Innholdsfortegnelse for 5/18/2022 i Classic Car Buyer

Being a new-car dealer can’t be much fun. In these days of limited stocks of most models, thanks to the global semi-conductor shortage plus the effects of the Ukrainian invasion, dealers face having to explain to customers why they face a waiting list of up to a year. At the same time, they’re trying to value customers’ part-exchanges months in advance, knowing that the current boom in used car values could come to an end without warning. And all that for what are relatively low margins, with many a buyer’s service plan or choice of accessories being more profitable to the dealer than the car itself. One thing that most new-car dealers don’t have to sweat about in 2022, however, is the PDI – or pre-delivery inspection, to give it…

There’s a total of £90,000 in prize money available when Santa Pod Raceway presents its annual Doorslammers race (in association with VP Racing Fuels), taking place on May 20-22. Entries from across Europe are expected to challenge for the record prize fund. Doorslammer is a drag racing term for any car with functioning doors – a ‘tin top’ in circuit racing parlance, which means no dragsters or roadsters are invited. And it’s the Pro Doorslammer racing of the weekend that will see the real heavyweights competing, described by the event organisers as “brutal machines radically different from any ‘tin top’ seen on a circuit”. The Doorslammers weekend will also include five other categories – Pro Street, True Street, Front-Wheel Drive, Six-Cylinder and Four-Cylinder – plus separate daily Big Bracket competitions…

Sign up to our newsletter at www.classicsworld.co.uk Personal childhood memories of the Second World War have prompted Sheffield-based Roy Hatfield to donate his much-loved 1976 Jaguar XJ-C coupe to the Ukrainian cause, with the car set to be offered in a no-reserve auction next month. All proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Roy, 85, has been so moved by the plight of Ukrainian children since Russia’s invasion of the country in February, he has decided to auction his Jaguar to raise much-needed funds for the beleaguered country’s youngest citizens. A keen collector of classic vehicles, Roy is best known for creating the successful energy and recycling business that bears his name. The company was awarded the Queens Award to Industry in 2014. Among the…

Goodwood has announced that the central feature of this year’s Festival of Speed – set to take place on June 23-26 – will be celebrating 50 years of BMW’s M division. The sculpture will pay homage to five decades of M cars, showcasing some of the marque’s most iconic models. Since 1997, each Goodwood Festival of Speed central feature has comprised an innovative sculpture marking the achievements of a different manufacturer or milestone. BMW’s Motorsport division was launched in May 1972 with only 35 employees. However, it soon became one of the most successful racing departments in the world. Visitors to the 2022 Festival of Speed will see BMW M’s most celebrated vehicles take to the hill across the weekend, with many of its famous drivers behind the wheel. BMW…

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF DRIVER (1980-1996) Following the early success of its Mk1 Golf GTI, it didn’t take long for Volkswagen to pioneer a lesser-powered lookalike. Launched for the 1980 model year, the Golf Driver closely resembled the GTI but had a 1272cc carb-fed motor with a four-speed gearbox. Initially it was available in just three paint shades, but a second production run in 1983 added the twin-headlamp grille and a wider range of colours. The Mk1 was available with three doors only, but another reappearance in Mk2 guise saw a five-door option too, along with the choice of a 1.6 or 1.8-litre carb motor. There was also a 1.8-litre Mk3 Driver, which though not quite the dead ringer for the GTI that the Mk1 had been, still echoed its faster counterpart…

Following on from what we now refer to as the Mk1, the new-for-1959 Jaguar Mk2 took what was already a handsome, top-performing model and transformed it into one of the most desirable Jaguar saloons of all time. The Mk2’s star continues to shine bright in the 21st century, with many enthusiasts still citing it as their top ‘compact’ Jaguar. For those who’ve yet to own one, however, does life with a Mk2 really live up to the hype? One of the biggest issues with the Mk2 is its relative lack of affordability, with other similarly-sized Jaguars of the 1960s – particularly the S-Type and later 420 – being available at much lower prices. Such is the Mk2’s immense talent and enviable style, however, it’s easy to see why fans with…

VAUXHALL FB VICTOR If the size, thirst and flamboyance of the PA Cresta are a bit too much, you could always go a rung down the Vauxhall range. When this Cresta was built Luton had just launched the second-generation Victor, with sleeker styling and light, crisp handling. Rust means that survivors are rare now, although worth seeking out. AUSTIN A99 WESTMINSTER Whle Vauxhall looked across The Pond for its inspiration, BMC went to a stylist best known for his work on Ferraris. The Westminster of the ’60s was penned by Batista Farina and has a clean, smart appearance. Comfortable, straightforward and solid, Westminsters are very practical classics. FORD ZEPHYR Arguably Ford did a better job of offering American style for European sensibilities – the ‘Three Graces’ range certainly offered rock-and-roll…

Silverstone Auctions’ next sale, taking place at Sywell Aerodrome on Saturday, May 28, is sure to interest collectors of very early E-Types, with two examples of the famed ‘external bonnet lock’ models set to be offered. With the most sought after of all the Series 1 E-Types being the first 92 right-hand drive cars produced, chassis number 38 carries a headline-grabbing estimate of £220,000-£260,000. It is one of the oldest surviving E-Types, having been manufactured in June 1961. It’s finished in its original colour combination of Opalescent Dark Blue with a red hide interior, although the car benefited from restoration work in the early 2000s and still presents very well. It comes complete with its original and unrestored factory hardtop and a comprehensive history file. Slightly more affordable, meanwhile, thanks…

A slice of pop history comes to auction this weekend (Saturday, May 21) as Historics offers a Monkeemobile – the official 2011 tour car of The Monkees, the USA group that took the music world by storm in the late 1960s. The famous group’s ‘Monkeemania’ foursome – Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Davy Jones – became pop royalty in their native USA and beyond, as one of the biggest-selling pop music acts of all time. The Monkeemobile offered by Historics was the group’s official transport during their ten-venue 2011 UK tour, which celebrated the band’s 45th anniversary. The authentic recreation, mirroring the group’s original Monkeemobile of the mid-1960s, was created in New York from a 1966 Pontiac GTO and then shipped to the UK in readiness for the…

Hooton Park Trust in Ellesmere Port was the venue as Hampsons hosted its second classic car sale of the year on May 7. The catalogue was certainly an eclectic one, comprising 67 lots and featuring everything from a bubble car to illustrious sports cars. It proved to be a very good day for Jaguars, with the sale’s headliner a beautifully restored 1965 Jaguar E-Type Series 1 Coupe that sold mid-estimate for £90,833. A 1960 XK150 Drophead Coupe with just one previous owner achieved £70,458, with another XK150 – this time a 1958 car – changing hands for £59,167. In addition, a stunning Mk2 in 3.8-litre guise sold above estimate for £42,750, while at the other end of the scale a 1994 XJ40 3.2 Gold Edition in need of some work…

For anyone who enjoys classic car spotting, this photograph of Northbrook Street, Newbury, is an absolute joy. Taken on March 19, 1964, it shows the shop-lined street packed with traffic of all types. And among the various commercial vehicles is a fascinating variety of now-classic cars, with the Modern School of Motoring’s Vauxhall Viva HA to the right of the photo being followed by a Mk3 Ford Zephyr 4, a Hillman Super Minx, a rare Abbott-converted Mk2 Zephyr Estate and – perhaps most surprising of all – a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. Cars heading in the other direction include a Morris 1100, an Austin A35 and a Ford Prefect 100E, while parked at the roadside we can see a relatively modern Singer Vogue with an array of older machinery in front…

SUVs are one of the biggest trends in modern motoring, and this – the Land Rover Series 1 – is arguably the godfather of them all. Inspiration was sought from the Willys Jeep, although Rover’s Maurice Wilks demanded that his car must be more suited to civilian use. Consequently, the only real similarity between these two vehicular mountain goats is an 80-inch wheelbase. Effectively viewed as a filler product by Rover’s board of directors, the intention was for the Land Rover to go on sale while global steel supplies were restricted. So, if Rover couldn’t sell many new cars, at least it could sell… something. As such, build costs were kept to a minimum, with the Land Rover inheriting most of its internals from the Rover 60 saloon. Sales expectations…

A 1966 Morris Minor four-door saloon that’s been in dry storage for the last four decades has been rescued by a young enthusiast from Ludlow, Shropshire, and is set to be restored and returned to the road. “I’m not exactly new to Morris Minors,” explains 29-year-old Mikey Redfield, “as I had one when I was 17 and kept it for a fair few years. And now here I am with another, which used to belong to my partner’s mother. She bought it when she was also 17 and kept driving it until 1982, when it failed its MoT and she couldn’t afford to get the car repaired.” The Minor was then driven into a barn and had been there ever since, until Mikey heard about the car and decided to…

A one-owner Daihatsu Copen that’s covered just 3918 miles has come ot market via Kent-based Stone Cold Classics. Supplied new by Hares Daihatsu of Rustington, West Sussex, the immaculate survivor was first registered in 2003, with its one and only owner specifying a number of extra-cost options – including a rear spoiler, tonneau cover and black leather Momo steering wheel. Daihatsu launched the Copen in 2002, featuring an eager 659cc four-cylinder turbo (replaced by a 1.3 non-turbo five years later) and a folding metal roof. Despite its tiny kei-car proportions, the Copen gained a niche following on the UK market, although many well-used examples have long since succumbed to rust. A Copen with such a low mileage as this is very unusual now, and the car is described as being…

May 21 will see Morris Leslie welcome back the public to one of its classic car auctions for the first time since the pandemic began. And unlike previous public-facing sales at the firm’s Perth base, the vehicles will be started and driven though the hall, giving bidders a chance to see them in action. As we’ve come to expect from Morris Leslie, the catalogue includes plenty of variety. Among the many pre-war entries are a 1936 Wolseley New Fourteen, a 1934 Standard Twelve, a 1937 Austin Seven Ruby and a 1936 Vauxhall 14 DX Tourer, each of which is likely to be available for under £10,000. Potentially a little more expensive is a 1935 Armstrong Siddeley 17hp Sports Foursome, which carries a £10,000-£12,000 guide. It’s a busy sale for Fords…

Just as any band struggles with ‘second album syndrome’, Mazda faced many dilemmas when creating a second-generation MX-5 – a follow-up to the company’s hugely successful newcomer of 1989. The next MX-5 had to be just as characterful, entertaining and sporty, but perhaps a little more sophisticated and practical. In the end, the latest MX-5 took a bow at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show, going on sale in the UK the following year. The new model was larger than the Mk1 and (controversially) did away with its pop-up headlamps, although it was still instantly recognisable as an MX-5. Under the bonnet there was the same choice of 1.6- or 1.8-litre power, this time offering outputs of 108 and 140bhp respectively – the latter bringing a top speed of 126mph, with…

The failure of the glassfibre P1900 Sport of the 1950s meant Volvo’s future export drive had to take a different path; a sporty car was crucial to winning the hearts and minds of the USA, but it had to be made of steel and the running gear had to be drawn from existing models. A styling proposal from a young Swede interned at Frua won the competition, with Pelle Petterson’s shape being adapted to a shortened ‘Amazon’ floorpan and going into production in 1961 as the P1800. Unfortunately, Volvo had no space to produce the P1800 and so an arrangement was drawn up with Jensen Motors, using bodyshells produced by Pressed Steel in the UK. However, Jensen never had the capacity – nor full knowledge of what build standards Volvo…