Veteran show 50 years ago - when no one was talking about classic cars yet
Yes, there were classic car exhibitions 50 years ago. Back then, they were called "veteran shows", the word "classic car" was not even common yet. And of course, in 1964 there were no cars from the 1940s or 1950s on display, but typically vehicles that had been built just before or after the start of the new century.
In addition to the Geneva Motor Show in 1964, around 45 veteran vehicles were exhibited at the Grand Casino on Quai Mont-Blanc 19.
The initiator at the time was veteran car enthusiast Jean Tua, who himself owned a collection of 70 lovingly restored "old cars" and accordingly contributed a considerable number of the vehicles to the special show.
In AR 12/1964, the highlight of the exhibition was the Thury steam car, which was built in Geneva in 1878. This carriage is said to have reached 50 km/h at the time, but two people were needed to operate it as driver and stoker.
Other cars came from the brands De Dion Bouton, Peugeot, Renault, Philos, Gladiator, Hinstin and the like. The most modern cars were an Amilcar C-4 from 1923, a Derby Special from 1926 and a Bugatti 40 S from 1926.
And this also shows how much time has passed since then. Admission cost 3 francs for adults and 1 franc for accompanied children.
All the pictures from back then can be seen in the Zwischengas photo archive .
