Innholdsfortegnelse for 11/19/2025 i Classic Car Buyer

A record turnout of classic fans attended the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show over the weekend of November 7-9, with 72,738 visitors heading to Birmingham’s NEC to check out 3000 classic vehicles spread across hundreds of stands. In truth it felt like more, with the show packed with enthusiasts all weekend amid a wonderful atmosphere. Over 310 car clubs set out their typically varied stands, with an array of exhibitors, car dealers, industry organisations and traders joining in on the fun. The Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership competition took its usual place as a headline exhibit, and to celebrate the competition’s 10th anniversary, there was also a standalone Best of the Best competition featuring some very special winners from previous years. Meanwhile, the show staple Meguiar’s Club Showcase competition celebrated…

Historics Auctioneers’ final sale of the year will take place at Mercedes-Benz World, Brooklands, on November 29. Almost 200 lots were entered at the time of writing, with some of them probably the most unusual ever to grace any classic auction. As covered in last week’s news pages, there will be a trio of early ’70s Californian show cars, all offered without reserve. ‘Sand Draggin’ is effectively a beach car with a 670bhp, 7.4-litre V8, while the 1971 ‘Sidewinder’ Trike is also powered by a V8 and is reckoned to have been used on occasion by Steve McQueen. Completing the trio is The Pool Hustler, based around a real pool table sat above a V8 Hemi engine. But the madness doesn’t end there, for the sale will also include the…

We were immensely saddened to hear that one of the UK’s most esteemed motoring journalists, Quentin Willson, passed away on Saturday November 8 at the age of 68 following a short battle with lung cancer. Born in Leicester in 1957 as a twin and one of four children, Willson’s parents were both academics. His father, Professor Harold Bernard Willson, was a linguist who became the first to decode the Italian Navy Hagelin C-36 code machine, regarded as highly significant in the outcome of the war. Quentin’s love for cars was cemented when he rebuilt a Ford Anglia engine at the age of 11, before became a car dealer in his 20s, then deputy editor at Buying Cars magazine. In 1991, he became a small screen star when he was approached…

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC) has moved to counter the rising age of historic vehicle owners by launching its new Youngtimer initiative. It caters for cherished vehicles between 20 and 30 years old, which have been recognised as a key entry point into the historic community for younger enthusiasts. The FHBVC works to the international definition of vehicles becoming historic at 30 years old, but its latest National Historic Vehicle Survey, released last month, included research into Youngtimers for the first time. The term ‘Youngtimer’ has gained significant global momentum in recent years, especially in Europe, and applies to vehicles over 20 years old. The survey attracted almost 20,000 responses and revealed that the historic vehicle movement is in very good health, but it did show that…

Billed as a ‘Super Auction’, Iconic Auctioneers brought a bigger-than-ever sale to the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at Birmingham’s NEC on November 7-9. Filling nearly the entirety of Hall 2, the auction featured 650 classic car, motorcycle and automobilia entries, with the Iconic Sale taking place on the Saturday of the show to cater for the higher-end collectors’ and competition cars, and the Classic Sale on Sunday to cater more for the enthusiasts’ market. First up, the Iconic Sale… With bids in the room, online and on the phone, buyers battled to secure several interesting classics, with a trend for lower- and under-estimate sales helping some to secure some relative bargains. In true Iconic style, however, there was no shortage of high-flying headliners setting live auction world records. Rallying…

When it comes to classic cars, there are some models that rightly stand out as icons. These are the cars that, for myriad reasons, have received critical acclaim and rank as highly sought-after. Accordingly, they usually command premium prices. But what if you could have a cheaper alternative? We don’t mean simply buying a base model of the range with a fraction of the power or equipment, but a car that offers a comparable experience – or perhaps even a better one – to its more illustrious stablemate. Here, we’ve picked eight cars we think fit that criteria, yet shouldn’t break the bank. PEUGEOT 205 GT/XS A hugely significant model for its maker, the Peugeot 205 moved the supermini game on when it arrived in 1983. It’s undoubtedly best remembered…

A topical find in the archives this week, considering that the CCB team has just returned from a long weekend at the Classic Motor Show is the event’s venue, the NEC in Birmingham – or more correctly, Marston Green – just four months after it opened. The photo is dated June 1976 and shows the venue’s main entrance which 50 years later still looks pretty much the same – except that obviously you can’t park right outside the front door anymore. Back in ’76 though, there was a classy line-up including a pair of XJ6s and two Mercedes W114s, although the Allegro sandwiched between them is less exotic, as is the Cortina estate in front of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. Another Cortina and an Escort estate are at the head…

The legendary Sunbeam 1000HP, the first car to break the 200mph land speed record, will make its post-restoration debut at the 2026 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California. The British engineering icon will headline a Special Curated Class at the event before returning to Daytona Beach in 2027 to mark a century since its record-breaking run. Currently undergoing meticulous restoration at the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, the Sunbeam 1000HP – powered by two 22.4-litre Matabele V12 aero engines – is being brought back to life after nearly a century. The rear engine has already been restored and fired up before a crowd at the Beaulieu International Autojumble, while work continues on the front unit. The National Motor Museum hopes to capitalise on the Sunbeam’s presence in the US to…

Those taking part in this week’s Roger Albert Clark Rally (November 20–24) will be able to use sustainable fuel at service points for the first time. Across the five-day event, which travels through Wales, England, and Scotland, a 50 per cent sustainable fuel option will be available at service areas in Carmarthen, Pembrey, Carlisle, and Kielder. Sustain Racing C50 is a high-performance, 102-octane, ethanol-free fuel, making it suitable for classic rally vehicles. It delivers up to 35 per cent greenhouse gas savings compared with standard petrol, using second-generation biomass that would otherwise go unused. This material recycles existing atmospheric carbon instead of releasing additional CO2 locked underground. Colin Heppenstall of the Roger Albert Clark Rally said, “We’ve seen participants using Sustain fuel before. Now, through this partnership, we hope to…

And so on to the second part of the ‘Super Auction’. The Iconic Auctioneers Classic Sale took place on the Sunday of the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at Birmingham’s NEC, with 190 lots going under the hammer. Proceedings got off to a modest start when a 1965 Morris Minor 1000 Convertible sold for just £2588, but things quickly heated up when a 1995 Ford Escort RS Cosworth Lux offered with no reserve sold for £56,250. Once again it was Fords that performed admirably, with a Mk2 Cortina 1600E showing 43,000 miles beating its £14,000-£16,000 estimate to sell for an impressive £21,375, a 1974 Escort RS2000 selling above its lower guide for £43,875 and a rare Mk2 Escort RS Mexico making £38,250. In addition, a 1993 Ford Sierra XR4x4 V6…

Some 35-plus years ago, buyers seeking a well-known British off-roader had a choice: a rugged workhorse in the Ninety/One Ten, or the far more luxurious Range Rover. Land Rover, however, wanted to offer a third alternative somewhere between the two – and so the Land Rover Discovery Mk1 was conceived. Unveiled at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show, the fresh, contemporary design neatly bridged the gap between utilitarian and refined. Developed relatively quickly on a modest budget, the Discovery shared the chassis and much of the running gear with the Range Rover, and was initially offered in three-door form only, reportedly to avoid cannibalising sales of its more prestigious sibling. A more practical five-door version followed a year later, but it was the interior that caught attention; light and airy thanks…