Das weltweite Magazin und der Marktplatz für Oldtimer-Enthusiasten – von Enthusiasten.
Das weltweite Magazin und der Marktplatz für Oldtimer-Enthusiasten – von Enthusiasten.
At classic car events, we often talk about the future: how do we get the next generation interested in early cars? Often, a reply I get when I ask parents why their children are not driving is that they are not 'ready' for it. Later, the parents say their child is not interested anymore when he/she is ‘ready’. To those people I would say: "Wake up!"
Last weekend, the annual BeForty Rally took place. The criteria were the same as always: cars built before 1940 with participants younger than 40 years old. It was the 11th time it has been organized and once again there were many new participants who enjoyed it very much. Some had their own cars and others used a car owned by their parents or someone else in their life who is happy to encourage the next generation of people. What a success! It was an amazing event. There was lots of driving, smiling, having fun and socialising. The only thing we didn’t have much of was sleep, but that's all part of the fun.
There were 45 equipes participating, with everything from Austin Sevens from England and the Netherlands to a Rolls from Czech Republic. There were several Dutch people, German entrants, two Lancia Lambdas from Belgium and some French Bugattis. The oldest car was a 1905 Peugeot twin-cylinder and the youngest a Peugeot 202. The youngest participant was a year-old baby, co-driving a 1910 Model T Ford. The oldest participant was turning 40 and driving a 1928 Gardner.
As you can see, there was a great variety of cars and people, but all came together as a group, and everyone was already looking ahead to the next one. So, fathers/mothers/grandparents and everyone else who has some younger enthusiasts in their sphere of influence: don’t wait for them to be ready, just give them the steering wheel and enter them in the BeForty Rally! You won’t regret it.
If you want more information about participating in a next-generation rally, or you would like to organize one, please get in contact with the (next generation of the) PreWarCar.com team.
Words by Laurens Klein