The central streets of Burgas will be the venue of the tenth anniversary edition of the traditional auto-moto parade, organized by lovers of vintage cars. Collectors and restorers in Burgas are about 130. In the summer, when the city is full of tourists arriving from all over the country intheir modern cars, lovers of vintage cars have the opportunity to take their "old beauties" on a ride in the streets reserved for the parade.

Among the owners of interesting retro cars that will be presented this year are a collector from Veliko Tarnovo who owns Mercedes Benz of the Ponton series and a Honda car, nicknamed "Japan’s Ferrari." As a curious detail, he reports that he bought the Japanese car from Italy, from a woman close to the heart of famous millionaire Silvio Berlusconi. Another collector from Stara Zagora has restored an American "Studebaker" from the 1930s. The job took him six years, but now the 400-horsepower car that burns 20 liters of gas per hundred kilometers attracts people’s attention. The car is the only one in the world and will be shown for the first time in front of the audience in Burgas. During the parade one will be able to see very well preserved retro cars produced in socialist countries 40 or 50 years ago. One can also see the Mazda Luce that starred in the new popular Bulgarian film "Benzin". Behind the wheel will be famous actor Asen Blatechki, who is among the founders of Retro Car Club in Burgas.

Dimo Dzhambazov has been the chairman of the club since his creation. He says that this year's jubilee is double because it marks the 10th anniversary since the start of the first retro parade in Bourgas and the 10th anniversary since the foundation of the retro car club. That's why there are more guests now, lovers of old vehicles. Cars and motorbikes from the middle of the last century come from collectors from Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Serbia and Croatia. Clubs from all over the country will also send their participants to the forum. More from Dimo Dzhambazov:

"The owner of the oldest car in this country is a member of our club. The car was produced in 1906. Its headlamps are actually oil lanterns.  This car cannot move normally on the roads of our country. But especially for the parade there is no problem for it going along the route of retro cars. There are also quite a few pre-war cars. All those who have won the grand prix of the Retro Parade in Bourgas during the previous 9 years, plus all the motorcycles awarded so far, will have a special place in the Alley of Fame. Everyone will be able to examine the vehicles and take pictures of them.

I mentioned the oldest model, while the newest is from 1955. We have unique vehicles from socialist countries. The Burgas urban transportation company ‘Burgasbus’, present a restored bus and trolleybus from the middle of the 20th century. Among the collectors we have a new member who has bought a very interesting vehicle. It is an American G M S bus, originally converted to a motorhome in the US. These are among the more exotic cars in the parade. A man from Plovdiv is the owner of a Studebaker model Rockne –an American pre-war car. The speed these vintage cars can reach depends on the model. The 1906 Dede car does not have a speedometer, as well as a "Ford Model T", but we know it can reach 50-60 km / h. I own a 1970 BMW that can reach 200 km/h on the highway. "

We can call a retro car every car that is over 30 years old. Criteria are defined by the International Federation of Historic Vehicle Clubs - Cars and Motorcycles (FIVA). It is the only old vehicle organization recognized by UNESCO. A law including the definition of a retro car has recently been adopted in Bulgaria. More from Dimo Dzhambazov:

"Anyone who is a connoisseur of beauty and style in cars can become a collector of retro cars. In these cars things are real. You rely on your own knowledge and skills. In new cars, the role of the driver is minimized and with old vehicles the driver's role is much greater, and that's why they experience pleasure of driving them. Otherwise, interest in vintage cars continues to grow. It's a hobby forconnoisseurs of beauty."

English: Alexander Markov

Photo: BGNES & private archive