When I saw a red old-timer Citroen in front of my neighbor's house, I asked him who it belonged to and if he could arrange for me to see it up close sometime, take a photo, and maybe even sit in it?
He introduced me to his friend, who owned the car. But since there was no time for getting to know each other, talking and sightseeing, he asked me why I should not go to Kalemegdan next weekend, where his old-timer will participate in an all-day show.
I had no idea what show he was referring to and accepted the invitation.
And so, instead of having photos for a nice, short post, with pictures of a red Citroen oldtimer, I found myself at a (review) exhibition of oldtimers from all over Serbia.
Instead of ten photos, I took a hundred 🙂
However, since I'm not overly knowledgeable about cars (OK, I have general knowledge and I've heard of almost all the manufacturers I saw there, some models were unknown to me), for those models that I didn't ask the owners, I had to research on the Internet when I got home.
In order not to list here the characteristics and historical facts of the car models that I came across, I will present my tour in the format of a photo essay, and leave it to you to familiarize yourself with the models that interest you in more detail.
At the entrance, like a guard of the exhibition, there was a gentleman with his Willys MB, the most famous jeep from World War II, and replicas full of war equipment.
Several cars from the domestic, European and world scenes of the second half of the 20th century were placed there, and old-timers from the first half of the 20th century attracted special attention.
Chevrolet Corvette C4 Convertible
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
Chrysler Windsor Deluxe Convertible
There were also several models set up there that I had the opportunity to see in movies, some of them I saw live on the streets, and some of them were rented by my friends and they drove around in them with "Just married" written on the back plate.
Mercedes-Benz 500K Special Roadste
There were a lot of American cars of recent and older history, Buick, Chrysler, Cadillac, as well as the most famous German brands, Mercedes, Volkswagen or Opel...
Roadster Triumph Spitfire 1500
I also came across a red BMW, which was the subject of my fantasies even before I passed my driving test, but unfortunately I never had it. Actually, I fantasized about the convertible version, but if I had the opportunity to drive it in those years, around 1995, one wish would have been fulfilled. In the years that followed, I drove some much more expensive and (perhaps) better quality models, so my desire for this E30 remained a boyish, unfulfilled dream.
Volkswagen Type 3 Notchback
View of the Sava River from Kalemegdan
Chevrolet 3100
Austin-Healey Sprite Mk1
Chevrolet Camaro
Pontiac Phaeton (Model 6-28 / Big Six)
Zastava 1300
But when I came to see my neighbor's friend's car, I looked for old Citroens. And found two, black and red, same model, different year.
As the owner of the red one told me, it is a Citroën Traction Avant 11 Légère model from 1954.
This car was the first mass-produced industrial car with front-wheel drive and a steel self-supporting body.
Although over 70 years old, it is in good condition. And what is most interesting, apart from renting, this car is often found on the roads, where it develops a speed of up to 120 km/h.
As with all old cars, the biggest challenge for the owner of an old-timer is the spare parts, and for example the tires, which wear out a lot during driving, and for this model, original Michelin tires are still produced (It is interesting that in the period 1934-1970, Citroen was owned by the Michelin family, so it is not surprising that even today you can find original tires for such historic car models).
I had the opportunity to see this small BMW Isseta model in the setting of Prince Rainier III in Monaco, and this Messerschmitt KR200 was also very interesting to me, because it looked the least like a car.
Messerschmitt KR200