Riviera Classic Car Show

Last year we had another very successful Riviera Classic Car Show with hundreds of cars, commercials and scooters on Paignton green right beside the sea.Pedestrian visitors could look at a huge range of entries from a 1933 Lanchester A10 to a 2024 self built Morgan 3 Wheeler, Mustangs, Morrises, Mercedes, MGs, Mazdas, Morgans and a Mercury Grand Marquess not to forget the Torbay Mods with their Vespas & Lambrettas and so many more besides. Something for everyone!

About the Club

We are an active group based in Torbay, Devon. Torbay Old Wheels Club was founded in 1992 by a small group of friends interested in preserving and using older vehicles. In 2019 we were voted one of the Top Ten UK classic car clubs by readers of Practical Classics magazine. We have a popular Facebook page here and members can also chat together on their own private page.Our next Club meeting will be at 7.15 pm on Thursday 30th April at the Esplanade Hotel on Paignton seafront, corner of Sands Road. Meetings are usually on the last THURSDAY of the month. Well behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Member's Car of the Month

Nigel Guy
1991 Rover 416 GTi Automatic
I’ve owned the car since 1997 and it was in daily use for 9 years. I didn’t imagining I would still own it nearly 30 years later. It is affectionaly known as “Jessie”.
The car is a bit of an anomaly being an automatic GTi. Visually it has more in common with the later Rover 420 GSi which superseded the Rover 416 GTi in 1992. By 2006 it had clocked up 130,000 miles and was rarely used. It should have been sold at this point but instead entered a 9 year period of neglect.By 2015 something had to happen. So I rented a dry lock-up garage to store it. Initially the work carried out just kept the vehicle roadworthy. A more focused approach began in 2020 when I was invited, as a member of the Rover 200/400 club, to display the car at the cancelled 2020 Restoration show at the NEC.
The years of neglect mean it has suffered with its fair share of rust. I have now invested in repairs to the sills, boot lip , rear wheel arch and the bottom of the O/S A pillar. The list of jobs still seems to be endless. But that’s part of the fun of owning a classic car, isn’t it? Along with the growing stockpile of parts. A bare metal restoration wasn’t for me as I would have ended up with a garage full of bits and no car. The observant amongst you will notice that some panels appear to be different shades of red. Originally I thought this was due to the way in which red paint fades. However I have discovered that the colour code covers 2 colours, Flame Red 89 and Flame Red. The latter is a slightly brighter shade and is readily available. Any repairs therefore are likely to have been done in the brighter shade.
The car is extremely reliable and fun to drive, despite being an automatic, probably due to the sportier set up.

Name that Car

Mouse over the images for the answers. Keep checking back as the pictures will be changed at intervals.Picture quiz kindly supplied by Adrian Gridley.

Classic car show awards 2025

This year the Riviera classic car show awards were presented by Pat Sharp who is a radio presenter, television presenter and DJ. He is best known for working on the children's ITV programme Fun House. He has also worked on BBC Radio 1, Capital FM, Heart and Greatest Hits Radio.

Lady's Mile Classic Car Show 2025

For most, Lady's Mile at Dawlish is the last show of the season. After a cold start it soon became a warm sunny day with loads of interesting cars to drool over. Here are a few of the cars photographed by Sarah SJ Day.

TOWC cheque presentations 2025

This year TOWC donated £6000 from their Riviera Classic Car Show to local charities with £2000 going to Rowcroft Hospice, £2000 to Devon Air Ambulance and £2000 to the Carnival local charities. The cheque presentation took place at the club meeting on 23rd October 2025.

The History of the Show

The Torbay Old Wheels Club organises the Riviera Classic Car Show in late July every year on the first Sunday of the Torbay Community Carnival, which lasts for 9 days. The show was first held in 1994 and raises funds for local charities. The total amount raised so far is over £70,000.

For Visitors

The show is open to pedestrian visitors from 10AM to 4:30PM. Gate receipts contribute to the total amount donated to local good causes. Entry is by donation of £3.00 for adults. Accompanied children under 12 are free.

For Exhibitors

Registration is not open yet. Please keep an eye on this page. We will add instructions as soon as we can.

• Exhibitor Terms & Conditions

For Traders

The Torbay Old Wheels Club organises just the vehicle display at the show. For all enquiries regarding trade or catering outlets and sponsorship opportunities please contact the Paignton Festival chairman, Mike Bailey.

For the Press

The Riviera Classic Car Show is a major event in the area with many photo opportunities.

Contact Us

If you would like to make contact with us, whether prospective member or press, you can email us at [email protected] or using the form below.

Privacy Notice

1: Scope of this Privacy Notice
Torbay Old Wheels Club ("the club") maintains this website to provide information about the club to members, and anyone else interested in historic vehicles.This privacy notice sets out how the club uses and protects any information that you provide to us and what happens to any personal data that you give to us. This may be provided electronically, by mail or by phone.From time to time, the club may make changes to this privacy notice by updating this page. This may be in order to comply with changes in the law or to update our own privacy practices. We recommend that you check this privacy notice for updates whenever you visit our website.Visitors to our website are deemed to have accepted this policy by continuing to use this site.

2: What personal information might we process?
The club does not proactively collect or store any personal information about visitors to the website, apart from IP addresses and visitor counts. Data that you provide to us in order to engage with the club is the only personal information we process and this is handled in compliance with Data Protection legislation and the 2018 GDPR.This data may include full name(s), email and/or postal address, telephone numbers and vehicle details (make, model, year, registration number). Occasionally we might ask if you would participate in feedback surveys to help us improve our events.

3: How do we use your personal data?
The club uses personal data to enable us to contact members on club affairs, contact event applicants regarding ticketing and operation, regulate valid entry to club events and improve our operations.Please note: photographs of your vehicle at our events, which may include the registration plate, may be used in media reporting, publicity or posted online. This includes use in promoting the club within the classic car community and our local area.No other personal details are shared outside of the club unless we are legally obliged to do so. Your data is not transferred to anywhere outside of the UK by the club.We are not responsible for any data that may be collected by external websites to which we offer links.

4: How and when can you withdraw your consent?
We are relying upon your consent to process personal data to manage your participation in club events. If you wish to discuss our Data Protection policy, please contact us.

5: Retention of your personal information
Personal data may be retained on file for a period of up to 8 years after your last interaction with the club. Photographs may be retained indefinitely in the club history archive.