Innholdsfortegnelse for 6/8/2022 i Classic Car Buyer

This week’s lead story makes sobering reading, quoting a major report that predicts trouble ahead for Britain’s motor industry in this age of electrification. Without further investment in UK battery capacity on a massive scale, future car production will be under serious threat. So, where does this leave Jaguar? It’s a brand I have real affection for, but I’m also concerned about its future. Early last year, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced it was cancelling the production-ready new Jaguar XJ, despite it being an all-electric model that – on paper at least – seemed spot-on for the 2020s and a worthy rival to the Tesla Model S. Despite that cancellation, JLR also announced that Jaguar would be an all-electric brand by 2025. Since then, we’ve heard very little. There’s no…

Two very different sports cars from 1968, each coming to market from long-term ownership, look set to find new homes at the next Charterhouse classic car sale, taking place at Haynes International Motor Museum on Wednesday, July 6. The Volvo P1800s (right), guided at £20,000-£25,000, has been in the same family from new and has had around £15,000 spent on its restoration. And the Triumph TR5 PI comes to auction from only its second owner, who bought it in 1971 and has taken its total from-new mileage to just over 56,000; the classic TR is estimated at £36,000-£38,000. Other interesting entries in the catalogue (which is still being added to at the time of writing) include a 1971 NSU Prinz 4L estimated at £3000-4000, a 1977 Renault 4 TL guided…

The UK is at risk of becoming a footnote in the global motor industry’s shift to battery-powered vehicles, according to a report by Bloomberg UK, with the country facing a potentially disastrous lack of cell and pack factories needed by car manufacturers to support their transition away from the internal combustion engine. In what could be a fresh blow to British car production, the report also states that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is currently in talks with Northvolt AB and SVolt Energy Technology Co about supplying batteries for a range of electric vehicles that could be built in Slovakia. JLR has stated that all new Jaguars will be fully electric from 2025, with 60 per cent of Land Rovers also being battery-electric by the end of the decade. Bloomberg UK…

ROVER MINI (1990-2000) A Rover Mini is hardly a modern product by the standards of 1990, let alone 2000. There’s little that would have made you want to buy these cars new apart from good old-fashioned nostalgia. But that nostalgia means that as classics, there’s a healthy market for them – and as any collector will tell you, a last-of-the-line iteration of something long-lived will always have a place in many a collection. While cars like the RSP have their followers and attract impressive sums as a result, it’s the very last Mini Sevens and Cooper Sport 500s that can claim the prize as collectable late editions. And when you compare their prices to equivalent Mk7 Minis, you can add up to 50 per cent for the right example. Good…

Changes were afoot in this London street in February 1977 with the opening of a No Car Lane – something that was sure to please bus drivers, taxi drivers and motorcyclists as much as it displeased many car drivers. That’s probably why the driver of the Triumph Herald at the far end of the No Car Lane chose to ignore it… or perhaps didn’t notice? There’s an interesting array of vehicles here, including the 1974 Mk3 Cortina Estate that’s nearest – a car that, according to the DVLA, hasn’t been taxed or MoT’d since it was 12 years old. Ahead of that we have a chrome-bumper MGB, a Chrysler Hunter, what looks like an Austin Maxi, a BMC 1100/1300 and a Mk1 Transit. Then in the adjacent lane there’s a…

Jack Grover, Production Editor Porsche 911 Carrera Cabrio Traditionally, this is one of the least desirable variants of the classic 911, but that puts the Carrera Cabrio’s values on a par with an SL powered by a six-pot or the smaller V8s. With its air-cooled flat-six mounted in the rear, the 911 has a very different character to the R107, being much more of a sports car than a comfortable tourer. But just like the R107, the 911 has always sold on its robust build and good everyday usability, and there’s no reason why a Cabrio can’t provide pleasant roof-down pottering whenever you want. Andrew Evanson, Lancaster Insurance Jaguar XJ-SC Although several rungs higher on the automotive hierarchy than the SL when first launched, Jaguar met the R107 head-on with…

As you’ll read on page 4, we popped along to the finishing line of this year’s London to Brighton Classic Car Run at the end of May to witness an eclectic line-up reaching Madeira Drive. One car that particularly caught our eye, however, was this immaculate looking Ford Escort 1100 L from 1972. We get as excited as the next person when we spot a Mk1 Mexico or RS2000, of course – but there’s something equally pleasing about a non-sporting four-door Escort that’s so well-presented and obviously much-loved.…

Following the announcement that Renault is transferring its majority stake in Russia’s Avtovaz – owner of the Lada brand – to an auto research institute for a symbolic single rouble, as revealed in our May 11 issue, there are now suggestions that the former Soviet-era Moskvich nameplate may be revived. Any new Moskvich is likely to use a Chinese platform from car maker JAC in partnership with truck manufacturer Kamaz, say two sources quoted by Reuters. Kamaz is apparently in talks with China’s JAC regarding use of its design, engineering and production platform to revive the Moskvich brand, according to a report by Automotive News Europe. It’s thought that any new Moskvich model will be built at Renault’s former Moscow factory. The Russian business daily Vedomosti, which first reported the…

A 1962 Volkswagen T1 that was converted into a half-track Alpine-crossing off-road special early on in its career has just been restored by VW’s Classic Vehicles division. The ‘bus’ started out as a standard T1 exported to Austria, where it was subsequently transformed into a four-axle model by VW mechanic, Kurt Kretzner. Two of the axles were fitted with a chain drive mechanism. It’s thought that Kretzner was a keen skier who noted that the mountainous regions of Austria had a scarcity of vans with exceptional off-road ability. He later went on to offer the conversion to customers’ own T1s, although just one further example is thought to have been made. Kretzner spent four years designing and building his mountain climber, with the example shown here being unused since the…

Anglia Car Auctions will host its third classic sale of the year this weekend (June 11-12), with a superb mix of everyman and prestige vehicles set to cross the block. The firm’s King’s Lynn base will once again be open for public attendance, but remote bidding options remain and the action will be streamed live on YouTube. Several marques are particularly well-represented, which only serves to highlight the diversity on offer. For instance, a wide range of BMWs sees a last-of-the-line 635CSi estimated at £16,000-£18,000 join a couple of 1973 2002s in both tin-top and Cabriolet guises, a 1987 316 showing only 10,866 miles from new, and an E46 M3. However, there are no fewer than six Chevrolets, including a 1962 Corvair Van to offer something of a contrast, while…

RANGE ROVER (1970-1996) While not the first SUV by some margin, the Range Rover was the first of its type to be designed from scratch as an off-roader for people who weren’t farmers or soldiers. It was also the first to truly become a fashion icon and the ultimate lifestyle accessory – as such, for better or for worse, it codified the genre and provided the benchmark for all SUVs that would follow. Against the high-tech, high-luxury behemoth that carries the name today, the original Range Rover of 1970 seems impossibly crude and compact. Ever since the launch of the Land Rover in 1948, Rover had realised that there was a market for a vehicle combining the all-terrain abilities of its 4x4 with the comfort of its saloon cars. It…

Hundreds of classics from all eras took part in the London to Brighton Classic Car Run on Sunday, May 29, setting off from Brooklands Museum in Surrey – the birthplace of British motorsport – to head for Madeira Drive. Mike Brewer of TV’s Wheeler Dealers was the host throughout the day, providing a running commentary and greeting participants as they crossed the finish line. “It’s always been a special event in the calendar, this year more than ever,” said Mike. “Days like this are what cars are made for and why we need to keep classics on the road.” The Classic Car Run has taken place since 1988, giving owners of classics (plus modern classics in more recent years) a chance to enjoy a scenic tour to the south coast.…

Volkswagen Group has agreed an out-of-court settlement of £193 million for ‘dieselgate’ claimants. Around 91,000 claims were being brought against various Volkswagen and dealer entities in the group action in England and Wales, following the 2015 emissions scandal. The controversy involved ‘defeat devices’ fitted to vehicles with the EA189 diesel engine. The devices detected whether a vehicle was being driven on the road or undergoing laboratory tests, altering its engine characteristics to produce a lower level of emissions when under test conditions. Volkswagen said that the legal costs of litigating this case to a six-month trial in England, and then in relation to any further appeals by either party, were such that “settlement was the most prudent course of action commercially”. In a statement, the company added: “No admissions in…

Taking place as part of the Supercar Fest event at Sywell Aerodrome, Silverstone Auctions held its maiden ‘Sale of Iconic & Classic Cars’ on May 28. The 156 entries included plenty of six-figure lots befitting such an event; but it wasn’t all about exotica, as some more familiar classics claimed their own share of the limelight. Starting at the top, a 1962 Maserati 3500 GT Spyder by Vignale – one of only 242 built – emphasised the calibre of the cars on offer by selling well above its £380,000 lower estimate for £427,500. A 1967 Iso Grifo Series 1 GL350 in extremely rare right-hand drive guise similarly impressed at £309,375, with a very early ‘external bonnet lock’ Jaguar E-Type roadster wearing chassis number 38 selling for £208,125. In addition, the…

Mercedes-Benz S500 (W140) Although the W220 S-Class is obviously the more contemporary rival to this 2001 XJR, it’s also probably best avoided due to its less than perfect reputation for reliability. Instead, why not turn the clock back a few years and opt for the tremendous W140. Offering rock-solid dependability and a vast array of innovative safety and comfort features, this was an S-Class worthy of the name. Lexus LS400 Toyota’s inaugural V8 land yacht had finally been phased out of production by the turn of the century, but a late 90s LS400 would provide an interesting contrast to the XJR. Although on paper the two cars share plenty of similarities, the Lexus offers a softer ride and more discrete styling for those who want a more high-brow form of…