Innholdsfortegnelse for 1/24/2024 i Classic Car Buyer

Working and being involved with old cars inevitably means you find yourself tempted to add to your fleet, whether that’s through seeking out a specific model or stumbling upon a car you never knew you needed until you saw it in a classified ad. Despite having all my motoring needs covered by my B-road-ready modified Fiat Seicento and lazy cruiser that is my Mercedes W123, I keep thinking about other cars; on a recent motorway drive, the familiar and classy silhouette of a Jaguar XK8 hoved into view, reminding me that I’ve been offered an early coupe with a new engine for a temptingly low price. But then, I’ve always fancied an X308 XJR, and I keep trying to buy the company’s X350 XJ. I’ve been made aware of an…

Caffeine&Machine is to open a third venue in Hampshire this spring. Located within the South Downs National Park, The Hut will join C&M’s first two venues – Warwickshire’s The Hill and Bedfordshire’s The Bowl – as the next in a series of meeting places for petrolheads. The first permanent Caffeine&Machine venue, The Hill, opened in October 2018 near Stratford-upon-Avon. Long-held plans for additional venues led to the opening of The Bowl, near Bedford, in September 2023. The Knockerdown Inn in Derbyshire was also purchased to become another Caffeine&Machine, but local resistance saw it restored as a traditional pub instead, and sold on in November. The location for the new venue is a former pub previously known as the West Meon Hut, from which the name is taken. It’s located by…

A Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution with an intriguing history could set a new world record auction price when Iconic Auctioneers put it under the hammer at Race Retro on February 24. The 1998 Lancer GSR Evolution V, registered S500 TMR, is a UK-market car finished in Pyrenean Black. It’s thought the car was presented to the late Richard Burns by Mitsubishi Motors in late 1998 as a reward for the part he played in Mitsubishi winning the Constructors’ title that year alongside his co-driver Robert Reid. Burns went on to become the only Englishman to have won the World Rally Championship as a driver, winning the title with Subaru in 2001 before his life was sadly cut short at the age of just 34. As a Subaru driver, Burns naturally couldn’t…

Perhaps best known for its depiction as a police car on screen and in real life, the 6/80 was a successful post-war model for Wolseley. The marque would disappear in 1975, but was never forgotten – and this particular 6/80 serves as a reminder of its virtues. A lovely one-owner example – remarkable for a car of this age – this 1951 6/80 retains the magic of its ’50s column shift and semaphore indicators, which we’re pleased to report are in fine working order. Externally, the bodywork all seems straight and the panels fit as they should with no uneven gaps or warping. The paintwork is mostly good all over with a consistent colour, but some areas have a matt finish rather than a glossy one like most of the…

It’s almost 50 years since the original E21 3 Series was launched and the model line is now in its seventh generation, but rewind to the beginning of the 1980s and BMW was developing the third model to wear the badge. It was to be a notable step forward over the preceding E30, with the E36 bringing improvements in quality, refinement and dynamics and the result was a car that still feels fresh today. Launched in 1990 with a design overseen by Pinky Lai, it was a thorough reimagining of the popular premium car and one that sold in huge numbers. Buyers could ultimately choose from five different body styles – saloon, coupe, Touring estate, convertible and the hatchback Compact – and there was a wide choice of engines. Petrol…

A modern Rolls-Royce is a remarkable feat of style, engineering and the ultimate in luxury for a car, but somehow today’s Ghost and Dawn lack the character or dignity of the Shadow-based cars of the 1960s and 70s. The Corniche Convertible at Ghost Motor Works ably demonstrates that, with its gorgeous lines complemented nicely by the unusual Carnival Red paintwork to create a large and imposing convertible that somehow, doesn’t shout too loudly. Despite being nearly 50 years old, the bodywork of this 50,000-mile Corniche is immaculate, with all 5.4 metres of coachbuilt class in perfect condition. The power hood too is extremely tidy and retains its colour-matched tonneau cover, meaning this Corniche is as stylish roof up or down. That hood contains a fantastic interior too, without so much…

A 1966 Morris Minor, which has been stored in a stable for decades, is looking for a new home in the Charterhouse auction of classic and vintage cars on March 27. Family owned since 1978, it was previously driven around the quiet roads and lanes in Guernsey. “I am more used to seeing cars stored in barns, sheds and garages, so to find the Moggy resting in a stable makes a change!” commented Charterhouse’s Classic Car Department head, Richard Bromell. Covered in a thick layer of dust, it is remarkably solid underneath. Being sold without reserve as the family are moving house, it will surely be a good starter project. For further details, and to see the sale catalogue as it builds, head to charterhouse-cars.com.…

Hard as it may seem to pin down the moment when go-faster stripes became synonymous with making your car stand out, the general consensus is that it all began when Briggs Cunningham painted a pair of blue lines along the bonnet, roof and rear of his 1951 C-2R Le Mans car. In the early days, a stripe here and there would be used to differentiate between race cars, but they were soon employed as a great tool for giving a road car added kudos. By 1965, we’d seen the Shelby Mustang GT350 with its Ford GT40-inspired ‘sidewinders’ and a pair of 10-inch wide ‘Le Mans stripes’ running over the car from nose to tail. On other side of the Atlantic, a contrasting green stripe had famously been used to identify…

MGC (1967-1969) The MGB showed potential for more power from day one. The gorgeous styling – particularly when it was made available in GT guise – clothed sharp steering and a nimble chassis that could clearly handle far more than the 95bhp offered by the 1.8-litre B-Series. With the MGB selling well and its Austin-Healey 3000 BMC stablemate killed off, the bright idea was had to shoehorn the Healey’s 3.0-litre C-Series straight-six into MG’s baby. The result was the aptly-named MGC, offered in GT and roadster guise and save for a bulged and dimpled bonnet to accommodate the bigger six-pot and its tall carburetors, it was cosmetically identical to the MGB. This immediately put many enthusiasts off – the C cost £1300, some 30 percent more than the B, yet…

Quotation supplied by Lancaster Insurance Web: lancasterinsurance.co.uk | Tel: 01480 809176 Example quote: £152 or £170 with agreed value Quote based on a 45-year-old marketing manager, access to another car, no claims or convictions, club member, 3000 miles per year, no modifications, living in SP2 0HL. Disclaimer: Subject to underwriting criteria. An additional charge may be payable. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.…

TYPE 4 HEROES Paul Davies from The Wirral made contact having enjoyed our recent Market Trends feature from the January 3 issue. It covered the SAAB 9000, Lancia Thema and Alfa Romeo 164, which are all based on the Type 4 platform shared with the Fiat Croma. “I was interested in your recent feature and thought you might like to see the attached photo of my last SAAB 9000, shown together with its descendants, the 9-5 and the 9-5NG on my front drive in October 2016,” he wrote. “I owned all three at the same time for a couple of months, and I can’t imagine these three SAAB generations have been photographed together many times! “Although sadly I don’t have a 9000 anymore, I owned about half a dozen between…

SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER AT WWW.CLASSICSWORLD.CO.UK The expertise needed to keep our cars on the road won’t be allowed to die out – after the government signed an international pledge saying so. Earlier last month, our historic vehicle sector received a boost when the government finally recognised the 2003 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, otherwise known as ‘living heritage’. Classic car preservation falls into one of five categories identified by the UNESCO Convention: that of traditional craftsmanship. To that end, restorers, specialists and clubs are to receive greater recognition for the roles they play. To better understand those skills most important to our hobby, the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) has opened a public consultation, closing…

Mercedes-Benz made its intentions clear when it slotted a V8 into its new R107 SL in 1971; as the 350SL, it had few direct rivals. By 1980, however, a new variant of that M116 unit was ready: more powerful than its 3.5-litre predecessor, it had more cubic capacity and, thanks to an alloy cylinder block, was somewhat lighter. The Lancashire-based first owner of the Classic and Sports Car Centre’s 380SL doubtless knew what they were getting into when this car was delivered in 1980. Used sparingly, it had covered just 28,447 miles by 2001, with supplying dealer, Westwood Garages Limited, continuing to service it. When we test the SL 22 years later, there are 31,713 miles on the clock. Such sparing use means that the car, a pre-galvanised model, presents…

1990 - The E36 is launched and goes on sale in 1991. Longer and wider than the E30, the saloon is first, with the coupe appearing a couple of years later. 1992/1993 -The M3 arrives, with 1993 seeing a convertible added to the range along with the 325tds diesel. The four-cylinder M43 unit replaces the M40, whereas the 320i got the M52 engine in place of the M50.  1994/1995 - BMW introduces the hatchback Compact along with a lower-powered 318tds diesel model. There’s the Touring estate from 1995, while the 325i is replaced by the punchier 328i. The M3 gets a more powerful 3.2-litre motor. 1997 -The E46 is launched as a replacement, and the E36 is gradually withdrawn. The coupe, convertible and Touring stay in production until 1999, and…

The turn of the 1990s was a mixed bag for Ford, but the Mk3 Granada remained a hit and this 1992 Scorpio Estate at Stone Cold Classics is certainly a hit with us at CCB. Sporting the 2.9-litre V6 with just 51,000 miles on the clock, it surely purrs as smoothly and sounds as silky as it did 32 years ago. The torquey long-legged engine is complemented by a four-speed automatic gearbox, making this big Ford a consummate cruiser. The interior in this top-spec Scorpio only furthers that cruising ability – rouched leather armchairs (heated up front), comprehensive instruments and the usual Scorpio kit list including air conditioning, electric windows, an electric sunroof, electric mirrors and cruise control mean this is a fantastic place to spend time. There’s also ample…