Innholdsfortegnelse for 8/27/2025 i Classic Car Buyer

While browsing social media this week, I noticed a post from a gentleman who turned his nose up at the fitment of electronic ignition to classic cars, believing there was never any need to dispense with the old points and condenser set-up. If you did, it just showed that you didn’t have the correct expertise to run an old car, and spoiled its originality. As someone who has experienced trying to gap contact points by the side of the road in the pouring rain (on a French motorway no less), I couldn’t help but feel attacked. The quality of points and condenser components on the market is not what it used to be–my Mk1 Fiesta still boasts its original parts and they work perfectly well, but I’ve also had new…

Goodwood has confirmed that the 83rd Members’ Meeting will take place on April 18-19, 2026, at the historic West Sussex venue. The exclusive spring gathering promises two days of world-class racing, demonstrations and celebrations, culminating in a renowned Saturday night party. The 2026 edition will feature a packed programme of 13 races, spanning everything from pre-WW1 machines in the S.F. Edge Trophy through to classic tin-tops and GTs, as well as motorcycles and open-wheeled Formula Three and Formula One cars. In recent years, the event has featured high-speed shoot-outs involving GT3 cars and sidecars, as well as spectacular demonstrations of motorsport icons including Ayrton Senna’s first Grand Prix-winning car. This year’s racing action will again be complemented by on-track showcases of historic and contemporary competition machinery, reinforcing the Members’ Meeting’s…

NISSAN MICRA K11 The original Nissan Micra, the K10, had grabbed the British imagination sufficiently for the 1992-on ‘K11’ second generation to be manufactured here in Nissan’s UK plant, from where it dominated the driving school market. Offering good value, typical Japanese reliability and a very undemanding driving experience ensured its popularity, but it was steadfastly mundane. Back in Japan sporty turbo versions were offered but here in the UK we had just a55bhp 1.0-litre or the75bhp 1.3 to choose from. Later in life, the Micra’s sturdy mechanicals ensured it survived the years remarkably well but eventually the majority of surviving K11s were ground to dust by students and on pizza delivery duty, meaning they’ve suddenly disappeared–not as scarce as some of our 1980s picks but no longer a daily…

The W126 S-Class took an already world-beating luxury saloon in the form of the W116, and just made it even better. Phil samples a1988 300SEL to see if its till stands tall today Back in the mid-1980s we were on the verge of an executive saloon car arms race with Jaguar, Mercedes and BMW all launching new contenders in this prestigious space. The leader of the pack was almost certainly the subject of this week’s road test: the W126 Mercedes S-Class. Succession sometimes whispers rather than shouts. Launched at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1979 and arriving in UK showrooms in 1980, the W126 replaced the venerable W116 with a quiet confidence that quickly came to define luxury motoring in the 1980s. Penned by the legendary stylist Bruno Sacco,…

Strange as it may seem, it’s quite difficult to buy a simple, three-door supermini off the peg nowadays. During the last few years, the genre has all but disappeared as five-door models become the new entry point and monthly payments have taken precedence over list prices. It’s a far cry from the 1970s, when a new breed of three-door hatchback, usually with front-wheel drive and a transverse engine, took off in a big way. The Mini might have been the small-car trendsetter of the 1960s, but the following decade would see the supermini starting to take over. There are debates over where it started – we’d seen hatchbacks way before the 1970s – and cars like the Simca 1100 and Autobianchi A110 pioneered the idea of a three-door version in…

When it came to replacing the TR3 on a tight budget, Triumph turned to its go to designer, Giovanni Michelotti, to develop a creatively designed replacement. The TR4, known internally as Project Zest, was based on the same sub-structure and chassis as the earlier TRs, but was clothed in a modern and thrusting new body that was much sharper and smarter than the cars that went before, with neat peaked headlights, a flat bonnet and flared wheelaraches – indeed, the fresh styling belied its humble origins. Its new Italian-designed exterior was both wider and lower than TR3, while the redesigned cabin also offered more space for passengers and their luggage. In place of the TR3’s trademark cut-down doors and fussy wet weather gear, the new sports car featured a pair…

Back in the 1960s, MG was booming, with export sales buoyed up by a US sports car market that was dominated by British models. Among the more popular models was the MGB, but it was seen by some to be lacking in power, while for it to compete in world endurance racing – seen as a major sales and marketing platform – a beefier engine was required. Enter the MGC – a car that used the monocoque construction of the MGB, but with a revised version of the BMC 2919cc straight-six from the Austin-Healey 3000 under its bonnet. To install the big six-pot into the compact MGB, some significant feats of engineering were needed. The independent coil spring front suspension of the MGB had to be replaced with a torsion…

WESTERN WONDERS Reader Horst Franke got in touch regarding the Classic Scene in our August 13 issue: “On the right, we see an Opel Olympia Rekord, in front of it a Fiat (Zastava) Topolino, then an Opel Olympia. Both Opels used to be bestsellers in many countries on the Continent at the time. Parked in front of the Olympia is an early Fiat (Zastava) 1100. The third car on the left side is a Peugeot 403. I am surprised about all these cars from western manufacturers in communist Yugoslavia.” Great spotting skills, Horst - an impressive breadth of vehicles on display! MEMORY LANE Lada’s efforts to update its image for the ‘90s was perhaps best exemplified in this 1993 brochure for the Samara; “With the Samara hatchbacks, the rugged and…

In an age seemingly obsessed with upmarket trim levels, sporty badges and top-spec models, events like Festival of the Unexceptional and the Classic & Retro Car Revival have helped to foster an increasing love for humbler ‘bread and butter’ models and variants, proving you don’t need to break the bank to own a shows-topper. Celebrating humdrum cars that were once street furniture but now rare, events like FoTU bring together models that didn’t necessarily do anything special, but represent nostalgia just as much as any sports car or hot hatchback–and for many, bring back even more vivid memories. With this in mind, we decided to celebrate our favourite unexceptional classics. The majority here are rare but still obtainable, but there are also a few wildcards too. So, join us as…

DACIA SANDERO Dacia UK probably owes a debt of gratitude to James May and his regular “Good news everyone!” cheer as he updated Top Gear viewers as to the market status of the Sandero. Renault’s answer to VW’s Skoda brand, the former Romanian state car maker proved ideal for the French marque to create a value-led range which could be produced at lower cost, and it has taken off in the UK as well as most of Europe. The Sandero was based on the Logan saloon, which used the Renault-Nissan platform shared with the contemporary Clio and was launched in Europe in 2008. The marketing twist from Dacia was that its cars offered everything the average driver wanted, but without the cost of the gadgetry found in premium brands, all…

JAGUAR XKR When Ford took the reins at Jaguar in 1990, the company had just two cars. The XJ40 saloon, which was relatively modern but flakily put together, and the XJ-S, which was beautiful but ancient. It was clear from the outset that if it was to succeed in the future, it would need to expand and diversify. Two plans were hatched – to create a new XJ saloon, which became the 1995 X300, and an entirely new sports car to succeed the increasingly outdated XJ-S (known as simply the XJS after a heavy Ford-financed facelift in 1991). That new car was the Fergus Pollock-designed XK8, offered as both a coupé and cabriolet, and also as the launch platform for Jaguar’s new 4.0-litre V8 engine. It was a modern, sophisticated…

Early reports suggest that Autosport International, originally set to return to the NEC in Birmingham next year, has been cancelled for 2026. According to reports on the Garage Talk website (garagetalkonline.co.uk, the annual motorsport show will not take place next year–a situation CCB now understands to be factually correct. The show has been a cornerstone of the automotive calendar since 1991, acting as a showcase for parts suppliers, specialists, race teams and other motorsport companies. Previous features have also included alive stage with celebrity guests and interviews, along with live action and on-site auctions from Coys and Iconic Auctioneers. There has been no official confirmation of the news from the show’s organisers. At time of writing there is no 2026 date for Autosport International on the show’s website.…

ROVER 200 Launched in 1984, the so-called ‘SD3’ (Specialist Division, Job 3) was the successor to the Triumph Acclaim, which as we all know was the first toe-in-the-water product of the Anglo-Japanese collaboration. The Acclaim was little more than a rebadged Honda Ballade, but proved that the British car industry could produce cars to high quality standards. High enough for Honda to agree to collaborate on two further models, which would become a Roverised version of the second-generation Ballade and then later the Rover 800, a more ambitious joint development. Like the Acclaim, the 200 was essentially a rebadged Ballade but this time the Rover influence was allowed to be more obvious, especially on the interior. Light-coloured plastic mouldings, a fillet of wood in the doors and suitable fabrics combined…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE UP TO 45%* 4 GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE • SAVE money on the shop price • Never miss an issue • DIRECT delivery to your door • Cancel at any time SCAN ME Visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/CMT Or Call: 01959 543 747 and quote CMT Hotlines open Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5.30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate *UK Direct debit offer only. Savings based on the standard basic annual rate of £113.62 which includes the cover price of £5.99 plus Kelsey Media’s standard postage and packing price per single issue for 12 months (13 issues). You will pay £62.30 every 12 months. Offer ends 31st December 2025. Your subscription will start with the next available issue and you will receive 13 issues every 12…

1970 - Ford Cortina Mk3 launches in September with American-inspired styling. Available as two and four-door saloons and five-door estate. Prices range from £913 for the two-door 1.3-litre base model to £1338 for plush GXL version. 1973 - Facelift introduces revised grille, the Pinto engine for all 1.6-litre models, a new dashboard that would live on in the Cortina Mk4, and a rejigged model range. Suspension also improved, and 2000E model introduced as new range-topper, replacing 2000GXL. 1976 - Mk3 production ends as Mk4 Cortina is launched, ending its six-year run. In all, 1,126,559 examples are built.…

With its vast bonnet and Detroit-inspiredsquareedged styling, the Mk4 version of the Ford Zephyr was nothing if not distinctive. But for the final run of models introduced in late 1971, Ford engaged its Special Vehicle Operations team (SVO) to make an even more extravagant version of the V6-engined Zephyr 6. Advertised as the new ‘One in a Thousand Zephyr’, a limited edition of 1000 examples were made, based on the 2.5-litre V6 saloon. The exterior featured a unique colour scheme of Uranium Blue metallic paint with a Parchment White vinyl roof, and the cars were all prepared in-house by Ford’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) department. The specification incorporated most of the available options as standard including fabric trim, a rear centre arm rest, heated rear screen, Zodiac wheel trims, wing…

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SLOW START We revisit the cars that got off to slow starts in the market to asses how well they recovered, from the controversial Jaguar XJ-S to the overheating Hillman Imp. CLASSIC CHOICE A trio of late, more useable examples of iconic classics compete, but does a Rover Mini, 1980s Citroën 2CV or Mexican Beetle make the best choice? THE POWER OF DREAMS The Honda S2000 is a modern classic sports car that’s a joy to drive and practical to own. We show you how to buy a good one. DOWNLOAD THE DIGITAL ISSUE OF CLASSIC CAR BUYER FROM AS LITTLE AS £1.37! Visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/classic-car-buyer-magazine The printed version of Classic Car Buyer is available in ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons and WH Smiths, plus all good newsagents…