The day of the many classic car rides
08/20/2017
Coincidences do happen! Yesterday I went to the Engadin to photograph the Passione Engadina cars on their Julius Baer Rally. So I positioned myself at the Ofen Pass in the morning to wait for the cars to pass through.
But as soon as I had reached the position I had previously explored after a long walk, cars from another classic car rally passed by.
The Swiss Motor Veterans Club SMVC was celebrating its 60th anniversary and was also crossing the Ofen Pass. The whole variety of the last automobile century, or at least the cars over 30 years old, was on display. Many pre-war vehicles, but also cars from the fifties and sixties made up the majority of the delightful parade.
In the afternoon, I got my cameras ready at the Bernina Pass. And while I was again waiting for the Passione Engadina cars to arrive, the next club outing was already passing by.
This time it was the Mercedes-Benz convertibles, commonly known as "Pagodas", i.e. the 230 to 280 SLs of the 1960s and early 1970s. Colorful and, depending on the passengers' capacity for suffering, they drove up the Bernina with open or closed tops.
After all, it was comparatively cool and it kept raining, but that didn't stop the W113s from enjoying their club outing.
When the Italian classics of the Passione Engadina finally crossed the pass, the weather got steadily worse and wetter. The Ermini, which was one of the last to arrive, was not spared by the rain and the crew was constantly busy cleaning the windshield and trying to find their way through the thick rain. Of course, there were also some atmospheric pictures ...
Incidentally, it is of course no coincidence that these cars from the various events all used the same roads; after all, the pass roads of the Engadin and the surrounding area are among the most productive routes in terms of driving.
We will be publishing a comprehensive report on the Passione Engadina soon.
