With winter now upon us and the shortest day of the year just around the corner, it?s easy to find excuses for spending a little longer in bed on a cold Sunday morning; but sports and classic car enthusiasts are a hardy bunch and it takes more than a Warragul winter to keep them away from our monthly Breakfast Club. The hardiest arrived with roofs down, but heaters on ? an invigorating way to drive on cold mornings ? others found it more comfortable with windows up and the heater-demisters earning their keep. Those whose vehicles lack such creature comforts, or prioritised performance above comfort made do with flow-through ventilation and warm clothes.
More than 60 special vehicles exceeded the capacity of the cosy southern section of Woolies? car park, so the overflow spilled out into the larger area to the north. It was dumb luck rather than pre-planning that found the three immaculate Mini Coopers, of the S variety, parked side by side with a pair of similarly-aged Mustangs side by side only a couple of bays away. There were also three MX5s and a group of 911s parked within close proximity of each other, but the Cooper trio had that ?Italian Job? touch.
It seemed that Porsches and Mercedes made up about 20% of the assemblage this month. At least six 911 variants were present including a beautifully presented, late 70?s model that had been modified to look like an earlier model. There were also a couple of blue Boxsters, including Eric Irvine?s recent acquisition, which added some variation to the ?engine-behind-the-seats’ theme. A couple of red, mid-engined Ferraris were also parked together and not too far away from their more affordable cousins, the Fiat 124 and Alfetta GTV coupes.
There are always plenty of Jaguars at these events and this month was no exception with a couple of E-types, an XK140, an XK8 and several XJ6 sedams. Other English cars of note included several MGs, an Austin Healey 100/4, a Hillman Imp, Riley 2.5, a recently restored Ford Anglia and a tidy Mk.1 Escort twin cam. Pre-war cars were represented by a beautiful Delage and Mark McKibbin?s Lancia Lambda which is soon to be shipped off to Europe where it will participate in a big Lancia event.
Mazda MX5s seem to be gaining in popularity with classic car enthusiasts, but it was nice to see an early RX7 on display as well as Phil Finger?s little Suzuki off-roader representing Japanese manufacturers. Australian models were relatively thin on the ground this month, but a V8 Torana and a couple of Ford Capris kept the flag flying.
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