Innholdsfortegnelse for 5/17/2023 i Classic Car Buyer

A new monthly classic car meet has been launched by Silverstone Museum. The evenings cater for classic cars and motorbikes and take place every month, running through to December. Hosted in collaboration with Classic Car and Bike Meet, an experienced group of motoring enthusiasts that already runs events in Northamptonshire, the evenings kick off at 5pm and finish at 9pm. Tickets are priced at £8.50 for cars and must be booked in advance, with all makes and models welcome. For more information visit silverstonemuseum.co.uk.…

TOP MOTORING DESTINATIONS We explore 18 of the UK’s top driving destinations, giving you the opportunity to take your classic car on a fun day out. BUY A ROOTES ARROW Discover all the insider knowledge that you need in your armoury when purchasing the Rootes Group’s badge-engineered classic. THE TURBO ERA We chart the history of the boosted classics of the turbo era, from humble MG Turbos to performance prestige. DOWNLOAD THE DIGITAL ISSUE OF CLASSIC CAR BUYER FROM AS LITTLE AS 94p! Visit: www.pocketmags.com or download it via the App Store; search Classic Car Buyer. The printed version of Classic Car Buyer is available in ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons and WH Smiths, plus all good newsagents…

The UK’s biggest online automotive auction site, eBay, has launched a new ‘Certified Recycled’ portal offering used car parts that are vetted, warrantied and only supplied from end-of-life vehicles by approved sellers. According to eBay, motorists opting for these parts and accessories could save up to 70 per cent compared to the recommended retail price of OEM parts. The first Certified Recycled part was listed on eBay in June 2020, and sales of such parts increased more than 10 per cent between 2021 and 2022. The marketplace now clearly highlights these listings, which it claims help reduce carbon emissions, and it now hosts 81 certified sellers across the UK. Jonny Smith, motoring journalist and host of The Late Brake Show on YouTube, said: “I have owned dozens of cars, and…

The Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust has announced a new virtual exhibition celebrating the work of Sir William Lyons, one of Britain’s greatest carmakers and designers. Compiled by curator and historian Andrew Nahum, together with author and TV producer Peter Grimsdale, the exhibition is the first of its kind dedicated to Lyons – a man who uniquely combined the roles of company boss with that of chief stylist. His work would evolve from motorcycle sidecars to dramatic road and racing cars, including the iconic E-Type. It is the first vehicle museum experience to originate online. The ground-breaking exhibition draws on the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust’s collection of vehicles and archives, usually exhibited at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon and the Coventry Transport Museum. It is free to access via sirwilliamlyons.com…

Members of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) have now offset over three million miles worth of emissions via the planting of more than 4200 trees. In partnership with Tree-V, a carbon offsetting company that specialises in vehicles, the Federation’s clubs, traders and individuals have captured a whopping 1890 tonnes of CO2, allowing them to balance their love of heritage vehicles while also looking after the planet. Amongst the like-minded outfits working with the FBHVC is British Racing Motors, which is reawakening the famous BRM marque while using the scheme to carbon balance the emissions generated by its reproduction of ‘Chassis IV’ during 2022 and 2023. Meanwhile, the London Ambulance Service has also been working with the FBHVC and Tree-V, capturing the 5000 miles of emissions that its…

Historics’ third auction of the year will take place at Ascot Racecourse on May 27, with almost 100 cars already consigned at the time of writing. These range from a wide variety of no-reserve entries right though to high-end exotics with six-figure potential. Interestingly, many of the no-reserve entries staddle the divide somewhat, with several prestige models amongst them. You’ll find no fewer than three examples of the Bentley Arnage, plus a 1984 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, a supercharged L322-generation Range Rover and a 2000 Mercedes-Benz SL 500. These are joined by a rare Daimler Six Century and a trio of supercharged Jaguars made up of two X100-generation XKR Convertibles and a 2005 Jaguar XJR that was originally supplied to Japan. Humbler models, meanwhile, include a 1973 MGB GT, two later…

In the last 10 years or so the car market has seen a shift away from the conventional family saloon – a trick that both the 4x4 and MPV market attempted, with neither successfully outdoing the saloon at its own game. But the advent of cars such as Nissan’s Almera replacement, the Qashqai, meant that families could enjoy the image and perceived solidity of an all-wheel drive vehicle with the running costs of a family hatchback. These cars were marketed as a premium proposition, albeit one that through controlled residuals would be incredibly tempting as a financed contract hire conveyance. The Qashqai sparked a trend that has seen manufacturers discontinuing previous favourites – Ford has axed the Mondeo while continuing to build the Kuga SUV, and its smaller Puma SUV…

This week, we rewind to April 1970 to witness the crowds on Guildford’s High Street. There are only four cars clearly visible in the scene, but they neatly sum up the battle between BMC/BL and Ford that had played out during the previous decade. There are not one but two BMC 1100s, with what looks like a two-door 1967 Austin-badged car heading up another Austin, but this time with four doors. Behind is their great rival in the battle for UK sales supremacy, the Ford Cortina, though the one pictured is a facelifted ‘Airflow’ Mk1 rather than the Mk2 which stole the ADO16’s crown for just one year in 1967. The other Ford we see is an Anglia, which looks to be a 105E in DeLuxe guise. Some 43 years…

SWVA’s latest classic car auction took place at its Poole base on April 29, with a very impressive sale rate of 94 per cent across the 92 entries. As well as host of sub-£1000 bargain buys and a 1996 Jaguar XJR for just £1450 plus fees, there were numerous lots that beat expectations. Highlights included a 1929 Austin Seven Van that was hammered away well above its £13,000-£15,000 estimate for £17,000, plus a 1955 MG Magnetta ZA that sold above guide for a hammer price of £11,500. We also liked the look of a 1978 Mini Clubman Estate with a 1380cc Bill Richards motor for £10,500 and a 1986 Fiat X1/9 showing just 34,500 miles, which at £8000 was another to sell above its guide. The biggest fee on the…

BENTLEY MULSANNE TURBO (1982-1985) Although the 1980s saw most of the world’s major car makers experimenting with turbocharged models, few managed to transform their fortunes quite so dramatically as Bentley. At the start of the decade, Bentley was in danger of becoming almost an irrelevance, its Mulsanne being little more than a badge-engineered Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit that sold in pitifully small numbers. Then in 1982 came the Mulsanne Turbo – the marque’s first turbocharged model, offering an exciting glimpse into the future. Power was now just short of 300bhp, torque was 487lb. ft produced at 2000rpm, and 0-60mph took seven seconds in a car that weighed 2.2 tonnes. That weight was the Mulsanne Turbo’s Achilles’ heel though, as beyond the more powerful engine, few other adaptations had been made to…

When it comes to baby Fiats, the Nouva 500 of 1957-1975 is the car which always springs to mind, but its replacement, the 126, aimed to offer much the same experience in a more modern wrapping. Launched in 1972 and arriving in Britain the following year, the 126 retained the 500’s basic structural and mechanical layout, with an air-cooled two-cylinder engine at the back driving the rear wheels. However, its boxy body styled by ex-Ghia man Sergio Sartorelli looked more contemporary and echoed the larger 127 model. It could also boast greater interior space than the 500 and was safer thanks to a more enclosed fuel tank, dual-circuit brakes and a collapsible steering column, while the gearbox now featured synchromesh on all but first gear. Western Europe may not have…

ALFA ROMEO 147 GTA The only other hatchback to beat the VR6 in terms of cramming the most litreage under the smallest bonnet. The 147 GTA housed Alfas glorious 3.2-litre Busso V6, offering nearly 250bhp and a 6.3-second 0-60mph time. It’s far more bonkers than the VR6 to drive, too. MAZDA MX-3 If you were looking at the Golf VR6 but wanted an alternative V6-engined front-wheel drive small car, then your choices were very limited. Mazda offered something in the same line, if not at the same scale, with the larger-engined versions of the MX-3 coupe. Still only a 1.8, but silky smooth. VOLKSWAGEN CORRADO If you want a comfortable performance car with a VW VR6, why not go for the motor’s original home and get a Corrado? VW’s upmarket…

The Morgan Plus 4 is still available to buy new in 2023, even if today’s model is quite different under the skin to one from the original 1950-1969 run. We’re so used to Morgans being an idiosyncratic mix of the old and the not so old that it comes as a bit of a surprise to see one that is more consistently ‘classic’. Of course, even by the mid-1960s the Plus 4 was decidedly traditional, but an original Plus 4 with its Triumph (ex-Standard) wet-liner engine, leather squab seats and woodgrain dashboard with centre-mounted Smiths instruments is all much more in keeping with the Morgan character than Mini switches, Jaguar dials and a Fiat Twin Cam. Being from the original run, this car has the ‘narrow’ body – later Plus…