Post by Roadsterstu on Apr 5, 2019 7:33:29 GMT
Last Sunday I attended what might be most drivers' worst nightmare - a large gathering of Volvo cars. And by large, I mean large. The original planning of this event started last summer and aimed to beat an existing record of 570 Volvo cars driving in a parade or convoy. Bruntingthorpe was chosen for central access and also for its size, as it has a 2 mile long runway. The organisers had aimed for over 600 cars, hence the Volvo600 title. On the morning of the event they were expecting between 1200 and 1500 cars and had produced numbered sheets for car up to 1500. They ran out of numbers. It was estimated that between 2000 and 2200 cars attended and it was a sight to see. Cars just kept arriving and pouring in to the site. There had been convoys of cars from all over the UK and several attendees had come from much further afield - Italy, Slovakia, Lithunia,Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Germany. Cars ranged from a 1931 Volvo PV650 through numerous heritage models, up to current models. There were some very nice 850Rs, S60R and V70R models and I also saw "my" V60 T6 with its new owner.
I had attended with a colleague as it was on our area and we could use it as an engagement event. I was able to get hold of one of our two Volvos for the event and we, too, were part of the parade of cars, along with some historic police vehicles. In the end the amount of cars far exceeded expectations and rather overwhelmed the organisers. The cars were 3 or 4 lanes deep down the runway, with the police vehicles at the rear. Before we had even moved from our position at one end of the runway, the front cars had caught us up and then passed us. That is one LONG line of volvos! The official number submitted to GWC was 1574 due to limitations in counting and the event has so far raised over 14k for charity. The line "If you book them they will come" sprang to mind!
For an idea of the scale of the event, see this video:
I had attended with a colleague as it was on our area and we could use it as an engagement event. I was able to get hold of one of our two Volvos for the event and we, too, were part of the parade of cars, along with some historic police vehicles. In the end the amount of cars far exceeded expectations and rather overwhelmed the organisers. The cars were 3 or 4 lanes deep down the runway, with the police vehicles at the rear. Before we had even moved from our position at one end of the runway, the front cars had caught us up and then passed us. That is one LONG line of volvos! The official number submitted to GWC was 1574 due to limitations in counting and the event has so far raised over 14k for charity. The line "If you book them they will come" sprang to mind!
For an idea of the scale of the event, see this video:
