After enduring several grueling days in the dusty, dry Sahara desert, a team of European drivers arrived in Cairo’s luxurious Mena House Oberoi hotel under the shadow of the Pyramids. But this is no Formula One race and these cars are not equipped with electronics, aerodynamics, or revved up engines.
These devoted drivers like their cars classic.
The 15-day competition called The Nile Trial was organized by the Britain-based Endurance Rally Association, which organizes rallies for classical cars. The journey is putting these vintage cars to the test in the merciless heat of the Tunisian, Libyan and Egyptian deserts.
So far, the group of European drivers has endured 10 days of the Sahara and Egypt’s Western Desert. On day 10, the competitors made a 500 km trip from Marsa Matruh to Cairo, and some of the crews were stuck in the deeps sands of the Western Desert.
By mid-day Wednesday, only a few of the race cars had arrived. There were three 1950s Chevrolets, two of which were convertibles. Their owner Sobhi El-Khodari, who travels between Britain and Egypt, has been a passionate collector of classical cars for years.
Boshra Naguib, an elderly man from Heliopolis, arrived in his 1965 Chevrolet. While he does not participate in races, he came to get a glimpse of the classic cars after they’d taken a beating in the desert.
As the sun set behind the Pyramids, Naguib put a hand on his old Chevi and smiled. “This has been with me for only two years. I have a whole collection of old Buicks parked in my garage in Heliopolis, he said.
On the horizon of the empty parking lot, a black 1978 Jaguar started to roar on to the scene. Behind the wheel was Emad Ezz Eldin, who was doing a favor for Ahmed Mahrous by driving the heavy 1978 Jaguar to the car show.
“It’s a show car, but he likes to use it every day, said Ezz Eldin, adding that originally, the car was owned by an affluent Frenchman and was eventually bought by Mahrous who brought the car to Egypt. Mahrous has all the spare parts of the car, down to the pipe. “He can literally build another car with the amount of spare parts he owns, said Ezz Eldin.
The Jaguar follows the typical design of any sports car. Compact, high-powered and straight-edged with no curves. Light on its wheels, the Jaguar was designed for speed and had a high-power V12 (12 cylinder) engine.
A little later, Karim Hafez, wearing a preppy top with a sweater wrapped around his neck, rushed into the parking lot with his 1975 Alfa Romeo. “I love classic cars, said Hafez. “They have something that really does not exist in modern cars. I think even driving them feels different, he said.
The Alfa Romeo is a slim car that is designed to focus more on speed and agility rather than power. Inside are two black leather sets, making it very compact for the driver but leaving more space for the car s speed abilities. The engines pack a punch of 2000 cc, which proves that looks can be deceiving.
Soon the Mena House parking lot was transformed from an empty platform of hot cement to a collage of cars from different eras.
The cars that arrived had clearly taken a pummeling in the desert with traces of mud and sand all over. The most luxurious cars, like the 1924 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, was covered in sand, as opposed to where many expect to see it, perhaps driving down a sleek paved road heading to a cocktail party.
Pulling up in his 1932 Phymouth, Dutchman Mark Winkleman came all the way from Manhattan to participate in the competition. “I bought it in Beverly Hills, California, said Winkleman. “What I really like about this car is that it is simple and attractive. Later, he added “All the girls like it.
Angelo, another driver wearing a leather jacket, spoke of his special relationship with his car. “It’s my pony. It’s pony car, he said of the blue classic Ford Mustang.
By nightfall, drivers were enjoying the luxury of the Mena House and rushing to repair their cars before starting their engines again Friday morning to take on another leg of the race. Destination: El Gouna.
