From the 23rd to 25th of May, approximately 40 vehicles from before 1925 gathered in Salou (Tarragona) to allow their owners to enjoy and share their love of historic vehicles.
The third FEVA rally for centenary vehicles starting on the 24th of May consolidated this event, as the true uniqueness of these vehicles set this rally apart from any other historic rally held in Spain. Of the cars that gathered in Salou, 36 partook in the rally and ran smoothly during the two days of the rally.
Following a short briefing by the organisers, on the 24th of May, the rally started sharply at 8.30 a.m. This came after a short rally briefing by the organisers. The early morning start served to ensure the ability to take advantage of the cooler morning weather as did a route that ensured travel across the least densely populated areas before the morning traffic intensified.
Accordingly, the route began with a parade through Salou, in the direction of Reus, passing through Cambrils. Once in Reus, those in charge of the event had prepared the pleasant surprise of a visit to Casa Navás, a wonderful vision of modernist architecture. Once this cultural tour was over, it was time to recuperate from all the driving in an old vermouth factory that had been converted into a restaurant. During the meal, the FEVA President and ACV President used the opportunity to recognize the work of their predecessors at FEVA namely, José Benet, Luis de Ballester and José Mª Companys, with the presentation of plaques, which the honorees thanked personally, except in the case of Benet, who for personal reasons was unable to attend. With the meals and rest stop over, the rally returned to Salou, arriving at around 18:30 and the vehicles were parked in the closed park, where hundreds of people came to enjoy the spectacle of the exhibition of vehicles having over a century of history behind them.
The following day, the departure was a little later, starting the route around 9:30. Once again, a large part of the route was made up of a parade in which the passers-by were all smiles as they watched these rolling jewels. Many of them took the opportunity to record this unique event with their mobile phones, while greeting the participants. After a brief tour, at around 11:30 the procession arrived at Parc Samá, a property that contains a spectacular mansion, as well as an extensive romantic garden, an olive oil mill and a vermouth museum. Participants were able to enjoy a sample of the quintessential aperitif drink, as well as attend a tasting of local olive oil, before sharing a pleasant meal. A group of youth enthusiasts, all aged under thirty joined the group for lunch. A good number of the attendees were pleased to comment on the fact that there was a new generation of young enthusiasts who shared their passion with the older generation.
At the end of the meal, the trophies were awarded, including the prize for the oldest car, a 1907 Hupmobile, and the sportiest car, an impressive Hispano-Suiza 15/45 Alfonso XIII ex-Zuccarelli.
FEVA considers that part of its core mission is to provide an environment for bringing veteran vehicles to the streets and roads, as, due to their characteristics, there exist fewer opportunities to enable their owners to run them freely. Events such as this rally provide the perfect environment. It also bears mention that the impeccable work of the ACV (Amigos de los Coches Veteranos), FEVA´s founding member club, has led to a very memorable event, in which more than thirty collectors have had the opportunity to not only share their jewels with the public, but to full enjoy driving them as well. The ACV took on the very difficult challenge of organising this meeting for 2025, and the setting chosen was the beautiful Costa Dorada of Tarragona, with its centre in Salou, which this year is the Catalan Capital of Culture.
Finally, it bears specific mention that this event would not have been such a huge success had it not been to the efforts of a number of friends and partners of FEVA and the ACV. The Salou town council welcomed this event with open arms, providing everything in its power, starting with an excellent closed park and the full cooperation of the Municipal Police in order to ensure a smooth and non-stop ride for the participants. It would also be remiss not to mention the collaboration of the Reus Vespa Club, whose members rode tirelessly throughout the weekend, getting traffic to yield at road junctions, traffic lights and roundabouts to facilitate the movement of vehicles, and without whose work the experience numerous bottlenecks in the route would have been experienced.
Text and photos: FEVA ANF - Spanish Federation of Antique Vehicles
