When you say Sri Lanka, what your mind may picture is tropical sunsets, coconuts, monkeys, and not the vibrant expanse of classic cars available in this little gem of a country which have been kept in pristine condition, colourful like the birds of paradise. 

From the Morris's to the mini's, beautiful cars, handled with love. The Beetle! Still rumbling along its small air-cooled engine, designed after World War II, still running good! Cars back then were things of beauty, all beautiful curves and smooth rumbling. Have you seen a Lamborghini Miura? They had no computers then. Every piece drawn, crafted, bent into shape. A lot of effort. But they did it and they did it right. Some consider it the sexiest car of all time and I don’t disagree. 

Back to Sri Lanka. There are many clubs to meet with various other classic car collectors and parade along with them. For example, the Vintage Car Owners Club, the Classic Car Club, CEAC (Ceylon Exotic Automobile Club). And many more with rich heritage and even more rich patrons. There are at least 5-6 meets that happen every year run by different clubs, like Cars and Coffee and Classic Car Sunday, and they take place every month. 

The cars here are handled with love. You can see it at the meet ups, alongside the proud owners of magnificent cars. They’ve gone to massive ends to keep their vehicle pristine. They wait ages for original parts and it’s a lot of pain, frustration and finally bliss. That’s for the restorers. Then there’s people who bought the car when they were young and have grown old with it, kept it as close as family and taken care, thoroughly maintaining it so it’s in running condition. It’s all very beautiful and heartwarming. You can’t really categorize all of them. They all share the same love for classic. Bless them for exhibiting their wonderful cars. 

In this age of digitally designed vehicles, where everything is done in a computer, where hybrid and electric is becoming the norm, it’s an exciting time to own a classic. A handcrafted wonder, with all its imperfections. We should always know our roots, to see how far we have come. And boy have we come far.