Innholdsfortegnelse for 12/7/2022 i Classic Car Buyer

This week’s news about the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is worrying for anyone who runs an older car and either lives within or regularly travels to the affected areas. The result is that if you drive a petrol-engined model, it needs to be either post-2005 or more than 40 years old (and registered as Historic) in order to avoid the £12.50 penalty. And this means anyone running what might be termed a modern classic faces a major dilemma. For many, upgrading their car during the current cost of living crisis is an unrealistic prospect. With high inflation, soaring energy bills and both rent and mortgage rates on the rise, these are tough times. Spending thousands of pounds on a ULEZ-compliant car is unappealing when your savings…

Sign up to our newsletter at www.classicsworld.co.uk The controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is set to cover every London borough by next summer, it has been confirmed – with the move set to impact large numbers of older-car owners living within the affected area, raising fears that modern classics could end up scrapped as a result. The move by London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, means the current zone – which was expanded last year to cover all areas within the North and South Circular roads – will move to the boundary of the current Low Emission Zone (LEZ) from August 29, 2023, although the M25 will not be covered. It means only cars that meet strict emission requirements will be allowed to enter London areas without incurring the ULEZ charge.…

David Brown Automotive’s latest model in its Mini Remastered series – the Marshall Edition, designed to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Marshall Amplification – has made its European debut in Paris. The modernised take on the classic Mini will be on show at the CITADIUM complex until December 12. The Mini Remastered Marshall Edition is hand-built alongside other Remastered variants at David Brown Automotive’s Silverstone-based facility. Building each new Mini Remastered is a long process, said to take “thousands of hours” and involving a brand new bodyshell. The Marshall Edition is distinguished from the rest of the Mini Remastered range by its unique colour, materials and finishes, as well as featuring a Marshall eight-speaker sound system and pull-out amp in the boot.…

Flashback tosummer Summer seems a long time ago now, so we were delighted this week to hear from reader Bill Robertson, who sent us these photographs from a superb selection of classic XKs at the 2022 Summer Jaguar Festival, held at Newby Hall, North Yorkshire. The show, which took place on August 14, attracted a wide range of Jaguars of all ages. If you have any images from your favourite shows of 2022, send us a selection and we’ll do our utmost to feature them in CCB. Email us at ccb.ed@kelsey.co.uk Woody believe it? Remember those American timber-framed station wagons that were all the rage back in the 1940s and ’50s? Well, here’s Chrysler’s woody-inspired ‘tribute’ of the late 1970s, when it launched a version of its US-spec Plymouth Horizon…

The hugely successful Silverstone Classic gets a fresh identity for 2023, with the announcement of the Silverstone Festival marking a new era for the venue’s annual spectacular – set to take place over next year’s August bank holiday weekend. A rebrand was decided on to better represent “the wider experience now enjoyed by festival-goers”. The world-famous British circuit has played host to the Silverstone Classic since 1990. Silverstone Festival will boast plenty of exciting on-track action, as well as major displays of classic vehicles. All the usual grids will be returning in 2023, along with some landmark automotive anniversaries, plus an impressive line-up of off-track entertainment and main stage music. This summer’s event saw the popular addition of Foodie Fest, extreme stunt shows, three nights of live music and current…

Organisers of the Spring Tractor World & Classic Commercial Show, which takes place at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern, have announced the dates for next year. Taking place over the weekend of March 11-12, it’s described as “the biggest and longest-established show of its kind”, filling all three exhibition halls at the showground as well as outside display areas. Visitors will get to see veteran, vintage and classic tractors and agricultural machinery, plus classic commercials of all ages, Land Rovers, club displays, stationary engines, miniature steam engines and vintage horticultural equipment. The Saturday will see another auction by HJ Pugh & Co, with over 100 tractors and 1500 lots expected, while the Sunday will mark the return of the popular Classic Commercial Drive-In Day. To find out more or…

Suzuki GB has announced it’s the proud new owner of the 1979 Suzuki LJ80 that sold for just shy of £25,000 at last month’s Silverstone Auctions sale, as featured in CCB (November 23). The UK-based importer of Suzuki vehicles paid the record-breaking price to ensure the diminutive 4x4 ended up back ‘home’, 43 years after it was presented to motorcycle racing legend, Barry Sheene. The LJ80 was originally given to Sheene and his race team by Suzuki GB in recognition of his time as a works rider, with the distinctive blue workhorse being used as a circuit pit vehicle at his races as well as for promotions. It was subsequently used on the Sheene family farm until 1987. In later years, after falling into a state of disrepair, the 4x4…

Hagerty International has announced a new partnership with Great Northern Classics, a specialist hub for the classic vehicle industry, which aims to provide workshops for businesses in the sector as well as presenting a calendar of enthusiast-led events. Great Northern Classics is based at the former Victoria Ironworks foundry in Derby, which until recently served as the Rolls-Royce Heritage Centre. The scale of the site allows the company to operate as an efficient working hub while serving as a destination attraction at the same time. Due to open in summer 2023, the site will bring together up to 30 specialist restoration and fabrication companies, as well as offering a visitor centre and events space. Shaun Matthews, founder of Great Northern Classics, has placed apprenticeships at the heart of the site,…

Bicester Heritage has announced that its popular Scramble events have raised an impressive £20,691 for its charity partner, StarterMotor, during 2022 – the largest donation to date. Based at Bicester Heritage, StarterMotor aims to put the next generation of classic enthusiasts in the driving seat. The donation will provide valuable funds for the charity, helping it to provide career awareness days, representation at classic car events and work experience opportunities. In October, the charity also welcomed around 300 local schoolchildren from The Bicester School to Bicester Heritage, visiting just some of the 50 specialist businesses on site to gain inspiration for their future career choices. Find out more about the charity via startermotor.co, or follow startermotorcharity on Facebook.…

Historics brought down the curtain on its 2022 classic auctions with a return to its habitual winter home of Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands on November 26, with a vibrant atmosphere and full-capacity hall setting the scene for 166 extremely varied consignments to go under the hammer. Two of the most impressive performers showcased that variety, selling for identical sums. An extraordinary 27-litre tank-engined Meteor V12 Special that dominated the auction hall made light work of its £75,000-£95,000 guide to sell for £128,800, while the same figure secured the oldest classic in the sale – a hugely impressive 1913 Renault DQ, which more than doubled the mid-point of its £58,000-£68,000 estimate. Fittingly in view of the venue, the Mercedes-Benz marque also performed strongly. Of the 39 entries spanning seven decades, 29…

Big, luxurious coupes used to be very popular. Designed to cross continents in one sitting, they combined performance with style – and the BMW we have here was very much at the sharp end of things. Fast closing in on its half century, the 6 Series (or E24 in BMW-speak) was a replacement for the E9 model, with its looks coming from the pen of Paul Bracq. Purposeful yet sleek, it was just what the market wanted as the ’80s approached. The E24 first went on sale in 1976, with UK buyers offered the 633CSi (we never got the 630CS) featuring BMW’s M30 straight-six engine. The more powerful 218bhp 635CSi appeared two years later, followed shortly afterwards by the entry-level 628CSi. Then by 1982 it was time for an update,…

A brand new online auction site – biddingclassics.com – has launched, with its first sales already up and running at the time of writing. The inaugural auctions comprise an impressive looking 1971 Datsun 240Z and a 1979 MGB roadster, with others due to start imminently. These include a fully restored 1961 Jaguar Mk2 3.8, a 1962 Fiat 1200 Cabriolet, a 1961 MG Midget, plus a 19,000-mile Ferrari 360 Spider from 2005. Prospective buyers are invited to view the lots online, while would-be sellers are also encouraged to get in touch – regardless of their vehicle make, model, age or value. The company is aiming to “revolutionise certain aspects of the auction process”, as each winning bidder pays just the hammer price, with no hidden fees. There is also a concierge…

Car production in the UK returned to growth in October, rising 7.4 per cent to 69,524 units, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT). The rise follows September’s fall, which came after four consecutive months of growth, illustrating how supply chain turbulence – and global chip shortages in particular – continues to affect UK manufacturers. Although positive, with production for home and overseas markets up 12.5 and 6.3 per cent respectively, October’s performance was still 48.4 per cent below 2019’s output of 134,669 units and 52.8 per cent lower than the five-year pre-pandemic average for the month.…

Three classics that have played starring roles in Mike Brewer’s Wheeler Dealers TV series will be going under the hammer on Saturday, December 10 at the latest sale by Classic Car Auctions. Offered with no reserve is the car that needed the least work on the show: a 1985 Ford Fiesta 1.1 Popular Plus. The 9000-mile survivor is described as a “true time capsule”, requiring nothing more than a service and tappets adjustment when it appeared on Brewer’s Wheeler Dealers Dream Cars series earlier this year. Fully restored in Series 17 of Wheeler Dealers, meanwhile, are the ex-Brewer 1965 Fiat 600D and 1983 Vauxhall Astra GTE Mk1, both rebuilt to a high standard and carrying estimates of £14,000-£18,000 and £25,000-£30,000 respectively. For more details of these and the other cars…

DAIMLER V8 (1962-1969) The Daimler V8 was a response to pleas from Daimler dealer Stratstone of Mayfair, begging for new models to sell alongside the increasingly elderly Majestic saloon and ideally as spiritual successors to the old Conquest. Daimler had been working with Vauxhall prior to the Jaguar takeover of 1960, but once the deal was done Jaguar experimented with the SP250’s V8 in a Mk2 shell. The result was appealing, and the Daimler 2.5 V8 was launched in automatic-only form in 1962. Five years later the car was revised into the V8-250, with slimline bumpers and other minor updates, and it was in this form that production ended in 1969 to make way for the more expensive new Sovereign 2.8. From 1966, a manual gearbox would be offered as…

French car spotters will appreciate this image from 1968, when our nearest European neighbour was experiencing a period of civil unrest. Riots broke out across France, plus demonstrations, general strikes and the occupation of universities and factories. There were fears of civil war, with the French government briefly ceasing to function when President Charles de Gaulle fled to West Germany on May 29. The photograph shows a long queue of customers outside a branch of the Société Générale bank, while around them is a fascinating French street scene. Up front we can see a Renault 4, a Citroën 2CV, a Fiat 500, a Rover P4 (an unusual sight in France) and a Renault Caravelle coupe. And among the various cars parked in the background are a Peugeot 403, a Renault…

TRIUMPH SPITFIRE The Midget can never be considered without a mention of its close rival. The Spitfire is prettier than even the ‘RWA’ Midget, boasts a more spacious and better-trimmed cockpit, a more pliant ride, and is easier to restore and work on. But it’s not as sharp or as fun to drive. MGB If classic chrome-bumper, round-wheelarch looks are a requirement, this budget would get you an equally superb example of the Midget’s bigger cousin. Much more comfortable and practical, the ’B isn’t the same sensory experience but is more practical in modern traffic. TIFOSI RANA The original ‘Frogeye’ Sprite also had round rear wheelarches, but the lack of a bootlid meant that its rear-end strength was retained. This week’s budget wouldn’t get you a good Frogeye, but it…