Introducing the - Peugeot

Vehicles, whose collection includes Slovenia’s
first electric-powered vehicle, a tram car
which ran along the streets of Ljubljana in
the year 1901.
The day ended with a gala dinner in the halls
of Ljubljana Castle. Mr Thierry Peugeot
delivered his speech there with emphasis again
on the Peugeot brand with its rich history.
He also expressed his views on Peugeot in
Slovenia and announced that bigger emphasis
and investment will be put into Peugeot
in other countries outside Europe, also
referring to Africa. The South African and
Australian participants were welcomed again
for their great effort in travelling more than
10 000km to attend this meeting.
Sunday morning, everyone left Hotel Lev
again to visit Bled in the Gorenjska region
which is known for its beautiful mountains,
pristine nature and its hospitality.
The roads are in good condition and as
far as the eye could see, a snake of lovely
classic Peugeots filled the roads with many
locals applauding all along the route and
through the small towns. We were greeted
just past the halfway mark with some heavy
rain, when very quick and sudden stops
were made by the convertibles to coverup.
It didn’t put a damper on the spirit in
any way and all the cars were later safely
parked in a special reserved area. Hundreds
of visitors visiting this world renowned
Bled Island forgot all for a moment about
the Island and were focussed on these
lovely Peugeots.
Our gathering was closed at the Grand
Hotel Toplice with lunch and the prize
giving. Congratulations to the Aussies who
won the trophy for the participants who
travelled the furthest.
1948 Peugeot 202 of
Christian Botero of France
Arrival of
participants at Hotel Lev, Llubjana
The South African contingent: From
left: Ian Loubser, Les Boshoff, Igor
Kabolin (currently living in Slovenia)
and Paul Papka.
Participants parked and displayed
their Peugeot’s in the parking area at
Postojna Caves
Some other
interesting Peugeots:
1922 P 172 BC - Italy
1924 P Quadrilette - Italy
1925 P 172 R Torpedo - France
1937 P 402 D’arlmat Roadster - France
1939 P 202 Cabriolet – Belgium
1955 P 203 Familiale - Australia
1964 P D4B – Belgium
Departure on Saturday morning on the road trip to Postonja
The car of the show/meeting was a very
special 1952 Peugeot 203 Cabriolet from
Italy of which only 8 were built.
South Africans at the meeting:
• Ian Loubser – 1985 Peugeot 305 GTX
(105 Hp) • Les Boshoff and Paul Papka (ex
France) – 1936 Peugeot 402 Limousine.
Paul’s grandfather’s car which he bought
new and still remains in the Papka family
after being stored for 50 years in a barn! It
was brought to life only 2 weeks prior to
the meeting; re-sprayed, had minor electrical
repairs and the rest was still in 100% original
condition and she’s still running like a charm –
even the Cotal electric gearbox is as smooth
as it was in 1936.
L’Aventure 2008 meeting will be held in
the South-westerly region of Finland at
Archipelago (Turku).
I would like to end and congratulate the staff
of Peugeot Slovenia for an excellent event,
where we were all very well looked after.
A word of thanks to Barbara Rovin who put
in a special effort for the South Africans to
get us safely across the border with her letter
of invitation.
*Ian Loubser is a member of the Peugeot Club South Africa
and an avid Peugeot fan.