Chronicle 2002 | Participants 2002
Chronicle of the Festival 2002
July 6, 2002
There was no need to persuade the audience having come to the festival that the car is, contrary to the famous statement of Russian writers I. Ilf and E. Petrov, is something much more important than just “transportation means”. Rare exampled of technical genius, true creations of design arts, unique specimens amazing with originality of constructional solutions and unusual combinations of forms, and real “veterans” who had witnessed the first steps of the motor-car construction era rose to spectators’ view.
The oldest of the cars was the four-dour Buick G-575, 1932 year of manufacture, 95 hp. It was this car, a guest from the epoch called by the experts “The Golden Age” and by historians – a classic or engineering period of motor-car construction (in contrast to the beginning, inventor’s period and the posterior, designer’s one) which was rewarded with the festival diploma for “The most preserved car manufactured before 1945 year”.
Demonstration of beauty and style of old cars is the main goal of the festival. In 2002 the most beautiful, to be more exact, the most elegant car was declared Ford V8, cabriolet, 1938 year of manufacture, which is capable to make 135 km/h, a rather impressive speed for a car of the pre-war period. As everybody knows the most Henry Ford’s cars were colored black. The genius of American motor-car industry didn’t make compromises in this matter: “You can get a Model-T Ford in any color, provided that this color is black.” But the cabriolet presented in the festival is white, owing to what its exceptional elegancy is especially obvious and doubtless.
A real boon for the festival 2002, a car, which attracted common – and first of all women’s – attention was Fiat NSU-500, 1938 year of manufacture, cherry- and ivory-colored, tiny as a ladies’ handbag and elegant as a fairy-tale prince. Judges were unanimous: Fiat NSU-500 was certainly the most original car in the group of vehicles manufactured before 1945 year.
There was also an example of a particularly functional car domestic pioneer-red “ПМТ1” (1932 y.), a “fire-fighting combine”, which was equipped with everything necessary for fire extinguishing in bygone days. At the festival it was used as a podium for demonstration a new jeans collection by Valentine Yudashkin.
The festival touched two main chords of the man’s soul: beautiful cars – beautiful women. Dressed in unimaginably spectacular clothes, charming young ladies near as spectacular in their technical perfection cars made an admirable sight and were culmination of the festival.
The festival “Retro-Style” became an unforgettable event which managed to combine car, fashion, music, past and present. It gave an opportunity to collectors, owners, restaurateurs of old cars to show their treasures and their mastery to the world; it allowed experts and connoisseurs of old cars to touch the most important stages of the cars epoch; in the public’s memory it remained as a spectacular, beautiful event.
