Although it is early in the new year, there is still time to steal a glance in the rearview mirror before 2024 fades from memory. Of the 24 columns I wrote last year, here’s a brief recap of three with updates on each.
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Father and son go racing
Early in June, we met father and son team Anthony and Peter Kalcounis as they prepared to compete at the Turn 17 – Grand Prix and its Vintage on the Prairies event at the new Rocky Mountain Motosports Race Circuit. Anthony has been racing BMWs since he restored a 1974 2002 tii Alpina and then began attending driving events in the early 2000s at Race City in Calgary. With an appetite for competition, he was soon racing a BMW 2002 equipped with roll cage, fire suppression system, racing seat and five-point harness. And from the time Anthony’s son, Peter, was an infant he was also at the track. Was there any question Peter would one day want to compete? Not likely.
Last year, at 15, Peter obtained his racing permit in May. Then, in June, he and dad Anthony were preparing to participate at Vintage on the Prairies in a pair of race-prepped BMW E30 M3s. Anthony’s BMW is a highly developed race car. Peter’s BMW had earlier been repatriated from Vancouver Island, and father and son prepped it for competition.
“Peter had an up and down weekend,” Anthony reports of the adventure.“Initially he struggled a bit with his car but ended up changing into mine for a race and won from the back of the grid passing 15 cars in the process.” They’ll continue their racing exploits into 2025.
Traffic Jam car show helps kids rock out
In early August, to help raise funds and awareness for the National Music Centre’s Jam Club youth music program, Calgarian Bill Marshall created the Traffic Jam car show. This innovative automobile exhibit was held on a tree-lined boulevard in the East Village – a site provided by the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. Jaguar Land Rover Royal Oak was the corporate sponsor, and the one-day event was a 60th anniversary celebration of the British music invasion of North America, as the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show in February 1964.
“Traffic Jam 2024 featured 55 rare and stunning examples of cars like those owned by Sir Elton John, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Sir Roger Moore, Bruce Springsteen and many more,” Marshall explains. “Visitors to this festive outdoor spectacle grooved to streaming sixties rock and roll music and live entertainment organized by the National Music Centre and featuring members of their Jam Club after school music program for aspiring young musicians.”
The day was a success with more than 4,500 people strolling through. “Each of the cars was sponsored by individual and corporate donations raising over $67,500,” Marshall says. “The money goes directly to create a new creative working fund for Jam Club programs.”
Inaugural 7 Chiefs Sportsplex auction a success
Finally, in September, we caught up with Jeff Hill, proprietor of the Enthusiast Collector Car Auction events. On the weekend of September 6 and 7, for the first time in the decades-long history of what started as the Okotoks Collector Car Auction, Hill held one of his vehicle sales at the new 7 Chiefs Sportsplex and Chief Jim Starlight Centre at Tsuut’ina Nation. In the early days of COVID, each spring Hill assembled collector vehicles in one location for live viewing at New Horizon Mall. Then, all bidding was done online.
“That style of auction, with the online-only bidding, has shrunk the world for us,” he explained. “At recent sales, we’ve sold a ZR1 Vette to New York, a Blazer to Florida, a truck to Missouri and stuff to Alaska and New Zealand.” Of the new sale at the 7 Chiefs Sportsplex, Hill says, “Our first ‘Fall Roundup’ event was very fun, and we enjoyed hosting it there. We had a total of 58 lots, most being quite rare vehicles or lovely customs.”
Post-sale, Hill reports close to a dozen collector cars sold to Eastern Canada, and some made their way to the U.S. The 1948 Harley-Davidson Panhead that had been stored for decades in Southern Alberta sold for $24,750, and it stayed local.
“The economy has been hard for many so to be trusted to help people get fair dollars for their classic cars is an honour,” Hill adds. “Our top sellers were a 1969 Camaro restomod for $61,500 and a 1984 Porsche 911 brought $59,000.”
Thanks for reading. If you have a column suggestion, please send a message my way – contact information follows every column I write. Looking forward to reporting on many more events and cars and projects through 2025.
Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or [email protected]
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