Rotary Club of Phoenix Pattaya organises a Classic Car Show and parade
Traffic came to a stop on Pattaya Beach Road the last weekend in February. This time it was not flooding of biblical proportions, but a display of 40 odd cars ranging from a 1909 Opel through to a current BMW 2 series.
With a bright red 1957 Cadillac Fleetwood at the front, taking up a parking zone usually reserved for three busses and a 1910 Overland sheltering in its lee, this was something Pattaya has not seen before.
Pattaya Mail’s MD Peter Malhotra waves from the shotgun seat in a Model A Ford.
The event was organized by the Rotary Club of Phoenix-Pattaya and concluded with a parade down Beach Road, and then return on Second Road, ferrying young children for the ride of their lives.
There has been a similar display at Hua Hin for the past three or four years, and of course, the Goodwood Revival in the UK attracts over 100,000 people for each of the three days, since 1998. We would be happy with 10 percent of that number.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh, President Hubert Meier, PDG Peter Malhotra and PE Joachim Klemm at the launching of the parade.
For the Goodwood event, spectators are encouraged to come in period clothing and have been able to rub shoulders with some of the greats, including Sir Stirling Moss, John Surtees, the late Sir Jack Brabham, Phil Hill, Derek Bell, David Coulthard, Damon Hill, Gerhard Berger, Martin Brundle, Bobby Rahal, Johnny Herbert, Wayne Gardner, Giacomo Agostini, Jean Alesi, the late Barry Sheene and the late Peter Brock, as well as celebrities such as Chris Rea, and Rowan Atkinson (as Mr. Bean).
An Opel doctor’s run-about.
The potential is there to make Pattaya a Mecca for this type of event, and the Pattaya Mail is right behind events such as this to elevate the position of Pattaya on a world scale.
A detailed list of the cars that ran in this year’s event can be seen in the Automania column.
An 1949 Armstrong Siddeley and a 1930 Austin 7.
Red-neck Americana in a magnificently painted Chevrolet pick-up.
A 1939 MG TB, the quintessential British sports car.
A 1937 Austin Big Seven
This editor’s choice – A bright red Chevy Corvette L-82 with tinted glass T-tops.
Classic cars roll down Beach Road as people cheered and waved.
1936 Chevy Lowrider 1936
A classic person admires a 1910 Overland.
A 1956 BMW 503 Coupe.
