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© Keith Williamson

The fourth annual Emirates Classic Car Festival was organized at Downtown in Dubai by Emaar Properties with the support of other giants such as UAE Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development, and the Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE) and the official representative of FIVA. The event was arranged in partnership with Chevrolet Centennial and Blancpain. The event allowed the audience to cherish the extraordinary exhibition of classic cars and motor bikes. The owners of the cars were honoured at the end of the festival. The classic cars were judged on based on originality, engine cleanliness, original car colour, historical car value, finishing and aesthetics. Prominent personalities including Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the ATCUAE, and Horst Brüning graced this wonderful event of classic car display with their auspicious presence.

The esteemed "Best Preserved Original Car" was won by the Baker Family for their Rolls Royce Phantom II, 1930. This "FIVA Award" was presented by the President of FIVA, Mr. Horst Brüning. Imtiaz Sheikh bagged the the 'Best of Show Emirates Classic Car Award 2011' for his Ferrari Lusso 250 GT/L 1964. The "Classic Motorcycle Award'' was rewarded to Majeet Kwatra for his 1933 Harley Davidson.

© Martin Pettitt

There is some good news for the classic car lovers. The Classic Car Collection is set to start at Kearney today, November 25. All the vintage cars in the Classic Car Collection have been donated by Bernie and Janice Taulborg. The collection will showcase about 130 classic cars and automobiles from the period between early 1990s and 1980s. The Collection House is spread in an area of 50,000 sq. ft. with video and multi-media displays and photographs all around. A story associated with each legendary sedan is also displayed for the visitors. The walk down on the memory lane of classic cars becomes a complete experience with the drive in theater, a gas station, a diner with a juke box, and snack and coke machines.

© Toyota Motor Europe

Most people today think of hybrid cars as cutting edge technology, yet a different sort of hybrid classic cars were popular with celebrities like dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Eddie Fisher back in the 1950s. Of course these were not your energy-saving hybrids of today.

Rather, the Dual Ghias GT convertibles popular in the 50's were considered hybrids because they were part American and part European. These sleek, high-performance cars featured Dodge D-500 hemi engines and custom chassis hand-built by the celebrated Italian automaker Carrozzeria Ghia. The hybrids of the 50s and 60s were beautiful cars that led a renaissance in automobile design. At the 2011 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance in Greenwich, Connecticut these rarely-seen hybrids will be on display, including the Dual Ghia, Facel Vega, Cunningham C-3, Iso Grifo, Cobra, Allard P1, Hudson Italia, Fitch Phoenix and Nash Healy.