Club members include British, French, Dutch and German expats, but the majority are Portuguese residents
There was all good reason to believe the weather forecast that predicted (another) wave of Sahara dust for Portugal over the weekend. Fortunately, though, the Algarve was spared on Sunday, April 7 when the Clube dos Veículos Clássicos do Barlavento held its regular gathering (first Sunday of every month) in Armação de Pêra, right next to the beach.
Over a hundred classic cars were blessed with sunshine whilst on display from 10am to 1pm. As usual, the turnout comprised a variety of marques and body styles.
Although most vehicles belong to members, the club event does also attract a certain number of interesting cars from the general public like the red Ferrari Testarossa that attended.
Members come from all walks of life and include British, French, Dutch and German expats, but the majority are Portuguese residents.
Regular attendees come in anything from a Jaguar XK roadster from the ‘50s to a Porsche 356, a Ford Mustang from the ‘60s or an Aston Martin DB6. Many, though, are rare Japanese imports from the ‘70s along with a healthy selection of British sportscars including the 1992 Morgan roadster that was on the club’s podium.
Rounding off the event was the presence of a talented Portuguese singer and her guitarist.
A buffet lunch at the nearby Vila Galé Náutico Hotel is optional during which the car for display on the podium and in the club poster for the following month is designated involving a ‘sorteio’ (draw) by a blind-folded person who picks the winning membership number.
A second raffle takes place for those attending the lunch with as prize a refund of the person’s lunch. The event is, of course, an ideal occasion for meeting like-minded classic car owners and making new friends among fellow expatriates.
The club caravan is prominently parked with club officers on hand to register new members (and renewals) plus a display of photos of cars that attended the preceding month. The club was inaugurated in 2010 and has held 102 meetings so far.
President Sérgio Costa and co-president Rogério Pinto do a wonderful job running each event and as concerns publicity, word-of-mouth is what explains the rising number of attendees every year. And what better backdrop setting than Armação de Pêra’s gorgeous beach for a venue like this one? Next show is on May 5.
By DOUGLAS HALLAWELL
Photos: TONY PASS/OPEN MEDIA GROUP
