Today and tomorrow at VanDusen Botanical Garden over 160 cars will sit—pretty as posies—to be admired by enthusiasts.
The Luxury & Supercar Weekend comprises an extraordinary mix of vehicles, old and new, prized by their collectors, each with their own story. Third-year participant Tim Wyman says his 1972 BMW 3.0 CS was brought over from Europe 25 years ago and has only logged 10,000 kilometres in North America. Kellen Voyer shares that his 1960 Porsche 356B was originally owned by a Los Angeles movie director who drove the car up to Vancouver where it “blew up.” Voyer happily took the car off the director’s hands. Les Burkholder’s 1964 Morgan is also well-traveled. He explains that the vehicle was brought over from Hawaii where he stripped and rebuilt it with his son. Martin Smith has two prizes to show off: a 1987 Ferrari 328 GTS and a 1957 Mercedes 190SL, which, he says, has never been restored, features original leather, and is one of the first SL Mercedes ever made. Tom Doyle built his 1938 Jaguar Suffolk SS100 replica. The time from concept to the road? Two years and ten months. Doug Mayhew reveals that his 1991 Aston Martin Virage is one of the last hand-built Aston Martins ever made. Originally delivered to Japan, it still features its Japanese radio. Felix Chiu has collected Alfa Romeos for more than 10 years; his 1965 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce is only one of four he now owns (a number that was once much higher).
A foil to the classics, the supercars are also out in full effect. The 2014 Pagani Huayra is on its North American press tour. Not yet available to the public, it made its way from San Francisco to Vancouver (marking the first time Pagani has come to Canada) and will carry on to the Toronto International Film Festival. This high-tech car has no paint job, but rather reeves that line up like a tailor-made suit. The 2014 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible Sport has a custom exterior: its “blue meditteraineo” is a special-made colour just for the model, and the 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish Volante makes its Canadian debut at VanDusen following its debut at Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance.
The event is rounded out by fashion shows featuring MaxMara, Sportcode, Sportmax, and M Missoni, among others; awards ceremonies presented by DuPont; and other notable presence from the likes of Tom Lee Music, Samsung, and local shoe legend John Fluevog. With over $100 million dollars of luxury and high-end models lining the grassy hills of VanDusen, this weekend marks a garden party of a different kind.