Category: 50th

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Drive-It-Day plans revealed – all Eastern Bloc classics welcome!

The Wartburg Trabant IFA Club will be celebrating Drive it Day 2019 with not one but two events – one in Scotland and one in England’s South West.

Drive-It-Day is co-ordinated every year by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC). The aim is to demonstrate the popularity of  the classic vehicle movement in the UK by encouraging classic vehicle owners to take to the road and celebrate the start of the driving season.

This year’s Drive it Day will take place on 28 April 2019 and the Club is offering two opportunities for owners of Eastern Bloc classics to join the fun.

‘Cars in the Park’ will see a gathering of Cold War Classics at Alice Park, Bath (BA1 7BL). Tony Hickman, owner of the Cafe in the Park, has invited Club members to display their vehicles at his family-friendly cafe.  After a coffee or a late breakfast the assembly will head out for a  road run, possibly taking in a visit to the Motor Museum in Calne.

Scottish IFA Day will start at the Scottish Submarine Centre, Helensburgh (G84 8UN), with time to look round this new attraction with a cold war interest. From there the road run will head north up the A818 joining the A82, stopping off at Luss Filling station next to Loch Lomond to fill up and take photographs. The run will continue up the west side of Loch Lomond through Tarbet  to the famous Green Welly for a relaxed lunch and impromptu car (and bike) show. The total route is just under 40 miles.

Club Chairman Mel Holley said: “We love to give Club members the opportunity to get out and about in their Eastern Bloc classics. We’re great supporters of Drive it Day and I’m especially pleased that in our 50th year we’re offering twice the opportunity for members to take to the road.

“All owners of Eastern Bloc classics, whether on two, four or more wheels, are welcome to take part, in Helensburgh or in Bath.”

The Wartburg Trabant IFA Club is proud to be a member of the FBHVC, which fights for our freedom to use old and classic vehicles on the UK’s roads.

* Head to  Facebook for more details of the two Drive It Day events.

21 January 2019

 

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Dates confirmed for Club’s 2019 flagship weekend meets

Peek behind the scenes at the Morgan factory, tackle the famous Prescott Speed Hill Climb, delve deep below the Wakefield countryside, and enjoy road runs, steam trains, beer, and camping with like-minded enthusiasts – just a few of the reasons to put the Club’s two premier 2019 weekend meets in your diary!

The Club has confirmed that the 2019 Eastern Bloc Vehicle Weekend will take place from 10 to 12 May in and around the medieval market town of Tewkesbury.

The weekend will include the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Morgan Motor Company, where the iconic British brand’s three and four-wheel sports cars are still built by hand, and a visit to the Prescott Speed Hill Climb, where the Club has been invited to ‘cavalcade’ on the famous course. Participants on the weekend will also be able to display their vehicles for the public to admire at the historic Gloucester Docks.

After several successful years at Foxfield, the Iron Curtain Vehicle Weekend is heading to a new venue in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales for 2019.

From 19th to 21 July the Club will be based at the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, near Skipton, North Yorkshire. A packed programme of adventure and exploration includes the chance to go underground at England’s National Coal Mining Museum on Friday, and one of the Club’s legendary road runs on Saturday, climbing up to Hawes, England’s highest market town (and home to Wensleydale cheese. Cracking!)

Members and supporters are equally welcome, and the Club invites all  Eastern Bloc classic vehicles, whether on two wheels, three, four – or more! Participants are welcome to join in for all or any part of either weekend event.

Visit the Club’s events page for full details of these and other IFA Club events.

13 January 2019

 

 

 

 

 

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Chocks away for IFA Club’s half-century at Bicester Sunday Scramble

The Wartburg Trabant IFA Club UK launched its 50th anniversary year in traditional style with tea and cake at the first Bicester Heritage Sunday Scramble of 2019.

Appropriately dressed for the weather in an authentic Soviet fur hat, Club Chairman Mel Holley cut the birthday cake and welcomed members and enthusiasts to the Club’s pitch with an offer of tea, coffee or hot cocoa.

Among the IFA vehicles making their debut on the Club display were a rat-rod style Trabant Kombi 1.1 well-known on the VW scene, and a pair of restored MZ motorcycles. The heavily-modified Wabant which drew the crowds at the 2018 Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show proved equally popular at the Oxfordshire airfield.

Mel said: “We couldn’t have asked for a better launch venue for our 50th anniversary year than the Bicester Sunday Scramble.

“Like Bicester, the IFA Club takes pride in our heritage but is determined to make classic motoring relevant and accessible to today’s motoring and motorcycling fans.

“The youngest Trabant owner on our stand this weekend was just twenty, driving a car that was already ten years old when he was born. It was a pleasure and a privilege to welcome him to the launch, and we hope that our packed programme of anniversary events will give many more Eastern Bloc vehicle owners – of all vintages – an opportunity to join in.”

7 January 2019