Vintage cars exhibition draws young crowds

Using his DSLR camera, sixth grader M. Ferrel Fadil Pratama Putra busily took pictures of classic cars while listening carefully to the tour guide’s explanations.

“My favorite car here is the Ferrari Scuderia, which is a modern machine. Classic cars are rare items. People may have the money, but they can’t always get the vintage cars they want,” he told The Jakarta Post.

The young boy, who loves go-kart racing, looked thrilled as he explored the 5th International Classic Car Show 2011 at the Jakarta International Expo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

Held for the fifth time this year, the annual exhibition has become a big event that brings together classic car enthusiasts and a premium collection of vintage cars and motorcycles.

Around 500 vintage cars and 300 vintage motorcycles are on display at the exhibition, which lasts until Sunday.

Ferrel was among some 30 students from Al Azhar elementary school who had the chance to take a tour on Friday shortly after the exhibition was opened.

In the beginning, the students, who walked in rows, obediently listened to the tour guide’s explanations. As they reached the red Lamborghini Countach, most of them could not resist the temptation to take pictures with the luxurious sport car.

Visitors can enjoy various vintage collections from around the world. Besides the rocket-inspired cars that were previously owned by late president Sukarno, there are also the European All Stars.

They include the shiny blue Austin Healey from England and Germany’s Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) 2000 CS from 1957.

What becomes rubbish for one may become another’s treasure. Avid classic car collector Hartawan Setjodiningrat was among the collectors who brought their babies to the exhibition.

He might be happy to see the growing enthusiasm for vintage cars that started after the show was held five years ago, but he was concerned with the soaring prices of the cars.

“The prices are going absurd. This is because wealthy people can easily spend money on classic cars at high prices without proper knowledge of the cars,” said the man called Hauwke.

He said he bought a white 1962 Thunderbird, which was still in a bad shape, for Rp 15 million. A buyer, however, offered him Rp 600 million for it.

Among cars in his past collection was a Mercedes Benz Pagoda, which he bought at Rp 5 million in 1997 and sold at Rp 125 million in 2001. The car, he said with a sad tone, was now priced at Rp 1 billion.

“I persuade young people to browse the Internet first to find the reasonable price of vintage cars. Such knowledge is important to keep the prices in the market at normal levels,” Hauwke said.

He said two-door sports cars would be a good investment for the future. The exhibition also features a Future Classic Cars category, which provides a glimpse of the premium cars that have potential to become vintage in the future.

Governor Fauzi Bowo said he hoped the show could become the biggest classic car exhibition in Southeast Asia, knowing that Indonesians have the largest collections from overseas manufacturers.

“A capital city such as Jakarta needs a high profile event that can attract people,” he said.