It should have been a trip to remember, but instead it ended in tragedy as father and son classic car buffs plunged to their deaths in a 1956 Jaguar XK 140 in Caramulo (Tondela).
Seventy-year-old Philip Luysterbourg and his son Gustav, 44, were taking part in the 12th Tour Amical, running from Porto, through Lisbon and on to Marbella in Spain, when “for reasons unknown” their dark green Jaguar went into a skid and plunged 30 metres off the road on a mountain stretch connecting Caramulo with Almofala.
The accident happened at 2.30pm on Thursday, and the younger man is understood to have died instantly, after being thrown from the car and hitting rocks.
His father was assisted by other participants and INEM rescue services, but later died.
It was only the second day of the event, which involves more than 400 drivers and co-drivers and an extraordinary array of beautifully-kept old vehicles.
This weekend will see most of the cars on show at Lisbon’s Parque das Nações before the event takes once again to the road, arriving in Marbella next Tuesday (May 12).
According to Caramulo GNR, yesterday’s tragedy is being treated as a “common road accident”.
