Innholdsfortegnelse for 08/12/2021 i Classic Car Buyer

The relationship between cars and the environment seems to have been permanently in the news over the past few weeks. Last week’s issue of CCB had news stories about the impact of Clean Air Zones and similar schemes. This week our main story is about measures being put in place by organisations representing the classic car movement to ensure that we keep pace with the changing nature and attitudes of the world. At the recent Classic Motor Show at the NEC were a good number of electric conversions of classic cars – not a new idea, but one which is taking hold at a seemingly exponential rate. One of them was an electric 2CV, which got me thinking about whether I could see my own Deux Chevaux getting the treatment…

The world of motorsport has lost one of its giants following the news that Sir Frank Williams, founder of the Williams Racing Formula 1 team and the longest serving team principal in the sport’s history, passed away at the age of 79. Unlike many peers, Williams was not born into money. Instead, he initially worked several jobs to make ends meet, spending as much of those wages as he could on competing as an amateur racing driver. Eventually the money ran out, prematurely ending Williams’ driving career. However, during that time, he befriended Piers Courage – a man hell-bent on getting into F1. Williams was enlisted to organise all of Courage’s racing affairs, while Piers would provide the funds. After rising through the junior ranks, the pair broke into F1…

One of the great hopes for preserving the use of historic vehicles, e-fuels, has been given a boost, with Mazda suggesting that they should be considered as a viable alternative on the path to carbon-neutrality and can be used alongside electric vehicles. Speaking at the recent Autocar Business Seminar, Mazda European Research Director Christian Schultze said: “We believe that e-fuels aren’t in competition with the electrification route but complement it. E-fuels can be used already on existing cars – and future cars. Let’s use the good points of both technologies to drive forward carbon-neutrality rather than betting on one technology.” Schultze predicted that e-fuels pricing would be on a par with petrol by 2030 in Europe, and that they be considered for similar subsidies to EVs. “We need to find…

Classic Car Auctions (CCA) will round out the year by hosting its Winter Sale 2021 at Stoneleigh Park this Saturday (December 11), with viewing available before the sale and on the three preceding days. There’s plenty for potential bidders to see too, with the now-completed catalogue including everything from rarities and former street furniture through to Ferraris. A big-theme of the sale is low-mileage classics offered without reserve, headlined by a dusty, dry-stored MG Midget 1500 that’s covered just 44 miles. The selection also includes a 1976 Leyland Princess showing 26,422 miles, a 1985 Nissan 300 ZX in need of recommissioning that’s covered only 18,410 miles, a 48k-mile Ford Scorpio Ultima and a garage-find 1978 Audi 100 GL showing a mere 27,000 miles. Also offered with no reserve is a…

SAVE 41% PLUS FREE DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR AND INSTANT ACCESS ON YOUR DEVICE. GREAT IF YOU’RE OUT AND ABOUT AND NEED THE CONTENT TO HAND Inside Each Issue: • The latest news and analysis • Expert buying guides and advice • Product reviews • Classic cars and parts for sale • Auction news and preview Visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/CBU22P Or Call: 01959 543 747 and quote CBU22P Hotlines open Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5.30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate *Full terms and conditions can be found at shop.kelsey.co.uk/terms. Offer applies to UK subscribers only when paying by direct debit. Your subscription will start with the next available issue with your first 4 issues charged at just £9.99. Payments will continue to be taken at this low rate of…

Although I didn't care much for the 200 Series as a youngster, there was a notable exception – the crop-topped 262C. I'll never forget the rather down-at-heel example that stood out like a beacon amongst a sea of Escorts and Astras on a local housing estate. I couldn’t believe it was a regular production model, and I've looked out for others ever since. Based on the wheelbase of the contemporary 264 prestige model, the 262C was a four-seat coupé produced in alliance with Italian coachbuilder Bertone. But while the combination of Italian styling and Swedish build quality sounds great, Volvo got it the wrong way round. The design was penned in Sweden, while Bertone, which was already building the 264TE limousine, was left to do the assembly work. To this…

Launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1995 ahead of its first customer deliveries in December 1995 the BMW E39 5-Series was met with keen interest from both the motoring journos and customer base alike. Much was at stake following the success and market domination of its predecessor the E34 which had been in production since 1987 with over 1.3 million sold worldwide. (The E39 would go on to sell over 1.4 million units worldwide). The E39 was an instant hit; the sculpted shape, penned by Joji Nagashima in 1992 and signed off by the infamous Chris Bangle, was a big part of its appeal. It was a clear evolution of the 5-series lineage, timeless yet also very ‘of the moment’ – the shape having endured uncommonly well to this…

TVR S-SERIES Another classic British sports car updated for the ‘90s, although the S-Series shared much less with the M-Series that it resembled than the Morgan did with its ancestors. The V6-powered S1-S4 models offer similar performance to the Plus 4 but in a more modern-feeling and ‘chunkier’ package. CATERHAM SEVEN The obvious counterpart to a Morgan is a Caterham. By this time the Caterham was also using Rover power in the form of the lightweight K-Series and the result is truly sparkling performance and scalpel-like handling. The Caterham is a better weekend toy but isn’t as useable for touring as the Morgan. LOTUS EXCEL The awkward 70s Lotus Eclat came good in the 1980s when it was revamped in the 1980s to become the Excel. With bespoke Lotus 2.2-litre…

OK, forgive us the headline – it’s not Roger Moore’s P1800 going under the hammer at SWVA’s Winter Classic Car Auction early next year. However, it is a last-of-the-line Volvo 144, first owned by Leslie Charteris, author of the Saint books that gave rise to the TV series of the same name. The car is 1974 fuel-injected model, which was given by Charteris to his chauffeur, J W Baker, who put it into storage in 1992. It remained there for some three decades until the vendor purchased and recommissioned the car. The brakes have been completely renewed and the bodywork touched in, but it largely wears its original paint. The exhaust, fuel tank and tyres have also been also replaced, while concessions to practicality include electronic ignition, an immobiliser and…

Police are urging vigilance following recent cases of car sale scams in Suffolk, which all involve false claims of head gasket failure. Two incidents in Felixstowe involving Audi A5s took place on November 11 and November 20. Both involved men tampering with the car during a test drive to make it appear as if the head gasket had failed before demanding a price reduction. The first incident involved pouring oil on the windscreen and the engine, while the second saw oil smeared on the engine and in the exhaust, as well as added to the coolant. The scam also appears to be affecting classics, too. A reported incident in the Suffolk village of Barrow saw two males view a Jaguar XK150 and pour dirty oil into the water header tank…

Fans of the popular Tractor World shows have two events to look forward to in 2022, with both set to include extra classic vehicle content. Visitors to the Three Counties Showground in Worcestershire will get two shows in one as the Malvern 4x4, Land Rover and Vintage Spares Day is joined by the Tractor World Spares and Parts Day on February 27. As the name suggests, the event will see 4x4 and vintage bits offered alongside tractor parts, spares, tools and consumables, with model farm retailers and merchandise stands also present. The show will be Covid compliant and costs £7.50 for adults if they pre-book, or £10 on the day. Under 15s go free and there’s free parking too. The same venue will also host the Spring Tractor World Show…

PEUGEOT 406 COUPE Could this be the prettiest Peugeot ever produced? Admittedly, that’s a bit like judging a Lancia on its durability or a Mercedes-Benz for its charisma, but regardless, this is certainly a car worthy of attention. Of course, there is a reason why the 406 Coupe has such an attractive presence. Although it shares its chassis architecture with the more mundane saloon, this two-door variant was styled and built by illustrious Italian design house, Pininfarina. The Coupe gains a slightly wider track width and drops half an inch in ride height too, making it feel a little more poised than its four-door sibling. Finally, a 3.0-litre V6 ensured that the Peugeot had enough grunt to match its outward appearance, though a diesel unit or smaller petrol four-cylinder were…

When is a Volvo not a Volvo? When it’s a DAF. There have been other Volvos that have come out of the Born factory in The Netherlands that have slotted right into the range in terms of character, like the 440 and the V40 – sensible, thoughtful and solid – or the 480, which had the unexpected flamboyance of the 1800. Even the 340 looks and feels like Volvo’s take on a small car. But the 66 is just a rebadged DAF, stemming from Volvo’s purchase of the Dutch car maker in 1974 when the parent firm was more interested in its trucks than its economy cars with their distinctive Variomatic ‘rubber band’ transmissions. By the time of the DAF 66 the formula had modernised to include water-cooled Renault engines…

According to Audi’s own press department, the famous ‘Vorsprung durch technic‘ slogan – translating to ‘progress through technology’ in English – was introduced 50 years ago this year. In the light of this and the severe now affecting the northern part of the UK as we went to press, this shot from 1986 seems appropriate. The year is 1986 and the location Kaipola in Finland where Audi filmed its famous commercial demonstrating the superb traction of its quattro four-wheel drive by driving it up the 37.5-degree incline of the Pitkävuori ski jump. Driven by professional rally driver Harald Demuth, the car was an essentially showroom-spec 136bhp Audi 100CS quattro (only the turbo coupe got the uppercase Quattro badge). Along with a switch to winter tyres, a nod to safety was…

Sign up to our newsletter at www.classicsworld.co.uk The drive to cut emissions has come under an even sharper focus since the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference, COP26, took place in Glasgow last month. Against such a backdrop and the associated moves towards electric cars, restrictive emission zones and E10 fuel, owners of older, perceived higher-polluting motors could be forgiven for feeling vulnerable. However, the historic vehicle community is keen to do its bit not only to co-exist with a changing world, but to thrive as an example of sustainable living and preservation of our heritage. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has not helped the perception of old cars by stating in its literature that ageing cars are bogging down the battle against climate change. However, this was in reference…

The organisers of Salon Privé have announced a new London-based luxury car event set to be held next April. In a move that’s sure to appeal to the Capital’s well-heeled investors, everything on display will be for sale. The event will occupy the main South Lawn of the iconic Royal Hospital Chelsea. While the usual Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance at Blenheim Palace is open only to privately-owned cars and it’s forbidden to enter a car that is for sale, Salon Privé London’s ‘Concours de Vente’ will feature 60 cars from prominent specialist dealers, all of them for sale. The three-day event will take place on April 21-23, with the main prize to be awarded during a gala dinner on the Friday night. “Salon Privé Concours de Vente is set to…

Despite wintery weather and some added Covid concerns in the run-up to its 2021 auction finale, Historics was able to pull off another robust sale result in front of its biggest attendance of the year at Mercedes-Benz World on November 27. In addition to three busy viewing days, over 1000 people filled the auction hall during the seven-hour sale, during which 172 varied entries crossed the auction block. It proved to be a great sale for rare Blue Ovals, with trio of Mk2 Ford Cortina Savages almost certainly setting a new auction record. Two 1969 saloons were joined by a 1970 estate thought to have been owned by the Savage models’ creator himself, Jeff Uren, with all three selling well above their top estimate to gross a total of over…

ESCORT 1100L (1970-1974) Despite the impression given by the sort of Escorts you normally see at car shows in 2021, the 1970s were not full of hotted-up small Fords with screaming engines, big exhausts, spot lamps and go-faster stripes hanging their tails out around roundabouts. The immense success of the Escort was founded on Dagenham churning out hundreds of thousands of ordinary 1100 and 1300 models, pottering around the country taking people to and from work, going to the shops, taking the family on holiday and doing all the things you’d expect of a low-spec mass-market small saloon. Until quite recently these ordinary Escorts were of little specific interest to enthusiasts beyond being the basis for modification or turning into a rally platform. Their values were dragged up in the…

If you thought the P1800 was as far away from a traditional Volvo as you could get, what about a Volvo that isn’t a Volvo at all? In the early 1970s, DAF were keen to replace their aging 66 with the 77, but lacking the funds to create an all-new model, approached various manufacturers to collaborate with. Audi and BMW both said no, but Volvo - who had initially declined - reconsidered when they saw the small Renault engines DAF had access to. Volvo were keen on the idea of new, more compact engines without the associated costs, so agreed a deal with DAF and purchased 25 per cent of the company in 1973. DAF and Volvo engineers spent the next two years working together on the project and Gothenburg…

Ask any classic car buff to name a compact Jaguar of the 1960s and it’s the Mk2 that tends to get mentioned first, often followed by the S-type. One particularly interesting offshoot of the latter, however, was the Jaguar 420 and its Daimler Sovereign sister, both of which made their debut at the Earl’s Court Motor Show of October 1966. Onlookers might have been confused, thanks to the 420 being an addition to the line-up rather than a replacement for the existing Mk2 and S-type. Did Jaguar really need yet another compact saloon in its range? With the benefit of hindsight, however, the decision to launch the 420 was a clever one, enabling Jaguar to offer a new, more powerful model for a couple of years, injecting fresh interest into…

Volkswagen’s second ever model, the aptly named Type 2, first arrived in 1950 and was positioned against other commercial vehicles like the Citroen H-van. However, what made the Type 2 special was its availability as both a conventional van and a van-shaped car with extra rows of seats instead of mere cargo space. As a result, the Hanover-built Type 2 and its large capacity for passengers became something of a cultural icon during the highly sociable 1960s. This, the Samba, is the most luxurious variant of the affectionately nicknamed ‘microbus’. You can tell a Samba apart from regular Type 2s by a few key giveaways. Most noticeably, the Samba comes with 23 windows in total – including eight in the roof – with the intention of providing a more open…