Car-lovers’ dream

Press, 1 December 1987, Page 59

Car-lovers’ dream

Between Friday and Sunday, Addington Raceway will be transformed into the largest showcase of motor and leisure vehicles ever seen in Canterbury. Canterbury’s earliest car, a steam-driven model dating from 1903, will rub paintwork with the latest from Porsche and Mercedes Benz — and that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface. Motorama, a motor and leisure show organised by the Christchurch West Rotary Club, combines motor vehicles, motor cycles, caravans, camper vans, camping equipment, boats and accessories on a scale never before seen in the province. The exotic car display includes a gull-wing De Lorean, and a 1925 Rolls Royce, as well as the latest from the European, assembly lines. The Vintage Car Club’s historical displays set cars from every decade in New Zealand’s motoring history against special backdrops, provided by T.V.N.Z.’s props department. Beginning in 1903,

the last in line is a 1948 Riley. A recreated 1920 s garage scene can be found nearby. The one-make owners clubs have also been included, and have brought together about 140 classic cars — Alfa Romeos and Armstrong Siddeleys are two of the most popular makes. The racing car display holds some of the most special cars. A 1915 Model T Ford Race-about; the Begg Formula 5000 (the New Zealand custom-built car which came second in the 1975 New Zealand Grand Prix); one of the world’s most historic racers, the 1933 P 3 Alfa Romeo; the 1952 Formula One Ferrari, the first Ferrari ever to win a Grand Prix — and Trevor Crowe’s B.M.W. The displays do not end with the cars. Motorbikes are out in force. Exhibits include bikes from 1912 to post-vintage classics, pre--1963 racing bikes, the treasured possessions of the B.S.A. owners’ club, and the latest models of B.M.W.s and Ducatis.

Power boats, radiocontrolled boats, sailing boats and land-yachts are all there too, with the major attraction being Peter Knight’s world record breaking speed-boat. The Christchurch West Rotary Club, who are raising money to vaccinate Third-World children against killer diseases like polio, originally budgeted on $35,000 for costs. They have been amazed at the response from involved businesses. Bascand Commercial Print printed their prospectus and letterhead free, Übix donated the paper, Burkes and Lion Breweries gave free catering, Drewery Crane Hire gave their ser-. vices free ... “Everywhere we’ve gone we’ve been overwhelmed by people’s generosity,” says George Begg, a member of the organising committee. “The cause of so many suffering children seems to have struck a sympathetic chord with the public. The number of children dying of polio alone every day is terrible. And it’s so easy to fix.”