Rally Retro Festival at capacity for 2024

Invitations were issued to the owners of suitable rally cars in November last year and the response has filled capacity of the display area at METEC in Bayswater North.

This year the field is bolstered by some magnificent European rally cars from Sydney, including Lancia’s 037, Stratos and Delta Integrale, and a Renault R5 Turbo.

Additionally a Fiat 131 Abarth that was used in the Italian Hillclimb Championship will make its Rally Retro debut.

Rally Retro director, Rob Cranston, is delighted with the response.

“The number of high quality entries is very exciting. A lot of cars new to Rally Retro have accepted and it just gets better every year. Rally fans won’t be disappointed!”

The cars on display are handpicked and invited by the organisers for their historic significance and their links with famous rallies from the 1950s onwards.

While many of the original cars are beautifully restored to the condition they started their first rally, others are in an “as rallied” condition with all the genuine patina that goes with it. Others are faithful replicas built where the original cars no longer exist.

Invited rally cars include those from the Datsun, Renault and Ford works teams from the 1970s and early 1980s, several works-prepared BMC cars of the 1960s and a sprinkling of World Rally Championship cars resident in Australia that rarely see the light of day.    

Shannons Rally Retro Festival opens to the public at 10:00 am and the cars take to the track from around 11:00 am. Entry is $10 per person (over 16 years).

Visitors will be able to view the action from the car display area, as well as mingle with the cars and their owners. Food vendors and toilets will be on site.

METEC Driver Education centre is at 112 Colchester Road, Bayswater North.

Recent feature car articles: