Innholdsfortegnelse for 4/11/2020 i Classic Car Buyer

The Classic Car Loan Project has understandably been hampered in its aim to give younger enthusiasts an extended experience with a classic vehicle in 2020, but the wheels are still turning despite the difficulties created by the pandemic. The latest classic to gain a new temporary custodian is Milly, a 1983 Austin Maestro 1.3L in Silver Leaf with a Bounty Blue interior. The car belongs to Tanya Field, but will be borrowed until April 2022 by Joel Willis. Tanya’s car has been one of the mainstays of the project, having been part of the loan fleet for three years. Joel will be given full support during his time with the car, which includes a dedicated insurance scheme, and will also benefit from a year’s complimentary membership of the Maestro &…

Classic Motor Cars’ next annual open day will celebrate the 60th birthday of the Jaguar E-Type when it takes place at CMC’s headquarters in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, on Saturday August 28, 2021. CMC hope to attract as many E-Types as possible to the event, which will include a grand E-Type Concours. However, it’s not all about one particular model, as guests are welcome to turn up in whatever car they own. Last year’s event, which celebrated the Jaguar Mk2, saw some 5000 people attending with more than 100 classic cars on display. CMC would like to break that record. Attractions are set to include live music, food and beverage stalls, indoor markets and activities for children. There will also be an array of automobilia traders, toy dealers, heritage parts dealers and…

DVCA returned to action for its first classic car sale since March on October 22, moving to a behind-closed-doors online format to keep its clients safe. Commission and telephone bids were accepted in the normal way, with prospective purchasers able to view the cars on site beforehand. The catalogue didn’t disappoint, with a varied collection of vehicles on offer that would have surely turned plenty of heads at a physical auction. These ranged from pre-war models right through to modern classics, with plenty of alluring entries in between. The star of the show was a 1937 SS Jaguar 2.5-litre Sports Saloon, which sold for £50,600. It was joined among the pre-war ranks by a 1934 two-seater Singer Nine Le Mans that sold for £26,400, while the selection of post-war prestige…

ROVER METRO (1990-1998) Be it patriotic enthusiasm or a rose-tinted affection for a lost British brand, there’s a lot of Rover love out there at the moment and that’s finally starting to be reflected in the prices, with the best examples of ’90s Rovers finally achieving decent sales results. Aside from the Mini, which has its own collectability, the smallest 1990s Rover was the Metro, or 100 as it became when it sprouted a shiny grille. Years of festering in the banger doldrums with values eroding as rapidly as its rear wheelarches are now behind the Metro, and while £1000 was enough to buy a really good one just five years ago, in recent times the popularity of the Metro, especially among younger enthusiasts, has seen prices shoot up. First…

This year marks 40 years since the launch of the Mk3 Ford Escort in September 1980 and here we see the car at its motor show debut at the Paris Show that year. Proudly displayed on the Ford stand, the four-door Escort in mid-spec GL trim features a cutaway bonnet to better display the wonders of the all-new CVH engine which clearly has the mulleted French onlookers fascinated. Ironically considering the Mk3 Escort’s lack of rallying exploits compared to its ancestors, the photographer has also captured the PSA stand next door, where the Talbot Sunbeam is on display in both motorsport and roadgoing trim. Behind the Sunbeams we see the booted version of the Alpine known as the Solara, while on the right there’s also the Talbot-Matra Rancho which created…

As we’ve said before, in an era when a 1-litre triple puts out well over 100bhp, nobody needs 12 cylinders in their car engine… but it’s nice to know you can if you want. And in classic terms, that pretty much mean a Jaguar – or at least its Daimler-badged equivalent, which is what we have here. Positioned as the ultimate XJ saloon, the Double-Six was an upgrade on even the XJ12 and essentially featured all the luxury kit Jaguar could possibly add, creating a very credible rival to the Rolls-Royces of the time for the title of best car in the world. The crushing pace and uncanny refinement of the 12-cylinder Jaguar saloons has never really been bettered and in Series 3 form the XJ gained both a sleeker…

Pictured at a recent Bentley press event, the famous Blower Bentley GH6951 which was number 17 of 50 road cars built to satisfy homologation requirements for the ‘blower’ Bentleys in racing. Running 9psi boost from an Amherst-Villiers supercharger on the 4.5-litre engine, it produces some 180bhp and sufficient torque to push the 1.7-tonne Vanden Plas-bodied beast to 100mph. Famously, W O Bentley himself was never in favour of supercharging the straight six but the results spoke for themselves, including a first place at the 1928 Le Mans. No wonder Ettore Bugatti referred to the cars as “Les camions plus vite du monde” – the fastest lorries in the world. Behind the Blower is the new 12-off Mulliner Bacalar special, retailing at a cool £1.5m.…

Combining the lure of a traditional back-to-basics roadster with modern reliability, the original first-generation Mazda MX-5 was undeniably a landmark car. In recent years it’s been increasingly accepted as a true classic to be preserved, enjoyed and restored – something that Mazda itself is making a little easier now the car is into its third decade. To support European MX-5 owners, Mazda is increasing its range of official reproduction parts for its first-generation NA models. In total there are now 117 left-hand-drive and 156 right-hand-drive parts, all of which are made in Japan and are said to maintain the feel and the look of the originals. Owners’ clubs and specialists across Europe were consulted to ensure that the updated spares programme caters for the most needed parts. The new range…

We’ve all seen it, and many of us might be guilty of having done it. As soon as a car reaches the bottom of its value curve, necessary repairs are deemed uneconomical and it’s unceremoniously binned. But now, in the wake of the pandemic, older used cars are getting a reprieve – and that could mean more potential classics are saved from the crusher. Demand for new vehicles has been down this year, but it’s a different story for the buoyant used car market, with several sources indicating strong demand. Figures from AA Cars reveal that interest in used cars rose to 9.1 per cent above pre-pandemic levels when forecourts started reopening across the UK during June. However, the latest analysis shows that demand has carried on picking up since…

Following the success of the garage-stored 1965 Mini Cooper S that sold at its last online classic car auction for £28,600, Charterhouse is now putting another Mini under the hammer as part of its next auction on November 11. This time it’s a 1968 Austin Mini 1000, one of the rare Mk2 variants built for just two years between 1967 and 1969. The car has been with its owner since 1981, who was given the car when she was just 17. In the later part of the 1980s, the owner worked abroad for a few years. During this time, the car remained with her father although he told her had sold it. When she moved back to England, she was naturally delighted to see her father had kept her beloved…

The W123 series was launched in 1975 as a replacement for the so-called W114 series and according to Mercedes a wide range of styles was considered initially, ranging from staid saloons to wild fastback designs. In the end conservatism won the day and the neat if rather stodgy looking car we all know was born. The wide headlights differentiated it from the vertically-stacked lamps of its predecessor and gave it a family resemblance to the R107 SL and the newly launched S-Class. One of the biggest concerns of the design team was to improve on the already very high levels of occupant safety offered by the previous car and to this end the W123 featured reinforced door beams and screen pillars creating an enormously strong passenger safety cell. This was…

The Haynes International Motor Museum in Somerset is now open again for the first time since March. Its Covid-19 safety measures have been evaluated by Visit England and it’s been awarded the ‘We’re Good to Go’ industry charter mark. New attractions included the new exhibition ‘John Haynes OBE – The Man, the Manuals and the Museum’, dedicated to the founder of the legendary Haynes business who passed away last year. There’s also the new ‘Williams F1 – The Drivers and the Driven’ display devoted to the famous Formula One team, plus the ‘Enzo Ferrari – The Man and the Machine’ exhibition. The museum has also been busy updating various existing exhibitions and improving the famous ‘Red Room’ dedicated solely to red cars. Perhaps most alluring of all, an early Austin…

American TV legend and renowned petrolhead Jay Leno has spoken of his admiration for historic motoring apprentices as part of a prestigious award ceremony. Leno gave a speech as part of the 10th anniversary edition of the Historic Motoring Awards, which was held online to due to Covid-19 restrictions. Referring to the 2020 award for Apprentice of the Year, he described young people as “the future of this hobby” and went on discuss the virtues of a career in the industry. “Automobiles have become like paintings,” he said. “They’re being restored, they’re being cherished. They’re seen as art objects, which I find fascinating. Colleges like McPherson College in America give a four-year degree in automotive restoration. Parents don’t have to cry when they find out you want to be a…

For many enthusiasts and journalists alike, the freedom of an open road is central to the classic car dream – and it’s the residents of mid Wales who are most likely to find one, according to new research. Powys has 40.5 metres of road per person, which is more than any other local authority area in mainland Britain, analysis of Department for Transport data by the PA news agency revealed. Its 132,400 inhabitants share nearly 5400km of road, covering destinations such as the Brecon Beacons, the Elan Valley and the Black Mountains – the latter of which can be seen in our video of Japanese performance icons on YouTube. See www.classicsworld.co.uk/videos/japanese-car-shootout-icons-unite. Of course, the roads are currently even quieter than normal due to Wales being in a coronavirus lockdown. Scotland…

Just a week after its first public-facing sale since lockdown at Duxford, October 21 saw H&H Classics back in action for the firm’s regular monthly ABC online auction. It proved to be a particularly attractive sale for fans of 1980s MGs too, with several rare examples up for grabs. A 1985 MG Metro Turbo was arguably the star of the show, having covered less than 10,000 miles in its 35 years. These cars are desirable in any case, but as a Mk1 version and a barely used one at that, it was no surprise to see it sell for close to £18,000 with fees – more than twice that of a more modest 1984 MG Metro 1300, which itself sold for an impressive £7875. There were two more rare MGs…

DAIMLER SP 250 (1959-1964) In the late 1950s the American market had an insatiable appetite for British sports cars – and the raucous V8 engined ‘Dart’ was launched to satisfy that hunger. Indeed, it was launched in the US, and two thirds of production was meant for buyers across the pond. Sadly, the glassfibre-bodied convertible didn’t get the reception it hoped for, and with people calling it ‘ugly’, instead of the projected 7500 cars being made in the first three years, all told just 2654 trickled out of the Daimler works. It wasn’t exactly cheap, either; at £984 it was £160 dearer than the Austin-Healey 3000. Its saving grace amidst all this was its gloriously responsive 2548cc V8 which offers exhilarating performance and impressive economy, with Autocar having recorded an…