the 70th anniversary of perhaps the world's most revered automotive brand – Ferrari. Headlining the Motorclassica display for the company from Maranello, Italy is the $12 million La Ferrari Aperta, powered by a combination of a naturally-aspirated V12 and a 120kW electric motor. Only 209 examples of this car are being made and all have customers waiting for them.

Over the weekend, the Motorclassica cars – rather than the people who own them – take the limelight as automotive enthusiasts from around Australia arrive with just two days open to peruse the metal and smell the leather and Castrol R.

And, as usual with the Motorclassic display, it's an eclectic bunch of cars but you'll find no electric or autonomous vehicles here, thanks very much.

No Supercars either, as they're repairing after the Bathurst 1000 and getting ready for the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 around the streets of Surfers Paradise on October 20-22.

But you will find the very HDT Holden Torana XU-1 which, in 1973, veteran Doug Chivas heroically pushed up the pit-lane at Mount Panorama (it ran out of petrol on the run down Conrod Straight) to hand-over to a young Peter Brock who was making only his fourth start in the Bathurst classic.

And, as well as classic machines, Benz and Ferrari are joined by the likes of Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo and Maserati in displaying current model vehicles (although the latter is also showing a beautiful example of the historic 250F F1 car which was once raced by Sir Stirling Moss).

An annual highlight is the Motorclassic Auction, this year being managed by Mossgreen, which is scheduled for 6:00pm on Saturday night.

The standout car up for grabs is a 1955 Jaguar D-Type race car (chassis number XJD510) which is listed with an estimated price in the range of $7,000,000 – $8,000,000.

Another rare car is a 1956 Cooper-Climax T39 Bob-Tail sports racing machine ($390,000-$430,000).

Not quite in that league, but with major 'cred', is a left-hand drive 1982 Alfa Romeo GTV6 2500 Group A racer from Autodelta, Alfa's famed racing division. Currently kitted as a club rally car, the GTV looks a thoroughbred, in the way European works teams modify and prepare customer cars to this day. The Alfa is expected to fetch $100,000 – $130,000.

For roughly the same outlay ($120,000 – $140,000) you should be able to snare a superb 1960 Chevrolet Corvette C1 Dual Quad Roadster. This car has been meticulously restored and features a unique steering-column mounted rev-counter which sits separate from the rest of the instruments.

While Australia no longer has a traditional motor show, the Motorclassica event draws large crowds, helped by cleverly slotting between the AFL Grand Final and before Melbourne's Spring Racing Carnival hits top gear.

If you're a car enthusiast, Melbourne is the place to be this weekend.