The ‘Car Of The Show’ in the first Classic Cars exhibition for 2017 was owned by Cecil Ince (right), retired chairman of Foster & Ince, who shared a photo with Philip Bynoe of Courtesy Garage.
Martin Atwell won the award for the oldest car on display, a 1937 Chevrolet, and accepted his prize from Jonelle Greaves and Roger Spencer of Sagicor General Insurance.
Champion driver, Roger Skeete (left), shows off his restored 1949 MG to Minister of Housing, Denis Kellman.
Classic cars on show
Wed, 01/18/2017 - 12:00am
Classic car shows in Barbados are emerging as outings for families and growing by leaps and bounds.
More than 700 automobile enthusiasts came out on Sunday for the first show for 2017, at Content in St. Thomas, where around 60 vintage vehicles were on display.
The event was sponsored by Courtesy Garage and Sagicor General Insurance and brought together members and cars from the Barbados Association of Classic Cars and the Retro & Classic Car Association – the two leading clubs on the island.
Several prizes were presented on the day and among those winning prizes were retired Travel and Tourism executive, Cecil Ince, for “Car Of The Show”; Martin and Mike Atwell for “Oldest Car on Show”; and Brian Mackie for his Porsche 911, which was voted the “Most Original Car”.
Ince showcased his attractive 1971 E-Type Jaguar, which he said was brought from England to Barbados, while the Atwells had their family-owned 1937 Chevrolet Master Deluxe among the exhibits.
Car enthusiasts, motorsport fans and visitors were among those present and all were taken back in time during the exhibition, which provided history lessons while also featuring several cars that were no longer in production.
Minister of Housing and St. Lucy MP, Denis Kellman, was among those attending and said he was impressed with the variety of vehicles on show. He also lauded organisers for creating an educational event, which attracted scores of young people and families.
Some of the other stand-out vintage vehicles at the exhibition were a 1949 MG (TD), impressively restored by motor-sport champion Roger “Sheriff” Skeete; some 1950’s British-made Morris Minors; a 1954 Ford Popular; a 1965 Ford Shelby Cobra; a Replica 1959 Porsche; a French Citroen 2 CV; MGB’s and a 1960’s Daimler, which once transported the island’s Governor General.
Sagicor General used the occasion to promote its recently launched Key Protector Classic & Retro Motor Policy and Assistant Vice President, Marketing, Roger Spencer, reported that there was a lot of interest among car owners and potential collectors.
“Our new policy seemed to have stimulated the market and there is greater interest in restoring cars and securing insurance for these prized possessions,” said Spencer.
Courtesy Garage, one of the main sponsors of the Classic Car show, also used the occasion to showcase a number of sleek-looking Hyundai and Nissan vehicles, as well as Goodyear tyres and Tropical batteries.
General Manager, Nicholas Mackie, said his company was proud to support the show for another year and partner with Sagicor General in staging such an event, which has become a good educational outing for families. (BB)