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26th Brussels Retro Festival: The Silver Arrows on the race track.
D'Ieteren Audi Import and Daimler Chrysler Belgium created one of the best stands ever seen at the BRF: they even reconstituted the red-brick surface of the Avus circuit as a continuation of the giant visual, positioning the D'Ieteren Gallery's Auto-Union Typ A 1934 and the Mercedes-Benz W125 1937 from the Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse as though they were coming out of the picture. This wonderful example is proof of the complicity between two competing brands and what can be achieved at the BRF.
Renault Belgique Luxembourg paid an emotive homage to Jean Rédélé with a set featuring mainly the Alpine, which surrounded the last F1, while Nissan Belgium exhibited the entire series of their famous Z coupés and convertibles since the 1966 Fairlady on a fantastic stand: exactly what we would expect from importers at the BRF.
For the clubs representing particular makes, we would like to mention the Club Belge des Anciennes Peugeot, Toyota Dealers Heritage, Porsche Classic Club, Cadillac La Salle Club, as well as our faithful English clubs MG, Morgan, Rootes and Triumph, and the Italians with the Lancia Club Belgio and the return of the Club Alfa-Romeo Belgio.
As for the multimakes, an impressive set as always from the Royal Veteran Car Club, a very eclectic set from the Historical Vehicles Club and the Fédération Belge des Véhicules Anciens, a remarkable Commémoration du Circuit des Ardennes, the dynamism of the Ecurie Val d'Or, the motorbikes from Classic Racing Motorcycles Belgium and the essential Club des Cyclecaristes who didn't hesitate to reconstitute a ground to play 'boules'!
The set presenting cars for sale was topnotch once again and included, in particular, Marreyt Classic, Classic Car services, Brussels Classic Sports Cars, The Flying Red Baron, Phoenix Cars, Classic Gallery, Oldtimer Farm, Carcom and LFCC, but also Eddy d'Hoe, Pas, Dupont et Gillis, not forgetting Bruno Vendiesse and the Galerie des Damiers.
New in 2007: the Classic Car Auction organized the first auction of automobilia and classic cars at the fair. More than 30% of the lots were sold, but the level of interest in after-sales showed that the numerous members of the public were still reticent about bidding during the auction and preferred to do business after the sale.
However, the 2nd Miniatures Fair was remarkably successful, despite strong competition regarding the schedule: all the better for the collectors and exhibitors who had chosen the BRF.
Finally, you will find the results of the 5th Concours d'Elégance in the appendix.
Despite this fine show, numbers weren't quite as expected, especially on the Saturday, with a 15% decrease in visitors. Luckily, this was mainly compensated by the quality of a very keen public which allowed the majority of exhibitors to make a good turnover: sellers of cars, automobilia, parts and miniatures, and other organisers of car events.
In conclusion, a mixed result despite a show that is constantly increasing in terms of quality thanks to new experiences. This, of course, calls into question the direction the BRF should take in the future.
| Laurent Hériou | Pierre Rubens |
| Organiser | Press Information |
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