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NEWS
Motorclassica to draw the crowds in October
Melbourne's annual event celebrating cars of distinction kicks off in a fortnight400 classic cars are set to put in a high-profile appearance at the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne's Carlton Gardens on the weekend of October 26 to 28.
The occasion is the third annual Motorclassica, an extravaganza of automotive history, featuring a concours d'elegance in which 120 cars and 50 bikes are competing. There will be other attractions over the course of the three-day event, including guest appearances by F1 drivers (Sir Jack Brabham among them), a parade through the city, 'Picnic with the Classics' and an automotive art show.
Cars on display range in age from 1912 to 1975. One, a 1963 Aston Martin DB5, is appearing at the event for the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film made by Eon Productions, 'Dr. No'. The DB5 is well remembered for being the ejector seat-equipped car driven by Sean Connery in the second film of the long-lived franchise, 'Goldfinger'. This particular car is finished in Metallic Olive Martini Green and comes with original radio, original instruction book, original paintwork and original leather. It boasts a long, well-established history of ownership, with Robert Scott Clare, the Chairman of the Aston Martin Owners' Club of Scotland its custodian during the years 1979 to 1984. For the next 24 years it was on loan as part of a James Bond display at the Sinsheim Museum in Germany. In 2008 Mr Glare died and it was brought to Melbourne by the present owner, and all the mechanicals have been since restored. The car is valued between $400,000 and $470,000.
Not quite as illustrious or as valuable, but very rare indeed nonetheless, is the HDT VL Director that will also be on display at Motorclassica. One of just 12 such cars built after the split between Peter Brock's HDT organisation and Holden, this particular car is the only one with the Opel Monza IRS system fitted. Since the Director rolled down the HDT line at the end of June 1987, it has passed through three sets of owners, the first of them paying $87,000 and ordering the car in Maranello Red. The current owner of the car purchased it without the original Energy Polariser fitted when the car left the factory, but has arranged a replacement through Brock's collaborator on the development of the controversial device, Dr Eric Dowker. With the Energy Polariser and the Monza IRS, this particular HDT Director is valued between $275,000 and $325,000.
Among the other iconic cars to be displayed at Motorclassica are a Bugatti Type 57 with 53,000km on the clock over five owners back to its original manufacture in 1937. Powered by a 3.3-litre straight eight with an overhead cam and fed by an updraught Stromberg, the Type 57 is one of just 710 built between 1934 and 1940.
Registered bidders for the auction will also be able to fawn all over the 1969 Lamborghini Miura S owned by famed model Twiggy. Or perhaps they'll fall in love with the 1908 Mercedes 35hp, the 1958 Jaguar XK150 or the 1933 MG J3 Midget.
Supported by the RACV, Motorclassica is open from 9am to 6pm Friday and Saturday, or 9am to 5pm on the Sunday. Admission costs $30 for adults or $20 for kids, with families getting in for $80 – and discounted rates apply for RACV members. More information is available here.
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