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Morges, Switzerland – If you were lucky enough to visit or join in the 19th Swiss Classic British Car Meet in Morges, you were privy to some of the finest examples of vintage British cars and motorbikes to be assembled in Western Europe. The event, brainchild of British motoring enthusiast, Keith Wynn drew a dizzying array of British motoring history, for a one-day-affair on the shores of Lake Geneva Saturday.
This year’s meet featured British carmakers Riley and Triumph and boasted nearly 1600 examples of privately owned vintage cars and bikes from Switzerland and all over Europe.
The event is made possible by generous sponsorship from private Swiss businesses and lots of leg work by founder and organizer Wynn, with help from his wife, daughter, son-in law, friends and a corps of volunteers.
Part of the charm of the meet, which is free to visitors and participants alike, is its relaxed and non-commercial nature and focus on pure motoring.
I caught up with Wynn amidst his busy Saturday schedule to talk about the show and his love of classic British cars.
“Ever since I was a kid, I have liked cars, and always hankered after a TR3” Wynn told me – he owns a 56 TR3 as well as a 36 Aston.
“I have always wanted to have the cars from my youth that reflect a way of life and of well-being gone by. There’s a sense of belonging to Brittain, the cars take you back to the glory days”. Dressed in a tweed flat cap and jacket, Wynn himself evoked another time and place as he posed for me in a 1937 Riley on display.
Regarding a favourite show car, Wynn was diplomatic, noting that he has a long list of favourites, but mentioned a couple of memorable entries, such as the guy who used to drive his British Formula One Ford to the meet – a barely legal single seat race car he had retrofitted with some mudguards and headlights to get it to the show; or the MG K3 entry, one of 33 made and one of only a handful to compete at Le Mans.
Another man who used to attend with his father as a child, returned this year in his father’s car and introduced himself to Wynn. He notes that while many of the cars look like museum pieces, almost all of the cars are driven to the meet with few exceptions.
He estimates that about 80% of the participants are repeat visitors with 20% new to the meet each year; regulars might come once every three years he figures. About 20 hardy souls have participated in the meet for the past 19 years.
The overwhelming majority of the vehicles at the meet are cars, but there was a strong showing from motorcycle enthusiasts, and Wynn said he would love to see the 50 some number of participants grow in the future.
Amongst the gems I caught were a Norton with a sidecar, a Sunbeam, also with sidecar (didn’t even know Sunbeam made bikes!) and a beautiful Vincent Comet.
Much like Wynn and his cars, the Triumph and Vincent bikes are for me mythical machines I one day dream of owning. Until then, I’ll be attending the Swiss Classic British Car Meeting to get my fill of these beautiful pieces of motoring history.