What is it about the Ellerslie Car Show that has kept passionate car owners coming back on a Sunday in early February every year since 1972? Set on the stunning grounds of the Ellerslie Race Course, we swapped horses for cars, old and new. Whether the cars were entered for Intermarque Concours d’Elegance, the Survivors event (best over 35 year old unrestored car), or club entries, the passion, commitment and enjoyment displayed by everyone present was infectious.
This year our club was placed beside the driveway leading to Gate 1, we had room for six cars, and with the theme being Summer Holiday we had mostly convertibles from across the years. All our cars looked immaculate and attracted a fair bit of attention throughout the day.
Going with the summer holiday’s theme, we decorated our area with colourful sun umbrellas, blankets and picnic baskets. As we didn’t have the room for the club marquee, we were going to rely on sun umbrellas for shade, but thankfully Colin brought along his smaller gazebo – at 34 degrees on the day we would have baked without it. The breeze (!) picked up later in the afternoon, causing one of the umbrellas to blow onto the track. A new two-legged 100 metre dash course record was created by Ken West chasing the errant brolly and returning it.
Winners for best display on the day was the MX5 Club, with everyone turned out as lifeguards, and their red shorts and bright yellow shirts could be seen across the course throughout the day.
One of the great things about car shows is that everyone can relate to a car there. Whether it is the car your family drove while you were growing up, the car you learned to drive in or the first car you owned, we all remember a particular car with fond memories. We belong to a wider fraternity of car lovers including the Morris Traveller that we followed home on the motorway, the Fordson truck stopped on the side of the motorway, or the 1903 Cadillac that only ever arrives at these events on the back of a trailer. We all love our cars.
A quick look at Google shows me that planning for the 2026 event on Sunday 8th February is already well underway, and I can’t even begin to comprehend the work that is put into managing this event. A huge shoutout to the event sponsors, committee, volunteers, and everyone who puts their heart and soul into planning the Ellerslie Car Show. When Arthur ran into Barb Lokes just after lunch, she had already done over 18,000 steps on the day.
Our club entries were.
Colin Carran – 1966 230 SL Pagoda
Lindsay Younger – 1986 500 SL
Paul Marchant – 1991 500 SL
Russell Clarke – 2006 SL 500
Trevor Ninness – 2015 AL 500
Cornelius Boertjens – 2017 AMG GT S
Sue Iles
Click here to view more photos on our Gallery page – with some contributions from Greg Lokes, thank you Greg
