As Victoria emerges from COVID-19 measures, a record number of fans witnessed the Showcars Melbourne PPG Showdown, held at the Moonee Valley Racecourse in February.
Event organiser, Elvis (Al) Barbieri, who is also a spray painter with 34 years’ experience in collision repairs and custom work, was delighted by the response to the show.
“The size of the show was amazing – it was huge. Entrants came from all around Victoria and interstate and we ended up with over 700 vehicles on display. There was a mix of street machines, hot rods, elite show cars and muscle cars, through to custom bikes, original rides and American classics and the quality was incredible,” Barbieri said.
“We were able to fit about 140 cars indoors over two levels, and the rest were beautifully displayed around the vast outdoor spaces. With so many of those cars painted in PPG, it was the perfect fit for PPG to be the event’s naming rights sponsor.”
The PPG display stand featured an array of vehicles whose owners/builders had chosen PPG coatings, along with the PPG technical team. Dale Parkinson, PPG Victoria Territory Manager, said he and Tim Fisher, PPG Technical Demonstrator, were kept busy throughout the event.
“PPG is proud to sponsor such a much-loved event as the Showcars Melbourne PPG Showdown. It’s not only a must-visit for car enthusiasts – it’s also a great opportunity for PPG to tap into the grassroots level of the show car scene. We had a wide range of people drop in to our stand for a chat,” Parkinson said.
According to Barbieri, the Showcars Melbourne PPG Showdown continues to grow thanks to the support of PPG.
“It was fantastic to see so many people pouring through the gates this year and the quality of cars we had on display just blew me away – every year it gets better and better. We had great feedback from the public and all the sponsors are very happy. We are already planning for next year’s event and having the incredibly strong PPG brand behind us shows that they really ‘get’ the show car scene,” Barbieri said.