It's not often that retro off road cars get to show off. Owning and keeping one in good shape is enough work as it is. Driving it off road is something as rare as it is spectacular. However, once a year, the Retromobil Club of Romania takes the time to organize The Bison Raid.
Now in it's 11th edition, the event has gathered at times almost 20 off road vehicles, series as old as 1957. Traditionally, the organizers pay homage to the one of the first internationally recognized Romanian collectable car, the ARO M461, periodically featured in the vintage vehicle publication "Routeclassiche magazine". This vehicle, like his cousin the Russian GAZ, were designed in the communist era to serve the army, forest rangers as well as regular folk. Nowadays, due to age and lack of care, their numbers have gone down, but mint condition vehicles still do roam the streets.
This year, the group of M461s was completed with a special Land Rover Series IIa, six cylinders. This particular vehicle had been in the service of the Communist Security - one of only 10 vehicles of it's kind. They were all equipped with radio stations and kept in constant communication with the dictator's helicopter, covering the grounds around it when he would be visiting the country.
The line of cars started in Bucharest and covered 650 kilometers, both on and off the tarmac, with this year's oldest vehicle dating back to 1968. Preparations for this event started more than one month ahead, by two organizers in similar vehicles, trying to create the best trail for an unforgettable experience. The winding rocky roads in the heart of the Carpathian Mountains took the convoy as high as 1600 meters, where the first camp was set up for refreshments and outdoor activities. Pushing on, they followed the beautiful mountain ridges that the Strategica and Transalpina roads offer.
Although this is a one day raid, the effort and devotion that the group of ARO lovers have shown throughout the years is something any off roader should look up to when owning an old timer. The organizers have proved time and again that off roading is more about the places you visit and the people you're with, rather than the challenges and limitations that Mother Nature offers.
