Vintage car parade of over 300 vehicles marks Tapa's centenary
More than 300 vintage cars and motorcycles from across the Baltic states gathered in the Estonian town of Tapa to celebrate its centenary, retracing a historic route first driven 50 years ago.
On Saturday, July 18, the Estonian town of Tapa hosted the largest vintage car column in its history — more than 300 rare automobiles and motorcycles gathered from all three Baltic states to mark the town's 100th anniversary.
The participants retraced a historic route first established half a century ago. According to Stanislav Grebenyuk, organizer of Tapa Vintage Paraad 2026, an Estonian vintage car club first organized a run from Tallinn's Town Hall to Rakvere in September 1976, gathering just over 60 cars and motorcycles. Fifty years later, several hundred unique vehicles drove the same legendary route. The organizer admitted he had worried the town wouldn't have room for everyone, but in the end there was space for all.
Diversity and historic vehicles
The organizer said the festival's main feature was its diversity, bringing together European and American cars as well as motorcycles from various eras spanning the 1920s to the 1970s.
The oldest participant in the parade was a 1925 French Talbot represented by the Riga Automobile Club. Its owner, Janis Priede, said the car was transported to Tallinn by trailer to protect it, with the column then continuing under its own power from there.
Many participants also dressed to match the era of their vehicles. Pavels Petrass, owner of a 1937 Packard Six, completed his look with a Prohibition-era gangster accessory — a Thompson submachine gun. According to the owner, the car retains its original paint, chrome and interior, and has covered 41,500 miles.
Restored military vehicles also drew attention from visitors, including a German Zündapp KS 750 motorcycle from 1942, presented by Anatoli Metus. It was assembled from original parts found across Estonia, from Rakvere to Narva and Sinimäe. A bullet mark from World War II is still visible on the motorcycle's sidecar.
The parade was accompanied by music, dance performances and enthusiastic spectators, who saw the column off on its onward journey to Rakvere amid the roar of engines and the sound of vintage horns.
