BMW Z CARS – WE DRIVE THEM ALL FROM INNOVATIVE Z1 TO 400BHP Z8

MG
centenary
THE

CARS, PEOPLE AND

EVENTS THAT MADE
MG GREAT

ULTIMATE INTEGRALE
Skunkworks Autec Evo 1

ROLLS CONCOURS KING

Phantom Sports prototype

MERCEDES GULLWING
70 years of a gamechanger

REMEMBERING MR SO-CAL
The amazing life of Alex Xydias

ISSUE 258, DECEMBER 2024. £6.50 / AUS $15.00

 The Bond Street Sale
Entries Invited
Fine Collectors’ Motor Cars
New Bond Street, London | 12 December 2024

ENQUIRIES 1970 ASTON MARTIN DB6 Forthcoming sales

+44 (0) 20 7468 5801 MK2 SALOON THE SCOTTSDALE AUCTION
ukcars@bonhamscars.com £120,000 - 180,000 * 24 January 2025
bonhamscars.com/bondstreet THE PARIS SALE
6 February 2025
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 Issue 258 December 2024

Contents

76
PAGE

‘BMW WAS
CRYSTAL BALL-
GAZING WHEN
IT LAUNCHED
THE Z1 IN 1989’
THE Z-CAR GREATS

108 60

3
Šp¥%”Špg”p”p=žE+Jgž+gžJpg\EJ”žpJepžpJg>¾%”dzDZdzǵ

you
know
classics

we know insurance
With class-leading cover, exceptional service
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 Contents Issue 258

70

116
Features
100 YEARS OF MG 46
A centenary of landmark events

70 YEARS OF GULLWING 60
Driving the legendary Mercedes-Benz 300SL
– and understanding what makes it a
must-have for all serious collectors

MR SO-CAL 70
Remembering belly-tank king, Alex Xydias

BMW Z-CARS 76

98
From Z1 to Z8 via Z3 and Z4 – and a surprise
verdict on which one you should buy now

CLUB DES AUTOS 88

A classic bolthole in the South of France

THE OCTANE INTERVIEW 92

Racer and turbo-tuner, Dave Brodie

ROLLS PROTOTYPE 98
One-off sports prototype, sold to an Indian
maharajah, now a multiple concours winner

SKUNKWORKS INTEGRALE 108

Driving the unique Autec Martini 6 prototype

WHO WAS RUDI KLEIN? 116

Fabulous insight into the man behind the
‘ junkyard’ collection as it goes up for grabs

LE MANS FRAZER NASH 120

Actually a Targa Florio, with amazing 24
Hours history – and one owner for 55 years
120
5
Contents Issue 258

Regulars
16 EVENTS & NEWS 16
International Historic Motoring Awards
shortlist, plus events and diary dates

COLUMNS 35
Motor noters Jay Leno, Derek Bell,
Stephen Bayley and Robert Coucher

LETTERS 43
Bigging up Spyker’s first supercar – of 1903…

OCTANE CARS 132

A Triumphant return for editor James Elliott

OVERDRIVE 140
Electric DeLorean; last-gasp Maserati V8

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN 144

The Formula 1 ‘amateur’ Eric Thompson

GEARBOX 146
Vilnius Auto Museum’s Povilas Eitutis

ICON 148
The Lava Lamp, ultimate in hippy chic

CHRONO 150
Parking meter watches. Apparently

BOOKS 152
A new Derek Warwick biography and more
148 CHRISTMAS GEAR GUIDE 156
All you could want (as well as two front teeth)

THE MARKET 176

156 Insider knowledge, auction news, stats,
cars for sale, buy an Aston Martin Cygnet

144 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 210

Mate Rimac, creator of the Nevera R:
2078bhp and 0-186mph in 8.66sec…

146

152
6
 REWINDING BACK INTO TIME

3 - 6 J U LY 2 0 2 5
 Issue 258 December 2024

FEATURING
WELCOME
FROM THE EDITOR

JON PRESSNELL
‘I’ve spent a lot of time writing about MG
and its parent companies, culminating in
the publication of my biography of founder
Cecil Kimber. Since his day the marque has
often had a pretty rough ride – it really
deserved better. Selecting 100 key
moments was thus an enjoyable
but bitter-sweet exercise.’
100 years of MG: pages 46-58.
MG

The Octagon hits a century TONY THACKER

‘I read about Alex Xydias and the So-Cal
Speed Shop as a young English paper-boy
but didn’t get to meet him until I moved
MG IS 100… or is it? We are well aware that some celebrated
to the US in 1988. We immediately started
this historic milestone last year, a century on from when the
to laugh, despite age and cultural
Octagon badge was first used; a few even went for years earlier
differences. We travelled a lot together
than that, and no doubt some will settle on 2025 or later. and I fondly remember our trip to
As you’ll learn, you could have pretty much any year between the Goodwood Festival of Speed.’
1921 and 1928 – so why did Octane opt for 2024? Because Alex Xydias remembered: pages 70-74.
James Elliott, that is when production began of the first proper MG, the
Editor in chief Bullnose Morris-based Super Sports. Oh, and it was the year
marque authority Jon Pressnell told us we should choose.
Jon Pressnell is a man I have been working with since the 1990s and one who
I assure you is the greatest unraveller of complication, the greatest confronter of
anomaly and inconsistency in the classic car world. So it was that when we were
planning our tribute to Morris Garages and knew that Jon was the resource we had at
hand, we decided to exploit his knowledge and authority to the full. Which meant
doing something a bit different. Yes, we could have given 12 pages over to driving an
MGB (an A, even an F for that matter) and telling you how nice and friendly it is
– indeed, the perfect starter or city classic, if perhaps lacking a little in power – but,
as you are reading Octane, we reckoned it’s safe to assume that you have read all that
RICHARD HESELTINE
before. Ad nauseam. So, determined as we are to provide fresh content rather than
‘Dave Brodie was deliciously indiscreet, a
recycling, we asked Jon to pay proper tribute to the marque’s entire 100-year history
joy to interview. Meeting him, then driving
instead of driving a handful of cars and leaving whole swathes of it unaddressed.
a very special Lancia Delta Integrale and
As a result, he delivered something of a magnum opus, and it makes superb reading. Mercedes 300SL Gullwing made this
I learned loads and hope you will, too. a particularly memorable month.’
Jon loves a good controversy (the phrase ‘all opinions are the author’s own’ might The Octane Interview: pages 92-96;
be handy here) and there are a few in there, but the elephant really trumpets its way Autec Martini 6 prototype: pages 108-114;
into the room with the last few entries of his chronological history and Chinese 70 years of the Gullwing: pages 60-68.
ownership. Even with the launch of the seemingly on-brand Cyberster, is today’s
company now MG any more than in name alone? We couldn’t agree on that one
even among the Octane team, so don’t really expect anyone else to! COVER © MILENA BLIN - WWW.ARBREACAMES.COM

8
 AUCTIONS

07 FEB. 2025

PA R I S RETROMOBILE.COM #RETROMOBILE

PORTE DE VERSAILLES
THE PAST STILL HAS A FUTURE PAV I L I O N S 1 . 2 . 3
Issue 258 December 2024

NEXT MONTH
ISSUE 259, ON SALE 27 NOVEMBER
EDITORIAL

Editor-in-chief
James Elliott
james@octane-magazine.com

Associate editor
Glen Waddington
glen@octane-magazine.com

Art editor
Robert Hefferon
roberth@octane-magazine.com

Markets editor
Matthew Hayward
matthew@octane-magazine.com

Founding editor
Robert Coucher

Contributing editor
Mark Dixon

Italian correspondent Massimo Delbò

Design assistance Ruth Haddock
Contributor Chris Bietzk

WEBB BLAND
Inquiries to info@octane-magazine.com
GF WILLIAMS

RICHARD DREDGE

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Issue 258 December 2024

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The Month in Pictures

Ignition
E V EN T S + NE WS + OPINION

16
 Velocity
Invitational
4-6 October
Only in its fifth year, already huge and yet still
getting bigger and better every year, the Velocity
Invitational at Sonoma Raceway, California, seems to be
setting the template for how to launch and rapidly grow an
event. The 2024 edition was dripping in star cars and drivers,
including three outings for 2009 F1 World Champion Jenson
Button, in his 1952 Jaguar C-type, a Ferrari 250 Testarossa and
an Alfa Romeo GTA. Romain Grosjean was also on an
impressive roll-call of ‘name’ drivers. Car highlights
included a celebration of 70 years of the Jaguar D-type
and NASCAR, but the three days boasted everything
from a hillclimb to drifting and Group B rallying.
Next year’s event will shift to early summer, so
put 6-8 June in the diary and book your
flights to San Francisco.
Velocity Invitational

17
Ignition The Month in Pictures

CLOCKWISE,
FROM TOP LEFT

Meyers Manx
showcase
15 September
An incredible
selection of Phillip
Sarofim (and others’)
beach buggies were
on show at a Duke
of London Classics
& Cake meet in
Brentford. They
included the first (Old
Red), the McQueen
buggy and more.
Louis Beausoleil

Derek Bell Tour

22-27 September
The Octane
columnist led a fine
array of cars through
Spain and Portugal
on this high-quality
V Events rally from
Asturias to Porto.
Kieran Bicknell

Audrain
Newport
Concours
d’Elegance
6 October
Cars were laid out
on the spectacular
lawns of The Breakers
for the showpiece
end to a week of
events, won by Jim
Utaski’s one-off 1959
Maserati 3500 GT
Bertone Coupé.
Audrain Concours

40th
anniversary
Ferrari
Testarossa
reunion
3 October
Real Art On Wheels
accurately recreated
the moment when
the first two
Testarossas were
previewed at the
Lido nightclub in
Paris, the night
before the model’s
official launch.
Real Art On Wheels

18
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Ignition The Month in Pictures

CLOCKWISE,
FROM TOP

Spa Six Hours

26-28 September
Like the Classic in
spring, this is very
popular with racers
and spectators who
love a weekend in
the Ardennes.
Stijn Braes

Varignana 1705
27-29 September
Giuseppe Matildi’s
1966 Ferrari 275 GTB
was judged best of
show in the second
edition of this
impressive boutique
concours d’elegance.
Varignana 1705

VSCC Prescott
long course
28 September
Archie Bullett in the
1918 Piccard-Pictet
Sturtevant Aero
Special was fastest
among the
Edwardians.
Peter McFadyen

Woodpecker
stages
7 September
Mark Higgins in the
TR7 V8 was just eight
seconds behind
winner Seb Perez’s
Porsche 911 RS.
Ben Lawrence

VHRA Throttle
Auto Races
25 August
British rodders
descended on
Bicester Motion for
a blast on the track.
Reverendpixel

Circuit des
Remparts
13-15 September
The Angoulême event
has hugely expanded
its grids in recent
years. 12,000 people
turned out for the
52nd running in the
Charente town.
Agence Austral

20
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Ignition The Month in Pictures

CLOCKWISE,
FROM TOP LEFT

Trackrod
Historic Cup
28 September
Third-placed Dan
Mennell in his Ford
Escort. Ben Friend
won in another Ford.
Ben Lawrence

Beaulieu
International
Autojumble
14-15 September
As popular as
ever, with 23,500
enthusiasts in
attendance, a host of
celebs and auction.
Beaulieu

Castle Combe
Autumn Classic
21-22 September
A rare sunny moment
for the Paul/Bourne
TVR Grantura MkIII in
a monsoon weekend.
Michael Stokes

International
St Moritz
Auto Week
25-29 September
Even without the
resting Bernina Gran
Turismo Hillclimb
and Kilomètre Lancé
there were plenty of
events and tours.
ISAW

BOC Prescott
5-6 October
Alistair Dent (Cooper
MkV) at the Bugatti
Owners’ Club
Championship
Finals.
Peter McFadyen

22
 TIME TO CONSIGN
ver the past three decades, the Fiskens stand

O at Salon Retromobile has consistently been

Where The World’s Greatest Cars Come To Be
Sold. We opened our 2024 stand with the skirl
of bagpipes which heralded the sale of the exalted
Ecurie Ecosse collection and 13 other notable cars,
many of which sold directly from our stand. Despite
a year of global uncertainty, the Fiskens Team have
attained the highest value of sales in our history
and we are proud of the excellent results that we
have achieved for our buyers and sellers alike.

In February 2025, the world’s best collectors will

once again descend on Paris and we are now
working to curate another showstopping collection.
To have a confidential conversation about consigning
with the Fiskens Team, please get in touch below.
A few coveted spaces remain!

+44 (0)20 7584 3503 or cars@fiskens.com

FROM TOP
1932 Alfa Romeo 8C Figoni Spider
1970 Porsche 917 K
1955 Jaguar D-type ‘short nose’
2006 Aston Martin DBR9
1931 Bentley 8 litre coupe 14 Queens Gate Place Mews
1978 McLaren M26-5 London SW7 5BQ
1954 HWM Jaguar T: +44 (0)20 7584 3503
1969 Lola T70 MkIIIB W: www.fiskens.com
1951 Jaguar XK120 LT2 E: cars@fiskens.com
Ignition The Month in Pictures

CLOCKWISE,
FROM TOP LEFT

Estoril Classics
4-6 October
With 260 cars on
track, the Peter Auto
season finale at the
Portuguese circuit
attracted 36,000
spectators.
N Bremaud / Peter Auto

GT & Sports
Car Cup
21 September
Steve Jones and Ben
Tinkler were third
overall in the Autumn
Classic at Castle
Combe in their
Lotus Elan 26R.
Mick Walker

Chantilly Arts
et Elegance
Richard Mille
15 September
There was a record
attendance at the
spectacular French
venue. Pre-war best
of show was a Bugatti
T35C; a Talbot-Lago
T26 GS Coupé was
post-war winner.
Ben Shuttleworth /
Peter Auto

Founders Run
27-29 September
70 mainly vintage and
veteran cars braved
Cartrack’s 300km run
from Figueira da Foz
to Lisbon in Portugal.
Joel Araújo

Alfa Revival Cup

13-15 September
Vallelunga hosted the
fourth round of this
tight championship.
Canossa Events

VSCC
Madresfield
Driving Tests
15 September
Nick Cook on his 1907
Stanley Steamer.
Peter McFadyen

24
 1951 Frazer Nash Targa Florio
Sports Racing Roadster
Offered At: £575,000

1924 Vauxhall 2005 Mercedes-Benz 1957 Lotus Eleven

30-98 OE-Type Velox SLR McLaren Series 2
Offered At: £245,000 Offered At: €339,000 Offered At: £145,000
Ignition Events

Dates for your diary

and 30 special tests. There is
a ‘lite’ version of the event for
those who want to take things
a little easier!
hero-era.com

8-10 November
Classic Motor Show
The UK’s biggest indoor show,
held at Birmingham’s NEC and
featuring cars and motorcycles,
demos, live stage, auction and
trade stands galore. Octane will
have a stand so do drop by.
necclassicmotorshow.com

14 November – 1 December
South India Road Classic
Crews will drive from Goa
to Chennai, covering 2600km
and immersing themselves
in a part of India that boasts
1000 Miglia Experience UAE, 1-5 December | Image: Octanium Experiences
beautiful beaches, historic
architecture and wild tigers.
destination-rally.com
24-27 October 31 October – 3 November 2 November
Auto e Moto d’Epoca Bologna Hilton Head Island Concours St James’s Motoring Spectacle 15-17 November
Bologna Exhibition Centre is d’Elegance & Motoring Festival Pall Mall in London will be closed Interclassics Brussels
filled with classic cars and Bentley and Rolls-Royce will be to traffic for this free event, billed Highlights in Brussels this time
motorcycles, thousands of them the ‘honored marques’ at the as a ‘celebration of motoring will include a display marking
available to buy. There’s also a South Carolina concours. past, present and future’. It will the 110th birthday of Maserati.
huge trade village – two whole hhiconcours.com include the St James’s Concours, interclassics.events
halls of parts and automobilia. featuring 70 of the veteran cars
autoemotodepoca.com 1-3 November set to take part in the following 22 November
Les 2 Tours de Horloge day’s London to Brighton Run. Historic Motoring Awards
26-27 October Held at Circuit Paul Ricard, this veterancarrun.com The splendid Peninsula London
VSCC Cotswold Trial 24-hour race is for competition hotel welcomes leading lights
The Cotswold Trial moves to a cars built between 1947 and 1986. 3 November from the historic motoring world
new venue at Gretton, just up vdev.fr RM Sotheby’s London to for a prizegiving ceremony and
the road from Prescott Hill Climb. Brighton Veteran Car Run a gala dinner.
Old hands will compete on the 1-3 November Pre-1905 cars pootle from Hyde historicmotoringawards.co.uk
Saturday before novices (those Concours Wynn Las Vegas Park to Brighton, commemorating
who have driven in fewer than In addition to the traditional the Emancipation Run of 1896. 22-24 November
six VSCC trials before) tackle concours classes, the Wynn Golf veterancarrun.com Motors & Masterpieces
the course on the Sunday. Club in Las Vegas will again host Over 200 of the best cars and
vscc.co.uk a display of ‘Culture’ cars famous 3-5 November motorcycles to be found Down
for their association with TV 4x4 Off-Road Adventure Rally Under are brought together
26 October – 1 November shows, movies or popular music. to SEMA 2024 at Melbourne Showgrounds,
Rallye de Grèce lasvegasconcours.com Crews in 4x4s cross the Mojave in themed displays including
Post-1949 classics follow a Desert as they drive from the ‘Monaco Glitz’ and ‘Tokyo Lights’.
1280km route around Crete. 1-8 November Petersen Museum in LA to the motorsandmasterpieces.com
rallystory.com TransMaroc SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
This rally begins and ends petersen.org 22-29 November
30 October – 3 November in Marrakesh but travels into Silver Fern Rally
Classic 24 Hour at Daytona Morocco’s stunning desert. 7-10 November New Zealand’s South Island
Some of the great competition Don’t be daunted, though: RAC Rally of the Tests hosts a rally featuring over
cars of old thunder around instruction will be given to Darlington to Cumbria, the long 1000km of special stages that
Florida’s most famous circuit. those new to driving on sand. way: entrants will cover 750 miles are the equal of any in the
hsrrace.com zaniroli.com and face 22 regularity sections world. The action begins in

26
Christchurch and finishes a up the mountain Jebel Jais on
week later in Queenstown on a road said to be as exciting
picture-postcard Lake Wakatipu. as Pikes Peak Hill Climb.
silverfernrally.co.nz 1000miglia.it

24 November 4-8 December

New Forest VW Santa Run Classic 12 Hour at Sebring
Organised in aid of the children’s Classic competition cars do battle
cancer and haematology unit at at Sebring Raceway in Florida,
Southampton General Hospital, where vintage aircraft also vie for
the Santa Run sees classic and the attention of the spectators.
custom Volkswagens – many hsrrace.com
covered in Christmas decorations
– assemble at Beaulieu before 6-8 December
travelling in convoy to the Retro Classics Bavaria
hospital to drop off presents. Visitors to this popular event
beaulieu.co.uk in Nuremberg will find themed
displays, a large club presence,
30 November tempting trade stands, and some BOOK NOW!
VSCC Winter Driving Tests good grub, too.
Bicester Heritage hosts the retro-classics-bavaria.de Some of these events may seem a long
VSCC’s final event of the year,
way off, but you’ll need to secure your
which sees entrants attempt 15 December
car-control challenges in Festive Four-Wheelers place now if you want to take part
conditions often not conducive Classic 4x4s will feature heavily
to precision driving! when members of the Bicester Copperstate 1000
vscc.co.uk Heritage Scramblers club come 5-9 April 2025
together for the last time in 2024. The 35th running of the Bell Lexus North Scottsdale
1 December bicesterheritage.co.uk Copperstate 1000 (above), to give it its full title, is open to
Coffee & Classics sports, racing and GT cars up to and including 1973, while
Christmas Special 1 January 2025 organisers add: ‘Clones, reproductions, tributes, and
Car enthusiasts enjoy steaming- Brooklands New Year’s Day recreations are NOT eligible for participation on the
hot coffee, four-wheeled treats Classic Gathering Copperstate 1000.’ 2025 highlights include Lowell
and seasonal cheer at the The UK’s biggest New Year’s Day Observatory and Zion National Park. Entry is $11,250.
Classic Motor Hub, Bibury. meet, with over 1000 classic cars, mensartscouncil.com
classicmotorhub.com live music and a barbecue.
brooklandsmuseum.com The Pyrenees XL
1-5 December 21-29 May
1000 Miglia Experience UAE 1 January A nine-day event in northern Spain and Andorra. The six
‘Landmark’ cars old and new Vintage Stony competition days will tackle 16 cols and range from 213km
motor around the UAE, finishing Despite the name, this event in to 433km. The roads and scenery are spectacular, with
in Abu Dhabi just in time for F1 Stony Stratford, Bucks, attracts hairpins aplenty, but highlights are set to include the 5km
fans to catch the season-ending mid-century and modern classics Tunèl de Vielha, once the world’s longest road tunnel.
Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit. as well as vintage cars and bikes. bespokerallies.com
Entrants will be looking forward Vehicles start leaving at 2pm,
to the second day’s driving in so don’t roll out of bed too late! The Three Castles Trial
particular, when the route winds vintagestony.co.uk 3-6 June
The perfect taster menu for historic rallying, over a long
weekend this Llandudno-based event covers 500 miles of
spectacular North Wales. There will be 15-20 regularities
and there are two categories: Classic for all cars 1925-1985
or Heritage for pre-war and ‘precious’ cars.
three-castles.co.uk

The Dolomites Grand Tour

27-29 June
Fabulous non-competitive touring event based in the
dramatic Dolomite mountains – a UNESCO World Heritage
Site – in north-eastern Italy. The driving will be joyous, but
so will the cuisine, with Michelin-starred chefs promised
every day, including Norbert Niederkofler.
canossa.com

VSCC Winter Driving Tests, 30 November | Image: VSCC

27
Ignition News

Bespoke Car of the Year, sponsored by Octane

IHMA Veloce12 by Touring Superleggera

RUF Rodeo by RUF Automobile
Midsummer by Morgan and Pininfarina (pictured)

shortlists Auto Union Type 52 ‘Schnellsportwagen’

by Audi Tradition / Crosthwaite & Gardiner
V12 E-type Reimagined by Building the Legend

revealed
GT ONE by Tuthill Porsche

Awards judges have their work cut out

choosing between these contenders

Specialist of the Year Personal Achievement

The shortlists for the 2024 International Historic Motoring Awards
CKL Developments Bruce Meyer
Presented by Lockton have been revealed. Contenders for the 14
Eagle E-types Daman Thakore
awards have been selected from a record number of nominations
HK-Engineering David Knight
and will go before an expert panel of judges to decide the winners.
Coryton Fuels Frank Cassidy
The 32 judges include Octane columnists Jay Leno and Derek Bell,
Jim Stokes Workshops Paul Russell
among other notables such as Peter Stevens. Their final selections
Ashton Keynes Vintage Restorations
will be revealed at a fabulous ceremony hosted by Amanda Stretton
Club of the Year, sponsored
at The Peninsula London on 22 November. For more information, by Lockton Insurance
Industry Supporter of the Year
or to book your place at the awards, visit historicmotoringawards. A. Lange & Söhne Team Jarrott
co.uk; single seats cost £280, a table of ten £2600. Motul MG Car Club
Of course, as well as all the categories listed to the right, there are Richard Mille Ferrari Club of America
two more coveted trophies up for grabs: the Lifetime Achievement Piston Foundation Vintage Sports-Car Club
Award and the Car of the Year. As in previous years, Car of the Year Mercedes-Benz Classic Historic Sports Car Racing
will be decided by a public vote, so see the story below for the Historic & Classic Vehicles Alliance Porsche Club of America
contenders and how you can help pick the winner. Hagerty Drivers Foundation
Young Achiever of the Year, sponsored
Thanks to award sponsors Hortons Books, Classic & Sports Finance, Outstanding Use of Media by the Petersen Automotive Museum
Petersen Automotive Museum, plus Nyetimber for hospitality. Goodwood Road & Racing David Kibbey (concours judge)
Kidston SA Tom Lee (Ashton Keynes Vintage
Chimp Television (Richard Restorations)
‘Contenders for the 14 awards Hammond’s Workshop) Mark Hastings (Brooklands Museum)

have been selected from a record The Late Brake Show James Barrett (JLR Classic)
William Garrett (Hilton & Moss)
Audrain Museum Network
number of nominations’ Hagerty Media USA James Mabley (VSCC/Startermotor)

Vote for Car of the Year!

Octane readers are to play a key role in
deciding which car scoops one of the most
coveted awards at the prestigious 2024
International Historic Motoring Awards.
As in previous years, the Car of the Year will
be decided by a public vote and, now the 1934 Bugatti Type 59 1964 Meyers Manx 1934 Auto 1954 Lagonda DP115/2
Sports ‘Old Red’ Union Type 52 and DP115/3
shortlist of ten contenders has been ‘Schnellsportwagen’
This ex-King Leopold This is the very first Lagonda built three
revealed, your votes are needed. of Belgium 1934 beach buggy, built by Though Ferdinand DP115 sports racing
You should pick the vehicle that has had Bugatti Type 59 Sports Bruce Meyers. It not Porsche drew up plans cars, the first of which
the biggest impact on the classic and became the first ever only kickstarted a for this pre-war V16 was scrapped after a
collector car world this year. It could be a Preservation Class car trend but its record supercar in the ’30s, crash. Two remain; one
car that has broken new ground in concours, to win the Best of time across the it’s taken 90 years for competed in the ’54
a rediscovered classic, a freshly restored Show award at the California Baja it to be built – created British GP support
revered Pebble Beach peninsula prompted for Audi Tradition race and both were in
beauty, even a restomod or an important Concours. It was also the formation of the by Crosthwaite & the film Checkpoint.
new-build. Make sure you have your say at the first European- legendary Mexican Gardiner after years of They were unseen in
historicmotoringawards.co.uk/vote. owned victor. 1000 desert race. in-depth research. the UK since 1954.

28
 Book of the Year, sponsored by Hortons Books
Nash-Healey: A Grand Alliance by John Nikas with Hervé Chevalier
(pictured, Dalton Watson)
The Last Eye Witness by Doug Nye (Porter Press International)
Millanta on Ferrari 1947-1952 by Alessandro Silva (Sportfahrer Verlag)
JaguarSport XJR-15 by Peter Stevens (Porter Press International)
Texas Legend – Jim Hall and his Chaparrals by George Levy (Evro Publishing)
Never Look Back by Derek Warwick (Evro Publishing)
BMW by Design by Steve Saxty (Seven Spoke Publishing)

Tour or Rally of the Year

Restoration of the Year, sponsored by Classic & Sports Finance
Tour de Corse Historique
1954 Lagonda DP115s (Benjamin & Thorpe) (pictured, Classic Media)
Talbot Lago T26 Grand Sport by Saoutchik (pictured, Chropynska) RREC Silver Ghost Register Tour
Jaguar D-type XKD 526 (CKL Developments) of Norway (Classic Travelling)
1924 Mercedes-Benz 2 Litre Targa Florio (Mercedes-Benz Classic) Modena Cento Ore (Canossa Events)
Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato (RS Williams) 1000 Miglia (1000 Miglia)
Ferrari 250 GTO (Tom Hartley Jnr) Tour Auto (Peter Auto)
Peking to Paris Motor Challenge
(HERO-ERA)

Motoring Event of the Year, Motorsport Event of the Year Museum or Collection of the Year, Breakthrough Event of the Year
sponsored by Magneto magazine Velocity Invitational (pictured) sponsored by the Poonawalla Concours of Elegance Germany
Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Collection International Women’s Day Hagerty
Goodwood Revival Meeting
InterClassics Brussels (pictured) Autoworld Brussels Hangout
Silverstone Festival
Rétromobile Petersen Automotive ModaMiami
Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix
Museum (pictured) The Oberoi Concours d’Elegance
The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering Rolex Monterey Motorsports
Revs Institute (pictured)
Salon Privé Reunion
Silverstone Museum The Aurora – Scandinavian Concours
American Speed Festival

1970 Plymouth 1970 Lancia Stratos 2024 Tuthill GT ONE 1984 Toleman 1903 Mercedes- 1924 Mercedes
Superbird no. 43 HF Zero Of all the one-offs, TG183B-05 Hart Simplex 60 HP Targa Florio
Richard ‘The King’ Designed by Marcello low-volume hypercars Ayrton Senna made This car, known as the In April 1924, Mercedes
Petty’s 200mph Gandini at Bertone, and restomods his F1 debut 40 years ‘Roi des Belges’, is won the Targa Florio.
Plymouth Superbird, and presented at the released in 2024, one ago, completing his one of only five original Christian Werner’s
developed with help 1970 Turin Auto Show, attracted way more first four GPs in a 60 HP Mercedes winning 2-litre blown
from former rocket this was one of the attention than any Toleman TG183B. On known to survive. In car disappeared, but
scientist Gary stars of the 2024 other – Tuthill the 30th anniversary March 2024, after 121 the team car driven
Romberg. No. 43 has Monterey Car Week, Porsche’s GT-ONE. of his death, chassis years with one family, to tenth by Christian
been central to the heading up the 22 will be built and it 05 was driven by Pierre it was sold by Gooding Lautenschlager has
Pettys’ appearances at ground-breaking starred at The Quail Gasly for an F1 tribute & Co for $12,105,000, been restored by
events around the ‘Wedges’ class at and Salon Privé before film. It also starred at a world record for Mercedes-Benz
world in 2024. Pebble Beach. going viral online. Silverstone Festival. a veteran car. Classic.

29
Ignition News

Racing legends reborn AoHE appointment

CNC Motorsport has delivered The Association of Heritage
the first continuation Andy Rouse Engineers has announced Mark
Engineering specification Ford Hews, MD of CKL Developments,
Sierra RS500 Group A race car. as Honorary President. AoHE
Created in partnership with the MD Dominic Taylor-Lane said: ‘I
four-time saloon/Touring Car wouldn’t have conceived the idea
champion, it is one of three for the AoHE without meeting
RS500s that the specialist is Mark at a P&A Wood open day in
All change at Essen building for track use. The second
car is now in build and it will use
2016. His passion and dedication
for the industry, its future and
IN A MAJOR SHAKE-UP for German shows, SIHA, which has a brand new Motorsport- apprenticeships was inspiring.’
masterminded the vast Techno-Classica event every spring for the past specification bodyshell that was
35 years, is to be replaced by rival outfit Retro Classics, which is behind acquired at the start of the project.
the popular Stuttgart and Bavaria events. A third donor ’shell has already
The change will come in 2026, though SIHA will continue to stage been sourced for the final car.
Techno-Classica Essen for one more year, on 9-13 April 2025.
The news came out of the blue and shocked onlookers who have
watched Retro Classics Stuttgart and Techno-Classica Essen go head to
head for years, rather unhelpfully for German enthusiasts as well the tens
of thousands from across the globe that visit these mammoth events.
The first Retro Classics event will take place in April 2026 and Oliver
Kuhrt, MD of Messe Essen, which hosts the event, said: ‘We would like Legacy manufacturer
to thank the organiser of Techno-Classica for the many years of Dutch reborn coachbuilder
co-operation and wish him all the best and much success for the future. Saoutchik has unveiled its latest
‘At the same time, we have decided on a new partner for the period pilot car design project, the
after the contract expires, who is already very successful in the market. Young tech recognised Legacy. The company describes it
Retro Classics is a trade fair at an absolute world level and we are sure Jamie Scott Marriott, in year two as ‘a handcrafted masterpiece with
that the organiser will also transport this to Essen.’ of his apprenticeship at P&K all the style, technology, and
Thornton Restorations, has been engineering excellence that
awarded the The Simon Diffey encompass our ethos, while
Heritage Motorsport Apprentice retaining all the spirit and
Award 2024. Launched by Sarah personality of the iconic
Jane Adams-Diffey after the death [Mercedes] 300SL.’ Ugur Sahin
of her husband, the excellent Design and Pogea Racing were
award is now in its third year. also involved in the project.

Rampante down under

Cavallino, the Ferrari-focused
company that stages the Cavallino
Classic in Palm Beach, Florida,
Dorset do-gooders Miami Miglia each January has launched a new
A record £65,000 was raised for ModaMiami event has partnered event in Australia – also at Palm
20 local charities by this year’s with the 1000 Miglia Experience Beach. The Ferrari Concorso
Sherborne Classic and Supercar Florida; the latter makes its debut d’Eleganza Sydney will take place
Show. The total was revealed at a at the Biltmore Hotel on 22-25 Board on board from 29 November to 1
presentation evening at Sherborne February 2025. A special race will The Jaguar Daimler Heritage December in partnership with
Castle and chairman of the feature a three-stage route that Trust has finalised a board to Ferrari Australasia. Jan Hendrik
organising committee, Rory begins and ends at the Biltmore safeguard the Trust, its vehicles, Voss, president of Ferrari
O’Donnell, said: ‘The show is and will cover 1000 miles through artefacts and archives. Stuart Australasia, said: ‘Its position late
unique, taking place in the Miami, Coral Gables, Naples, Dyble, who has served as a trustee in the calendar and the setting of
beautiful setting of Sherborne Tampa, Cape Canaveral and West for 25 years, is chairman, Keith Palm Beach make it a perfect
Castle thanks to the Wingfield Palm Beach. ModaMiami is also Benjamin is MD, and Jaguar’s moment to gather with clients
Digby family.’ See classic- planning a celebration for 50 years Rawdon Glover and Richard and fans surrounded by some of
supercars.co.uk for more. of the Lamborghini Countach. Agnew are also serving. this region’s finest Ferrari vehicles.’

30
 Chad McQueen b.1960
Although not deeply embedded

Tyre flat spot?

in the classic car scene, the actor
and last-surviving child of Steve
McQueen was a proper
petrolhead, showing huge
potential in racing dirt ’bikes from
the age of nine. He graduated
to a wide range of motorsports
NEVER AGAIN!
Rupert Keegan b.1955 including the Baja 1000 and
In a career overshadowed by his appearing at the Goodwood additional tyre-bearing surface
billing as the next James Hunt, Festival of Speed in 2004, when from this specially designed cushion
Rupert Keegan never quite he drove a trio of Porsche 959s
delivered on his early promise. with Jackie Ickx and daughter
to avoid the tyre flat spot phenomenon.
Even so, he won championships Vanina. He also appeared at the
(including the the 1976 British Rennsport Reunion and formed
Formula 3 title) and started 25 his own race team.
Grands Prix, even if he exited the
top tier of motorsport without a Chris Serle b.1943
single point. Having started with Best-known as a regular on the
Hesketh in F1 in 1977, he raced popular British TV show That’s
for Surtees, RAM and others and Life!, Serle is perhaps remembered
scooped the 1979 Aurora British less as a huge champion for and
F1 championship, but by 1982 he advocate of classic (especially
had given up and fled to the States veteran) cars. He regularly chaired
to race in Cart and Indy Lights. the Federation of British Historic
Endurance racing followed, Vehicle Clubs’ annual conference
including three tilts at Le Mans. at Gaydon and in one episode of
For more, see octane-magazine. a later television programme – In
com/articles/features/rupert- at the Deep End – his task was to
keegan-the-octane-interview. co-drive Roger Clark in the 1981
Lombard RAC Rally.

Ratan Tata b.1937

The Mumbai industrialist took his
family steel business global and
into whole new sectors, including
the Tata Motors acquisition of
Jaguar Land Rover in 2008. Tata
Motors is enormous in its own
right and its products include the
Bruno Sacco b.1933 groundbreaking Nano, which
Italian Bruno Sacco defined the aimed to bring motoring within
design language of Mercedes- the grasp of many Indians, a sort
Benz. A graduate of Turin of Austin Seven for the sub-
University, he started at Ghia, but continent. On his death the states since 2009 tyre cushion sets
swapped to Daimler-Benz in 1958 of Maharashtra and Jharkhand www.altairego.it info@altairego.it
and rose to be Mercedes’ chief declared days of mourning.

+400%
designer from 1975 to 1999. His
tenure encompassed the W124 Peter Pratt b.1944
E-Class, W126 S-Class, R129 SL A semi-professional international
and the W201 190. His focus racing cyclist based in Holland
on symmetry and proportion in his 20s, Peter Pratt will be
was highly effective and offered remembered for his beloved and ALTairEGO cushions sets offer a tyre-bearing surface
a generation of Mercedes that much-campaigned 1954 Triumph
+400% greater
looked at once rational yet TR2, registration SHY 3, known
than when the car is parked on the ground,
elegant. As he said: ‘A Mercedes- universally as ‘the flying cowpat’
thus avoiding the tyre flat spot phenomenon.
Benz must always look like a and a veteran of every major
Mercedes-Benz,’ though he was European rally. Despite its
determined that individual dishevelled appearance, SHY 21 specific models to respect the car’s curb weight,
models should be immediately failed to finish only once in 30 between 800 kg / 1800 lbs and up to 4000 kg / 8800 lbs.
recognisable. For a full tribute, go years and won the TR Register’s
Brands here eventually represented are property of their respective owners.
to octane-magazine.com/news/ annual mileage award three years
bruno-sacco-obituary-1933-2024. on the trot.

31
 Fuelling the passion

Fuelling the passion

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Fuelling the passi

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 Ignition Opinion

The Collector

Jay Leno
It’s not all glamour among the original Jet Set crowd

M
uch as I enjoy Pebble Beach for
all its extravagance, I’m very
at Chrysler and was instrumental in developing the
turbine car programme. Gregg helped track down ‘A turbine
fond of the Woodward Dream 60 engineers, all over the age of 80, who worked on
Cruise in Detroit. It takes place the original team. He gave them a clean room at has fewer
the same weekend and, like Williams and, to honour his father, they would build
Pebble, really counts as a whole
week. Unlike Pebble, everything at Woodward is free.
me a new engine. They very generously donated their
time and all I had to do was pay for materials.
moving
The 30 or so miles of Woodward Boulevard are
thronged with people cooking on all kinds of grilling
When the project was shut down, the engineers
were told to destroy blueprints and drawings. They
parts than
equipment, many offering free bratwurst, especially
if you’re driving something interesting. At car shows
couldn’t do that. Most took their stuff home. The
level of work this team did was mind-boggling, not a piston
in California, you’ll meet a half a dozen guys with
more than 100 cars each. Go to Woodward and you
only making parts out of unobtainable materials, but
making the tools needed to create the parts. engine –
meet hundreds of guys who have only the one car. A turbine engine has fewer moving parts than an
This year’s Cruise had a special meaning for me. In internal combustion engine – but it’s infinitely more but it’s
1964, I made my dad take me to the World’s Fair on complex. Jet engines are expensive because of the
Long Island, New York, to see the Chrysler Turbine.
People stood in awe, hearing that distinctive jet
aviation-grade materials that can stand up to
temperatures of 1600ºF. A very clever metallurgist
infinitely
engine sound as it went around in circles. It looked
like the future. The engine idled at 22,000rpm!
– Dr Roy – came up with an alloy that was better
than automotive grade but not quite aviation grade.
more
Chrysler let the public do the R&D by lending it out
to volunteers. They built 55 cars and 209 Americans
That’s how you keep the costs down.
This Herculean task was accomplished by
complex’
each got the car for two months and kept a diary engineers who in some cases had retired over 30
of their experiences with it. years ago. We chose the Woodward Dream Cruise as
Emission regulations and the cost of building the the first place to drive the car because that’s where it
turbines doomed the project after a couple of years. was developed. It’s also the only place I’d taken the
Since the cars couldn’t be sold and museums didn’t car where I didn’t have to explain what it was. Almost
want them, Chrysler scrapped all but nine. Skip everyone that approached me knew a guy who had
ahead 45 years or so and Chrysler declares a friend who knew somebody whose uncle, father,
bankruptcy. The first thing banks do with bankruptcy brother or grandfather had worked on the
is sell off the assets. I tracked down some bankers programme. Even Gregg Williams got emotional
and told them I wanted to buy one of the turbine because, in his childhood, his father had brought one
cars they had in a museum. I posed this question: home and taken him for a ride. He never forgot that.
‘You have three of them, why not sell one?’ It’s almost impossible to re-create the time period
The car wasn’t perfect, but it ran. I drove it this vehicle was developed in. There was an optimism
everywhere. And it garnered as much excitement as in America – post-World War Two, and the Space
it had when new. Then disaster struck. I was cruising Programme had just begun – that hasn’t been seen
on the 210 freeway in Los Angeles. These engines since. When a large portion of the world was still on
run at about 1300-1500ºF. I saw 2000 on the gauge. rickshaws and bicycles, Americans would have been
I quickly turned the key but the whole engine had driving round in turbine-powered jet cars.
already melted down. Not only were there no spare What makes me proudest is that we’re able to save
parts, there was no Chrysler. I tracked down a man a piece of history. A few columns ago I talked about
named Steve Lehto. He had written a book on the how I bristled at the term ‘car collector’ and how
turbine car. His brother Rick worked for Williams much I prefer to be thought of someone who has
International, an American company based in contributed to our hobby. With the help of Gregg
Detroit that built turbines for aircraft. Gregg Williams and Williams International, we do just that.
Williams runs the company and is the son of its
founder, Dr Sam Williams. Dr Sam started his career Jay was talking with Jeremy Hart.

35
 Ignition Opinion

The Legend

Derek Bell
Our hero swears blind that he’s not grumbling

M
y wife Misti and I recently flew
from England to Spain and
conference, told Max to mind his language and that
surely should have been the end of it. Instead, it’s ‘It comes to
everything that could go wrong morphed into another unnecessary saga with other
did. Even leaving our home in drivers voicing their displeasure. It comes to something
West Sussex in the small hours something when Sir Lewis Hamilton and Max
was fraught. One road was
blocked because a lorry had got stuck. Another was
Verstappen are in lockstep.
This follows rally legend Sebastien Ogier receiving
when Sir
also impassable, so we had a stop-start journey to
Gatwick. We caught our flight by the skin of our
a suspended fine of $30,000 for comments made
during the WRC round in Greece. The Frenchman
Lewis
teeth and then matters snowballed. Given we were
flying only as far as Spain, and our first flight left
has since taken to giving monosyllabic responses
to questions in interviews. I don’t blame him. Let Hamilton
at dawn, we didn’t expect to arrive at our hotel the
other end at midnight following a lengthy taxi ride.
drivers express themselves as they wish, even if it
is clumsily. Throwing down this sort of punishment and Max
Yet this was soon forgotten because we were in is a load of bovine excrement.
town for the start of the Derek and Misti Bell Tour However, there has been some positive news in Verstappen
in association with V Events. I must say that I had motorsport, although I suppose it depends on which
the most wonderful time enjoying some sensational
roads in Spain and Portugal.
team you support. Adrian Newey’s departure from
Red Bull to Aston Martin was the worst-kept secret
are in
The route started in Bilbao and ended in Porto.
Those participating were all lovely, and among our
in the pitlane, that’s for sure.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen him go
lockstep’
merry band was Bobby Verdon-Roe and his wife to Ferrari, but I can understand him wanting to stay
Sofia. He had acquired an old Mercedes-Benz 280SL home. As to what difference he can make at his new
at auction during the Goodwood Revival Meeting team, time will tell. Will his departure hurt Red Bull
and then made for the ferry and drove to Bilbao after in the long run? Who knows. It won’t have put all
docking in Saint-Malo. of its eggs in one basket.
It’s funny, he was a single-seater champion and GT Then there was the news that the LVMH
star a while back, but I don’t think we had previously conglomerate had replaced Rolex as Formula 1’s title
exchanged much more than pleasantries prior to the sponsor. I had learned of this only the day before at
tour. Anyway, the upshot was that I soon began to a special track-day at Goodwood that was sponsored
unclench my teeth and simmer down following the by Moët Hennessy, which is the ‘MH’ part of
horror of flying with Air Imbecilic. LVMH. If rumours are true, this ten-year deal
Which brings me onto swearing. We are all human is worth around $1billion.
and I suppose I am predisposed to the occasional The sport has changed out of all recognition since
frothy comment or two when riled. Racing drivers I last started a Grand Prix half a century ago. There
by definition are competitive, and occasionally was always an inherent glamour about it, but ‘Eff
matters spill over. Sometimes we say things in the One’ is now a luxury brand in itself and valued
heat of the moment when adrenaline is coursing accordingly. There is a big part of me that wishes this
through our veins. had been the case when I was driving. Some of the
Other times we may ‘misspeak’ in a press team owners who hired me were forever ducking and
conference and the air turns blue. That happened diving just to stay afloat. I was paid hundreds to race
recently with Max Verstappen during the Singapore in Grands Prix rather than millions, when I was paid
Grand Prix. He used the f-word when asked for his at all. It really was a different world but I am forever
thoughts about something and all hell broke loose. grateful that I had the opportunity.
The FIA in effect dispatched him to the naughty Having just read the preceding paragraphs, it
step, by which I mean he was given the motor racing would appear that I am on one long grumble-fest,
equivalent of community service. Strictly speaking, but really I’m not. I love the life that motorsport has
he will ‘…accomplish some work of public interest’. given me. I just need to catch up on my sleep. Either
It’s laughable. Tom Clarkson, who hosted the press that, or switch to decaff.

37
A Perfect Start to Summer

H I S TO R I C R OA D R A L LY O P E N TO A L L P R E - 8 5 C L A S S I C C A R S
IMPERIAL CONCOURS • PROLOGUE • TESTS • REGULARITIES
500 MILES IN A LAND OF MEDIEVAL CASTLES, MOUNTAINS AND MYTH

f u l l d e ta i l s a n d e n t r y i n f o r m at i o n
w w w. t h r e e - c a s t l e s . co. u k

RIDDLE

E V EN T PAR T NER S
 Ignition Opinion

The Aesthete

Stephen Bayley
In difficult times, noise is a new definition of artistic endeavour

A
yellow Ferrari 275 GTB and a
silver Porsche 904: is the sight
intent on destruction, but this beautiful machine
reminded everyone that, despite the obvious failings ‘The
(and sound) of these cars a remedy of the contemporary world, the best machines of the
for the melancholy of the modern last century make as great a claim on our respect and owner
world, or embarrassingly irrelevant attention as the paintings of the seicento.
in the context of murderous lunacy
on three continents? I take the positive view.
But this Concorso had another prize, a prize for
noise, an initiative of the capo of the judges, Stefano
fired it up
At a difficult moment in the First World War, the
poet-diplomat Paul Claudel addressed the room. He
Pasini, construed as a memorial to the late Ian
Cameron, so absurdly murdered earlier this year
and it was
said: ‘Gentlemen, in the very short moment between
the crisis and the catastrophe, we might as well enjoy
in a horrific event that was a miniature of the other
brainless conflicts we have to deal with today. Ian, like a hard
a glass of Champagne.’ I love a French intellectual’s
nice distinction between crisis and catastrophe. I
best-known for drawing the Rolls-Royce Phantom,
was very exercised by the prospect of electrification rain of
also like the idea of a glass of Champagne, whatever with its deadly virtue of silence leaching character
the circumstances. And in our own very short from cars. Of course, a lot of a car’s character GBU-28
moment, we might as well enjoy classic cars. is determined by… noise.
William Blake said one route to happiness was to
find the part of the day that was not already occupied
So, we judges had to listen to exhausts, seeking to
identify and applaud the most rip-snorting note in
bombs’
by Satan. To find a part of the world where the memoriam Ian Cameron. It is not true that the Devil
proprietor of Hell does not have squatting rights is has all the best tunes because JS Bach, a profoundly
ever more difficult, but I found a precious small observant Lutheran, had even more. And so it was
territory at a recent Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy. appropriate that a German car won the Cameron
People with a sour disposition might cringe at the Award for scarcely masked explosions.
idea of this Concorso where I was a judge, while This was a 1964 Porsche 904, drawn by Ferdinand-
bunker-busters dropped elsewhere. They would see Alexander Porsche and his own favourite. And that is
the care-free rich performing elaborate mating rituals quite a claim because Ferdinand Porsche III also
with each other, blind to a world where daily news drew the ineffable 911. He liked the 904 so much
sounds like a lamentation. Instead, I saw a display of because ‘I did it alone’. The design is technical yet
beauty, appreciated by all. I saw pride in ownership wilfully elegant, too, a masterpiece of artful
and a gloriously innocent pleasure taken in benign integration with every detail respectful of its
showing-off. It was a good-natured collective of neighbour. Amusingly, the body was manufactured
shared appreciation. I saw and admired attention by Heinkel Flugzeugbau, which made components
and care. These are supremely valuable commodities, for the Luftwaffe’s Lockheed Starfighters (reminding
the relevance of which extends beyond car culture. me that Ferrari disdainfully said ‘Porsche don’t make
I think they need to be spread about. racing cars, they make weapons’).
I also saw the Italian collector Corrado Lopresto But the source of the noise is the thing. The engine
driving one of the most peculiar cars ever made: the is by Hans Mezger and so exquisite that Germans call
1947 Isotta Fraschini Monterosa. This architectural it Die Uhr because it is as fine as clockwork. When
composition has more in common with a Modernist Car & Driver tested a 904 it said: ‘We swear we heard
luxury hotel than, say, a Grand Prix car. Enormous, every bearing, shaft, gearset, tappet and reciprocating
with a muted V8 hung out the back, sensationally part.’ The owner fired it up and it was like a hard rain
glazed and sumptuously upholstered, it elegantly of GBU-28 bombs, with some glorious backfiring.
argued for the psychiatric benefits of luxury and style. I like it that noise has now been added to elegance
I doubt sight of such a car would dilute the blood- in the Concours canon. Those inclined to cringe may
lust of the most maddened terrorist, but as an want to do so now, but in the 275 GTB and 904 (not
advocate of civilisation’s values it seemed infinitely to mention the perfectly crazy Isotta Fraschini) I saw
precious. And nor would the yellow Ferrari that won so many of the values and ambitions we must
Best of Show really deter any of Satan’s helpmeets urgently protect. Namely, eccentricity and care.

39
Ignition Opinion

The Driver

Robert Coucher
Why elegance in motion is now more important than condition

T
he French invented Concours
d’Élégance, naturally. In the 17th
Club: a French event in the heart of London, where
Champagne flowed as racing Ferraris, Masers and ‘Champagne
Century, ‘competitions of elegance’ Jaguars blasted around the croquet pitches, to the
were held by French aristocrats to horror of some members. This invitation-only, flowed as
show off their horse-drawn carriages black-tie extravagance was black-balled after a decade
in the parks of Paris. This evolved to
include motor cars, accompanied by beautiful
and the baton taken up by the Salon Privé Concours
in 2006, which has since moved to Blenheim Palace.
racing
women wearing the latest fashion. But today, the
longest surviving concours is the Italian Concorso
I was party to the creation of another great British
celebration, the Concours of Elegance, which was
Ferraris
d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, established in 1929 and still
held in Cernobbio on the shores of Lake Como.
first held at the incomparable Windsor Castle in
2012. I’d like to say it all came about in a pub with blasted
With car-collecting taking off after World War
Two, concours events became popular in the United
the concept scribbled down on the back of a fag
packet, but in reality I met up with creator Jeremy around the
States in the 1950s thanks to the inaugural Pebble Jackson-Sytner (now ‘Mr Concours’) and Tim Scott,
Beach Road Race, won by Phil Hill. Then, the photographer of star cars, at the smart Le Colombier croquet
Concours d’Elegance was tagged on as an ‘after restaurant on Chelsea Square, where Jeremy
party’ but it is now regarded as one of the most
prestigious celebrations in the world – the Road
presented his idea, Tim came up with the name,
and I proffered ideas and Octane support.
pitches’
Race was banned in 1956 for being dangerous. As mentioned, expectations evolve so Pebble
After the war, the scruff y and pragmatic British Beach instituted a Preservation Class to its Concours
were more interested in ‘games’ in the guise of motor in 2001, to ‘bear witness to the passage of time’.
racing. The 750 Motor Club was enjoyed by Oops, there go the ear-buds. Not quite, but the
impecunious Austin Seven owners from 1939, notion of original and preserved motor cars has
following the Bentley Drivers Club, which started in really caught on. ‘Only original once’ is the mantra,
1936, and the Vintage Sports-Car Club (1934) for alongside the ubiquitous ‘recreated perfection’.
drivers who didn’t own Bentleys. Standing about, We in Britain like to think we had something to do
looking at highly polished cars was not for those with this, with our car culture keen on using old cars
racing their chopped and channelled ‘specials’ and rather than simply chroming them. In the late 1990s,
sports cars, more often covered in mud and blood. the Rt Hon Alan Clark, when writing his column,
Indeed, the first proper Formula 1 race was held in accused the Americans of suffering ‘trailer queens’
1950 at Silverstone, won by Giuseppe Farina driving that never drove anywhere and had their ‘radiators
an Alfa Romeo. filled with blue lavatory water’. One American reader
As the classic car world grew in the UK in the was so incensed he posted an enema kit to the office
1970s and 1980s, concours events became ever more with a note stating: ‘Alan Clark is full of sh*t, send
popular. They were usually led by car clubs and him this.’ I sent the kit to Saltwood Castle; Clark
sponsored by producers of car cleaning products thought it highly amusing. Soon thereafter, Pebble
such as Autoglym or Meguiar’s and held in fields Beach began its Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance,
out of town or at Birmingham’s National Exhibition where entrants were encouraged to actually drive
Centre. Not glamorous; some looked down on the their concours cars along coastal Highway 1.
polishers who cleaned their tyre-treads and gleaming And this year, Concours d’Elegance has come full
chromework with toothbrushes and ear-buds, but circle with a highly original, patinated 1932 Alfa 8C
they did ensure the survival of one or two otherwise 2300 winning Best of Show at Villa d’Este, a
forgotten classics of the past. And why not: entrants Preservation Class ’34 Bugatti Type 59 winning at
at Pebble Beach also have their tyre-treads and Pebble, and a well-raced, unrestored ’28 Bugatti 35C
chromework cleaned in the same way, it’s just that taking the Concours d’État award at Chantilly. As
they have ‘handlers’ to do the dirty work. someone who is a non-polisher and enjoys driving
Peak Concours arrived in 2000 when the Louis a very patinated classic on a regular basis, all I can
Vuitton Classic roared into the stuff y Hurlingham add is ‘Bravo!’ and ‘Drive cars that last 50 years’.

40
 SCOTTSDALE AUCTION | JANUARY 18-26, 2025
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1963 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 1967 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

CUSTOM SPLIT-WINDOW COUPE // NO RESERVE CUSTOM CONVERTIBLE // NO RESERVE
Powered by an LS3 540hp Hot Cam engine backed by Powered by an LS3 540hp Hot Cam engine backed by a
a 4L70E automatic transmission. Has an Art Morrison 4L70E automatic transmission. Has an Art Morrison chassis,
chassis, Vintage Air, power steering, windows and hood. Vintage Air system, and power steering, windows and hood.
Completed in September 2024 by Jeff Hayes Customs. Completed in September 2024 by Jeff Hayes Customs.

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 Ignition Letters

Such a Meanie
It’s funny that David Lillywhite in
Octane 255 refers to the ‘cartoon-
ish’ take on the Aston Martin
Valour of the V8 Vantage. Funny,
because the moment that I saw
the car in Octane’s former sister
publication evo, the one thing that
sprang to mind was: I wonder if
the owner is a Beatles fan.
That rictus grin of a grille, the
bright red lipstick, those searing
eyes for headlights and the blue
coachwork all brought to mind
a character from the Fab Four’s
cartoon film release Yellow
Submarine, namely the Blue
Meanie. A moniker that I think
would be quite apt for the car

ALF VAN BEEM

in question [below].
Now that I’ve visualised that
Letter character, it’s hard to unsee it!
Philip Livingstone,
of the Belfast, Northern Ireland
month

Spyker’s first supercar

I WANT TO THANK YOU for producing my Now, the million-dollar question: was it a
favourite magazine. My perfect Saturday or Sunday production car? If so, it was the first production
morning here in The Netherlands is reading the 4x4 road car. Some sources state it was made in a
latest Octane with a cup of coffee and my two limited quantity, with the engine detuned to 50
purring black cats. This morning spent with issue horsepower and renamed the 50 HP. You know it makes sense
257 is such an occasion! Production car or not, as a Dutch reader (I read Due to an upcoming house move
We all know the Dutch brand Spyker from its the great Dutch version of Octane, too), I just I’ve been forced to choose
(mis)adventures with Saab, in F1, and of course for wanted to let you know about it. There is more between selling either my utterly
those outrageous road cars. The modern company information on Wikipedia under ‘Spyker 60 HP’. reliable and brilliant all-rounder
was named after the Spyker that was one of the Chris Wekker, Waarland, The Netherlands Honda CRV or the rarely used
oldest Dutch car and airplane manufacturers. Fun money-pit BMW E46 M3
fact: they also made the famous Dutch Golden convertible that evokes some
Carriage. Pulled by eight horses, it’s still used once unkind remarks from my
a year when our King makes his Speech of the windswept partner as she’s forced
Throne at the start of the political year in to sit in the back while the child
September. For nerds: it’s always the third Tuesday. seat travels up front.
In 1902/03 Spyker made the first car with After reading about the Ferrari
four-wheel drive and four-wheel brakes, the 60 HP. Testarossa owner in Octane 254
It was a six-cylinder (also a first) and it can be seen who uses it as his daily driver
at the awesome Louwman Museum. So, long around London, I took my brain
LEE BRIMBLE

before the Jensen FFs featured in Octane 257 out, decided I’d do something
[right], ‘we’ Dutchies made a 4WD. similar and sold the Honda!

LETTER OF THE MONTH wins a Ruark R1 Bluetooth Radio, worth £239

The R1 is perfectly proportioned, beautifully made and deceptively powerful.
It’s the perfect bedroom, kitchen or workshop radio.
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systems that look and sound fabulous, products that will enhance your home and life, including radios, compact active
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43
Ignition Letters

Colombo-designed V12. That included a lorry (pulling a

motor carried on through the trailer!) that overtook us. The
275, 330 and 365 series, three-speed gearbox didn’t help. I
including the Daytona, before imagine it was the bean-counters
finally ending its days in the 400i who caused that anachronistic
and lastly the 412, by which time system to be signed off.
it had grown to 4.9 litres. Graham Warren, Granada, Spain
I love my manual 412, which as
a 1987 car is truly one of the last
Colombo V12s.
Peter Vaughan, Lincolnshire

Time with three Ts

While I’m lucky enough to drive

DEAN SMITH
and instruct in a huge range of
vehicles, from cars of the 1930s
up to modern supercars, I’ve
always wanted to tick a Ford Front-wheel-drive 911
Model T off my bucket list. Octane 253 brought back many
After contacting your memories of the Porsche 911SC
Contributing Editor, Mark Dixon, I bought in 1980 from JCT in
he suggested one of the driving Bradford, Jack Tordoff ’s personal
courses run by Model T specialist transport and demonstrator.
Neil Tuckett (modeltford.co.uk), Naturally it was in Guards Red,
and I’ve just spent a morning with with fog-lamps in the front
Of course, next time my ears convinced it was the Batmobile Neil [below, in overalls], who is valance but otherwise a basic car:
are getting verbally abused, I’ll and our greatest joy, for some a fantastic bloke. no whale-tail nor flared ’arches.
kindly inform her that I’m not reason, was to be locked in the I drove three Model Ts and, The 911 was used every day for
to blame and it was all your fault. huge boot as our father drove at once I got my head around it, I three years, covering over 90,000
Thanks, Octane. speed down into the Bat Cave, really enjoyed the challenge! I can miles, and never missed a beat.
Paul Stevenson, Manchester also known as our garage. see why Mark owns one. Many The SC version had sufficient
This was circa 1966, by which thanks for the recommendation. grunt when required and was so
Capri? Pants time the short life of the Capri Simon Taylor, Lincoln reliable at a time when any car
Stephen Bayley’s mention of the was over, so ours must have been from a UK manufacturer would
1962 Ford Consul Capri [above] secondhand, and it had a have been highly suspect.
in Octane 257 triggered a vivid pre-suffix-‘A’ registration so Living in North Yorkshire,
flashback. As he conjured a would have been a very early and where most of our local roads
delightful evocation of La Dolce underpowered example with the have dry-stone walls on either
Vita in Bexleyheath, something 1340cc lump. I also recall that the side, I had a memorable episode
very similar was going on in steering was monstrously heavy, one winter’s morning. It was
Muswell Hill, where I grew up. so my dad gave it as ‘a present’ to snowing and I was on quite
Our street of mock-Tudor my delicate and gamine mother. a steep descent leading to a
semis with a kerbside vista of This may have contributed to the hump-back bridge, with a steep
green and grey Austin-Morris end of their marriage. Wayward wipers ascent the other side.
sludge was like living in a Nathan Bildhauer, Essex Stephen Bayley’s amusing column I negotiated the bridge, applied
black-and-white Pathé newsreel, on the Citroën Dyane in Octane more power to climb the hill, and
until the day in the mid-1960s Lusso far from the last 255 and his reference to the instantly rotated through 180
when my dad pulled up in a I was interested in your opinions windscreen wipers reminded me degrees. Since it was early and
white-over-turquoise Consul on the state of the classic market of my old Ford 100E Anglia. there was no other traffic, I
Capri, as brilliant as the Bay of post-Monterey Car Week, Octane While the gearbox-driven simply reversed up the hill.
Naples and with more chrome 257, but Rob Sass needs to study Dyane wipers were scary at low As I grow older, I can only
than a Riva Aquarama. the history of Ferrari in more speed, the Ford’s vacuum- think how lucky I was to be able
My mother, in her slacks, head detail. The 250 Lusso [below] operated system resulted in the to drive that 911 and others every
scarf and cat’s-eye sunglasses, was certainly not the last tipo to opposite. They went berserk when day. They were built for that.
thought she was Audrey Hepburn. use the legendary Gioacchino you were waiting at the lights and Richard Craven, North Yorkshire
My father – between unexplained eventually stopped when you had
absences – fancied himself as your foot down, going uphill.
Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, Back in the ’60s, going over the Send your letters to
George Peppard, Frank Sinatra. Pyrenees on the way to Spain, letters@octane-magazine.com
BROAD ARROW AUCTIONS

Or Ronnie Kray… four-up in the rain, meant Please include your name,
The day the Consul Capri sporadically lifting off the address and a daytime telephone
rolled up, my younger brother – accelerator to see where you were number. Letters may be edited for
who’s still an idiot – shrieked ‘It’s going, much to the consternation clarity. Views expressed are not
Batman!’ We three boys were of those following behind – which necessarily those of Octane.

44
MG Centenary

Celebrating the
Centenary

with

Against all odds, the MG name has survived for

a century. We highlight a hundred key moments
in the marque’s often turbulent history
Words Jon Pressnell Images Author’s collection

46
BIRTH OF
CECIL KIMBER 10
1888 C R E AT I O N O F
Marque founder Kimber grew THE MG CAR
up in the Stockport area of C O M PA N Y 1 9 2 8
Manchester, where his father ran In 1928 The MG Car Company
a printing-ink business. He was formed as a subsidiary of
developed an early love of sailing The Morris Garages Ltd,
and of photography, and showed thereby separating the retail
a degree of artistic ability. He and manufacturing sides
nearly lost a leg in a motorcycle of the business.
accident and thereafter always
walked with a limp.
11
EDMUND ROAD
– A PROPER
FA C T O R Y 1 9 2 7-2 9
2 8 MG’s first proper factory was
built on land in Edmund Road,
THE FIRST THE FIRST MG

5
off the main Cowley Road into
BULLNOSE FA C T O R Y – Oxford, and incorporated a
M O R R I S 1 91 3 BAINTON ROAD chassis assembly line and an
Without the Bullnose, which 1 9 2 5 -2 7 early type of rolling road.

12
lasted until 1926, there would Having until then been based in a
have been no MG. mews stables in central Oxford,
in September 1925 Cecil Kimber’s
car-building operations moved
KIMBER JOINS C R E AT I O N O F to a part of the Morris Radiators
THE MORRIS T H E O C TA G O N factory in North Oxford.
GAR AGES 1921 LOGO 1923
During 1921 Kimber joined The
Morris Garages in Oxford as Sales
Used from the outset in
advertising the Super Sports 9
Manager and in 1922 he became was the octagonal MG badge. THE MG IDENTIT Y
General Manager. That same It was the creation of the firm’s IS FORMALISED
year he created the Morris accountant, drawn up with a ruler 1927
Garages Chummy, a Bullnose left over from his schooldays. For 1928 the Flatnose Super Sports WRONG RECIPE:

3
with occasional four-seater was renamed the 14/40 MkIV and T H E M G 1 8 /8 0
open coachwork.
6 referred to as an MG rather than
as a Morris, and the cars were
1 9 2 8 -3 2
Using the 2468cc overhead-cam
PRODUCTION registered as that with the engine of the Morris Six, the
TA K E S O F F 1 9 2 4 licensing authorities; additionally 18/80 or Sports Six was fast
The definitive MG Super Sports the ID plate carried the Morris enough to keep up with a 3-litre
arrived in 1924, as a four-seat Garages Ltd name, rather than Lagonda – only it was the Midget
tourer on a modified 1805cc that of Morris Motors Ltd. that people wanted.
Oxford chassis. A two-seater and
a saloon were added for 1925.
When the Flatnose Morrises
arrived for 1927, the same basic
body styles were retained.

4
S TA R T O F T H E NOT THE
LINE: THE MG FIRST MG
SUPER SPORTS 1925
MORRIS 1923 A stark one-off
When Morris brought out its own two-seater used by
Chummy, Kimber turned to a Kimber to win a gold
more sporting Cowley-based medal in the 1925 Land’s
model, bodied by Oxford End Trial, ‘Old Number
coachbuilder Raworth. In One’ is regularly but
genealogical terms this was the erroneously described
starting point for the MG marque. as the first MG.

47
MG Centenary

M G M -T Y P E
M I D G E T 1 9 2 8 -3 2 19
Built on a Morris Minor chassis, RECORD -
the first Midget – 847cc, most BREAKING WITH
built with a cheap fabric-covered THE MIDGET 1931
plywood body – effectively George Eyston started to attack
brought into being the small
British sports car.
speed records with EX120, a
streamlined and supercharged 20
single-seater Midget. In February ‘ S M A L L S I X ’:
1931 he achieved the first 100mph T H E M G F -T Y P E
14 average for cars in the up-to-
750cc class. By December he had
M A G N A 1 9 3 1 -3 3
Kimber decided to profit from
THE ‘SAFETY pushed his speed up to 114.77mph, the fashion for small six-cylinder
FA S T ! ’ S L O G A N in the new single-seater ‘Magic engines and offer the 1271cc
1929 Midget’ that would in the future Wolseley Hornet ‘light six’ in an
The famous slogan was inspired garner more laurels for Abingdon. adaptation of the superior
by the MG publicity manager C-type chassis.
seeing a bus with a triangle

21
painted on its rear, carrying
the wording ‘Safety First!’
J -T Y P E
15 E S TA B L I S H E S
THE MG DESIGN
MOVING TO L A N G UA G E
ABINGDON 1 9 3 2 -3 4
1929 To perfect proportions were
In September 1929 MG added a dual-cowl scuttle and an
moved to a disused factory abbreviated tail with a slab tank
in Abingdon belonging to and exposed spare wheel. When
the Pavlova Leather a set of swept wings replaced the
Company; this became the original cycle wings for 1934 the
marque’s home until 1980. result was an aesthetic rightness
that has probably never been
bettered in a traditionally styled

16 C -T Y P E I S M G ’ S
FIRST SPECIALIST
sports car.

F O U N D AT I O N O F
T H E M G C A R C LU B R ACING MODEL 1931
1930 The C-type, or Montlhéry Midget,
available supercharged and
Recognising the factory-
unsupercharged, had a tuned 746cc
supported club’s potential as a
engine to fit into the under-750cc
marketing tool, Kimber oversaw
racing class, and an all-new chassis.
the publication of an MG
magazine and launched initiatives
such as the MGCC dinner-dance
at Motor Show time, an industry-
networking event.

17
R ACING CARS FOR
MG CUSTOMERS 22
1931 AN ENGINE
Kimber began construction of WITH AN EYE
‘off-the-peg’ racing models in ON R ACING 1932
small numbers for public sale. A more robust development of the
Proof of his astuteness was that Hornet ‘six’ made its first
COURTESY MIKE JONES

these special MGs and the appearance in the K-type

services of the racing department Magnette and would end up
were financed by those who developing more bhp per litre
bought and raced the cars. than a V16 Auto Union racer.

48
23 TRIALLING KEEPS
SUCCESS IN THE T H E F L A G F LY I N G
MILLE MIGLIA 1 9 3 4 -3 9
1933 In the mid-1930s trialling was
With crack drivers in a team of a popular form of motorsport.
K3s bankrolled by Earl Howe, Kimber was well aware of the
careful preparation and good potential publicity dividends and
organisation paid off: Eyston accordingly Abingdon supported
finished first in the up-to-1100cc two teams. The ‘Cream Crackers’
class, with Howe in second place. and the ‘Three Musketeers’
achieved their many successes
at minimal cost to the works.

24
NU VOLARI
CHOOSES MG 1933
Impressed by the MGs’
performance on the Mille Miglia,
Italian ace Tazio Nuvolari asked to
drive a K3 in the TT. One of the
Mille Miglia cars was prepared
and, although he had never raced
a British car or used a pre-selector
gearbox, Nuvolari came home first
after a masterly drive.

25
K AY E D O N ’ S
ISLE OF MAN
ACCIDENT IN A K3
1934
Don’s accident cost the life of MG
mechanic Frankie Tayler. Don hit a
taxi while out practising late at
night, in a car without lights, horn
28
or suitable insurance, and was KIMBER LOSES
convicted of manslaughter due to CONTROL OF MG
‘culpably negligent driving’. The 1935
racing fraternity seemed to regard On 1 July 1935 MG and Wolseley
Tayler as an expendable member ceased to be the personal
of the lower classes, and the property of Lord Nuffield, their
episode stuck in the craw of Lord ownership being transferring to
Nuffield (as Sir William Morris H I G H -T E C H R A C E R : T H E R-T Y P E 1 9 3 5 Morris Motors Ltd. Direct control
– knighted in 1929 – had become With all-independent suspension by longitudinal torsion bars, a stiff and product design passed to
in 1934); it is judged to have welded-steel backbone chassis and a supercharged 746cc engine, the R-type Cowley, ending the way the two
contributed to his wish for MG was Britain’s most advanced racing car. Before it could prove itself, alas, the businesses acted as quasi-
to pull out of racing. MG competition department had been closed and the R-type axed. independent fiefdoms.

49
MG Centenary

29 32
‘QUEEN M ARY’ TA – F I R S T O F
FA I L S T O S A I L T H E T-T Y P E
1935 M I D G E T S 1 9 3 6 -3 9
Kimber was planning to move The TA followed the chassis and
substantially upmarket with a body design of the preceding
3½-litre car using all-independent P-type, but was slightly larger and
suspension based on that of the was powered by a slower-turning
R-type. A prototype nicknamed 1292cc pushrod engine. Despite

COURTESY MIKE JONES

‘Queen Mary’ was built, but the mutterings from marque
Cowley takeover saw the die-hards, sales proved to be
cancellation of this surely roughly the equal of the P-type.
over-ambitious project,
coded EX150.

33 GOLDIE
GARDNER
30 T H E 1½ - L I T R E VA
1 9 3 6 -3 9
AND HIS
STREAMLINER
THE END OF
1 9 3 8 -3 9
36
WORKS- The VA had a 1548cc pushrod
engine shared with the Morris Former MG racing driver Gardner
SUPPORTED
R ACING 1935 Twelve and Wolseley 12/48. persuaded Lord Nuffield to VICTIM OF THE
As part of the 1935 reorganisation
Kimber, who ran several VAs, sponsor Abingdon’s creation of a
SNAKEPIT 1941
probably exerted a measurable streamlined record-breaker. With
the competition department was In 1941, out of the blue, Nuffield
influence on the car’s lines. a body designed by Reid Railton
closed, sufficient justification sacked Kimber, who had been
and power from a supercharged
being a heft y increase in judged too independent of spirit,
1086cc K3 engine developing
expenditure on motorsport and not least in negotiating a
200bhp, the car achieved
a leap in development costs for contract for Abingdon to build
186.6mph in 1938 on a stretch
new models – seemingly linked the front end of the Albemarle
of German autobahn, and in
to the R-type. bomber. Kimber’s refusal to
1939 hit 203.54mph.
accept a minor administrative
reorganisation was the final

34 straw. There was also the way in

which those Kimber-signed
CECIL KIMBER advertisements had rankled,
A N D ‘ P E R S O N A L’ and the eyebrows that had been
ADVERTISING raised over Kimber cheating on
1938 his ailing wife and then
A new series of advertisements took re-marrying soon after her
the form of a signed message from death. Cowley was a snakepit
Cecil Kimber, putting a human face to of venomous internal politics,
the cars and hinting at the clubby and from that moment his cards
CHANGE OF TUNE: intimacy Kimber sought to foster with had been marked.
T H E S A 1 9 3 5 -3 9 MG customers. The advertisements
The Cowley-conceived MG
Two-Litre or SA was a resolutely
were regarded differently by some.
37
conventional design, with rigid D E AT H O F C E C I L
axles front and rear, and used KIMBER 1945
the mechanicals of the new Kimber went off to work first for
Super Six Wolseleys. coachbuilder Charlesworth’s
wartime metal-fabrication
business. From there he moved
to piston manufacturer
Specialloid. On 4 February 1945
a train journey to Peterborough
went wrong: the train slipped
on the rails leaving Kings Cross,
the rearmost carriage was
flipped by a badly timed throwing
of the points, and two
passengers were killed. One
of them was Cecil Kimber.

50
38
A B I N G D O N N E A R LY E N D S
AU S T I N - H E A L E Y
TA K E S
PRECEDENCE
OVER MGA 1952-54
Following his deal to produce the
UP MAKING TR ACTORS
1946-48 Austin-Healey 100, BMC boss
Leonard Lord refused to authorise
In 1946 Abingdon MD Harold Ryder pitched
development of the future MGA.
for the MG works to become the production
As a result Abingdon resorted to
site for the future Nuffield Universal Tractor.
facelifting the TD into the TF.
It wasn’t to be. After various hesitations,
Eventually it was seen that there
manufacture of the tractor would begin in
was a market for both the Healey
1948 at the Wolseley plant at Ward End.
and the ‘A’ and Lord duly
sanctioned the MGA’s

39 43 44
manufacture.

COWLEY C R E AT I O N O F B M C JOHN THORNLEY

C O C K TA I L : T H E 1951 TA K E S O V E R 1 9 5 2
M G Y-T Y P E 1 9 47- 5 3 At the end of 1951 the Austin Thornley returned after the war
The MG 1¼-litre, as it was called, Motor Company and the Nuffield and became General Manager –
was old-fashioned before it even Organization merged, to form the thus boss of Abingdon – in 1952.
went on sale, and was only British Motor Corporation. The He batted unceasingly for MG,
modestly successful. first consequence was that getting things done through
Abingdon’s new Magnette saloon persistence, a lucid intelligence

40 was launched with an Austin

engine under the bonnet.
and a cheerful personality. He
took early retirement in 1969.
THE MORRIS
M I N O R N E A R LY
BECOMES AN MG
1 9 47
In a desperate attempt to
overcome Lord Nuffield’s
reluctance to put the Minor
into production, it was briefly
proposed to sell it solely as an
MG, possibly assembling the
car at Abingdon.

41
MG DOESN’ T MOVE
TO COVENTRY
1948-49
In 1948 it was announced that MG
and Riley would be brought
together at the Riley factory,
creating a tidy bloc with body
supplier Morris Bodies Branch on
the doorstep. After protests from
MG, instead Riley production was
transferred to Abingdon.

R ILEY PRODUCTION
AT A B I N G D O N 1 9 4 9 - 5 8
The 2½-litre was made at the MG works until 1953, after which it
gave way to the Pathfinder, and the 1½-litre continued until 1955.
Only a small number of Riley Two-point-Sixes and just a handful
of One-point-Fives were assembled at Abingdon.

51
MG Centenary

46 49 51 53
OUTR AGE GREETS M G A P R O T O S AT RETURN TO L O V E LY
THE M AGNETTE LE M ANS 1955 STREAMLINERS L I A B I L I T Y: T H E
Z-T Y P E 1 9 5 3 - 5 8 Abingdon entering three MGA
W I T H E X 17 9 MGA TWIN CAM
The Z-type Magnette replaced prototypes in the 1955 event was a
RECORD -BREAKER 1958-60
the 1¼-litre and shared its bold initiative, and the publicity 195 4 -59 With an engine specific to MG
monocoque body with a At first EX179 had an for the first time since the 1930s,
accrued by two of the MGs
closely related Wolseley model, unsupercharged TF 1500 engine, the Twin Cam created much
finishing – 12th and 17th – didn’t do
something it is hard to imagine in which guise, in 1954, it secured excitement, but there were so
the marque any harm, although
Kimber accepting and which after seven international records and many in-service problems that
everything was overshadowed by
the car’s announcement provoked ten US records at Bonneville. the model was dropped in 1960.
the notorious Levegh accident.
fiery outbursts in the Given an MGA Twin Cam engine,
correspondence columns of
Motor Sport magazine. 50 it scooped a further 16 records in
1956. It was then re-engined with
GOODBYE TO an A-series power unit.
S Q UA R E - R I G G E R S
WITH THE MGA
1955-62 52
Besides the MGA becoming the
BMC SPORTS
first modern MG sports car, at the
CAR
same time as it was authorised
M A N U FA C T U R E
47 for manufacture, in June 1954,
an MG design office was
C O N S O L I D AT E D
AT A B I N G D O N DONALD HEALEY’S
MG TF HOLDS THE re-opened at Abingdon. 1957 CHEAP SPORTS
LINE 1953-55 In a rare burst of industrial CAR 1958-61
The TF contrived to outsell the common sense, BMC decided John Thornley had studied making
Austin-Healey 100, supply of to move assembly of the a model smaller than the MGA and
which could not keep up with Austin-Healey from judged it commercially unviable.
demand. Delays in shipping, and Longbridge to Abingdon and But BMC pushed ahead with
its premature discontinuation to make the MG works the Donald Healey’s Sprite, and
before the MGA was available, combine’s dedicated production of the ‘Frogeye’ was
were behind its unspectacular sports-car factory. consigned to Abingdon.
sales in the States, rather than the
market turning its back on the car.

BMC COMPETITIONS
D E PA R T M E N T S E T
U P AT M G 1 9 5 5
From 1955 Abingdon was home to the
BMC Competitions Department, to
achieve its greatest fame with the
rallying Minis and Austin-Healeys.

52
 62
E X 1 8 1 – A B I N G D O N ’ S L A S T R E C O R D - B R E A K E R 1 9 5 7- 5 9
Cementing the optimistic buzz at Abingdon was the arrival of EX181, a stunning new teardrop-shaped record-breaker with
a mid-mounted supercharged Twin Cam engine. Stirling Moss took the car to 245.11mph in 1957 on the Bonneville Salt Flats,
and in 1959 Phil Hill achieved just shy of 255mph, in the process both men breaking a cluster of speed records.

56 58 60
MG’S ABANDONED ABINGDON L AU N C H O F T H E
LE M ANS R ACER BUILDS MORR IS MGB 1962
1959 MINORS 1960-64 Sturdily built, mechanically
Completed in 1959, behind the In the early 1960s a total of 20,014 straightforward and blessed with
backs of BMC management, EX186 Minors were built at the MG works broad-shouldered good looks and
had a Twin Cam engine and a de – Travellers, vans and a handful of capable road behaviour, the ‘B’ was
Dion back axle. The planned entry pick-ups. This helped keep the everything an affordable sports car THREE
for 1959’s Le Mans was scrubbed, factory turning at a time when should be. STILLBORN
however; it never saw action. sales of its mainstay sports cars SPORTS CARS
had dipped sharply. 1959-68
ADO34 was a Mini-based
replacement for the Sprite/
Midget, EX234 was a slightly
larger rear-wheel-drive car,

61 and the ironically nicknamed

‘Fireball’ (after a TV series) was a
MG 1100 A ND 1300 large 4.0-litre sports car to rival
1 9 6 2 -7 3
57
the E-type. All would have had
Sticking an MG radiator on a Hydrolastic suspension – adding
gussied-up Morris 1100 might to their manufacturing costs.
T H E ‘ FA R I N A’
have seemed cynical, but this These ventures collectively
MAGNETTE
1959-68 time it was an adequately prevented BMC focusing on
successful marketing exercise, what was really needed: an
BMC ‘badge engineering’ was to
MG versions representing 7.3% of updated or new model to
destroy Riley and compromise the
total 1100/1300 production. replace the MGB.
MG image. Austin Cambridges in
a party frock, the MkIII and MkIV
Magnettes were less sporting than

59
the Z-type and did not sell well.

THE MIDGET
RETURNS 1961
Abingdon’s wish to have an MG
version of the Sprite coincided
with a decision to restyle the
‘Frogeye’. When the MkII Sprite
emerged, it was accompanied
by a mechanically identical MG
Midget that had a few cosmetic
fripperies to justify a marginally
higher price.

53
MG Centenary

69
MG C GTS:
ABINGDON’S
N E X T R A L LY
HERO? 1968
With the Mini on borrowed time
as a rally-winner, BMC judged that

67
the only hope of staying in the
game was with a substantially
C R E AT I O N modified lightweight MGC GT.
OF BRITISH A sixth place in the 1968 Marathon

LEYLAND 1968 de la Route showed promise, but

the programme to rally the GTS
Incapable of making the right
was abandoned. Perhaps the
call in whatever domain, BL boss
challenge of making the ‘C’
Donald Stokes and his team
a rally winner was too great.
favoured Triumph sports cars
over MGs on the basis of a
flagrant misreading of the US
market. From that moment MG’s
fate was sealed, with Abingdon
deprived of attention, investment
and new product.

68 CLOSURE OF THE
END OF THE BL COMPETITION
M G B AT L E M A N S
1963-65 65 AU S T I N - H E A L E Y
3000 1968
D E PA R T M E N T
1970
Abingdon-prepared MGBs MASTERSTROKE: This was the end of an era, as MG With no frontline race or rally cars
competed three times at Le Mans. THE MGB GT 1965 kissed goodbye to the head-in- emerging from the BL stable, and
In 1963 the car was fielded by Alan John Thornley’s vision of a ‘poor the-sands optimism and financial no will to establish a long-term
Hutcheson and Paddy Hopkirk. man’s Aston Martin’ came to casualness of BMC: henceforth programme, it was perhaps
Hutcheson went off into a sand fruition with the fastback MGB Abingdon would make only the inevitable that Stokes would close
trap almost immediately, GT, offering what was at the time MGB family and the Sprite/ down what was one of Europe’s
something Hopkirk attributed to a unique recipe amongst Midget, and confront a future best manufacturer-run rally-
his co-driver’s tiredness after an British-built cars: a compact ever more uncertain. preparation workshops.
energetic previous night with his sports coupé in the mould
girlfriend. Despite the time lost, of Italy’s Alfa Romeo and
the car finished 13th overall. In Lancia models. M I D - E N G I N E D ‘ M G X 1 /9’
1964 Hopkirk and Andrew Hedges P E R V E R T E D A N D C A N C E L L E D 1 9 6 9 -1 9 7 0
finished 19th overall and second ADO21 was a Longbridge-initiated project to create a mid-engined
in class, the highest-placed British replacement for the Sprite/Midget and Triumph Spitfire, but lost focus and
car. In 1965 the Hedges/Hopkirk evolved instead into a bigger car to take over from the MGB. Abingdon began
duo came home 11th overall and engineering work, and built a development ‘mule’ MGB GT with a mid-mounted
again second in class. Austin Maxi engine and de Dion rear suspension. But ADO21 was soon
cancelled in favour of the future TR7.

64
MINI VICTORIES 66
AT M O N T E C A R L O MG C – ILL-J UD GED
1964-67 REPLACEMENT
Under the dynamic leadership of FOR THE ‘BIG
Stuart Turner, the talented and H E A L E Y ’ 1 9 6 7- 6 9
resourceful Comps mechanics On the surface this was a sensible
meticulously built the Minis that move, given the limited and
won the Monte Carlo Rally three shrinking sales of the ’Healey and
times – or four, if you include the its high production costs. But the
contested 1966 event when a ‘C’ was too similar in looks and
supposed lighting infringement presentation to the MGB, had an
saw the victorious Mini uninspiring engine, and was slated
disqualified. for its leaden handling.

54
72 75
MAXIMUM R U B B E R- B U M P E R
PRODUCTION M G s 1 9 74
AT M G 1 9 7 0 -7 1 A defining moment in MG’s slow
In this peak year Abingdon decline was the arrival of heavy
completed over 57,000 vehicles, urethane-covered ‘5mph’
up from 10,000 or so in 1949-50. bumpers for the 1975 model year.
This was despite the very basic These did nothing for the looks
and unautomated assembly of the cars; worse, to meet
processes. There had been US bumper-height regs the
plans for a new plant on adjacent suspension was hiked up,
land, but these were abandoned spoiling the handling.
in the wake of the creation
of British Leyland.

73 T R7 D I S A S T E R K E E P S M G B A L I V E 1 9 7 5 - 8 1
M G B G T V8 – T O O The MGB was always going to be discontinued when the TR7 had found its
LITTLE, TOO feet. This never happened, despite later TR7 convertible and V8 versions, and
L AT E ? 1 9 7 3 -7 6 despite two moves to different factories in a bid to reduce the losses made
The V8 seduced with its in manufacturing the Triumph. So much investment had been poured into this
performance but suffered from legendary lemon that BL felt it had to continue in the hope that sales would
an unchanged cockpit, excessive pick up – at which point the MGB could be axed. Instead, by May 1979 it was

76
wind noise and an over-firm ride. saying that the ‘B’ was envisaged as continuing for another five years.
Launched just in time to catch the
1973-74 fuel crisis and never sold
in the US market for which it had
MIDGET GETS
TRIUMPH 1500
78
NO O -SERIES FOR
been principally intended, just
E N G I N E 1 9 74 THE MGB 1972–80
2591 would be built.
There was a whisker more power
The design of this engine,
– although not for the Americans,
basically a re-hashed overhead-
whose de-toxed Midget 1500
cam version of the old B-series,

80
mustered all of 50bhp – and at last
had been finalised in September
a synchronised first gear.
1972. That by the time of the
Jacked-up suspension and impact
bumpers, however, meant 80kg
MGB’s demise BL had proven CRUNCH IN THE
of extra weight and accordingly
incapable of installing it in a U N I T E D S TAT E S
compromised handling.
production MGB speaks long on 1979
the company’s managerial and The fall of the Shah of Iran
engineering capabilities. precipitated a second fuel crisis
in the United States. This was
followed by a recession.
Abingdon’s principal market was
catching a serious cold, at the
worst possible moment: it was
said that the young professionals,
often female, who bought MGBs
found they could no longer afford,
or justify, such a purchase.

‘ YOU CAN DO IT
I N A N M G ’ 1 9 7 1 -7 8 79 81
As the Midget and ‘B’ got older, the END OF MIDGET B L A C K M O N D AY
advertising got bolder. After the PRODUCTION 1979 1979
early-1970s ‘Your mother wouldn’t With a total of 354,164 of all types On Monday 10 September, the
like it’ series came the ‘You can do of Sprite and Midget being very day after celebrations of
it in an MG’ campaign, which produced, the two cars had made MG’s 50 years at Abingdon had
straddled the chrome-bumper and an appreciable contribution to the drawn to a close, crisis-riven BL
rubber-bumper eras. At the time MG factory’s activities. In place of announced a make-or-break
there was a bit of sniggering about the Midget, completion of the retrenchment programme,
how, in fact, an MGB was just the Allegro-based Vanden Plas 1500 and with it the end of
sort of car your mother would like. began at the MG plant. MG production.

55
MG Centenary

ASTON CONSORTIUM BIDS

FOR MG 1979-80
In retrospect the consortium led by cash-strapped
Aston Martin was never going to find the funds to take
over MGB production, with or without the Abingdon
factory. The whole saga took up a lot of time and

87
energy and possibly prevented BL finding another use
for the MG factory, which duly closed in late 1980.

83 85
MORRIS GAR AGES M E T R O 6 R4
IS WOUND UP 1983-86
1980 Publicising the Metro, boosting
In a sad little footnote to MG the MG name, winning rallies:
history the closure of Morris were all the stars about to align
Garages in Oxford was with BL’s brave decision to build a
announced in December 1979, mid-engined rally special? The
three years after its 1976 move four-wheel-drive 6R4 with its
from the city to an out-of-town bespoke 3.0-litre V6 engine made
commercial estate. its WRC debut with a third place in
the 1985 RAC Rally, and went on to

84 win the 1986 Circuit of Ireland. But

that year saw the ultra-fast Group
R E V I VA L O F T H E B cars banned. The 6R4 ended up
MG NAME WITH being used mainly for UK-only INTRODUCTION OF NEW
THE MG METRO rallying and rallycross. S H E L L S S AV E S M A N Y A N O L D M G B 1 9 8 8
1982-90 The availability of brand-new MGB bodyshells made on the original tooling
The MG name returned on a by British Motor Heritage was a visionary and unprecedented initiative –
sporting 72bhp version of the and made the RV8 possible, four years later.
Metro; later came the more
radical MG Metro Turbo. The two
accounted for 8.93% of total
88 90
1980-90 Metro production: for INTRODUCTION MGB REVIVED
perspective, the revered Mini OF THE M A ZDA AS RV8 1992-95
M X- 5 1 9 8 9
86
Cooper and Mini Cooper S took an To prime the market for the return
appreciably more modest 5.9% of The Mazda’s success motivated of an open two-seater MG, the
1963-67 Mini MkI production. MAESTRO AND Rover Cars (as BL had become) to MGB was brought back into
consider a new MG sports car, production in 1993 as a restyled
MONTEGO
and to offer a mid-engined limited-run luxury V8. The UK
HELP KEEP THE
configuration to differentiate the market wasn’t convinced, and
NAME ALIVE
1983 -91 future MGF from the Mazda. instead most of the 1996-car
output went to Japan.
Despite the uninspiring base cars,
these were honourable efforts,
with the later 2.0-litre MG Maestro
89
EFi an under-estimated Golf GTi
MGS DISAPPEAR
rival and the somewhat ragged
FROM MARKET
Montego Turbo claimed to be the
– AGA IN 1991
fastest MG production car to date. When the octagon-badged
With 7.9% of Maestro output versions of the Maestro and
carrying the MG name, and 7.3% of Montego were deleted, there was
Montego output, the exercise was a second hiatus in the availability
commercially valid. of cars bearing the MG name.

56
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57
MG Centenary

91 94 96 98
BMW BACKS THE ENDGAME V8 P O W E R A N D MG TURNS
MGF 1994 2000-05 R E A R- W H E E L CHINESE 2005
BMW’s purchase of Rover from The best that could have been D R I V E F O R Z T- 2 6 0 The MG name was purchased by
British Aerospace stunned hoped for by the so-called Phoenix 2003-05 China’s Nanjing Automobile as
observers – and with the BMW Z3 Consortium was a soft landing for With the help of outside part of its 2005 acquisition of
on the way, would the Germans the re-named MG Rover, by engineering resources the Rover MG Rover, after the company
axe the MGF? In the end BMW moving towards selling what 75 was converted to rear-wheel went into administration.
supported the project and saw remained of British Leyland to drive and a V8 engine, resulting in Nanjing merged with state-
it through to production. anyone prepared to buy it. the MG ZT-260 as an upmarket owned Chinese giant SAIC
stablemate to lesser front-drive in 2007. Today everything

95 ZTs. With just 716 made, and a

miserable 166 of the Rover
from pick-up trucks to electric
SUVs carry the MG octagon
MG-BADGED version, the exercise was a on their nose.
SALOONS AGAIN seductive irrelevance.

99
97
2002-05
Accompanied by some memorably
FA I L E D
crass advertising, the Rover-
COMEBACK OF
based ZR, ZS and ZT were
promoted as boy-racer sporting
THE TF 2008-09
For a brief period the mid-
derivatives for the sub-BMW
engined TF was made in China,
market. Sales weren’t spectacular,
and approximately 900 were
but without exploiting the MG
assembled at Longbridge from
marque the company would have
Chinese parts in the 2008-2009
sunk even faster.
period; demand had evaporated.

THE MG SPORTS BIG BOYS AND

CAR REINVENTED THEIR TR A IN SET:
1 9 9 5 -2 0 0 2 THE MG S V 2001- 05
The MGF emerged in 1995 as a This attempt to get into the Jon Pressnell is author of ‘Kim’
mid-engined open sports car Porsche 911 market with a – A biography of MG founder
based around the corporate re-bodied Qvale Mangusta was a Cecil Kimber, voted 2023 Royal
K-series engine, a Honda-derived vanity project of stupendous Automobile Club Motoring Book
gearbox, and the subframes and futility that resulted in just three of the Year (No Price Limit) and
Hydragas suspension of the XPower SVs having been sold to winner of the 2024 Nicolas-
Metro. Manufactured at the public by the time MG Rover Joseph Cugnot Award of the
Longbridge, the ‘F’ was an collapsed at the beginning of 2005. Society of Automotive Historians.
immediate success; its overall
sales were limited, however, by
it not being engineered to be sold
in the United States.
CYBERSTER:
93 A RETURN TO
M ARQUE
R O V E R N E A R LY VA LU E S ? 2 0 2 4
BECOMES THE MG Purists may lament whether
C A R C O M PA N Y a heft y £55,000 scissor-
1 9 9 9 -2 0 0 0 doored electric roadster
When venture capitalists Alchemy is quite the spiritual return
began negotiating for the they would have wished for,
purchase of Rover, it envisaged but here’s proof that the
reducing the company to a Chinese owners of the
modestly sized operation making MG marque are not only
around 50,000 MGs a year, mainly keeping the name alive
sports cars. Whether such a but have also made good
slimmed-down business would on their promise to bring
have had a future is debatable, back an open two-seater
but the proposed MG Car for modern times. The
Company would surely have stood Cyberster was beautifully
a better chance of success than timed for the centenary
the doomed-from-birth MG Rover. celebrations.

58
This exceptional 300 Roadster is part of a wide inventory available now £POA.

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Mercedes Gullwing Celebrating 70 years

60
 Seventy years since it shocked the world on its debut, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL
Gullwing remains a staple for collectors worldwide. Richard Heseltine finds out why
Photography Luis Duarte

61
Mercedes Gullwing Celebrating 70 years

f it were human, the Mercedes-Benz 300SL would six-engined machine, hardly overpowered, was capable of
represent a potent blend of wealth, cheekbones and around 160mph, and the competition programme got off
swagger. You would be liquid to its every demand to a flier first time out on the 1952 Mille Miglia. Victory
even if it regarded you with lethargic half-interest. proved elusive but the Super Leicht finished second, third
It is just so utterly fabulous. And that is now – and fourth. They blanketed the podium positions next time
imagine the reaction 70 years ago. The ‘Gullwing’ out in the Swiss Grand Prix support race in Bern.
marked a new territory of aesthetic adventure, and The Mercedes juggernaut then descended on Le Mans,
the irony is that it almost didn’t happen. It was born of a the works coupés being equipped with roof-mounted air
racing car, and even that was a means to an end. The marque brakes that were removed ahead of the 24 Hours (although
was in recovery mode, and a limited competition programme the idea was revisited on the 300SLR that Stirling Moss
ahead of a full-blown return to Grand Prix racing was just guided to victory on the Mille Miglia in 1955). Having
the ticket. It took a persuasive Austrian émigré to transform stayed away from the endurance classic for 22 years, the
it into a road-going marvel. Germans faced a raft of manufacturer teams including those
The W194 SL was conceived by Daimler-Benz’s chief from Jaguar, Ferrari, Lancia, and Cunningham. This was the
engineer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, after the board gave him the year that Pierre Levegh came within an ace of being the first
go-ahead in June 1951. This brave new world was light – its man to claim a fairytale solo win aboard his Talbot-Lago,
elegant, tubular platform weighed just 82kg. Slippery, too, only to retire in the final hour. The upshot was that
with a scarcely believable drag coefficient of 0.25 (although Mercedes-Benz came home first and second.
subsequent cooling mods raised this). The 3.0-litre straight- The SL’s brief competition career ended on that’s year

62
Clockwise, from far left
Once a looker, always a
looker; fitted luggage makes
the most of cabin space; sleek
and purposeful from behind;
3.0-litre six gives ample power.

Carrera Panamericana, with Karl Kling and Hans Klenk then it had been only a bare chassis three months prior. The
averaging 103mph en route to victory and team-mates unadorned racer had morphed handsomely, the ellipse of its
Hermann Lang and Erwin Grupp second. Three wins from air intake lost amid a wider grille, while slanted apertures
four starts – mission accomplished. That would have been were sunk into the metalwork aft of the front wheelarches to
the end of the story had it not been for the marque’s dissipate under-bonnet pressure.
influential East Coast concessionaire, Max Hoffman. He They also served to further emphasise the sense of speed,
argued that there was a market for a civilised variant, some and the remodel didn’t end there. The headlights were
sources claiming that he guaranteed to buy 1000 of them, raised and moved forwards, the flanks were conspicuously
others that the actual figure was somewhat smaller. He also more contoured, while ‘sweep spears’ were incorporated
reasoned that it would act as a halo model for the more above the wheelarches. The design continued to be refined
affordable sports car he really wanted: the 190SL. thereafter and in short order, with Friedrich Geiger being
Whatever the truth, the ‘Gullwing’ wouldn’t have responsible for much of this dazzling outline, working
happened without Hoffman. After all, the Vienna-born under Walter Häcker. With bumpers and chrome tinsel
motor mogul had arranged for one of the SL racers to be in place, the drag coefficient was worsened considerably to
displayed at shows in the US in 1953 to gauge interest. That 0.425, but the racer DNA was evident elsewhere. Much
said, the production variant was still in the throes of creation of the existing chassis, which comprised a latticework of
when it was unveiled at the International Motor Sports small tubes, was retained but with some alterations, not
Show in New York’s Seventh Regiment Armory in February least additional framework and bracketry as befitted a car
1954. The show car’s looks remained provisional, mind, but destined for series production.

63
Mercedes Gullwing Celebrating 70 years

Subverting the norm, the 300SL road car was also more the paradox being that this arrangement wasn’t conceived
powerful than the competition tool that bore it. Having for show. As on the original SL racing car, the use of stubby
once led the world with direct fuel injection in aero engines, gullwing doors left room in the sills for triangulated trusses
Daimler-Benz bottled lightning a second time and did the around the sides of the cockpit, thus affording greater
same for road cars. The Gullwing became the world’s first torsional chassis stiffness. It was no mere styling flourish,
production car thus equipped. With 215bhp from its 2966cc although the set-up is freighted with a literal and figurative
overhead-cam straight-six allied to an all-synchro four- stumbling block: it’s a pain to get into.
speed ’box plus a ZF limited-slip diff, it was capable of The massive sills ensure this, but at least the steering
140mph in the real world, and 0-60mph in 7.7sec. There wheel is hinged. It’s best to slide your behind all the way
were higher states of tune, though, some of the options onto the seat and then swing your legs in. The pedals are
being prefaced by the word ‘competition’, but there was little typically large, too, but then nothing about the Gullwing
to touch the Gullwing even in its most pedestrian form. smacks of delicacy, though it is airy, with near-360º outward
Such a tempo was unlikely to be attained often, which is vision thanks to all that glass. Which brings us to the other
perhaps as well given that the vast drum brakes were not up ‘issue’ that has long been written about: the lack of
to the task despite their ample aluminium finning (see also ventilation. After the doors had been kept shut for static
most of the SL’s contemporaries). Then there was the photography, the photographer was kind enough to open
handling. Swinging half-axles resulted in a high rear roll them in order to cool the cabin while he set about the detail
centre and a lot more besides. However, the adoption of the shots. It worked a treat as, on getting back in the car, I found
(optional) stiffer springs and dampers served to reduce it wasn’t more than, say, 150º Fahrenheit inside.
wheel travel, but it was still less than ideal even for the expert The opening quarterlights don’t help much, but you
driver. Many 300SL customers were inexpert so a high- can always remove the windows (from the outside). It is
speed avoidance manoeuvre was unlikely to end well. Even otherwise comfortable, though, thanks to the generously
at lowish speeds, those who couldn’t differentiate between proportioned seats and the lack of comedy offsets. The
braking and turning would be body-coloured fascia anchors it
schooled the hard way. firmly in the early-to-mid-1950s,
Which is not to say that the
300SL couldn’t be hustled with ‘THE ROAD mind, the instrumentation being
just the right side of gaudy. The
greater familiarity, witness John
Fitch’s fifth place on the 1955 Mille CAR WAS MORE large speedo and tachometer are
easy to read at a glance, while the
Miglia and assorted successes in
rallying. It’s just that the Gullwing POWERFUL gear-lever isn’t a reach away. It’s all
very… nice. Steamy, but stylishly

THAN THE
earned an unfortunate reputation so. While rooted in a racing car,
early on for being a handful and it that is the last thing you think of

RACER THAT
stuck. Production ended in 1956, from behind the vast tiller, at least
by which time 1400 cars had been to begin with. It seems to have

BORE IT’
made. Of these, 29 were built to been hewn from solid.
special order and with competition At low speeds, everything feels
in mind. They boasted all- heavy. The steering, the clutch, the
aluminium bodies, which shaved brakes, the… This doesn’t come as
off 80kg overall (the dry weight for the standard car a great surprise. It’s only when you are driving at higher
was 1160kg), Daimler-Benz also experimenting with a velocities that matters take a turn for the interesting. For
glassfibre ’shell. Tellingly, the 300SL that followed in its starters, the Gullwing is quick. Not quick in that you are
wake featured a low-pivot rear axle, and even ran to disc making allowances for it being of pensionable age, just
brakes from 1961. Lessons had been learned. quick full-stop. It won’t reconfigure your jowls due to the
Which brings us to today and the cinematic backdrop of accelerative forces, but you certainly notice you are moving
Alentejo, Portugal. Chassis 55000563 was delivered new to at quite a lick. It’s fairly high-geared at 25mph per 1000rpm,
Sweden on 30 July 1955, and subsequently headed Stateside but the car pulls and pulls with plenty of throttle. There’s a
before arriving in Portugal 20 years ago. It currently forms surge of torque. Now it sounds racy, a thoroughbred bark
part of an impressive private collection of exotica, and looks taking on a slightly metallic timbre.
exquisite riding on its centre-lock wheels with splined Power delivery is delicious. Between 2000rpm and the
Rudge hubs (a Gullwing appears oddly naked without these self-imposed redline of 5500rpm, only the strident engine
optional extras; they’re seen as a must by those in the know). note and blurring of scenery alert you to the fact that you’re
It has been suggested that the 300SL is famous for how it piling on the revs because it’s so smooth and flowing. The
looks rather than what it is, and certainly not for what it did. gearchange feels positive as you guide the lever across the
That takes some unpicking, but it really is a sensational- gate. It also slots into place with the sort of precision you
looking thing. The term ‘blue chip’ has long been used to might expect, while the clutch is progressively weighted and
describe art whose place is secured in history; same goes for demands little effort.
this car’s status among collectors. You cannot help but warm to the Gullwing. It’s
In isolation, a Gullwing looks otherworldly. When it’s communicative. Delightfully so. The steering is appreciably
parked in the company of its peers, nothing changes. They more alert at speed, too, with around two turns lock-to-lock,
display a downright offensive lack of imagination in though there is a slight dead spot at the straight-ahead. Even
comparison. Even those predisposed to not liking this sort so, it doesn’t wander. The Gullwing is obedient.
of thing will coo when a Gullwing performs its party trick, You soon appreciate the car’s method of construction,

64
This photo and below
Interior is elegant and
distinctly period, also hot
on the move and difficult
to access; those doors
are hard not to love.

65
Mercedes Gullwing Celebrating 70 years

1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing

Engine 2996cc OHC straight-six, Bosch mechanical fuel injection Power 240bhp @ 6100rpm
Torque 217lb ft @ 4800rpm Transmission Four-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Steering Recirculating ball
Suspension Front: double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: swing axles, radius
arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers Brakes Drums Weight 1252kg Top speed 135mph 0-60mph 8.8sec

too. It doesn’t feel overtly pre-war in make-up unlike many but anyone blessed with quicker reflexes will insist that the
other sports and GT cars of the same period. The inherent Gullwing is throttle-adjustable. Try not to brake too much,
stiffness afforded by the spaceframe of multiple small- or steer for that matter, and the tail will start to come out,
diameter steel tubes means the 300SL can be – and is – quite and in the right direction. Plant the accelerator pedal and
softly sprung (or at least it is without the optional job’s a good ’un. You are still shiny-side-up, the car has
competition springs and dampers). This results in a righted itself, and you are making good progress. Clearly it
surprisingly agreeable ride quality, all things being relative. takes practice, confidence and plenty of run-off area. In
It’s almost relaxing, and you can imagine crossing continents reality, most Gullwings will never be driven with gusto
in one, assuming your luggage will fit behind the seats. And and, some way south of ten-tenths, this innovative Mercedes
that you are not overcome by heat-stroke first. remains a thing of wonder for the right reasons.
So it would appear that Mercedes did a commendable job You can forgive the Gullwing its imperfections. The car
of taking a racing car and giving it some manners, of turning looks sensational – the vehicular manifestation of glamour
the vicious into the virtuous. Well, yes and no. The Gullwing – but that’s only part of what makes it so special. It was
does everything well bar two things. The brakes don’t inspire insanely fast given that the average saloon car of the period
confidence at any speed, the pedal-feel being heavy and had trouble getting out of its own way, and it impresses still.
wooden with it. Then there’s the handling. Prior experience The 300SL was the hypercar of its day, but again that isn’t
of the model informs you that the whole communication what tilts it towards greatness. It’s the flaws that make it
thing breaks down under even enthusiastic cornering, or at interesting. There are plenty of cars that have reputations,
least it does when there’s a tightening radius or camber- either good or bad. The Gullwing has both. It is this duality
changes. The tail starts to get very jiggly very quickly and it’s of character that makes it so compelling. It seduces, maybe
heart-in-mouth stuff. As such, you feel as though you are even scares, and would have you coming back for more, time
suspended between outcomes. and again. That says it all.
However, those well-versed with it will scoff at this.
Slow in, gently-applied-power out works well for the novice, THANKS TO owner Ricardo Sáragga and Adelino Dinis.

66
 his beautiful Mercedes-Benz 280 SL had been fully restored
in our restoration facility in Germany. After completion this lady re-
turned back to its original home – the USA. We are Arthur Bechtel
Classic Motors and have been restoring exquisite Mercedes-Benz
classic cars since 1972. The 190 SL, 280 SL as well as the iconic
300 SL are a few pieces of our main portfolio. Thanks to the network
and friendships we have been building within the states over the ye-
ars we may offer the best service – even across the ocean. Are you
ready to purchase the classic car of your dreams? Get in touch by
today. Learn more on our website: www.arthur-bechtel.com

MEET US IN FEBRUARY 2025!

Gullwing The market outlook

GULLWING: STILL FLYING HIGH?

Every serious collector needs one, but values Fig 1. Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing values
have near-doubled since 2020. So what next? Recent UK Hagerty Price Guide ‘Excellent’ values (£ GBP), alloy cars excluded.

1.6M
Words John Mayhead
1.4M

1.2M
THE MERCEDES-BENZ 300SL ‘Gullwing’ coupé has one of the
1M
most compelling narratives in the collectable car world. It combines
800K
four cornerstone elements: a competition bloodline that includes the
300SLR and the legendary Moss/Jenkinson 1955 Mille Miglia win, an 600K

iconic design, history as the car Max Hoffman used to break Mercedes- 400K

Benz into the US market and, since 2022, direct association with the 200K
most valuable car ever sold in public: the 300SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé.

Source: Hagerty
0
That pedigree, allied to the brand’s recent top-level participation Jan Apr
2020
Jul Oct Jan Apr
2021
Jul Oct Jan Apr
2022
Jul Oct Jan Apr
2023
Jul Oct Jan Apr
2024
Jul

in F1 and its investment in heritage operations, has made the 300SL

coupé extremely collectable, with Hagerty Price Guide ‘Excellent’
values increasing by over a third since 2021. Some of that rise is Fig 2. 1956 300SL sets new world record for non-alloy Gullwing
probably due to the car’s exposure after the Uhlenhaut sale, but prices 2024 Barrett-Jackson sale bettered the previous high sale by £632k ($800k).
have also been pulled up by a general post-Covid boom. Values peaked Sold price
in late 2023/early 2024, a spike marked by a sale of $3.4m for a 3.5M
concours Gullwing with superb specification, a record for a standard
steel-body car. Since then, prices have flattened, in common with most 3M
of the market, as potential buyers await a little more clarity about the
short-term economic outlook in America during election year (Fig 1).
2.5M
The holy grail for any potential Gullwing buyer is one of the 29
alloy-bodied coupés built by the factory – ‘Excellent’ value £5.5m –
2M
but Hagerty’s analysis of repeat sales, the same car being sold again
within a few years, shows that even standard Gullwing collectors are
1.5M
really picky. With over 1400 constructed, they can afford to be, and
desirable factory options add a great deal to the asking price: around
£85,000 for a set of Rudge knock-on wheels, £17,000 for fitted luggage 1M

and about £2000 for a Becker radio. Colour and specification are also
very important, and the record-breaking car mentioned above had an 500 K

eye-catching combination of traditional ‘Silver Arrows’ silver paint, Source: Hagerty

leather trim and contrasting tartan inserts. As with any serious 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Sale date

collectable car, matching numbers and either extreme originality or an

immaculate restoration mark out the top cars, and 300SLs rarely seen
on the market also seem to demand higher prices than those that are Fig 3. 300SL repeat sale index – September 2024
frequently traded. Full, continuous history, ideally with very few Despite a bounce in the average price of 300SLs in 2024,
the repeat sale index rebound is much smaller Average price
owners, creates a paper trail that avoids any risk of fakery, an issue that
1.6M
raised its ugly head last year when two 300SL Roadsters allegedly
appeared bearing the same chassis number (Fig.2). 1.4M

Two factors will determine the model’s outlook. The first is 1.2M

demographics – Hagerty quotes show that around 40% of owners are 1M

300SL Index
Baby Boomers, well above the 32% mean across all cars. Gen X owners 800K
make up 34%, their proportion growing from around 20% in 2020.
600K
The price of the model means that a higher number of older owners
400K
isn’t surprising but, if prices are going to continue to rise, then Hagerty
Chart: John Wiley

would expect the Millennial proportion to rise from its current 15%. 200K

The other factor is the US economic situation; all but two of the top 20 0
2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025
sales of the model have been in North America (Fig.3).

68
 H K- E N G I N E E R I N G

OVER 40 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE SPECIALIZING SOLELY IN 300 SL

Your Partner for Mercedes-Benz 300 SL

ALL IN-HOUSE
ENGINE DEPARTMENT UPHOLSTERY BODY SHOP PAINT INJECTION PUMPS GEARBOX SPARE PARTS FURTHER DEVELOPMENT

T: +49 881 925 609 0 HK-ENGINEERING Handels GmbH

M: info@hk-engineering.com Kirchplatz 1 | 82398 Polling | Germany
W: www.hk-engineering.com
H K- E N G I N E E R I N G
So-Cal man The late Alex Xydias

Alex Xydias was the late founder of the legendary

So-Cal Speed Shop. Here his friend Tony Thacker
recalls a life devoted to hot rodding
Photography SO-CAL Speed Shop; Tony Thacker

70
TO MANY, Alex Xydias is synonymous with speed racecar, building the So-Cal Streamliner
the famed hot rod company So-Cal Speed using what they had, including the Model T
Shop. However, his achievements in lakes Ford frame and engine from the tank. Neil
racing, publishing and event production are Emory (grandfather of outlaw Porsche builder
equally impressive. The man (his name is Rod Emory) and Clayton Jensen of Valley
pronounced ‘ex-hideous’) had quite a career. Custom hand-formed the sleek aluminium
Of course, I knew the name because body and, with Batchelor behind the butterfly,
somebody on my paper round took Hot Rod the car turned 152mph at El Mirage in the
Magazine. I’d sit under grey British skies spring of 1949.
reading about him and the red-and-white Encouraged by their success, the team took
liveried So-Cal Racing Team. It wasn’t until the streamliner to the first Bonneville Nationals
1988, when I moved to the US to work for the in August that year. With a new, Meeks-built
Specialty Equipment Market Association Mercury V8 they set a Class C Streamliner
(SEMA), that I got to know the man. Tall and record at 189.745mph. Their top speed was
Depression-era slim, Xydias had a great sense 193.54mph. Batchelor and Xydias returned to
of humour, a flirty nature, but a serious side Bonneville the following year and bumped the
when it came to business. We met through hot record to 208.927mph and the So-Cal
rod designer and customiser Pete Chapouris, Streamliner became ‘The World’s Fastest Hot
became fast friends, and I worked for him Rod’. Meanwhile, Xydias moved ‘uptown’ to a
twice in ensuing years at SO-CAL (as it Sears prefab building on the aptly named
became) and the Wally Parks Motorsports Victory Boulevard and produced one of the
Museum, of which he was a board member. speed equipment industry’s first printed mail-
Xydias grew up in Los Angeles, where his order catalogues – now a collector’s item.
father was a silent-movie producer. Before He quickly embraced the adage ‘Win on
World War Two he enjoyed moderate success Sunday, sell on Monday’, and his newly named
campaigning a ’34 three-window coupe at El So-Cal Racing Team continued to build hot
Mirage dry lake. He spent the war years as a rods and racecars that set records at the lakes
B-17 engineer and gunner and, following and on the drag strips, enabling Xydias to sell
discharge from the US Army Air Corps in parts. He was very good at corralling successful
1946, used his $100 demob money to open the fellow racers into the So-Cal fold and, as we
first So-Cal Speed Shop, at 1806 North Olive now call it, building the brand. Four of the
Avenue in Burbank. distinctive red-and-white cars graced the cover
From this small shop he supplied local hot of the Best Hot Rods magazine in 1952. In turn,
rodders with speed equipment, much of it that cover was translated into a Hot Rod Comics
sourced from his friend Vic Edelbrock Snr. cartoon publication featuring the team’s
There was no way to advertise back then – Hot exploits, albeit under the name of Clint Curtis.
Rod wasn’t published until January 1948 – and, The industry was changing, though. Canny
in an effort to market his business, Xydias went Xydias saw this coming in 1952 when his
lakes racing in a surplus P-51 belly tank built friends Ray Brown and Mal Hooper eclipsed
by the originator of the breed, Bill Burke, and the So-Cal tank with their Chrysler Hemi-
powered by a mid-mounted, Ford V8-60 put powered tank’s two-way record at 197.88mph.
together by Edelbrock’s Bobby Meeks. Even with a dash of nitro, Xydias’s tank was out
‘I only had limited racing experience,’ said of steam and, just like that, the newfangled
Alex. ‘The belly tank was like a pressure cooker overheads relegated his flathead to the trailer.
inside and I was perched in the nose with no It wasn’t over yet, though, because there was
protection – I was the crush zone.’ Nevertheless, a new kid in town called drag racing. The
by the end of 1948 Xydias owned the Class A California dry lakes were a difficult, dirty place
Streamliner record at 130.155mph. He also to compete and were getting chewed up.
garnered the cover of the then-new Hot Rod – Racers needed something more accessible and
the first of five such covers. The tank and the they found it in the nation’s plentiful airfields,
magazine helped launch the So-Cal Speed where they could race every weekend.
Shop as an internationally recognised brand. Most people have never heard of Goleta, a
Wanting to go ever faster, Xydias teamed small town about 11 miles up Highway 1, west
up with legendary racer and author Dean of Santa Barbara. According to Xydias’s best
Batchelor. They were inspired by the small, friend Wally Parks in his book Drag Racing
lightweight, pre-war Auto Union Type C land Yesterday and Today, there was a paved road

71
So-Cal man The late Alex Xydias

on the north side of Goleta airport – now Santa

Barbara International Airport – that ran east to
west, away from the mountains and towards
the ocean. Around 1948, members of the
Motor Monarchs club from Ventura, and
engine-builder Bob Joehnck of Santa Barbara,
approached the airport manager to see if they
could use the property for legal drag races.
Named the Santa Barbara Acceleration
Association, they started holding organised
drag races every other Sunday in late 1948 or
early 1949. It was an industry booster.
Wishing to embrace both lakes racing and
drag racing, Xydias purchased the Langthorne
and Gray ’34 coupe that had run at Bonneville
in 1951 with a GMC six-cylinder engine, and
proceeded to develop his ‘Double Threat
Coupe’: another magazine cover car. Using a
front-mounted supercharger, Xydias and
‘Buddy’ Fox set the Class C record at
172.749mph at Bonneville in the summer of
’53, and also ran the car at the Pomona dragstrip
that had opened on the Los Angeles County
Fairground in 1951.
‘One day,’ Alex recalled, ‘a guy came into the
shop with a pair of brand new Ardun cylinder
heads.’ Ardun heads were aluminium OHV
conversions developed by Zora Arkus-Duntov
for the Ford V8: when correctly adjusted, they
transformed the anaemic flathead. With
another crank-driven GMC blower and a
wicked roof chop, the team returned to
RANDY LORENTZEN

Bonneville but failed to break any records

because of a faulty ten-cent ignition condenser.
At Pomona, with a new condenser and a
10% mix of nitro, the coupe clipped the quarter
with a speed of 132.79mph and boosted the
class record by 8mph. Unfortunately, a tragedy
was about to unfold, as Xydias’s brother-in-law
Dave DeLangton, home from the Korean war,
bugged Xydias for a drive. DeLangton went
128mph and pestered Xydias for another go so
that he could ‘wind it tighter’. He wound it
tight all right, tight enough to blow the clutch,
which severed a fuel line and set the car and
himself on fire. T-shirt aflame, DeLangton
bailed, letting the car run out across the street
until it nosed into an embankment. He died
four weeks later from third-degree burns.
The tragedy weighed heavily on Xydias and
he retired from racing. Also, as a self-confessed
flathead fan, he had no wish to embrace the
next OHV chapter in the story of speed and
decided to try his hand at filmmaking,
something his father had done in the ‘silent’
era. Xydias, however, filmed motorsports –
from Bonneville to Indy and Daytona – and,
while his productions were very professional,
he soon realised that he was ahead of his time:
Above, from top, and opposite people just didn’t pay to watch racing movies.
Xydias with Pete Chapouris, his original belly tank and its modern His legacy lives on in such enduring
GM-powered counterpart; in recent years with a scale model of the documentaries as The Hot Rod Story and several
belly tank; filming in 1954 and wielding his flathead magic. other, rarely seen colour films.

72
‘HE WAS VERY GOOD AT CORRALLING SUCCESSFUL
FELLOW RACERS INTO THE SO-CAL FOLD’
So-Cal man The late Alex Xydias

Above
Xydias with Pete Chapouris in SO-CAL Roadster no. 001, styled after
Clyde Sturdy’s Class B Modified that ran at Bonneville in 1951.

Change beckoned. In 1963, Xydias joined tank to win its class at the Pebble Beach of Space Age, carbon-bodied ‘belly tanks’ that
Hot Rod publisher and friend Robert E Concours d’Elegance in 2010. over the ensuing few years set a number of land
Petersen at Petersen Publishing as editor of Car Over the years, Xydias – who had no speed records with four-cylinder Ecotec
Craft Magazine. He moved on to be editor and professional training for anything he did – had engines. Somewhere, there are iconic images of
then publisher of Hot Rod Industry News where, always maintained the So-Cal Speed Shop Xydias driving one of the tanks at Bonneville.
as a director, he helped launch an industry with reunions and commemorative catalogues. Our story doesn’t end there, though. In
trade show that would eventually grow to Consequently, when his friend and tank 2012, the Learning Centers at Fairplex,
become the annual SEMA Show. He was restorer Pete Chapouris came asking about Pomona, California, created a new automotive
inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame in 1982. resurrecting the iconic brand, Xydias was ready, school called the Alex Xydias & Pete Chapouris
After 12 years at Petersen, Xydias felt he had and in November 1997 the new (and newly Center for Automotive Arts (AXC). The
done all he could in the publishing world and upper-case) SO-CAL Speed Shop was purpose of the school is to help educate young
partnered with racer and entrepreneur Mickey launched to much acclaim. Xydias remained people and provide them with an opportunity
Thompson to launch the SCORE Off-Road active as an advisor until Chapouris passed in to develop skills for a viable career in the auto
Equipment trade show. It ran for ten years until 2017. When active, Xydias was also Chairman industry. At a time when high school auto
Thompson and his wife’s untimely murder in of the Board of the Wally Parks Motorsports shop programmes have all but disappeared,
March 1988. Meanwhile, Xydias was inducted Museum in Pomona, California. AXC provides a much-needed auto-centric
into the Dry Lakes Hall of Fame, the HOT No doubt due to the prodigious number of educational environment that facilitates
ROD Magazine Hall of Fame, and the Route 66 awards and ink that the new SO-CAL opportunities for young enthusiasts and
Hall of Fame. He also received the Robert E generated, and the beautiful cars it was provides an incredible bookend for Alex
Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. building, it was no wonder that the OEMs Xydias’s amazing career.
In 1994, Xydias’s friend Pete Chapouris was came calling for uncredited work on concept Since its inception, and despite the Covid
approached by collector Bruce Meyer, looking cars. In 2002, McLaren F1 designer Peter pandemic, AXC has grown in no small part due
to build a collection of significant hot rods. Stevens, then chief designer for MG Rover, to substantial donations from the Margie and
High on their list of wants was the So-Cal belly commissioned a 225mph ZT-T wagon for Robert E Petersen Foundation to include an
tank that resided (amazingly unmolested) in Bonneville. There followed in 2003 a call from automotive welding school in the name of
the rafters of Don Ferguson’s Long Beach GM’s current president Mark Reuss, who Chapouris, and in the works is an auto body
warehouse. Using all the right parts, people and commissioned a fleet of red-and-white liveried, and paint programme. As legacies go, Alex
pieces, Chapouris and his team restored the SO-CAL branded race cars, including a pair Xydias leaves a long shadow.

74
 xvi historical revival
10th - 13th april 2025

T he oldes t I ta li an Rac e

tribute to

Temple of Speed
STAGES
April 10th April 11th April 12th April 13th
• Technical and sporting • Iseo Lake • Rapallo • Sanremo
checks at Monza Circuit • Piovera Castle • Genova • Asti
• Private VIsit to Riva • Rapallo • Loano Marina • Award ceremony
Shipyard ϧ˃ˢ˥˧ˢЃˡˢ • Sanremo in AC Milano
• Opening Gala Dinner

For informations and Subscription: ˥˔˖˘ʡˢ˙Ѓ˖˘ʳˠ˜˟˔ˡˢʠ˦˔ˡ˥˘ˠˢʡ˜˧˪˪˪ʡˠ˜˟˔ˡˢʠ˦˔ˡ˥˘ˠˢʡ˜˧

BMW The Z cars

76
BMW’s Z cars told of a new sports car future, starred in a Bond film, and saw a slow roadster
become a rapid coupé. One stands above the rest – and you might be surprised which

Words Ben Barry Photography Sam Chick

77
BMW The Z cars

Clockwise, from above

Z1 is distinctive from every angle, yet still looks like a BMW from the front; interior borrowed
themes from motorcycling; 325i straight-six, so no excess of power; disappearing doors are its party trick.

78
 f ‘Z’ gives the alphabet a suitably earlier M1, and visually illustrate just how far surprised by just how liberating it feels to
futuristic-sounding sign-off, it literally back the M20 B25 straight-six is pushed into drive with doors and roof dropped, far more
means future when applied to two-seater its front/mid-mounted position. Like much of so than a typical convertible: cool air swirls
BMW sports cars – it stands for zukunft, the drivetrain, it’s shared with the E30 325i. invigoratingly around me, tarmac rushes in
the f-word in German. A little ironic, ’Arches bulge athletically either side of a my peripheral vision, and – naturally – vision
then, that each of BMW’s original Z cars beach-ready mid-riff, the rear is bobbed like a out is fantastic. Shades of Mini Moke, Willys
is now either firmly in classic territory or Manx cat’s tail and, when you look at a Z1 in Jeep and Ariel Nomad here, not the 1970s
– looking at you, Z4 – a sure-fire zukunft profile, everything leans a bit, the design delivery driver vibes I’d feared, and
classic. We’re re-visiting Z1, Z3, Z4 and italicised. This one’s painted in the seats with camouflage centres amplify that
Z8 to find our favourite – the book-ends unfortunately named Ur Green. outdoors-type flavour.
from BMW’s own heritage fleet, the Imola Red Under its skin, this rolling laboratory uses So the Z1’s fun, but the driving experience
Z3 M and Z4 M Coupés in the middle kindly galvanised box-section steel foundations, a proves somewhat mixed. Peak power of
sourced by specialist Munich Legends. composite floor, and injection-moulded 168bhp is identical to an E30 325i’s, the
As the name hints, BMW was crystal ball- thermoplastic body panels that are apparently 1250kg kerbweight comparable – perhaps
gazing when it launched the Z1 in 1989. It was straightforward to remove. BMW suggested removing those body panels isn’t such a bad
conceived inside the newly formed BMW owners buy an extra set in a different colour idea – so we’re talking brisk rather than rapid.
Technik GmbH, an ideas lab founded in 1985 (swapping out of my Ur Green tracksuit proves But if you manage expectations on speed, it’s
where designers and engineers could escape easier today). Bathtub-high sills bring to mind lovely – warm, mellow idle, generous low-down
3-, 5- and 7-series convention, and where an original Mercedes-Benz 300SL but, rather torque, creamy power delivery, plus a five-
obeying rules was strictly verboten. Within six than gullwings, the doors slide down vertically speed ’box with a leisurely throw but sweet
months, a 60-strong team led by Ulrich Bez – like a mime artist running a hand over his face. action, an easy clutch and nicely judged brakes.
affectionately ‘Betzy Boy’ to his co-workers – Wilfully different rather than inventively Suspension is a mix of old and new, with
had dreamt up the avant-garde Z1. futuristic these doors may be, but they’re 325i struts up-front, the new multi-link – a-ha!
It seemed pure concept-car fantasy, but also the Z1’s calling card. – ‘Z’ axle debuting at the rear, ahead of volume
then BMW green-lighted its first two-seat I press a button on the rear three-quarter introduction in the E36 3-series. It all feels
convertible since the 507 of 1956 and there panel, the door motors down and I straddle nicely balanced and responsive, there’s the
was a waiting list round the block, speculators the sill to settle rather inelegantly into the abundant traction you’d expect given 164lb ft
and all hoping to snap up this DM80,000 driver’s seat – the Z1-specific steering wheel doesn’t get out of bed until 4000rpm, plus the
roadster (roughly £25k for us Brits). is on the left as they all are, the driving steering’s a high point, too: far more connected
The Z1 remains a distinctive looker today. position suitably low-slung, the seats comfy than my old 1994 E36 M3’s, this unique rack
Its wedgy front and vestigial kidney grilles and accommodating for a taller driver, pedals has better on-centre definition, more
evoke both its 8-series contemporary and the dead ahead… I’m at ease in here. I’m also consistency, nicer weighting and feels a decent

1990 BMW Z1
Engine 2494cc straight-six,
Bosch fuel injection
Power 168bhp @ 5800rpm
Torque 164lb ft @ 4000rpm
Transmission Five-speed
manual, rear-wheel drive
Steering Power-assisted
rack and pinion
Suspension Front:
MacPherson struts, coil
springs, anti-roll bar. Rear:
multi-link Z axle, coil
springs, telescopic
dampers, anti-roll bar
Brakes Discs
Weight 1250kg
Top speed 141mph
0-62mph 7.9sec

79
BMW The Z cars

‘Five engineers grafted after-hours to create the car

they actually wanted to drive: the M Coupé’
bit quicker, too. Shame some discordant patter arm rear suspension (BMW was up against it they actually wanted to drive. The M Coupé
filters up from ground level. Perhaps this car’s with its ‘English patient’ Rover), though the arrived for 1998 and lived through to 2002,
suspension is a little worn (I’ve read elsewhere wheelbase is some 8in shorter, steering 20% during which time 4111 left the South Carolina
that the structure is stiff, and scuttle-shake swifter, the tracks widened front and rear. line (compared with over 15,000 M Roadsters).
negligible) as it doesn’t feel quite as tight as it Base Z3s started from £19,500 at launch for Unofficially known as Z3 M Coupé and
perhaps ought to. a 1.9-litre 16-valve four, pitched somewhere other names besides, really this idiosyncratic
Demand cooled with the economy by 1991, between a more upmarket MX-5 and less M car is more shooting brake than coupé, with
yet BMW still built 8000 Z1s through to June powerful Boxster. Not surprisingly, Z3s lacked its closed roof increasing stiffness by 2.6 times
that year – not bad for such a niche car with both the raw edge of the former and the – not to mention introducing the ‘clown shoe’
weird doors offered only as a left-hooker in a sophisticated verve of the latter. The solution profile (which I love). Up for £30,000 at the
single mechanical spec. The few currently for was the 911 Cabrio-chasing M Roadster. In time of writing at Munich Legends, this is one
sale in the UK range from £44,000 to £60,000. went the 321bhp M3 engine for more power of the earlier and more plentiful cars featuring
The 1997 Z3 brought far more powertrains than its Stuttgart rival, engorged rear ’arches the S50 3.2-litre six from the E36 M3, not the
and shifted almost 300,000 units all told, but were stuffed with deep-dish 17in alloys, while slightly more potent S54 engine from the E46
– perhaps surprisingly for a Z – it is more the chassis got the necessary preventative M3 found in later examples.
conventionally engineered, and designed not measures: still-wider tracks front and rear, Instantly I’m reminded why an M Coupé is
with a squint at the horizon but a glance in 28mm lower ride height, plus uprated shocks, so good. Like so many skunkworks projects,
the rear-view mirror. Note the decorative side springs and anti-roll bars; M3 brakes, too. partly it’s in the honest, rough-diamond quality
gills in deference to the 507. An adapted E36 When everyone complained M Roadsters this car exudes, but there’s real polish, too,
3-series Compact platform forms the wobbled like a jelly in a seismic tremor, five much of the magic lying in its flow and finesse
pragmatic bones, complete with that car’s engineers led by Z3 platform chief Burkhard over challenging topography. I quickly ease
less sophisticated, E30-based semi-trailing- Goeschel grafted after-hours to create the car into a fast rhythm, confident the compliant

80
 2000 BMW M Coupé
Engine 3201cc 24-valve straight-six, Bosch fuel injection Power 321bhp @ 7400rpm Torque 258lb ft @ 3250rpm
Transmission Five-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Steering Power-assisted rack and pinion Suspension Front: MacPherson struts,
coil springs, anti-roll bar. Rear: semi-trailing arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar Brakes Discs
Weight 1390kg Top speed 155mph (electronically limited) 0-62mph 5.4sec

suspension won’t be jolted off-line. This is also

a reactive, adjustable chassis, so if you load it up
in a corner then release the throttle, it eagerly
tightens its line. Add-in its compact wheelbase
and it’s an agile little thing to hustle.
BMW was careful not to step on the M3’s
toes, so, while an M Coupé is over 100kg lighter
and gets the same power as the M3 Evo, its
ambitions are checked by a five-speed gearbox
from the earlier 3.0-litre M3 and a taller final
drive. No matter. This engine sparkles with raw
energy, its angry metallic rasp when you home
in on the 7400rpm redline still crisp and vital,
and as you shift you realise the ZF gearbox
glides where a Getrag graunches. Zesty, hungry
performance from one of the great engines,
this. And yet it is not too much performance.

Clockwise, from right

E36 M3 power, but rear suspension dates back to
E30 3-series; unusual proportions invited ‘clown
shoe’ epithet; traditional theme to interior.

81
BMW The Z cars

The M Coupé is one of the last high- axle, but no question it was the best powertrain 2002 BMW Z8
performance cars not fitted with traction or M had lying about – the 4941cc S62 V8 and Engine 4941cc 32-valve V8,
stability control (it was introduced for later six-speed manual from the E39 M5. It’s good Bosch fuel injection
Power 395bhp @ 6600rpm
S54 models); perhaps that’s why it’s so properly for 395bhp and 369lb ft of torque. Torque 369lb ft @ 3800rpm
sorted and sweetly balanced. Neither drivers You sit reasonably low in a typically spot-on Transmission Six-speed manual,
nor engineers have any place to hide here, nor BMW driving position, gripping a large- rear-wheel drive
do they need it. Black marks go to steering that diameter, thin-rimmed steering wheel, with a Steering Power-assisted
rack and pinion
could be perked up off-centre, a driving familiar manual gear-lever an easy reach away
Suspension Front: MacPherson
position a little too cramped for 6ft 1in me, and on the tall centre console (and apparently struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar.
a thimble of a 51-litre fuel tank, but revisiting given a rattle-can silver makeover). The pillars Rear: multi-link, coil springs,
the Breadvan reaffirms what a gem it is. are far more upright than the Z1’s, and while telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar
The Z8 arrived the same year as a very the bonnet stretches out forever, there’s a Brakes Discs Weight 1585kg
Top speed 155mph
different proposition. Just like the base Z3, it lovely Italianate roll to the tops of the wings (electronically limited)
got its 15 minutes in a Bond flick – The World that looks very much hand-finished and makes 0-62mph 4.7sec
Is Not Enough – and featured a retro-themed extremities easy to place.
design, this time penned by Henrik Fisker in Hiding infotainment behind a flip-up panel
deference to the 507. However, like the Z1 it is a nice Bond-like cue, but the rest of the
was built on a bespoke platform, if a rather controls could’ve been thrown there by
different aluminium spaceframe manufactured amateur darts players – you twist a key but also
at BMW’s Dingolfing plant, and clothed in push a button to fire the V8, instruments are in
aluminium panels. Much of the suspension the middle of the dash rather than behind the
was also aluminium. It was offered purely as a steering wheel. It’s pointlessly inventive.
left-hooker with just the one parts-bin As you’d hope of something that cost
powertrain pushed right back behind the front £86,650 new at the turn of the millennium, the

82
Clockwise, from left
The two extremes of Z;
Z8 the most luxurious
of this quartet, and the
most retro – inside and
out; glorious V8 power
comes from the E39 M5.

83
BMW The Z cars

2006 BMW Z4 M Coupé

Engine 3246cc 24-valve
straight-six, Bosch fuel injection
Power 338bhp @ 7900rpm
Torque 269lb ft @ 4900rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual,
rear-wheel drive
Steering Power-assisted
rack and pinion
Suspension Front: MacPherson
struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar.
Rear: multi-link, coil springs,
telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar
Brakes Discs Weight 1495kg
Top speed 155mph
0-62mph 5.0sec

84
‘It is one of the great sports car shapes, a fusion of classic
proportions with the edges and scallops that define its surfacing’

Z8 is shot-through with a hewn-from-billet

sort of gravitas. You feel it in the structure
beneath you, and certainly in beefier steering,
with its robust on-centre feel. Same goes for all
the key controls. Nothing feels flimsy.
That V8 is predictably mighty. There’s a
charismatic thudding note, plus oodles of
torque and smooth delivery when driven at a
normal pace, but keep it pinned and lazy low-
end bass morphs into something far more
urgent and high-tech in feel. It’s classic rock
remastered by VANOS variable-valve timing.
Plus the pedals are nice, the shift reasonably
slick. All that easily accessed torque means the
Z8 very much needs its traction control if
you’re to avoid trouble in the damp, and it’s
odd that the Z8 doesn’t even get a limited-slip
diff. Neither does it ride these B-roads with
any real flow, too much low-frequency chatter
permeating through from the surface.
It’s a bigger, heavier car than the M Coupé
and it isn’t as much at home here. I feel
somewhat tentative, like there’s little point
pushing towards the limits. At launch, road-
testers were often confused whether the Z8
was a full-blooded sports car or more laconic
GT, but it’s a GT all day long – the look, the
handling and the lack of a locking diff spell it
out. Approach the Z8 like, say, a more
purposeful Mercedes-Benz SL, and I definitely
see the appeal. A total of 5703 examples were
largely hand-finished in Munich and you’ll
need at least £160,000 today, though many
breach £200k. If that seems way too much,
values at least also seem solid.
Both Z3 and Z8 exited stage left in 2003,
with the new Z4 picking up the baton as the
Z3’s direct successor. It is the only Z to spawn
multiple generations, but today our focus is
with the first. Like the Z3, a panoply of
powertrains was offered, but this time the
coupé was always planned alongside the first-
to-market roadster. With BMW by then well
into its controversial ‘Flame Surfacing’ era

Clockwise, from far left

Sublime M3 straight-six; distinctive tail;
interior more Bangle than BMW; Z3 and
Z4 begat coupé bodywork that hasn’t
followed in subsequent generations.

85
BMW The Z cars

under Chris Bangle, it was a return to a Z car without the Z3 M’s turn-then-turn-a-bit-more
with an avant-garde twist. reluctance. Plus the seating position is lower
The look still polarises today, but for me and goes back further than its predecessor’s,
– particularly in coupé guise – this is one of the and the brakes are decent thanks to an M3 CSL
great two-seat sports car shapes, a fusion of upgrade. There’s much to enjoy here.
classic front-engine/rear-drive proportions Yet the spark of the earlier M Coupé is
with the crisp edges, concave scallops and somehow missing. The gearshift is more
– OK, yes – weird sagging belly that define its knuckly, the seats firm as a church pew where
surfacing. It’s an origami Triumph GT6. Z3 chairs are supple, and the performance
Once again, both M Coupé and M Roadsters advantage is dulled by that kerbweight also
were offered (4275 and 5070 units produced, being 105kg porkier than the Breadvan’s. The
respectively), but this time they stepped out of biggest flaw, though, lies in this rather brittle TO THE FUTURE
the M3’s shadow. There’s a multi-link rear end, chassis. It never truly settles, which is as bad for
six-speed gearbox, M’s new Variable LSD, even comfort as it is for confidence. BMW pulled the covers off a new two-seat
the same 3.62 final drive. So combined with Today most Z4 Ms sit in the £25-30k bracket roadster concept at this year’s Villa d’Este,
the updated S54 engine and the coupé’s and represent a significant piece of M history the BMW Concept Skytop. Despite it lacking
1495kg kerbweight that’s some 75kg fleeter as last resting place for its incredible straight- a ‘Z’ designation, design boss Adrian von
than an M3, it’s a proper little firecracker, six, plus they look fabulously sharp, that Hooydonk also officially likened it to the
quickly picking up its heels and snarling and powertrain is incredible… Like-for-like, they Z8, citing design references throughout.
rasping through its quad exhaust tips. Flexible are cheaper than the best Z3 M Coupés – only Ultra-thin LED head- and tail-lights, a
too, with 80% of its 269lb ft torque on tap there’s no shortage of great M Coupés in that boat-like prow and horizontally elongated
below 2000rpm. ballpark. Notably the car you see here. kidney grilles are particularly deferential;
Push it hard over this undulating landscape All of which makes the Z3 M Coupé not differences include the two removable
and, where the M Coupé’s steering feels a little only best to drive, but best for value, too. The targa-style panels rather than a fabric roof.
lazy, the Z4M’s is faster than an M3 CSL’s drive, the quirky design and the skunkworks Based on the 8-series, the Skytop is
(which was swifter than a base M3’s but still back story suggest this’ll be the Z that history powered by a 626bhp 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
a little dozy), and even retained hydraulic remembers more fondly. It already does: most (as seen in the M8, and the outgoing M5 CS).
assistance where every other Z4 uses new- definitely one to tuck away for ze future. It was spotted driving at Villa d’Este, and
fangled electric assistance. It’s a nice, chunky BMW has just announced that 50 will be
feel that promptly fires the nose at the apex THANKS TO Munich Legends, munichlegends.co.uk. built. All have been pre-sold…

86
Destination Club des Autos

CLUB CLASS
Do you enjoy driving in France? Love the Dordogne? Then a new car club based
around a restored château could be your dream home-from-home
Words Mark Dixon Photography Oswald Schwirtz

88
‘THERE ARE NO locks on any of the doors,’ says Bob Meijer, creator To use estate-agent speak, it’s ‘nestled’ in rolling, wooded countryside
and owner of the Club des Autos. ‘It’s a house, not a hotel. That might in the very south of the Dordogne; your archetypal French medieval
seem strange, but you don’t usually have locks on your rooms at home, do stately home hideaway, located in such a quiet part of the country that the
you? And if you have guests to stay, you don’t put them in a bedroom French Resistance were able to operate from it during World War Two
with a lock on it. This is a very important part of my philosophy that without the occupying Nazis ever finding out they were there. Which
Château de Sermet should not be seen as a hotel.’ means, of course, that it is also a perfect place for people who like
So, how do you define Club des Autos? Perhaps best to think of it as a enjoying old cars on beautiful and near-deserted roads.
bolthole that members can visit as often as they like, in return for an And that brings us neatly to Bob, an octogenarian Dutch classic-car
annual membership fee and a per-night accommodation rate. What enthusiast who loves driving his old cars – really driving them. During
differentiates it from other private members’ clubs is that you can also 1997-1999, he made a round-the-world trip in a Bugatti Type 46; in
keep your classic car there all-year round, so you can use the château as 2017-2018 he crossed from the east coast of Canada to Alaska in the west
a base for tours or holidays on the Continent. As Octane found out over in his vintage Alvis 12/50 ‘duck’s back’. When Octane visited the Château,
a weekend this summer, Château de Sermet is a very cool place to stay. he collected us from the airport – a two-hour round trip – in his newly

This page and opposite

Since buying the Château
de Sermet in 2018, Bob
Meijer (spiritedly driving
his Bugatti, top left) and his
team of craftsmen have
transformed it into a
welcoming bolthole for
like-minded enthusiasts.

89
Destination Club des Autos

‘The main tower was built in

the 14th Century, ironically to
watch for invading English’
purchased Land Rover Series IIA LWB Station Wagon. It’s the 2.25-litre Fortunately, the château is surrounded by about 140 acres of estate,
diesel version, so surely the ultimate testament to his lack of compromise much of it wooded with oak trees, so the floors, staircases and doors have
when it comes to driving old vehicles. been beautifully renewed in that material; having good business contacts
As you may have gathered, Bob is something of an Anglophile and he in Ukraine meant that Bob was able to find skilled carpenters to carry out
is also a non-exec director of the groundbreaking Bicester Heritage this massive job to a tight deadline.
‘village’ of classic car specialists, based in a restored WW2 RAF They’ve done a wonderful job. The château has been beautifully
aerodrome. ‘My friend Dan [Geoghegan, chief executive of BH] and I restored throughout, maintaining its ancient appearance but with mod-
were in a vintage car accident, and while Dan was laid-up recovering cons such as underfloor heating in the bathrooms – don’t worry, you
I sent him an iPad and told him to find us a small airfield for sale where won’t be cold. There are now 18 bedrooms and five grand salons on the
we could store some cars and my friend could fly in with his plane. But ground floor, plus two modern and fully equipped kitchens – guests are
the only one he could find was Bicester, hardly a small airfield… encouraged to prepare their own meals, perhaps using ingredients from
‘Four years after beginning that project in 2013, I realised we had 350 the vegetable garden, and there are some great restaurants locally. Chefs
beautiful cars stored in the Historit hangar at Bicester, but my question can also be brought in, if required. Just as importantly, there is undercover
then was: where can we use those cars? The roads in the UK are terrible parking for 70 cars; Bob keeps a selection of his own classics at the
and congested, the weather is awful, and let’s not mention the food… château and an annual membership (currently €3500 for one person plus
But my son has a hotel in southern France, and I knew a real estate broker partner) includes a year’s garaging – not so bad when you think you could
in his town, and there are always hundreds of châteaux for sale because easily pay £250 per month to rent a lock-up single garage in, say, Putney.
no one can afford to maintain them, so I asked him to find one that had Having experienced a few of Bob’s classics on the local roads – Citroën
lots of garaging. We looked at maybe 30 places but what struck me most ‘Big Six’ Traction Avant, E-type roadster and pre-war Riley rally car – and
about this one is all the fireplaces: almost one in every room. I thought sampled the cuisine, this writer can confirm that it’s a fantastic area to
that would make it ideal for British visitors, who don’t care if it’s cold and drive an old car, with well-surfaced roads and hardly any traffic. The
there is no central heating, as long as there is a fireplace.’ château would make a great base for a car club tour or a launch event,
This was in 2018, when the château was livable-in with a choice of budget airlines flying from several
but needed some restoration. It’s steeped in history, UK airports to Brive or Bergerac.
as you would expect: the main tower was built in the Becoming part of Club des Autos won’t suit
14th Century, ironically to watch for invading English. Below, from left everyone’s pocket. Besides the membership fee and a
‘Ironically’ because from 1929 the château was owned Sunshine and shadows – one-off registration fee of €500, there’s a room rate of
the château is steeped in
by an Anglo-French family, who lived there for over 40 romance; furnishings have
€275-320. But keeping a holiday home abroad isn’t
years, and in the intervening centuries the occupiers all been carefully selected; cheap, either, and even if you’re in a position to afford
were either pro- or anti-British, depending on the one of the comfortable one, not much can beat being able to say that you’re
politics of the time. Most of the buildings were added salons in which to relax off to ‘your’ château in the Dordogne.
in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries – although the after a day spent driving
huge outdoor pool is a more recent development. on near-empty roads. For full details, visit clubdesautos.com.

90
 TILFORD, SURREY
GUIDE PRICE £3,500,000 FREEHOLD

[7 bedrooms] [5 bathrooms] [4 reception rooms] [3 acres]

A car collectors dream! with a stunning and spacious family home extending to 5,300 sq ft with a further 6,000 sq ft
garaging and workshops with enough space for 40/45 cars ideal for a car enthusiast or seller. The house is full of
character and also offers a large indoor swimming pool,2 bedroom annex, Summer house extensive park like grounds.
Council Tax Band H. EPC E.

HAMPTONS FARNHAM 01252 750883 HAMPTONS.CO.UK

 THE
O C TA N E
INTERVIEW

Dave Brodie
From saloon car racing to turbocharging road
cars via Star Wars, Dave Brodie has been
making things go faster since the 1960s
Words Richard Heseltine Photography Paul Harmer

92
LAUGHTER SUBSIDES only long enough Below, from top
for him to say in all seriousness: ‘There is Memorabilia from a lifetime spent racing; recognition arrived with
nothing you can write that will offend me. Fill a 2.1-litre Ford Escort Mk1 ‘Special Saloon’, later upgraded to 2.2
your boots.’ Dave Brodie is on a roll, firing out litres and 16 valves, in which Brodie scored 21 victories in 1971.
anecdotes like buckshot. A renowned driver
coach has just been skewered verbally: ‘He’s all
ego and has the mechanical sympathy of an air
raid.’ Prior to that was a yarn about a racer who
turned to nefarious means to pay for drives,
not forgetting stories about the extracurricular
activities of some big names; the sort of tales
that may result in you propping up a flyover
should they ever be repeated in print. The man
himself couldn’t care less. Do your worst.
It was always thus. An outspoken figure from
an era not exactly lacking for characters, ‘The
Brode’ enlivened saloon car racing throughout
the 1960s, ’70s and beyond, as much by his
every utterance as by his burning desire to win.
He was nothing if not a charismatic rebel.
‘I always wanted to do well at sport, and I
was a good boxer in my youth, but motor
racing became my thing,’ he says. ‘I am glad
that I found my niche. I was pretty much
unbeatable from the start. I went to the first
post-war Grand Prix at Silverstone with my
dad when I was very young and I suppose that
fired the interest. My heroes when I started out
were Jim Clark – obviously, but also Chris
Craft and John Fitzpatrick.
‘My first car was an Austin A35. Actually, it
was an A30 that I turned into an A35. The old
A-series was taken out to 1100cc and it had
Formula Junior rods, pistons, crank and block,
along with two Amal carbs. The family trade
was electroplating, and I was a metal polisher.
It was a nasty job but I was making £35 a week,
which was good money for the early 1960s.
Anyway, I can remember sitting on the roof of
the Austin, watching a saloon car race at Brands
Hatch from the inside at Druids. There were
two or three guys who were obviously good
but the rest were useless. I said, “I could be
third in this race – with this car.” My mates
ribbed me mercilessly.’
Suitably riled, he paid ten shillings for a race Cue more laughter. ‘In all seriousness, I only a set of mag wheels and slicks plus a car cover,
licence shortly thereafter, joined the Harrow did a few races in the Turner before I put it on all for £2100,’ he muses. ‘It was designed by
Car Club and participated in his first race in its roof at Snetterton. I was mostly working “Tom the Weld” – Roy Thomas – and had one
June 1963. ‘It was the Eight Clubs meeting at hard earning money while I built up a Ford or two quirks that I didn’t know about: it
Silverstone. I won first time out and was third Anglia. It had a five-bearing 1300cc motor, wasn’t sufficiently rigid and would swap ends
in the second race that same day. I should have actually a de-stroked 1500, with downdraught in a heartbeat. At that time I was working
finished second but I got distracted by Brian head, 48IDA carbs, five-speed Jack Knight myself stupid trying to pay for the car so I took
Culcheth’s Mini. I couldn’t believe the way it ’box; all sorts of stuff. I raced that car on a race mechanic who turned out to be
was being driven and the amount of smoke throughout 1966-67.’ Our hero then accrued hopeless: I spent a year driving around in a
that was pouring off the front tyres. I was one win from as many starts aboard the ensuing drip tray. I had a few decent results [including a
hooked. I then sold the Austin but kept the twin-cam Anglia ‘Big Nelly’ before he received Formula Libre win at Snetterton] but it wasn’t
engine. I put it in a Turner, but I got banned an offer for the car that he couldn’t refuse. A for me so I got on with building the Escort.’
from driving on the road, which meant I less happy foray into single-seaters followed. And by Escort, Brodie is of course referring
couldn’t keep my race licence.’ Pause. ‘I then ‘I did a deal with Charlie Lucas for a Titan to the ‘Run Baby Run’ Mk1 that dominated the
competed as “Roland Perrin” for a bit.’ F3 car, complete with a box of Hewland ratios, Special Saloons category from 1969 to ’71.

93
The Octane Interview Dave Brodie

‘I had the ten

greatest years
you could have
in motorsport.
If the car held
together, I
usually won’

Clockwise, from above

Elans. ‘One was Victor Raysbrook’s car, the
Making a point, from the comfort of home;
other the ex-Gold Seal Car Company/British
BBR’s turbocharged Mk1 MX-5 Le Mans, Vita Racing Team machine, which was
sold through British Mazda dealers; laurels beautiful. I did 36 races in the Lotuses and
earned in ‘Run Baby Run’ Escort Mk1. I reckon I won all of them.
‘Back then I would do three or more races
over a weekend,’ he says. ‘I could make £400 in
prize money, which equated to about £6000
over a season, so the racing began to pay for
itself. From that first race in 1963 to my
accident in 1973, I had the ten greatest years
you could ever have in motorsport. If the car
held together, I usually won.’
By ‘accident’, he is referring to the horror
shunt that occurred during the saloon car
support race for the 1973 British Grand Prix at
Silverstone. It involved Brodie’s works Escort
RS1600, Dave Matthews’ Capri RS2600 and
Gavin Booth’s Mini. ‘I was doing the British
‘That was a brilliant car. We welded cast-iron dream of doing. I wasn’t happy. The other time and European Touring Car Championships
bores into a twin-cam block and took it out to was by Roger Williamson who was a superb and travelling constantly; having a great time.
2.1 litres. Later on, we got it to 2.2 litres, fuel- driver; one of the best I ever came up against.’ Matthews was second, and I could have taken
injected it, and gave it a 16-valve Cosworth Mention of the Leicestershire ace, who him the previous lap but thought better of it.
head. When I first raced the Escort, the car was perished in a ghastly accident eight laps into Anyway, he slammed into Booth’s Mini as we
in primer because I couldn’t decide on a colour. the 1973 Dutch Grand Prix, is freighted with came up to lap it and he went off the road on
Nobody did racing cars in black back then. It emotion. Brodie wells up momentarily as he the approach to Abbey Curve before rejoining
didn’t happen, but I always liked to be different recalls this lost talent. ‘Whenever he was down the track. It hit me head-on. Matthews
so I got my guy in Feltham to do it. I remember this way he would stay at my place, Roger and cartwheeled and was hanging out of the car
him opening the doors of his paint shop and Ronnie Peterson; I was best man at his like a ragdoll and I was pulverised. I almost had
seeing the car for the first time. All that was wedding. They were my best mates in racing. my leg amputated.
missing was a taxi sign on the roof. At a torrential Brands – this would have been ‘I spent seven months in hospital. It was
‘I then came up with the idea of getting the 1970 – I’d buggered off into the distance; lost agony. Once I was well enough, I went to see
car pinstriped, with squares. It was striped in everyone, or so I thought. Then, coming out of Ford’s competition manager Stuart Turner,
canary yellow, not gold like everyone says; on Clearways near the end of the race, I see these who told me to help myself from the stores.
the bonnet, the roof, all over. It took about headlights out of the corner of my eye. On the I had a plan to build a Super Saloon Capri with
three days to do and looked incredible. This last corner of the final lap, I got a dollop of a 3.4-litre Cosworth GAA engine.’ The result
was before Lotus did its cars in John Player oversteer and Roger jumped me. I loved the was the mighty ‘Black Beast’, a car that went
Special colours. I still maintain they stole my bloke so it was all right to be beaten by him.’ from Chas Beattie’s drawing board to finished
idea! I was only beaten twice: Roy Pierpoint With 21 wins in 1971 alone, the leap from item in just five months. ‘The only problem was
gave me a driving lesson at Brands Hatch in the wannabe to player appeared complete, Brodie the engine. Tom Walkinshaw got the
Bill Shaw Rover P6. He left-foot-braked me all dovetailing his Escort campaign with Cosworths and we were stuck with the old
around the circuit, something I wouldn’t ModSports outings aboard successive Lotus 2.8-litre Weslake V6. I should have put a small-

94
The Octane Interview Dave Brodie

‘Race engines from Japan

didn’t materialise so Ken
Brittain and I did our own.
We made the Starion a winner’

block V8 in it. Ford made a fuss of the car when other marques, including Bentley, Aston Charles Bailey got involved in entering a
we had finished it [in 1974], and pictures were Martin and BMW, BBR found fame with its Harrier and he asked me to build the engines;
fired off all over the world, but it wasn’t MX-5 turbo conversion, offered via Mazda GB. one for racing, the other for practice. The
competitive because of the engine.’ It’s reckoned the company boosted around upshot was that I ended up becoming one of
The notion of Brodie in anything other than 250,000 cars in total. the drivers alongside Rob Wilson and William
a Ford seemed unthinkable but a change to less There came a return to the Blue Oval on- Hewland. My team put everything into getting
outré tin-tops with a Mazda RX-3 – ‘A terrible track via the mighty Sierra RS500. ‘I loved that that car prepared but it was a heavy old thing.
car to begin with’ – led to a long-standing link car,’ he says. ‘You were on a knife-edge, though. William knocked two wheels off it quite early
with another Japanese manufacturer. Brodie I won at Thruxton in 1989 but then received a on and I remember him saying “If I had known
persuaded Mitsubishi importer Michael Orr to six-month ban from racing. Another driver it would cause so much trouble, I’d never have
bankroll a BTCC bid; in a roundabout way, it had offered me some fuel, which turned out crashed,” which tickled me.’
led to the formation of turbo pioneers, BBR to be 105-octane. My car was tested, his was Conversation then turns to his good friend,
(Brodie Brittain Racing). ‘We were promised not. I mouthed off a bit – quite a lot, actually, Great Train Robber (and Formula Junior
race engines from Japan but they didn’t which probably didn’t help! I had a habit of racer) Roy James – ‘I’ve heard it said that I was
materialise so Ken Brittain and I did our own. getting up people’s noses. The car was originally one of the guys who didn’t get caught, which is
We made the Starion a winner. It was a superb white, but it was in its “Black in Black” livery hilarious’ – before explaining how he found
car. When they pulled out of racing, we decided by the time I came back in 1990.’ himself in Tunisia driving a Landspeeder on
to do road cars. While Brodie would continue competing the set of Star Wars. All of which is mentioned
‘Our first was a turbocharged Mitsubishi into the new millennium, it was with Cosworth in his memoirs, Last Train to Cockfosters. All
Shogun. Performance Car magazine pitched power that he enjoyed a final fling five volumes of it. It is gloriously, uproariously
one against an Overfinch Range Rover and internationally. ‘I had always wanted to race at funny. Oh, and outrageous. You would be
raved about it. That article made us.’ Via several Le Mans and finally did the 24 Hours in 1994. amazed were it otherwise.

96
 H .M. B EN TLEY ’S F IN ES T TH E LA ST HA R RI SON T OURE R

S PEE D M O DE L 2 0 0BH P LE M AN S R EP BL UE RN

L E M A NS RE P NU M B E R 7 THR E E G ENE R ATI ONS OF O NE F AM ILY OWN E RSH IP

Rolls-Royce prototype 17EX Sports Phantom

of

Built to see if ‘the best car in the world’ could be

made even better, this Sports Phantom prototype
was first owned by an Indian maharajah
Words Mark Dixon Photography Sam Chick

98
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Rolls-Royce prototype 17EX Sports Phantom

e was unimaginably wealthy. He ruled In fact, Royce had already given the go-ahead for such a
over a landmass that was larger than car in 1925 when Basil Johnson’s late brother, Claude, the
England and Scotland combined. His founding MD of Rolls-Royce, was still in charge. The first
collection of precious gems and so-called Sports Phantom was built in late 1925 and given
jewellery was worth the equivalent of the Rolls-Royce experimental number 10EX; it was followed
well over a billion euros in today’s by several others, but the ones most relevant to this story are
money. And over the course of six years during the 1920s he 15, 16 and 17EX respectively. They were bodied by three
bought 17 Rolls-Royces – to add to the seven early Silver different coachbuilders, but all to a new lightweight design
Ghosts that were already parked in the family garage. that had been foreshadowed by the Barker four-seater
It’s easy to see why (deep breath) Colonel His Highness touring body fitted to 10EX.
Shriman Rajrajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sri Sir Hari Singh After some modifications in December 1926 to make that
Indar Mahindar Bahadur, ruler of one of the five most 10EX body more rakish – a new, shallow and raked-back vee
important states in British India, was a particularly favoured windscreen; skimpy, lighter wings; spare wheel moved
client of Rolls-Royce. So favoured, in fact, that Hari Singh – inside a new aerodynamic tail – that shape would become
as he was known to his friends – was allowed to buy one of the template for the ones fitted to 15, 16 and 17EX. It was
the company’s experimental Sports models, 17EX, the car penned by chief project engineer Ivan Evernden, known as
you see here. And now, after decades of much later European ‘Ev’, and these simple improvements to aerodynamics raised
ownership, it is back in Indian hands. the otherwise stock Phantom’s top speed to almost 90mph.
Today’s keeper is Yohan Poonawalla, a billionaire Weight was still holding it back, however, and this is where
industrialist and classic car enthusiast; the latter so much so Royce made his own, very significant contribution. He
that he was named Classic Car Ambassador of the Year at the patented a new lightweight body construction that involved
2023 Historic Motoring Awards. ‘I have an affinity for all deep laminated body sills made from sheet steel and
things Rolls-Royce,’ he confirms during our photoshoot. plywood, with plywood also used for the body panelling.
‘This one is a particular gem, which I am proud and No one’s sure why Rolls-Royce chose three separate
privileged to own. Maharajahs and British Royalty ordered coachbuilders for the improved lightweight variations of
special bespoke Rolls-Royces, which were very advanced in 10EX’s body that were fitted to 15, 16 and 17EX. The first
their day and age. Engineering, appearance, design, elegance car, 15EX, was bodied by Hooper, and 16EX by Barker;
– they offered a complete package.’ both were ready by early 1928. 17EX, however, was bodied
Like Yohan, who was the subject of our Autobiography – unusually, for a Rolls-Royce – by Jarvis of Wimbledon.
page in Octane 252, we’ve featured this Rolls-Royce before. Jarvis did have experience in making lightweight bodies, not
That was way back in 2006, Octane 42, when the car was least for Malcolm Campbell’s Blue Bird record-breaker, and
fresh out of restoration and making its mark on the concours here’s an interesting coincidence: all three of the later EX
circuit at Pebble Beach and Villa d’Este. It wasn’t available to cars were painted in various shades of light blue, and 17EX’s
drive then and it’s taken 18 years to put that right, but now colour is remarkably similar to the recently constructed Blue
Yohan has very generously offered us the chance to try it. Bird’s. Did Jarvis use the same paint?
A whole century ago, Sir Henry Royce was fretting that Today, beautifully restored as closely as possible to its
his company’s cars were losing out in sporting appeal to rival original specification, that bright blue paint and matching
Bentley. While the 1925 ‘New Phantom’ had a 7.7-litre blue interior trim give 17EX an unusually vivacious
straight-six that would urge it up to around 80mph, even a appearance. Opinion may be divided on whether ‘Ev’s
standard Bentley 3 Litre could manage the same, and tuned attempt at an aerodynamic shape is classically beautiful,
3 Litres could crack the magic ton. The Autocar said in its particularly from the rear three-quarter angle, but it’s
22 May 1925 review of the New Phantom that ‘The Rolls- certainly striking, those enormous scoops that are the front
Royce… is not a very fast car considering its engine size.’ wings appearing to lunge forward to devour the road.
Ouch! By the restrained standards of the day, that was a Climb up into the car via the inverted-aerofoil running
metaphorical slap in the face with a leather driving gauntlet. board and featherweight driver’s door and you’re left in no
Something had to be done, decided Royce. He proposed a doubt that this roadster means business. Ahead of you is a
sportier experimental version of the Phantom to take the plain black dashboard stuffed with gauges and dials, while
fight to Bentley, and wrote to newly appointed managing the steering column presents an assembly of knobs and
director Basil Johnson in 1926: ‘The object of preparing this levers for adjusting carburettor mixture strength, ignition
chassis is that, if speed merchants in the form of English timing and throttle position. Its nickelled skeleton frame is
peers or Indian Rajahs or others doubt the capacity of the like a pilot’s control yoke, and the steeply peaked dash
Rolls-Royce Phantom, this specimen… can be tried by coaming and raked vee-screen are similarly aeronautical;
them… we do think that the owners of the smooth and you could be sitting in a fuselage rather than a car body.
silent models within their large bodies capable of 80mph There’s no rev-counter, but you’re never in any danger of
will be pleased to know that the same chassis and engine not hearing what the engine’s doing because 17EX is much
when fitted to a touring car will be capable of 95-100mph.’ more vocal than a regular Phantom, its soundtrack

100
101
Rolls-Royce prototype 17EX Sports Phantom

This page and opposite

17EX requires muscle to steer at low speed but is a joy to handle on a fast road; Halda
rally meter below busy dash is a legacy of many hard drives since the car’s restoration.

102
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Rolls-Royce prototype 17EX Sports Phantom

somewhere between a burble and a genuine snarl when you large Spirit of Ecstasy, it’s hard to resist imperious ‘master
goose the throttle. The vast torque produced by that 7.7-litre of the universe’ emotions as you control this huge statement
straight-six means that smooth pull-aways with minimal of a car, the embodiment of an era when much of the world’s
clutch slip can be achieved by letting the clutch in at idle map was coloured pink.
speed and just catching it with a few extra revs at the moment Appropriately, when 17EX was offered for sale a few
it bites, while the right-hand gearchange is challenging months after its completion in July 1928, it caught the eye of
enough to be satisfying without being impossible. what Henry Royce had speculated might be an ‘Indian
Although 17EX will in theory trundle along as slowly as Rajah’ or, more accurately, a Maharajah, our old friend Hari
you wish, the spark plugs don’t like prolonged stop-start Singh. Rolls-Royce had already embarked on the next
pottering. Better by far to keep the momentum up, when the generation of Phantom and its sportier Continental sibling,
heavy-ish steering lightens and the car really comes alive. so 17EX was now redundant for testing purposes and it was
How alive? Well, after cruising steadily along a dual- duly shipped to Bombay, as it was then known, in November.
carriageway at an indicated 60mph, the driver of our camera Oddly, though, it seems that Hari Singh wasn’t actually
car later remarked that 17EX was doing closer to 75-80 – that interested in cars, despite having a fabulous collection.
and there was plenty more to come. Sitting at a lorry-like Historian Gautam Sen, who is an expert on cars owned
elevation, gazing down that long bonnet at a preternaturally by the Maharajahs, suggests that he may have bought this

104
‘It’s hard to resist imperious
“master of the universe”
emotions as you control this
huge statement of a car’

particular Rolls-Royce ‘as a case of one-upmanship’ and

didn’t drive it much. He sold it on after just three years.
The next long-term owner was much more of a petrolhead.
Provat Kumar Mitter was one of five brothers born to a
very prominent Calcutta lawyer, whose death in 1930 left
them with plenty of money to spend on toys. When Provat
acquired 17EX, it replaced the Isotta Fraschini 8A that
he’d bought when aged 21, and joined a fleet that included
two Duesenberg Model Js and two Mercedes-Benz 38/250s.
The regular family journeys to their properties in the lusher,
cooler areas away from the heat and congestion of Calcutta
made full use of all these supercars, as Gautam Sen describes:
‘[The drivers] would invariably race the last leg, with the
Duesenbergs blasting away on the straighter stretches, the
Mercedes-Benzes accelerating past with their superchargers
howling away, the 17EX gracefully tucking and nipping 1928 Rolls-Royce 17EX
within them… thundering by, flashing past in a blur of Engine 7668cc straight-six,
side-mounted camshaft, OHV,
sound, fury, exhaust fumes and colour.’ aluminium cylinder head, single
Times and tastes change, of course, and in 1944 Provat downdraught carburettor
Kumar Mitter decided to sell 17EX in favour of a 100mph Power 99.5bhp @ 2000rpm
Packard. The car moved around India in the hands of various (with exhaust cut-out open)
Transmission Four-speed
owners until 1967 when, by then in a poor state, it was manual, rear-wheel drive
acquired by classic car enthusiast Protap Roy. Originally Steering Worm and nut
from another very wealthy Calcutta family – his grandfather Suspension Beam axles front
owned a Phantom I – Protap Roy’s fortunes were, literally and rear, semi-elliptic leaf
springs, hydraulic dampers and
and metaphorically, affected by the partition of India in friction dampers
1947 and he had to get a job ‘in commerce’ where, Brakes Drums
fortunately, he flourished. By the 1960s his hobby was Top speed 100mph (est)
Rolls-Royce prototype 17EX Sports Phantom

Above
17EX’s owner Yohan
Poonawalla is a huge fan
of pre- and post-war
Rolls-Royces, particularly
those with special history.

scouring India for rare or exotic old cars, which led to him 17EX was still a work in progress, however, when Molari
acquiring a Mercedes 500K and a Hispano-Suiza short- sold it in 1999 to would-be motor magnate Victor Muller,
chassis Boulogne, to name just two. who was about to revive the Spyker marque. Muller asked
Securing 17EX was his major coup, however, and a lucky Pena to complete the restoration and 17EX duly debuted at
one. Having heard rumours in 1967 that it was owned by the Pebble Beach in 2004, and then appeared at Villa d’Este in
Rajasaheb of Bhadri, a remote princely state in north India, 2006. But Muller still wasn’t completely happy with the car
Protap Roy realised that the Rajasaheb would be judging the and in 2009, when he needed to raise capital to buy Saab, he
annual dog show in Calcutta that year. Since Protap and his placed 17EX in RM Auctions’ London sale that October.
wife had a pedigree dog themselves, they entered the The successful bidder was Austrian enthusiast Alexander
competition, took Best in Show and consequently obtained Schaufler – and, at last, 17EX would again be used frequently
the perfect low-key introduction to the Rajasaheb. As part and energetically in a way that it hadn’t since those epic
of the deal, the Rajasaheb reputedly asked Protap to try trans-India dashes of the 1930s. Schaufler loved doing
to obtain a pair of corgis for him from England… demanding rallies and in just a few short years he put 17EX
The corgis may never have materialised but Protap Roy fully to the test. Beginning with the 2010 Flying Scotsman,
did start to contact various Rolls-Royce specialists and in three years he covered 15,000 miles in no fewer than ten
enthusiasts in the UK, among them dealer and expert events, most of them in the mountains of Europe. He then
Christopher Renwick. Stymied by the difficulties of took the thoroughly well-used 17EX to Pebble Beach again
obtaining parts for 17EX’s restoration, Protap Roy sold the in 2012 as part of its Cars of the Maharajahs display, where it
car to another Indian in 1972, and in 1977 Renwick acquired wore its battle scars proudly.
it. He sold it the same year to Italian collector Dr Veniero Now 17EX is back in Indian hands almost a century after
Molari, who finally got around to commissioning its full Hari Singh took delivery. After being refreshed to perfect
restoration in the 1990s by coachbuilder Gianni Pena. condition by P&A Wood, it earned Yohan Poonawalla a Best
During its many decades in India, 17EX had been in Show at the Valletta Concours in June – the first time an
repainted cream and black, and a surviving fragment of blue Indian collector has won such an award outside their native
paint found on the car’s underside wasn’t a clear enough country – and Best in Show at the ICONS Concours in
guide to the exact original shade. The problem was solved Mallorca, Spain, this October.
when Anthony Hussey of Connolly Leather, which had One question remains. Could 17EX genuinely reach
supplied 17EX’s trim back in 1928, told Molari and Pena 100mph? It seems entirely feasible, even likely, but it’s never
that his company produced only one shade of light blue at been proven. Hmm, now there’s an idea…
that time – and they still had the colour code. Because
leather and paint were known to have been the same colour THANKS TO to Yohan Poonawalla, Mohammed Luqman
back in the day, the Italians then had an impeccable reference Ali Khan, Terence Morley, and not least Gautam Sen for his
for the paint, too. invaluable book ‘Rolls-Royce 17EX, A Fabulous Destiny’.

106
 Workshop/Enquiries:  
Keith Bowley:  , kbowley@akvr.com
Class Winner Andrew Ames:  , andrewames@akvr.com www.akvr.com

TURRINO WHEELS LTD

ALL types of wire wheels, hubs and wheel nuts designed, made, restored.

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107
Unique Lancia Autec Delta Integrale prototype

Richard Heseltine drives the unique Autec Delta Integrale Evo 1 Martini 6 prototype,
built by Lancia’s skunkworks to commemorate six World Rally Championships
Photography Jonathan Jacob

108
109
Unique Lancia Autec Delta Integrale prototype

o here we are, slaloming around potholes heard of it, but you will be aware of the man who helmed the Above and right
on the former RAF Lavenham site. Jolt, firm at its inception: the engineering giant, Dante Giacosa. Martini stripes and
clonk, whoosh, jolt. Heavens, that’s a big In order to understand the Integrale’s place in the general the Abarth scorpion
’un. Boost. And repeat. To think, this scheme of things, first you need to be aware of why the badge tell a tale of
their own, yet this
Suffolk backwater was once home to the original car was created. Scroll back to the early 1980s and a car is actually a
Eighth Air Force, the skies above awash time when rallying underwent a metamorphosis. The product of the Autec
with B-17 Flying Fortresses. What’s left is Group B years represented the most extreme period of off- skunkworks.
losing its battle with gravity, or at least the piste motorsport yet witnessed. It was an era when steroidal
parts that aren’t near the one building that cars with only token nods to Highway Code adherence
is (conspicuously) well-maintained. That’s scorched special stages; an age of big-money programmes,
the centre of operations for a hush-hush ballsy drivers, rule-bending chicanery, protests and counter-
outfit, one of its number not taking too kindly to a Lancia protests. For five mostly glorious seasons, rallying was
Delta Integrale descending on its perimeter. He doesn’t care anything but dull and formulaic.
that we have permission from the landowner. He’s too busy Then the music stopped. In 1986, the FISA governing
frothing at the mouth to listen. body scuttled the upcoming Group S category (for pure-
He obviously isn’t a fan of homologation specials, and bred machinery, only ten replicas of which needed to be
one that by way of an awkward segue was also the work of a made to meet homologation requirements). It also abruptly
shadowy skunkworks. The car pictured here is shrouded in called time on Group B in the light of Henri Toivonen’s
myth and rumour. What is known for sure is that it was built fateful accident on the Tour de Corse. These mid-engined
by a brains trust that operated under the innocuous banner blunt instruments were deemed too fast and too dangerous.
of Autec. This engineering consultancy contributed to many New regulations called for production-based Group A cars
mainstream production cars in addition to building for 1987 on, and Lancia was quick off the mark in creating
prototypes within a small facility in the environs of Fiat’s an all-new weapon using experience garnered from the
Mirafiori plant. You could be forgiven for having never monstrous Delta S4.

110
 ‘THIS CAR IS SHROUDED
Abarth, which had long been Fiat and Lancia’s de facto
competition department, was responsible for conjuring its
new weapon. Basis for this WRC challenger was the Delta in

IN MYTH, BUILT BY A
rather more recognisable form, relative to its mid-engined
predecessor. When it was introduced in 1979, the Delta
offered few pointers to its becoming a performance icon.

BRAINS TRUST LED

But that was then. With 165bhp from its 2.0-litre twin-cam
turbo four, and an innovative all-wheel drive system, the
new HF 4WD (or SE043 in Abarth-speak) secured the 1987

BY DANTE GIACOSA’
World Championship of Makes title at a canter.
It also won the first two rounds of the following year’s
series before the Integrale picked up the baton. Launched at
the 1988 Frankfurt motor show in road-going form, this
newest strain packed a larger Garrett T3 turbo and an extra
20 horses. That, and 224lb ft of torque. Blistered ’arches
embraced fatter tyres and grey 15-inch alloys, while the punching out 200bhp at 5500rpm. Then the 210bhp
56:44 front:rear torque split imbued it with preternatural Evolution model arrived in October 1991.
levels of grip. It was capable of 0-60mph in 6.6sec and on to Even wider tracks front and rear meant the already
133mph, and was a peerless point-to-point car. conspicuous wheelarch extensions became larger still (now
This latest strain dominated the 1988 season, bagging a single pressing as opposed to fabricated). The front
manufacturer honours well before the end of the campaign. MacPherson strut top mounts were raised for better wheel
There was no time for resting on laurels, though. For the articulation, new grilles sited in the front bumper to
following year, Lancia introduced a new 16-valve variation dissipate under-bonnet heat build-up, and an adjustable
to be run alongside the existing eight-valve car. It was roof spoiler was added above the tailgate to increase
identifiable by its prominent bonnet bulge, other obvious downforce. By the following January, Lancia had introduced
deviations including wider wheels and tyres. With the the first of a bewildering array of limited editions to the
torque split changed to a rear-biased 47:54 for better roster, the Martini-liveried ‘5 World Champion’ celebrating
handling characteristics on asphalt, it made a successful the Integrale’s fifth consecutive WRC triumph. And by the
debut in the Sanremo Rally; even production versions were end of the year, another title had been eclipsed.

111
Unique Lancia Autec Delta Integrale prototype

Clockwise, Enter Integrale 6, complete with turquoise stitched for a member of the Agnelli clan, though the paperwork
from opposite Alcantara trim. However, with works involvement in rallying suggests a corporate non-entity owned it first.
Interior familiar in ending in 1992, the Integrale was on borrowed time. The What is clear is that it was built by Autec in conjunction
all but detail; Evo ultimate iteration arrived a year later with a revised version with Scuderia del Pilota, and project-managed by Ing
spec for 210bhp;
perfect stance;
of the enduring Lampredi-designed 2.0-litre unit (power Rodolfo Gaffino di Rossi. The latter outfit prepared cars for
unique badging; was hiked to 215bhp) and mostly cosmetic and detail the great and the good, some of the more celebrated
motorised revisions, along with more small-run rarities (including the creations including the one-off Integrale convertible built
Martini-badged imaginatively named Final Edition). In November 1994 for Gianni Agnelli, and the Lancia Giubileo landaulet that
radio cover. the Integrale entered into the past tense, by which time was gifted to Pope John Paul II. The Agnelli association here
44,296 had been made. is implied, some sources claiming that it was a present for
That wasn’t a bad haul for a homologation special; one Gianni’s son Edoardo, and that it was sold via a ‘favoured’
that, when first released in eight-valve form, saw just 50 dealer following Edoardo’s death in late 2000.
earmarked for the UK market. Even then, the concessionaire The wheel-in-each-corner stance is perfect (there are no
wasn’t convinced there was a market for such a car. ‘Our’ silly overhangs to clout against something on special stages).
Martini 6 variant conjures images of heroes such as Didier The Integrale looks as hard as coffin nails in a styled-by-
Auriol, Juha Kankkunen and Miki Biasion catching air engineers, Frankenstein mash-up kind of way. However,
aboard flame-splitting works cars, the sense of romantic only the side stripes were applied. Then there are the full-
fascination being heightened by the Martini warpaint. length brake grilles inset into the front wings. They are
Nevertheless, the livery here and one or two other unusual functional rather than blanked off as on regular Integrales.
details inform you that this isn’t your typical Integrale, if The ‘Powered by Abarth’ badge out back is unique to the car,
there is such a thing. This one may even have been built too. The more you look, the more you spot. Even items such

112
as the roof gutters are distinctive: they’re flatter; prototypes 1992 Autec Delta Integrale
for what became the unofficially named ‘Evo 2’ version. Evo 1 Martini 6 prototype
Once aboard, there are further clues that this is a one-off. Engine 1995cc DOHC
As in all Integrales, the dashboard architecture is clearly a four-cylinder, 16-valve,
throwback to the late 1970s, the same being true of the multi-point fuel-injection,
intercooled Garrett
cheap-as-chips switchgear. If nothing else, they serve as a turbocharger Power 280bhp @
reminder of the car’s roots: that it was adapted from a 5700rpm Torque 224lb ft @
1.3-litre commuter shuttle. However, the Alcantara- 3500rpm Transmission
trimmed Recaro buckets offer all the correct competition Five-speed manual, four-wheel
drive Steering Power-assisted
reference points. Bespoke elements stretch to the two rack and pinion Suspension
window-type switches in the centre console: they operate Front and rear: MacPherson
the rear spoiler (it’s adjustable by means of a spanner on the struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar
regular car). It returns to the ‘flat’ position once the engine Brakes Discs, ABS Weight
1340kg Top speed 140mph (est)
is switched off.
Then there’s the Martini Racing radio cover, which opens
and closes by means of a switch. The car once housed a
unique hi-fi system, with speakers concealed beneath the
carpeting. This set-up was removed at some point, as was
the suspension system, which incorporated an oil reservoir
adjacent to each strut, feeding into the dampers. This
apparently ensured a more comfortable ride without
disturbing the handling characteristics (Autec also trialled
the set-up on the Ferrari-engined Thema 8.32, but it was
dropped for production on grounds of cost). BACK FOR MORE!
This is as close to a new Integrale as you will ever find. It Martini-style stripes reappear
has covered whole ones of miles since its money-no-object on the Lancia Ypsilon Rally 4 HF
restoration in Turin under the direction of marque authority
Paul Baker. The base car origins are also all too obvious in Could this be the successor to the
the driving position, which is rather upright; the same is legendary Integrale? Lancia’s
true of the windscreen. There are a few quirks to overcome fourth-generation Ypsilon will be
first, too, not least the abrupt action of the clutch, which landing soon, rather like the old Delta,
takes some mastering. However, it’s a different story at basically an upmarket shopping car
speed. Although twin balance-shafts add refinement to the based on fairly humble mechanical
components (think Peugeot 208, in this
case). But more exciting for us Octane
types is that there’s talk of a return to
motorsport, too, with this hot little
range-topper, dubbed the Rally 4 HF.
Underneath the bodywork, power
comes from a 1.2-litre turbo three-
cylinder; doesn’t sound like much in
comparison to the Delta’s 2.0-litre
Lampredi engine, but it packs an Evo
2-matching 215bhp, and it’s fed to the
floor via a five-speed sequential
transmission and a limited-slip
differential. Which should make
trips to Waitrose a lot of fun.
Outside, there’s a roof scoop plus
a vented bonnet, stage-ready
straight-spoke, white-painted alloys
– and a set of stickers that just screams
competition (though without actually
mentioning that particular brand
of vermouth).
We shouldn’t expect quite the same
level of rally domination; instead this
is an entry-level machine, intended for
the ‘R4’ class in which talented
beginners seek a shot at glory in the
upper echelons. What price a more
powerful version? They could call
it the Integrale…

113
Unique Lancia Autec Delta Integrale prototype

inline four-cylinder engine, this Lampredi unit doesn’t particularly sensitive at low speed, becomes that bit more Above
sound quite as choral as in other applications. Which isn’t lucid when pressing on. Nor is there any of the ‘tug’ you get About the only view
to say it doesn’t play a nice tune, more that it’s a metallic, from some four-wheel-drive cars of this ilk. You don’t have of an Integrale you’ll
zinging rasp overlaid with wastegate exhalations. Throttle to wrestle it into submission. The car’s ride quality is better see on some roads
– and the rear spoiler
response is also softer than you might expect; less snappy. than you might expect, too, all things being relative. There’s on this one can be
It isn’t the all-or-nothing rally car archetype. some thumping over coarse asphalt, and when you connect adjusted electrically.
Traction is, of course, benchmark stuff, at least for its with a bump, you know it, but it’s no worse than most latter-
vintage. The Integrale doesn’t feel like a front-wheel-drive day sports-saloons on big rims. The seating position is
car with a modicum of rear-wheel assist. Instead it becomes humane thanks to the adjustable-height wheel, so there’s
increasingly neutral the harder you press. It finds footing no need to adopt the expected simian driving stance.
where other cars discover only wheelspin, and acceleration The beauty of the Integrale – any Integrale – is that there’s
is of the eye-widening variety. There are a few ergonomic enough straightline performance to bait most supercars and
quirks here and, as such, the steering wheel gets in the way sufficient dexterity to humble them when roads get gnarly.
of the important sections of the speedo and rev-counter. It’s practical, too, with seating for the family and a proper
As for the boost gauge, prior experience suggests that you rear hatch, even if the 4WD gubbins encroach a little on
don’t spend much time looking at it. You change up by ear boot space. Whether young pups would appreciate acting
as much as by what your contact points are telling you. as ballast is a different matter, though. Oh, and as ’grale
That said, the turbo begins to spool-up at 3000rpm, owners are wont to point out, it’s best not to have the
complete with a whistling chirrup, the surge from 50mph to windows half-open while you are having fun in the twisty
80mph being visceral thanks to the colossal amount of stuff (the body flexes a wee bit).
torque. You are now moving at quite a lick: the Integrale’s The Lancia is far from perfect, but it is bloomin’ brilliant.
mid-range pull is stupid-fast, but then this one is packing a Its forerunners, the Stratos, 037 and Delta S4, were rally
bespoke Abarth ECU (power is said to be around 280bhp). superstars and beyond the viewer’s reach and even
It is clearly happiest at high revs, too. The Lancia is a lot comprehension, but that was never the case with the
smoother there, while the gearchange initially feels a little Integrale. It was tantalisingly within reach in a way that no
fluid against the stops but with plenty of gate-spring assist. Group B car ever was. A few bespoke touches were added to
There’s a sense of invincibility, the Integrale defying the the mix with this enigmatic curio; the sort befitting Italian
laws of physics without any understeer, oversteer, royalty, albeit of the unanointed variety. It was a car fit for
on-its-roof unpleasantness. It just grips and grips and then a king of the industry.
grips some more.
This situation is abetted by steering that, while not THANKS TO Paul Baker, omologatoconsultancy.com.

114
Rudi Klein The ‘junkyard’ collector

Clockwise,
from above
The man himself; just
a few of the many
Porsche 356s he
broke for parts; the
ex-Rudolf Caracciola
one-off 1935
Mercedes 500K he
bought in 1979.

116
The
junkyard
dawg
The Rudi Klein he great thing about decrepit car collections – or
historically important single cars – that suddenly come up
collection has been for sale, and cause such a furore that the news seeps into
whispered about for the national and international press, is that they are rarely
as ‘discovered’ as the media would have you believe. What
decades, but who actually makes them astonishing is the level of belligerence
and bloody-mindedness the owners must exercise, for
was the man that decades, to fend off the army of dealers and auction houses
amassed it? hoping to persuade them to sell. Only death, divorce or taxes usually
swing it. Such was the case with the mammoth Baillon Collection in
Words James Elliott
Photography Dieter Rebmann /
France and the infamous Portuguese barn from which its treasures were
RM Sotheby’s ingeniously drip-fed into public consciousness.
Epitomising the fact that there is a world of difference between
something being kept discreetly, or being hidden and unknown, was the
£3million Bugatti Type 57S Atalante that, according to the UK national
press, was ‘forgotten’ for 50 years in a dusty domestic garage in the north-
east of England and ‘discovered’ only when the owner died and relatives
came to clear the garage. Great story, but if Dr Harold Carr hadn’t
regularly cleared the notes pushed through his Gosforth door by people
eager to help him sell his Bugatti, he wouldn’t have been able to go out.
King of all these open-secret collections, however, was Rudi Klein’s
junkyard in South Central Los Angeles, a distressed collection that is
now, finally, being sold in over 500 lots by RM Sotheby’s on 26-28
October. To be fair, such a collection, largely stored in the open air, would
have been impossible to keep secret even if you wanted to, thanks to high
racks of Porsches there for everyone to see and blocks of flats actually
overlooking the junkyard. Getting through the door was more difficult,
admittedly, and buying a complete car near-impossible. Even after Klein
died in 2001, aged 65, and sons Ben and Jason took control, the doors
remained closed with only a select few cars emerging – such as a sole-
survivor Horch 855 Speziale Roadster that Audi restored and displayed
in its museum in the 1990s.
Then RM Sotheby’s managed to nudge its nose through the door and
reveal the full extent of the treasures… and the heartbreaking condition
of many of them. Imagine a one-of-29 alloy Mercedes-Benz 300SL
Gullwing (est $4-6m), first owned by Luigi Chinetti in 1956 and sold to
Klein in 1977 for $30,000 – a lot of money then. It’s missing some bits,
has a dented wing from when he reversed it into a forklift, but even so…
Or consider the three-and-a-half Miuras; a unique 1964 Iso Grifo
A3/L Spider prototype by Giugiaro for Bertone (bought by Klein in
1980, estimate $700,000-1,000,000); or Pininfarina’s Ro80-based 1971
NSU Ro80 2 Porte + 2 show car (est $60,000-80,000); or 1959 Porsche
356A Carrera 1500 GS/GT packing super-rare plain-bearing crank four-
cam 692/1 engine ($450,000-600,000). Klein was big on 356s: they
make up more than 50 of the 150-plus actual cars in the auction. Of that
total around 30 are vaguely complete, but the remainder are crash-
damaged, burned out or cannibalised to varying degrees.

117
Rudi Klein The ‘junkyard’ collector

Other lots range from a Dino documents wallet ($5000-10,000 ) to a Unsurprisingly, he was reputedly not an ‘easy’ man, usually described
new/old-stock Merc 300SL crank ($3000-6000) or Miura engine and as eccentric (or with less polite synonyms) and fiercely protective of his
spares ($75,000-125,000). You start to see how a posh breaker’s yard was collection, sometimes via the release of the dogs. But then there is an
so wealth-generating and you start to see why Klein’s business model awful lot of mythology around Klein and his cars. Octane spoke to Dieter
worked – where else in California were people going to get a spare Rebmann, the photographer who visited the Junkyard, met Klein and
Porsche 904 Carrera GTS passenger door ($2000-4000)? The companion photographed the site at the turn of the century for his book with Roland
online auction has huge job lots of engines and seats, stacks of bonnets, Löwisch. ‘There were big warnings from people who knew him – be
tool-rolls, radios and carburettors. Need an entire crate of NOS Visca prepared, anything can happen!’ he recalls. ‘But for some reason he
Piston Rings for the Porsche 356? You’re in luck. was really friendly, told me about all the people trying to cheat him out
The reality, obviously, doesn’t quite live up to the press frenzy, one of his cars and spares.
supposedly authoritative source suggesting that Klein’s ex-Caracciola ‘After the first day, he invited us to dinner in a place called German
Mercedes-Benz 500K (estimate $4-6m) will become the most valuable Hofbräuhaus in LA and, when we arrived on the second day, it was
car ever sold (yup, over the €135m Uhlenhaut coupé), while all those as if we’d known each other for years. The Junkyard was just so
overhyping the mystery angle are overlooking Dieter Rebmann and breathtaking, unbelievable. I told him not to touch anything, to put a big
Roland Löwisch’s book Junkyard, which covered most of it. Though it is wall around the whole thing, put a roof on top and turn it into a museum
genuinely impressive and intriguing in equal measure, speculation that it – he loved that idea.
is the greatest collection of cars ever assembled by one man is ridiculous. ‘That was in 2000 and I was supposed to come back in 2001 and stay as
But that does not mean that the man who would assemble and long as I wanted to shoot all the details, the cars and the personal stuff. I
rigorously ringfence a collection such as this is not fascinating in his own had a ticket booked for 19 September 2001, but then came 9/11 and
right. Who was Rudi Klein, what were his motivations? What sort of then Rudi passed away in October 2001. That was the end of my story.’
character stockpiles so many important and highly desirable cars without If only Klein were still around and would deign to talk to the press
ever arresting their decay and more often amputating large parts of them? (such was his introversion, one of those ‘ifs’ is no more unlikely than the
A German émigré who arrived in the USA in the 1950s, he worked other) we might find out what motivated him; why he bought so many
as a barber among other mundane jobs before he was known to have valuable cars that he would never restore, use or sell. Maybe he was just
started buying recognised collector cars and huge collections of exotic plum crazy, but there isn’t that sense of mindless accumulation here. Nor
spares as early as the late 1960s. Focusing on top-marque European cars does the suggestion that he was just a very shrewd investor ring true
in any condition, Klein became notorious for his high prices but had a because investors have to cash in at some point, or at least maximise their
near-monopoly on spares for European exotics in California, so high they potential return through promotion or restoration. Most obsessive
could be. His business was not restoring, just breaking: different times! collectors simply would not be able to leave such cars undriveable.
The company eventually grew big enough to need a name and that was The straightforward answer is often best. In this case it is that he was
Porche Foreign Auto Wrecking, the misspelling deliberate to fend off just a guy with a junkyard, whose business happened to be buying and
German legal teams. parting-out cars that, even though a bit exotic at the time, were nowhere
The upmarket scrapyard business must have been lucrative because, by near as valuable or desirable as they are now. Porsche 356s in the 1970s
the late 1970s, Klein was flush enough to buy his first top-tier collector in California – vermin. As browsing the full RM Sotheby’s catalogue
car, the previously mentioned ex-Rudi Caracciola one-off 1935 Mercedes shows, for only a very select few did Klein actually adopt the role of
500K Pebble Beach class-winner (1978). He displayed it once, in 1980, saviour/collector: the rest were cannon fodder. The biggest take-away
at a Mercedes-Benz Club of America event in Newport before tucking here should be how much the classic car world and industry have grown
it away, but is said to have carried a picture of the car in his wallet. It and changed since Rudi started piling his Porsche spares cars high.
remains the jewel of the collection now, and is also proof that, to him,
some cars were too good for the cutting torch. For the full catalogue and results see rmsothebys.com/auctions/rk24/.

Below
Breaking hearts as well as cars: Klein’s ‘ junkyard’ is home to 300SL Gullwing, Roadster,
911s, even a Facel Vega – and is that the Iso Grifo A3/L Spider prototype?

118
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Frazer Nash Le Mans veteran

LE MANS
AT T H E

D OU BL E
This Frazer Nash uniquely contested Le Mans as two different
models and has been with one owner for the past 55 years
Words James Elliott Photography Barry Hayden

120
121
Frazer Nash Le Mans veteran

his car is dripping in history

and you can see all of it. With
all the fuss over the Bugatti
Type 59 winning Pebble Beach,
it is a good thing that I am not
a concours judge there. Heart
over head every time, me. And
patina goes straight to my heart.
I know plenty disagree and I
know that me falling for the
aged beauty of this much-loved and much-used car is a bit
different to the ex-King Leopold car taking the top honour
at the world’s most glamorous concours, but how can you
be other than utterly charmed by a car such as this?
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not some hanging rat rod, it is in
perfect, usable condition – which to my mind is actually
perfect condition – but its long life has not been hidden.
Original door-pockets droop with use; there is a painted-
over wooden floor between driver’s seat and pedals, the
brake emerging from a rough-cut hole and bent sideways for
heel-and-toeing. It is functional rather than for display.
Even though the fact that this car is now so gracefully
wrinkled and weathered does not necessarily mean that it
This page, from top hasn’t had cosmetic work at all in the past 73 years (the last
Perfect patination 55 of them with the same owner), certainly it has not
on seats tells of long
suffered much recently. Besides its condition, it is a very
Continental jaunts;
speedo is clockwise interesting car, not least because the eagle-eyed will have
but starts at 1pm noticed that the numbers don’t add up and there was no
rather than 7pm; boot such thing as a Frazer Nash Targa Florio in 1951 when
will swallow a couple chassis 451/100/150 was constructed. No, this story starts
of hold-alls, but you’ll with the Frazer Nash Le Mans Replica.
need a boot-lid bag
HJ Aldington, who had taken over importer and builder
for longer trips.
AFN from Archie Frazer Nash in the 1920s, launched his
High Speed Competition after the war and renamed it the
Le Mans replica after he and Norman Culpan took it to third
overall at Le Mans in 1949. This spawned the practice of
FN naming its cars after its competition successes.
On a mere 2.5m wheelbase and built around the
spectacular 1971cc Bristol six (in this case now BS1 104)
that was cribbed from the BMW 328 unit, the drum-braked
Le Mans Replica kicked off a line of Frazer Nash sports cars
that totalled fewer than 100 units in many different guises
before the Falcon Works in Isleworth closed in 1957. In all,
34 of them were Le Mans Replicas.
After the Le Mans Replica came ex-BMW man Fritz
Fiedler’s Mille Miglia, with a smart all-enveloping body that
set the aesthetic template for the cars that followed. Only 11
were built, principally on the Le Mans Rep’s chassis. Despite
a smoother tail, Fiedler’s front-end styling is still visible in
the Targa Florio, of which Frazer Nash built 14 from 1952 to
1954. Developed on the twin-tube chassis from 1952’s
three-off single-seater, it was a radically different car by
Frazer Nash standards, with curved screen and wider body
offering greater comfort for touring.
The Le Mans fixed-head coupé and Sebring, plus a couple
of one-offs, saw the company to the end of the line. All have
BMW 328-style suspension with upper transverse leaf and
lower wishbones at the front and longitudinal torsion bars
locating a solid Bristol or Austin rear axle, except a handful
that had a de Dion rear end.
It was more than just the names that indicated that
competition was the raison d’être of Frazer Nash, its

122
 ‘This is not some hanging rat rod, it is in perfect,
usable conditon but its long life has not been hidden’
123
Frazer Nash Le Mans veteran

124
founders were obsessed with it, the cars were geared to it,
the owners were almost universally engaged in it. After its
attention-grabbing appearance at Le Mans in 1949, the
company’s golden year was 1951, with widespread national
and international successes, including Stirling Moss
pedalling a Le Mans Rep to victory in the British Empire
Trophy and Franco Cortese giving the company the only
ever win for a British car on the Targa Florio, having already
secured sixth overall on the Mille Miglia that year.
With such competition in the blood, it is no surprise that
plenty of Frazer Nashes raced at Le Mans, and this example
is no exception, doing so twice in fact, but this is the only
’Nash to have raced at Le Mans as two different models!
First registered to Rodney Peacock in 1951, it was
campaigned widely, principally in clubman’s competitions,
but, with the owner sharing with garagiste Gerry Ruddock,
it ran in the British Empire Trophy (fifth overall), the Isle
of Man Tourist Trophy at Dundrod (ninth overall) and in
spring 1952, at the big one: Le Mans. Even after some
wheel-cracking issues (a feature of the model) forced them
to do the last few hours in limp-home mode, the pair still
finished tenth overall and third in the under-2.0-litre class.
The following winter Peacock, who went by Frank rather
than his given name, had the Le Mans Replica reshelled at This page, from top
Isleworth as a Targa Florio, ostensibly to meet the ever- The Targa Florio
changing regulations for sports cars, which by then had it in full flight at
in for cycle wings. The chassis was restamped 421/200/150, Goodwood; as a
and the engine, originally FNS1-25 then, when that was Le Mans Replica
with Peacock and
damaged, FNS1-8 but renumbered as FNS1-25 and then, Ruddock – Frank &
finally, BS1 104. Purposed for international competition, Gerry as they were
the body was lighter than other Targa Florios and, after the dubbed – on 1952
Le Mans 1952 outcome, it is no surprise that it was swapped foray to Le Mans;
onto wire wheels over bigger, 52mm hubs. It retained the back at Le Mans,
fractionally heavier Le Mans Replica A-frame chassis shared now with a Targa
Florio body in 1954.
by the first 26 Le Mans Reps – the final cars also had the
twin-tube affair – as well as the Bristol gearbox and rear axle.
In the 1953 season, Dundrod yielded an 11th place, but
it was at Le Mans the following year that the team went all
out. With works support and a borrowed, hotter engine,
Peacock and Ruddock were said to be 20sec-per-lap faster
than two years previously. Amid great optimism, they even
led the works cars early on, but the race came to a premature
end with only four hours completed when Peacock went off
at Indianapolis and buggered the steering.
Having bought the Le Mans Florio from Peacock in 1955,
Gerry Ruddock continued to campaign it, as did the
following two owners, Ray Dilley and Christopher Drewett.
Then, in March 1969, this competitive little sports car
passed to its fifth owner, Robert Mansfield, and he still owns
it today, a remarkable 55 years later.
Born in Australia and brought up on a small farm near
Dublin, Robert says his mother was the hotshoe in the
family, but he got plenty of experience early on, learning to
drive aged ten on a ‘Little Grey Fergie’ and backing the
horsebox around because his parents couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.
The Mansfields had some interesting cars, including
Standard Vanguards and, in particular a Bentley MkVI that
Robert still owns. His own first car was a 1935 Morris Eight
Tourer (bought for £10, sold for £12), followed by a 1960
Mini 850 and that was supplanted by a £350 Bristol 403,
because it would cruise at comfort at 80mph rather than the
Mini’s 60mph. After attending university in the UK, the
future civil engineer and transport planner settled here and,

125
Frazer Nash Le Mans veteran

much as he still adored his Bristol, by 1969 was yearning for

something a bit lighter. And, he reasoned, what could be
more like a lightweight Bristol than a Frazer Nash? ‘The
Targa Florio was advertised in Motor Sport as coming to
auction and I bought it pre-sale,’ he explains. ‘It wasn’t sold
as being especially interesting or having any Le Mans
history; I only found all that out later.
‘Initially it was my daily driver, but then I bought an
Austin Maxi for day-to-day driving. I raced the Frazer Nash
pretty hard from the early 1970s to the early ’80s and had
some success – I won at Brands and still hold the lap record
up at Croft on the old circuit.’
After that, the Frazer Nash was refocused as an
international touring car and, with wife Caroline, Robert
has conducted epic jaunts to Slovenia, Spain and Italy, the
latter via the Stelvio of course. ‘It’s a very comfortable and
capable touring car. With the wider ’shell and full ’screen it’s
quite civilised, plus there are sidescreens and hood. It’s fun
to pop it on the road, especially if it is wet or greasy because
the tail hangs out quite nicely. It’s reasonably quick, not like
a modern, but in the Pomeroy Trophy a few years back I did
a 16.7sec standing quarter, or something like that.’
So is it racer or tourer; what is this two-for-the-price-of-
one Frazer Nash’s true métier? Time for me to find out.
For a start, this car suits the tight little circuit at Bicester
Motion more than most, and the lack of modern track
furniture means it fits right in visually. Even the surface,
rather than babyskin smooth tarmac, is pitted, rutted and
characterful in a period-perfect way. After a couple of
sighting laps, I build speed gradually until I consciously feel
the Frazer Nash lighten. And then it dances.
This car is clearly in superbly usable mechanical condition
and that sweet 2.0-litre Bristol ‘six’ is on-the-button and
gorgeous, idling sharply, always eager to get going. It fizzes
even low down in the rev range and 3500rpm is all you really
need to enjoy it, though it will safely run at 6000rpm… and
it does for short, life-enriching bursts. Driving it is very
much a collaboration; this is not a car that the driver needs
to boss, to manhandle into submission, you drive through
when it lightens in corners, you let it drift wide when it
wants to, you just revel in it when it slides so easily yet
controllably on its Avon tyres.
The big steering wheel seems almost angled towards the
centre of the car, but is perfect to conduct, while the low and
sudden clutch take-up encourages swift changes. Which
isn’t all that easy at first, until you get into a decent rhythm.
There is no synchro on first and it is a standard four-speed
H-pattern ’box, but the long, wavy lever makes operation
tractor-like until you learn where the gaps are and find them
by instinct alone. Second still occasionally likes to hide,
mind. Robert’s early Ferguson training must have helped!
Once you have co-ordinated those three key elements it
is a fantastic car to keep simmering, at once neutral and flat,

Clockwise, from top left

A carb for every two
cylinders; at speed;
cockpit has seen plenty of
service; Bristol 2.0-litre;
badge carried over from
pre-war chain-drive cars.

126
127
Frazer Nash Le Mans veteran

‘I build speed gradually until I consciously feel

the Frazer Nash lighten. And then it dances’

and with a bit more confidence skipping between the Surely it is impossible even to consider parting with this
squirrelly Esses on the tight track and drifting wide on the car after so long? ‘I suppose I’m realising that age is coming
top bend before gripping and powering down the straight. up and I am not as excited at doing European trips as I used
In theory, that early Le Mans Rep A-frame chassis isn’t quite to be. It’s kind of pathetic, but it’s true. That said, if it doesn’t
as sturdy and unshakeable as the Targa Florio’s tubes, but sell I won’t be terribly disappointed.’ But what would he do
I can’t tell any difference, and boy is it fun. with the money? ‘Have a positive bank balance for once…
Best of all, there’s room for a couple of decent-sized hold- and maybe buy an Edwardian.’
alls in the boot and you just know that this versatile little Would Robert be happy to see it return to the tracks with
machine would be as wonderful at touring as it is at racing, a new owner? ‘Yes, but it wouldn’t be competitive now. To
better even, though you would probably want to reinstate be so it would need a limited-slip differential and an engine
the full ’screen for that. designed to run to 6500rpm rather than 6000rpm, and it
Before even getting in it, in my mind I knew that this still wouldn’t be as quick as the highly developed 3.0-litre or
car had been fortunate to find its perfect soulmate in 3.8-litre cars. Sadly, making it into a competitive car in
Mansfield, someone who not only campaigned it extremely modern historic racing would turn it into a lousy road car.’
competitively, but also used it for touring equally extensively I can’t disagree. Just as it is I can barely think of a better
and internationally – truly the 1950s sports car idyll. Sadly, car to dash down leafy boulevards on deserted D-roads en
after 55 years it seems that he and the Frazer Nash may be route to Montlhéry for a weekend of clubman’s racing.
parting ways. The Targa Florio will follow out the door a Except one obviously, the Jaguar C-type. If you can’t afford
fascinating stable he has maintained over the years, a C-type, however, this is the next best thing and a quarter
including a multiple Brighton Run 8HP Darracq, a Talbot the cost of even a continuation car.
105 chassis, a Sunbeam 24/70 Tourer he had for 30 years
until sold to Chile this summer, a Cooper Formula Junior, THANKS TO Robert Glover and Broad Arrow Private Sales
Fiat 8V and Fiat Dino Coupé 2.0-litre. The Bentley stays. (broadarrowprivatesales.com), where this car is for sale.

128

   
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 Hot topic
THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY
Tracing the provenance of a classic car is
more than a hobby, it’s crucial to
understanding the significance of a vehicle.
Knowing about prior ownership offers a
fascinating insight into a car’s journey
through the decades. Was it owned by a
famous figure? Did it have a noteworthy
past? Such information transforms a classic
car from mere metal into living history.
Tracing this history has become harder
thanks to changes in data protection laws.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
(DVLA) used to allow owners to request
information about previous keepers via the
V888 form. Recent enforcement of stricter
data protection measures under the General
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data is crucial, it poses a serious hurdle for
owners, who are now unable to access key
aspects of their vehicle’s history.
While seemingly incomplete records will
devalue a car, this lack of transparency also
hampers restoration projects and diminishes
the deep connection with their vehicle that
many enthusiasts feel. For a community that
prides itself on preserving and celebrating
heritage, these restrictions are frustrating.
There is growing discussion within the
Historic Vehicle community about how
to balance privacy with the need for
transparency. A possible solution could
be a more nuanced approach to the V888
process, whereby certain non-sensitive
details could be released, or past owners
given the option to consent to their
information being shared. Until then,
classic car enthusiasts are left navigating a
regulatory landscape that blocks them from
truly knowing the stories behind their
beloved machines.
HCVA will continue to lobby for sensible
changes to DVLA policy to allow previous
owners’ details to be available again, thereby
ensuring valuable histories are not lost
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Octane Cars
The trials and tribulations of the cars we live with

132
 Happy days monthly Southside Hustle on
Wimbledon Common, the
Triumph made its first post-
OCTANE’S FLEET

are here again

These are the cars –
restoration public appearance at
and ’bikes – run by
Duke of London’s Classics &
Octane’s staff
Cake meet on 15 September. It and contributors
1965 Triumph 2.5 PI James Elliott was pretty well-received by the
mainly London enthusiasts who
gathered in Brentford for the
WITHOUT WANTING TO the lustrous paint, but large Meyers Manx take-over, which ROBERT COUCHER
launch into some sort of cameos were also played by Dave made me happy that we had International editor
Oscars-style acceptance speech, Pearson of Canley Classics achieved what I set out to. The • 1955 Jaguar XK140
I am extremely grateful to a huge (canleyclassics.com), who rebuilt Triumph is not exactly a Top 10
number of people that I am now the gearbox and supplied a huge collector car, after all, but it ANDREW ENGLISH
Contributor
back in my Triumph. I have number of bits, plus Lloyd Reed sounds great, is perfectly lowered
blasted it around for 400 miles in and Chris Witor who were also and has great stance, as well as a • 1962 Norton Dominator
• 1967 Triumph GT6
the past couple of days alone and invaluable in supplying parts. wonderful glasshouse, and people • 1972 Moto Guzzi V7 Sport
can’t wipe the grin off my face. Triumph stalwart and old pal Tim have always seemed to warm to it.
I don’t think it has ever felt Bancroft provided the initial But, for a long time, its palette of GLEN WADDINGTON
quite like this during my impetus and moral support along greens and rubiginous browns, its Associate editor
custodianship. The gearbox is the way. He deserves a shout-out hanging valances and rat-rod • 1989 BMW 320i Convertible
tight as a drum, all the electrics mainly because it would have demeanour have put me off taking • 1999 Porsche Boxster
work, no play in the steering, been him getting the blame if it places. Not any more.
SANJAY SEETANAH
overdrive snapping in instantly, no it had all gone wrong! To top it all off, co-owner Advertising director
diff whine, super-sharp braking, I can’t possibly list everything (technically, although he • 1981 BMW 323i Top Cabrio
no (well, barely any) oil leaks, that has been done, but the big generously refutes any claim • 1998 Aston Martin
plush headlining, working heater jobs were obviously a full body nowadays) Humphrey Hale paid DB7 Volante
(!), gleaming Cactus Green and restoration and spray, which a rare visit from Australia just in • 2007 Mercedes-Benz SLK200
rot-free, cavity-waxed body, and included work on or replacement time to see the finished car. That
MARK DIXON
so on. I imagine that the novelty of every panel (or what was left of didn’t work out, as he stupidly put
Contributing editor
of having to consciously shove the them), plus the sills, disintegrating his family holiday first, but he did
• 1927 Alvis 12/50
gearlever out of second instead of outriggers and swathes of dig out some pictures of it when • 1927 Ford Model T pick-up
having to hold it in, or, thanks to floorpan and boot floor. As well it was first built-up in the early • 1942 Fordson Model N tractor
new seals, slam doors that as a full rebuild of the police-spec 1990s. And then when it was • 1955 Land Rover Series I 107in
previously shut with the gentlest gearbox, there is a new diff (from crashed in the early 1990s. I took
of pushes, is akin to the weird Mk2 owner Matt George), new it over in 1998, so after 26 years it JAMES ELLIOTT
Editor-in-chief
feeling someone has when they brake servo and tandem-type deserved a bit of TLC. Reckon it
owes me another 26 years now. • 1965 Triumph 2.5 PI
wake up after a facelift. master cylinder, big-end bearings • 1968 Jensen Interceptor
I haven’t gone completely over and rather a lot more. With winter fast approaching, • 1969 Lotus Elan S4
the top, mind. Since the Triumph One of the many extra jobs I this might be the first time that
went away early in 2023, what has asked James to do was to wire in I consider packing the Triumph ROBERT HEFFERON
been done may be worthy of the a hazard light system, which, in away to spare it having to drive on Art editor
concours field but it has not had a this age of ‘smart’ roads, I will salted roads. Head says ‘Yes, don’t • 2004 BMW Z4 3.0i
full restoration by any means. The be doing to all my classics as be a moron, this shouldn’t even be
DAVID LILLYWHITE
interior is still very well lived-in, an essential survival feature. up for debate’, but heart, well, Editorial director
the chrome is still passably pitted, Having timed my holiday and heart is impractical and impulsive • 1971 Saab 96
but the goal (and the instruction) collection of the car badly for the and just loves to drive this car. • 1996 Prodrive Subaru Impreza
from day one was simply ‘solid
and presentable’ so I could carry MATTHEW HOWELL
on enjoying it without the Photographer
associated shame of its condition. • 1962 VW Beetle 1600
It has sailed past all my hopes and • 1969 VW/Subaru Beetle
• 1982 Morgan 4/4
expectations on that front.
Chiefly responsible are James MASSIMO DELBÒ
Godfrey-Dunne of JGD Classic Contributor
Services (jgdclassicservices@ • 1967 Mercedes-Benz 230
LOUIS BEAUSOLEIL @BEAUSOLEIL_PHOTO

gmail.com), and Peacock Prestige • 1972 Fiat 500L

(peacockprestige.com) who did • 1975 Alfa Romeo GT Junior
• 1979/80 Range Rovers
• 1982 Mercedes-Benz 500SL
• 1985 Mercedes-Benz 240TD
Left and right
Triumphant return at Duke of London; ROWAN ATKINSON
post-crash, early 1990s, with Rich, Contributor
brother of ‘co-owner’ Humphrey. • 2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom

133
Octane Cars Running Reports

Voyage
ANDREW RALSTON
Contributor
• 1955 Ford Prefect
of the
• 1968 Jaguar 240
Alfanaut
SAM CHICK
Photographer 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider
• 1969 Alfa Romeo Spider Sam Chick
RICHARD HESELTINE
Contributor WHEN I WAS at college,
• 1966 Moretti 850 Sportiva studying for an Art and Design
• 1971 Honda Z600 degree, my reading included the
great 20th Century French
PETER BAKER essayist, philosopher and
Contributor
semiotician Roland Barthes, who
• 1954 Daimler Conquest briefly discussed the image of the
• 1955 Daimler Conquest Century
• 2005 Maserati 4200GT mythological ship Argo. During
the voyages of the Argonauts, as
DAVID BURGESS-WISE repairs were required, the sailors
Contributor gradually substituted every plank
• 1924 Sunbeam 14/40 and nail of said ship until it
• 1926 Delage DISS was ‘an object with no other cause
than its name’. Barthes opines
MATTHEW HAYWARD
Markets editor that, while this results in an
• 1990 Citroën BX 16v entirely new ship, perhaps both renewed (Barthes might say For example, the original seat
• 1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four the name and form (or image) of ‘substituted’). Front and rear slider brackets resting on the old
• 1996 Saab 9000 Aero the Argo remain the same. jacking points have been floorpans have been repaired and
• 1997 Citroën Xantia Activa So to my Alfa, which has turned refabricated. Perhaps a few fixed back into the car atop new
• 1997 Peugeot 306 GTI-6 a significant corner at Kent-based structural parts might have been pans. Items such as the pedal-box
• 2000 Honda Integra Type R Turner Classics. While the chassis salvaged, but the thought of the plate have been stripped of rust
• 2002 Audi A2
and upper part of the shell were car snapping in two as my wife and strengthened. The rear
JESSE CROSSE mostly sound, the lower quarter and I drove over some Alpine pass quarters still need much work but,
Contributor had begun to decay, as with many didn’t appeal. The prospect of while the boot-lid carries the
• 1968 Ford Mustang GT 390 Alfas of this age. falling through the floor was also history of an accident and poor
• 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth The worst of the rust and real, therefore both front repair (neither my own, I stress),
multiple botched MoT repairs floorpans are new. with the exception of the last
MARTYN GODDARD
(often comprising four or five But here’s the interesting part in eight inches of the top skin we’re
Photographer
layers of steel) have now been cut all these structural and semiotic repairing, not replacing.
• 1963 Triumph TR6SS Trophy
• 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII away and replaced with new, solid substitutions. The guys at Turner As I write, the last of the
parts. Both three-part sills are in Classics have diligently removed mechanical elements are being
DELWYN MALLETT place, holding the car straight and any metal that could be deemed stripped: suspension, brakes,
Contributor rigid. The front chassis legs and safe or salvageable around the transmission and more. Our
• 1936 Cord 810 Beverly anti-roll bar mounts have been rotten parts and reworked them. conversations are circling back
• 1937 Studebaker Dictator again to the subject of restoration
• 1946 Tatra T87 or renewal, with particular
• 1950 Ford Club Coupe
• 1952 Porsche 356 attention to the feel of the car.
• 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL This Alfa won’t be a museum
• 1957 Porsche Speedster piece and will most definitely
• 1957 Fiat Abarth Sperimentale be taken on tour, so safety and
• 1963 Abarth-Simca reliability continue to dictate all
• 1963 Tatra T603 decisions as we balance originality
• 1973 Porsche 911 2.7 RS
• 1992 Alfa Romeo SZ with economic reality.
This is no fully substituted
EVAN KLEIN Argo, but I wonder whether it will
Photographer be the same car I drove all over
• 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider Europe years ago – or something
• 2001 Audi TT new by dint of its modern parts.
HARRY METCALFE
Contributor Left and above
• 20 cars and 15 motorbikes Painstaking progress and a
To follow Harry’s adventures, process of necessary renewal
find Harry’s Garage on YouTube. are hallmarks of this restoration.

134
 ůĂƐƐŝĐ>ĞŐĞŶĚƐ
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Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

2022 Engine 5.2L V-8 with 1001 HP, Tremec Dual Clutch 7 speed
The GT500-H is based on the Shelby GT500's supercharged, 5.2-liter V-8, but instead
of the stock car's 760 horsepower, the Hertz version has been modified to produce
over 900 horsepower, making it the most powerful Shelby car to date. To achieve
this extra power, Shelby installed a 3.8-liter Whipple supercharger, painted gold,
and a Borla cat-back exhaust system.

The GT500-H rides on aluminum monobloc wheels

wrapped in "performance-spec” tires.
Shelby also says it saved 30 pounds with a vented
carbon fiber hood.

Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa

1966
With new engine and gearbox!

Alfa Romeo 1300 GTA Junior

1969
Completely original

KƚŚĞƌ>ĞŐĞŶĚƐ
MGA Twin CAM 1960 | Mercedes S500 Cabriolet 2018 | Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Cabrio 1964 | Porsche 904 1964
info@classiclegends.pt | Tel.: +351 961 702 925 | www.classiclegends.pt
Octane Cars Running Reports

HISTORICS AUCTIONEERS
Quality, but at what price?
2004 Rolls-Royce Phantom Rowan Atkinson

REGULAR READERS will at a cost of £200 each, which is when just a few bits cost a fifth that the surface quality is really
recall that in Octane 253 I wrote pretty steep when most classic car of the car’s value? P&A Wood poor. The car definitely deserves
about the fact that, at a Historics bulbs retail for around £10. in Essex, which has carried out better: I may do something in the
auction in November last year, I’m restoring a couple of all the work, has been good at approaching winter months.
I bought back this 2004 Rolls- ‘modern classics’ at present and, sourcing secondhand parts and it What else? The upholstery was
Royce Phantom that I owned by Jiminy, it’s a costlier business does operate a Rolls-Royce main looking really tired and dirty. To
from new until 2009. Well, an than doing the same with an dealer scheme called Paragon that improve things, I thought that I
awful lot of work has been done MGB. I know that we’re at the discounts the cost of labour and might have to resort to a re-dyeing
since and the car is running well; rarefied end of the market with a parts on cars more than ten years process (which I have never really
I’m using it whenever I can but, Phantom but some of the official old by 20%. This has been helpful liked) called ‘Connollising’ but
as feared, small things have been spares prices are genuinely absurd. – but 80% of a lot of money is still thankfully things were
tripping me up. The rear-view mirror glass had a lot of money. It would be nice if transformed with just a deep
I drove from London to the delaminated and – you’ve guessed Rolls-Royce Motor Cars were steam clean, as shown here in
North-East of England and back it – the glass isn’t available sufficiently flattered by the fact the photos.
in a day and thought on my return separately. New rear-view mirror: that some people want to keep the I have now spent as much on
that the headlights weren’t £1500. The whole sat-nav/media older cars going that it maintained the car as I paid for it, which I
working. I stopped the car to screen assembly is on a revolving a parts inventory at more know makes zero financial sense
check – they were working but mechanism, and neither screen affordable prices. Rolls-Royce but, oddly, it feels worth it. I love
were just incredibly dim. The nor mechanism has worked since Classic, anyone? driving the thing and there’s great
bulbs are Xenon, that favoured I drove the car away from the I’m still ruminating about the satisfaction in returning a car to
headlight technology of the auction. The replacement parts for paint. I thought that I could live the condition that it deserves to
Noughties, and apparently they this alone cost £7500. with the slightly incorrect be in; while, it must be said,
age: mine had lost around 50% of The question must be asked: resprayed shade of Blackadder saving the 30-plus tons of carbon
their brightness in 20 years. Who how many people can afford to Blue but then I saw the car in emissions that would be required
knew? The bulbs were replaced maintain a classic at these prices, unforgiving sunshine and realised to make a new one.

136
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New headlamp bulbs cost £200 each; paint finish
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137
Octane Cars Running Reports

OTHER NEWS

‘I was all set to take my

Saab 96 to Bicester
Heritage’s Sunday
Scramble, until I
decided to change it
to electronic ignition at
5pm the day before.

ROBERT HEFFERON
I ended up going in a
modern car…’
David Lillywhite

‘Happy that my BMW

Z4 is being repaired
Life in the open Yet Stuart had an old non-
functioning one in his box of bits,
and wasn’t written-off
after its minor shunt,
with the microswitches required.
1999 Porsche Boxster and 1989 BMW 320i convertible Duly soldered into my existing I thought I’d celebrate
Glen Waddington module, the hood then worked by having the wheels
perfectly. And all for a couple of refurbed, too’
THANKFULLY there has been a Off back to Stuart a couple of hours’ labour. In time for me to Robert Hefferon
last gasp of summer. The Boxster days later; he tried a few tricks to run roof-up as the rain swept in
was a little challenging over the no avail. It was looking like the and the Boxster was parked ‘I love a good country
last year or so, running perfectly motor, or at least the feed to it – outside during some construction
well (thankfully) but without a but to get to the motor meant work at home. I can report that show, so pottered over
radio or 12V socket following my, disconnecting the roof pulleys the work has cured the old fault of to one in the Welsh
er, handiwork in trying to attach to achieve manual operation and the windows sometimes lowering Borders in the Model T.
a Bluetooth dongle to its original thereby gain access. No small task, themselves over a bumpy road. Old tractors, Unimogs,
Porsche-branded Becker stereo so it was booked in again. Meanwhile, we’ve been
head unit. And more recently the Meanwhile, in enforced topless enjoying family days out in the
classic cars and lilting
roof stopped working. mode, I enjoyed driving the BMW as well, not least a trip to local accents – it was
Anyway, it then came back from Boxster how it should be as the Suffolk, four-up and top down on the perfect day out’
MoT and service at Templetons weather permitted. And braced a gloriously sunny late-summer Mark Dixon
Garage (templetonsgarage.co.uk) myself to be without it for a few day. Though I’ve been noticing
and all seemed well. As well as days. In fear of a substantial parts an increasingly prominent ‘The source of an
sorting a couple of fuses hidden bill. Have to admit I sucked in a transmission whine this past few elusive “clunk, clunk”
well within the dash, which I had gasp through my teeth as Stuart months, and it was really singing
clearly blown in my connectivity got back to me. No, it wasn’t the along the A14 towards home. somewhere in the Tatra
attempts and had subsequently motor: good news. But the fault Never ends, does it? T87’s underpinnings
failed to get at, Stuart Templeton lay within the sensor module in has finally been tracked
had re-calibrated the the header rail, which contains Above and below down to badly worn
potentiometers in the roof bits and bats for remote locking The great thing about a
mechanism, and the mostly dead and the alarm, as well as the hood
spring shackles –
convertible is having a hood that
switch on the fascia (it was latch: yours for about £700. Yikes. comes down – and goes back up. remedial work is
intermittent) came back to life. currently underway’
For a week or two. Delwyn Mallett
Then its intermittent nature
returned. Just occasionally, you’d ‘I’ve finally excavated
stab the switch and the roof my Toyota Celica
would stubbornly remain in place.
Most of the time, getting out of GT-Four from long-
the car, locking the door, starting term storage, if only to
over and going through the convince James that it
process of handbrake on (firmly) actually exists. It’s been
and releasing the roof latch again
stood since 2019, so is
would restore function. Then I
lowered it for a weekend trip and, now undergoing some
when we parked, no dice. The roof “minor” rehabilitation’
wouldn’t be raised. Matthew Hayward

138
 1992 ALLARD J2X-C
“A UNIQUE 3.5 LITRE GROUP C THAT REVOLUTIONISED
AERODYNAMICS IN ENDURANCE RACING“

+  , - .    (

  ( )

*$ ) $  
Overdrive
Other interesting cars we’ve been driving
This page and opposite
Electrogenic’s DeLorean could
be that rare thing: a guilt-free
EV conversion of a classic.

more sense for a DeLorean than

for any other classic.
Oxfordshire-based Electrogenic
(electrogenic.co.uk) is not in the
business of restoring cars, says
founder Steve Drummond: its
focus is on ‘plug and play’ EV
powertrains that can be installed
by agents anywhere in the world.
No structural changes have been
made to this 47,000-mile
DeLorean and no suspension
upgrades either; the electric
DeLorean weighs just 40kg more
than a standard one.
Which helps explain why it
is so nice to drive, while being
literally twice as fast as the V6
original. The 0-60mph time is
halved to just under 5sec, while
top speed is a creditable 120mph.
Range is a claimed 150-plus miles.
Dynamically, on a damp test track
with tight corners, the car feels
well-balanced, with initial
understeer throttle-adjustable to
oversteer; the non-assisted
steering is pleasant, too.
There are three drive modes
– Eco, Normal and Sport – but, to
be frank, Eco offers more than
enough urge; Normal is the most
satisfying, however, since its
regenerative braking is stronger
than it is in Eco, so you have both
greater performance and the
satisfaction of using the regen to
slow the car without pressing the
‘actual’ brakes. In Sport, the regen

Forwards to the future braking cuts out above 30mph to

avoid potentially unsettling the
car at high-speed. Clever.
1981 Electrogenic DeLorean DMC-12 Mark Dixon Changes inside are minimal:
a battery state-of charge indicator
(pictured far right) and two twist
WE DON’T FEATURE many For a lot of us, the engine is key time of 10.5 seconds’. And, controls for selecting Drive and
electric vehicles in Octane – the to a classic’s appeal. But there are decent-enough engine though Mode in a panel on the centre
clue is in the magazine’s title – but exceptions – and the DeLorean it might be in a Volvo 262C or a console (near right). Apart from
that doesn’t mean we’re not open DMC-12 is one of them. Peugeot 604, it doesn’t have quite upgraded air conditioning, it’s
to new technology for classics; Right from the start, the the charisma of, say, a Ferrari V8. otherwise pretty standard – right
3D printing, for example, has DeLorean’s image as a car for Today, the DeLorean’s biggest down to the occasional creak from
revolutionised our industry. ‘horny bachelors’, to quote John problem is being immutably its authentic 1980s trim.
When you’re thinking about DeLorean himself, was let down associated with the nuclear- Cost-wise, this conversion
EV conversions, however, you by its PRV (Peugeot-Renault- powered time machine that works out at about £100,000 all
have to ask yourself: does it Volvo) V6, which mustered just appeared in all of the Back to the in, plus the original car – but
improve the overall experience? 130bhp in US spec. As Road & Future movies. It is the epitome Electrogenic is planning a drop-in
Not just the driving dynamics, Track pithily summed up, ‘It’s not of a future car. And that is why classic Mini EV powertrain for
but the way it makes you feel? a barn burner, with a 0-60mph an EV conversion arguably makes £20k. Watch this space.

140
141
Overdrive Also tested

Ultima power
2024 Maserati Ghibli 334 Ultima
Stephen Dobie

PICTURE YOUR IDEAL still-rare Ghibli Trofeo, and its

Maserati. What form does it take? F154 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 –
Perhaps it’s the legendary 250F shared with Ferrari but wet-
racer, spectacular MC12 hypercar sumped and shorter-stroked here
or uncommonly raw MC20 sports – retains 572bhp and 538lb ft
car. If so, then the death knell of peaks. The former is delivered just
the eight-cylinder Maserati may shy of the redline at 6750rpm, but
not bother you unduly. But if you the latter makes its impact from
crave an original Ghibli, wedgy a mere 2250rpm.
Bora or classic Khamsin, then a Truth is, this isn’t a hall-of-fame
farewell drive in this Ghibli 334 V8, impressively muscular though
Ultima saloon is much more it is. While the early 21st Century elbows out and really manage a equipment to really appease
poignant: it’s a limited edition, heralded a strong run of car through corners, then you the traditionalist.
waving farewell to V8-powered GranSports, Quattroportes and might just whoop with delight Ultima trim is also applied
Maserati production cars. GranTurismos with the as the Ghibli commands your to the Levante SUV and both
Of its two nametags, the atmospheric F136 perched up- utmost attention. specials are born of Maserati’s
numerical one is most front, this engine rips from its Sunny Modenese hills may be flourishing Fuoriserie division.
immediately enticing. It tacho’s two to seven in the blink of the perfect place to say Ciao e The Italians’ bespoke arm attracts
represents this 103-off special’s an eye, its accompanying grazie to this car and V8 Masers as an increasing number of
top speed in km/h; a mite over soundtrack more turbo-boost a whole, though they aren’t the customers craving everything
207mph. Whatever you feel about than war-cry. And that’s not the place to go chasing its headline from a snazzier paint job on their
its robust £159,625 price tag or most critical barrier to wringing top speed. Yet the individual Grecale to one-off commissions
the relevance of a hefty, two- out every rev this car has – it’s lack elements that have liberated an commanding a year (or more) of
tonne performance saloon of traction. Modern Ms and extra 5mph over the Trofeo can development and the nous of the
without drive on its front axle or AMGs warmly embrace as you still be appreciated: a sharper wider design and R&D teams.
steering at its rear, the glamour of chase their limits, so this is quite Pirelli P Zero compound, a Flawed as it may be, this svelte
a rear-drive four-door capable of the culture shock. If you crave a pleasingly subtle carbon spoiler, saloon keeps one eye on the past
such velocity is hard to deny. smattering of modern tech atop and roughly 20kg of dieting, and one on Maserati’s hopefully
It’s been achieved without a an old-school attitude, however, chiefly lighter 21in wheels and prosperous future. Whatever
power upgrade, too. Its base is the relishing the chance to get your some missing active safety powertrains that may involve.

Left and above

Ghibli’s been around a while but V8
Maseratis are not long for this world
– pending a U-turn on an electric
future for the Modenese…

142
Gone but not forgotten
Words by Richard Heseltine

Eric Thompson
A rare talent who put life before racing and called it quits after the horrors of Le Mans 1955

BACK IN THE pre-internet Dark Ages, 1938 Land’s End Trial. His brother entered an it for £475 and trailered it home from
a self-confessed amateur driver pulled off Alvis Speed 20; he was designated ‘bouncer’. Piccadilly to Surrey behind his 1921 Vauxhall
something remarkable, a feat that would A Jabberwocky-Ford replaced the Alvis, the 14/40. The HRG was then equipped with a
nowadays be much commented on. Eric younger Thompson taking over driving duties skimpy torpedo-like body, Thompson teaming
Thompson guided an unproven Grand Prix for the following year’s event. Then Europe up with Richards for his second-ever race
car to fifth place in his sole appearance in the descended into hell. Like so many men of his start: the 1949 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Formula 1 World Championship. He did so generation, Thompson was reluctant to They finished eighth and first in class,
after jumping the notoriously obstreperous discuss his war years other than to mention despite the fuel tank breaking loose and being
‘Nino’ Farina late in the day, the Italian having the friendships he forged. One such was with repaired with rope and a broom handle. The
claimed the drivers’ title two years earlier. And Robin Richards. ‘We were both signals duo then made for Spa and claimed their
Thompson’s reward for fifth place in the 1952 officers,’ he recalled in 2012. ‘After the war, he second class gong in a round-the-clock
British Grand Prix? Two points and £83.6s.8d. spent his gratuity wisely and bought an HRG endurance race in a fortnight aboard ‘The
With a successful weekend behind him, the while I spent mine down the pub. Anyway, Mobile Galosh’. Thompson then sold the car
30-something returned to his day job on the the French AGACI drivers’ club challenged because it ‘wasn’t ideal for courting in’ and
Monday morning. No fuss, no fanfare. the BRDC to do the Paris 12 Hour race at focused on his day-job as a marine insurance
Thompson was a delightful man who had a Montlhéry. Peter Clark produced four HRGs broker with Lloyd’s of London. However,
lax grasp of the phrase ‘off the record’. He was for the race: two 1100s and a pair of 1500s. John Wyer (formerly MD at Monaco Motors,
a born raconteur. He would regale you with Robin needed a co-driver so he asked me.’ which prepared the HRG) had been
stories that would have you in stitches, yet he Thus Thompson became the first – and last appointed as competitions manager at Aston
was also self-deprecating. Disarmingly so. He – racer ever to become a member of the Martin and offered him a test at Silverstone.
invariably served as the punchline. He never British Racing Drivers’ Club before venturing The upshot was that Thompson landed a
courted the sort of fame his talent warranted, trackside. ‘I couldn’t very well compete unless drive at Le Mans for 1950 aboard a DB2. He
motor racing being something he did for fun. I was affiliated. We trundled around and had and Lance Macklin finished third overall.
Having grown up in Surrey, not far from a wonderful time [en route to fourth in class],’ Thompson continued to be a works man,
Brooklands, Thompson became a fan of he quipped. Then matters took a turn for the dovetailing sports cars with single-seaters,
Richard Seaman as a young pup. He was a serious. Thompson spotted an ad in The driving for Rob Walker in 1951-52 before he
junior member of the BARC as a teenager and Evening Standard for a ‘shop-soiled and was invited to drive the new Connaught in his
his first brush with competition was on the obsolete HRG 1500 chassis’. He acquired one and only World Championship GP. Save
for Le Mans, Thompson rarely raced overseas
because he had a family and minimal holiday
allowance. He raced in his spare time and, as
such, sometimes employed chicanery in order
to get time off. He regularly attended his
grandmothers’ funerals. Nobody twigged.
Thompson’s other big success was victory in
the 1953 Goodwood Nine Hours with Reg
Parnell, but his interest in racing waned two
years later. Driving for Connaught at Le Mans
in 1955, he was in the pits waiting to take over
from his co-driver when Pierre Levegh’s
Mercedes was launched into the crowd. He
witnessed the ensuing inferno up close and it
had a lasting effect. Thompson was committed
to driving at Goodwood shortly after but, save
for a sprint meeting at Boreham in a half-litre
Jason F3 car, he never competed again.
Instead, he moved up the Lloyd’s hierarchy
and became a stalwart of the Aston Martin
Owners Club. In retirement, Thompson was a
committed automobilia dealer and an expert
bibliophile, only selling his remaining stock in
his tenth decade. Thompson died in August
2015, aged 95. You could argue that he never
received the valedictory pat on the back his
achievements deserved. He would probably
have scoffed at the idea.

144
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1. My great-grandfather – a proud patriot – was

part of the Lithuanian military that marched on

Povilas Eitutis the occupied capital Vilnius to try to liberate it

in 1939. His diploma, which survived WW2 and
Soviet occupation, increases my sense of
patriotism and love for our country.
Founder of Automuziejus Vilnius, a 110-exhibit
2. A Higonokami knife is perfect for cutting, or
Lithuanian motor museum opened in 2023 opening packages. It embodies over 100 years
of Japanese traditional pocket knives with
‘warikomi’ blue paper steel blades and its roots
in the original samurai swords.
3. Lithuanian motorsport started in 1925 with
1 3 the annual Aplink Lietuva [‘Around Lithuania’]
race. Winners were given trophies by the
President, but all finishers got a plaque.
This one from 1937 is original and very rare.
4. These ‘KA 97’ numberplates from the mid-20s
signify the 97th vehicle registered in the
2
Kaunas city area. They were acquired in the
early 2000s on a now-restored Wanderer SV616
that is one of the oldest surviving vehicles that
drove on Lithuanian roads. The plates are
4 among the most beloved items in the museum
because of their national historic importance.
5. Acquired, repaired and ridden when I was 12,
this Wanderer 1SP sparked my interest in
vintage motoring . It is now on display in
Automuziejus Vilnius, the 4500m₂ museum I
6 opened last year in a former Soviet taxi park.
5 6. This dipstick is a reminder to take a step
back from modern stresses and appreciate
how much more comfortable and freely we
could live. Nobody in today’s fast-paced world
could imagine stopping mid-journey to dip
a measuring stick inside a fuel tank to know
how much petrol there is remaining.
7. This book (Golden Racetracks in English) was
published for the 60th birthday of Lithuanian
rally legend Stasys Brundza. He went on to
found a race car factory in Vilnius – VFTS, later
renamed EVA. The VFTS 2105 was homologated
for Group B by the FIA in 1983 and he later built
a Group B rally monster called the Lada 2108
EVA, but it did not evolve beyond the prototype.
7
8. On the 2016 Mille Miglia I was struggling to
8 navigate in the rain on the twisty roads and a
car pulled over and offered help – it was Jochen
Mass! It was a blast to drive through those
harsh conditions in tandem with such a legend
and at the end he signed my driving gloves.
9. I always preferred the NSX Type-S steering
wheel over the Type-R variant but it is more
difficult to acquire, as it was made only for a
limited time for specific Honda and Alfa Romeo
cars. One day a random search led to me
finding one in a tiny village just an hour away.
10. The 1930 Mille Miglia Maserati desk racer
is more than just a model – it’s a personal
9 homage to the Maserati Tipo 26 and the golden
age of racing. Crafted with precision, it reflects
the spirit of the Mille Miglia, a race where
Maserati’s innovation and determination were
put to the test. It is a reminder of the elegance,
power, and passion that defined early racing.
10

146
 1922
BE NTL E Y
3/4½ LI T RE
Built with ‘prototype’ four-seater body by
coachbuilders, R. Harrison & Son, Ltd.
First sold to Bentley Motors Chairman,
Mr Stuart de la Rue
Used by Bentley Motors Chairman for
experimental & development purposes
Road tested & featured by The Motor
magazine in March 1923
PM 1585 played an important role in the
development of future W.O. Bentleys
& remains highly original

Contact us on +44 (0) 20 7078 0835 or visit www.roryhenderson.com

Facilitating the acquisition & sale of exceptional motor cars
 Icon
Words by Delwyn Mallett

to settle on the bottom of the device when

cold but which, when heated, would expand
sufficiently to rise slowly to the top before
cooling and sinking in a perpetual cycle.
Using recycled Tree Top Orange Squash
bottles for the body, in 1963 Craven started
production in his Poole backyard and, with
the space race in full swing, launched the
Astro Lamp. Its brochure described it as an
‘Exotic new conversation piece styled to fit
any mood any decor in the home and all
discerning establishments’. Valuable publicity
was gained when Beatles Ringo Starr and
Paul McCartney were early adopters.
In 1965 two American entrepreneurs
spotted the Astro Lamp at a trade show,
acquired the marketing rights from Craven
and, renaming it the Lava Lite, started the
Lava Corporation of Chicago. The timing
could not have been better, as a cultural
revolution was underway. The Sixties were
swinging, and the hippy counter-culture
movement, psychedelia and mind-expanding
drugs were sweeping across a western world
where Timothy Leary encouraged youth to

Lava Lamp ‘Turn on, tune in, drop out’.

Lava Lamps were soon selling in the
millions. Surprised by the unexpected nature
of his customers – his advertising showed very
The essential psychedelic accoutrement, ‘proper’ cocktail dress and bow tie-wearing
your own personal light show to complement men and women dining or socialising –
Craven pronounced that his lamp was a ‘more
MATHMOS.COM

Interstellar Overdrive by The Pink Floyd benign alternative to drugs’. Craven even
invited the cast of the controversial hwippy
musical Hair to his house for a party.
By the 1980s the Lava Lamp bubble had
lost its buoyancy, with Craven’s company
barely ticking over. In 1989 it was bought by
THE LAVA LAMP started life as an The eccentric Walker had spent the war as a an energetic young couple of enthusiasts who
egg-timer. Not a successful one as it happens, squadron leader, flying photo-reconnaissance breathed new life into the business, renaming
but after a redesign by a WW2 Mosquito pilot missions in unarmed Mosquitos. In the early it Mathmos after the bubbling subterranean
it became an essential ingredient of the 1960s 1950s a visit to the nudist beaches of the Isle life force in the ultra-camp 1968 cult sci-fi
psychedelic experience. A hippy’s life was du Levant in southern France converted him movie Barbarella. Then, in the 1990s, the
incomplete without a Lava Lamp, as they sank to naturism and he became a devotee of the popularity of Austin Powers movies and
into a beanbag, fired up a spliff and watched cause. Using the nom-de-ciné Michael nostalgia for the 1960s and ’70s introduced a
the universe unfold in a bottle. Keatering, he directed a trio of naturist films, whole new generation to the multi-coloured
It’s a long way from the youngest daughter Travelling Light in 1959 followed by Eves on delights of the Lava Lamp.
of consultant engineer and amateur inventor Skis and Sunswept. In a nation unaccustomed A quite unexpected use for Lava Lamps is
Donald Dunnet dropping and smashing the to the sight of naked flesh, Travelling Light was generating random numbers in the esoteric
family’s egg-timer during WW2. Unable to a box-office hit, running for six months at the world of digital encryption. San Francisco
buy another, Dunnet set about making one Cinephone art-house cinema opposite specialist Cloudflare has adopted a unique
based on the reluctance of immiscible fluids, Selfridges on London’s Oxford Street. approach to harvesting random numbers with
by definition, to mix. It’s unclear whether his Although the naked ‘underwater ballet’ a wall of 100 Lava Lamps situated in the foyer
egg-timer worked, but he felt it had potential performed by Yannick ‘the fabulous sub-aqua of its offices. Not only does the Wall of
as a novelty lamp and in 1950 applied for a star’ was aesthetically pleasing, there is no Entropy, as Cloudflare calls it, provide a
patent for a ‘changing display device’. doubt that its long run owed more to the fascinating ever-changing display, but a
Dunnet’s lamp used a glass cylinder patronage of the shabby raincoat brigade than camera focused on it produces a continuous
containing the two coloured liquids with an ballet fans. Nevertheless, the proceeds allowed stream of images at millisecond intervals, any
enclosed 40W bulb positioned behind it to Craven to open his own naturist camp as well one of which can be used to encrypt data.
provide the heat that set the reaction in as pursuing his own version of Dunnet’s lamp. Donald Dunnet died in the early 1960s
motion. Flash forward a few years and one After years experimenting with various without seeing how his ‘egg-timer’ had found
Edward Craven Walker became intrigued immiscible liquids, Craven concocted a success. Edward Craven Walker died in 2000
when he spotted one on the bar of the Queen’s globule-forming wax of virtually identical at the age of 82, still consulting for Mathmos
Head pub in the New Forest, Hampshire. density to the main fluid, just heavy enough – and still a keen naturist.

148
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Chrono
Words by Mark McArthur-Christie

Shop swap
A tale from when parking meters were
newborn and Rolexes were disposable
WATCH STORIES HAVE a habit of demonstrating quite how
random life can be. This one, for example, connects parking meters,
an English country high street, Rolexes and what turned out to be
a rather fortuitous swap.
Despite politicians’ usual eagerness to make the lives of those they
govern unpleasant, it took a surprising 23 years for the parking meter
(appropriately developed by a prohibitionist) to make its way from
the US to the UK. From an early infestation in Westminster, by 1964
they’d been installed in town centres across the country. This was the
year a sharper-than-most high street jeweller spotted an opportunity.
Like all good entrepreneurs, he had an eye for solving a problem, and
in his town, that problem was parking meters.
Back in ’64, most watches were simple three-handers. Sure, there
were chronographs but those were the preserve of playboys, racing
drivers and scientists. So how did you make sure you were back with
your car before the local warden slapped a ticket on the windscreen?
A few enterprising firms had started making and selling dedicated
parking meter watches. They told you the time, but also had an alarm
to remind you that your parking time was up.
Jaeger-LeCoultre had the wonderful Memovox Parking with its
GILES MASSINGHAM – OAKLEIGH WATCHES
cal. 814 alarm function movement and a tiny blue ‘P’ on the dial to
mark the start of your parking time. Mondia had the Memory Parking
Meter that allowed you to set anywhere from 30 to 100 minutes of eye-wateringly expensive – Paul Newman variants. In fact, Rolex’s
meter time. Framont and Bulova piled in with their own offerings, too. Bexley service workshop had a box in the corner where watchmakers
Our local watch dealer was keen to test the market and so contacted could dump the Newman dials customers had asked them to replace
his Swiss supplier and had four added to his next consignment. Fed with more conventional faces.
up with getting tickets, he kept one for himself and put the other three They agreed a straight trade – the Rolex for the three unsold meter
in the shop window. watches – and parted happy. A fair swap.
At the other end of the same high street was another watch dealer. The Cosmograph’s new owner didn’t even bother putting the watch
He’d taken a punt on Rolex’s latest offering, the ref. 6239 Cosmograph in the window. He put it on his wrist instead and wore it as his daily for
at around £200 retail. He knew it would be a bit of a challenge to shift, the next 40-odd years. Giles Massingham, owner of Oakleigh Watches,
but he’d got a good trade price and, like his competitor, he put his managed to acquire it from the jeweller’s son earlier this year. It came,
watch on display and waited for it to sell. as you’d expect, with its original bracelet, box and papers.
Some time later the two men bumped into each other and, as watch An equal trade at the time, but time has rather weighted one arm of
people do, got chatting. Parking Meter Watch Dealer explained that, the scales. With its reverse Le Mans dial (black subdials and a silver
oddly, no one wanted his ticket timers. Mr Cosmograph admitted that main dial), the Cosmograph sold for around £70,000 this September.
the ref. 6239 was not shifting either and had been gathering dust. In the In contrast, those three parking meter watches, even assuming they
mid-1960s, Rolex Cosmographs (later to be renamed the Daytona) were in new/old-stock condition, might make £6000-6500. Our dealer
were pretty much unsaleable. No-one even wanted the – now would have done rather better buying shares in National Car Parks.

ONE TO WATCH

I’M STILL NOT sure quite how I came by it, but when I was ten I had
Buler one of these. I think a pal’s father must have been throwing it out and I
begged it from the bin. I attempted a repair, obviously, but the Buler
Grand Prix stayed stubbornly inert. Spotting this one at auction a few weeks ago,
I had to have it. It has a NORYL resin-plastic case and a cheap,
You don’t need to pin-pallet movement that, in combination, make it feel like you’re
winding a matchbox. But the design… How could you not love that
relive your childhood dial clarity, the tachymeter and the racy orange second hand? Ersatz
to enjoy this bargain Porsche design for, well, less than £100.

150
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Books
Reviewed by Mark Dixon

‘I’VE SEEN TYRES THROWN into a race

Derek car and set alight to burn it out, so you had to
be tough as well, or forget it.’ That’s how Derek
Instead, he ended up being a top-flight racer
in disciplines ranging from Formula 1 (four
podiums), World Sports Cars (first overall at Le
Warwick Warwick recalls his first World Championship
win at the age of 19 – in the Superstox series for
Mans in 1992 with Peugeot, and winner of the
Drivers’ Championship, both with Yannick

Never Look
custom-built stock cars. Dalmas), and Touring Cars. He’s also very much
‘There were quite often fights, albeit not a family man, who was particularly close to his
involving me… I’d stay in the car with my visor father Derry and uncle Stan. Both of them were

Back down and belts still on while my father and uncle

were sorting out the arguments. There was lots
larger-than-life characters – Warwick reckons that
his uncle wrote off nine Jaguars at various times
of swearing, pushing and everything.’ due to his reckless driving – and an element of that
Quite an entrée into the world of being a recklessness was clearly passed down the line.
professional race driver but then, as this hugely Along the way, Warwick has competed against
entertaining autobiography makes clear, Warwick some of the biggest names in racing, and his
DEREK WARWICK has always been uber-competitive and more than descriptions of the tussles on- and off-track are
with DAVID TREMAYNE, able to hold his own. He left school at 14 with no gripping. Being stitched-up by Ayrton Senna, who
Evro Publishing, £60, qualifications, his one ambition being to end up pressured Lotus into breaking its contract to hire
ISBN 978 1 910505 90 8 running the family business, which made trailers. Warwick as Senna’s team-mate in Formula 1 for
1986, really rankled. ‘It made me realise just how
extraordinarily selfish some people are… But
[Ayrton] never even thought he was screwing me
over. He just did what was best for him.’
Senna may well have nixed Warwick’s best
chance of superstardom in F1, but the latter did
go on to have many successes, in business as well
as in racing. He’s had his share of tragedy as well,
though. The death of his younger brother Paul in
a Fomula 3000 race at Oulton Park affected him
massively and a lengthy chapter is devoted to their
relationship. More recently he has survived Stage
Three bowel cancer, but in the fall-out he ended up
splitting up with his wife Rhonda, who he says
‘remains the love of my life’. All these human
stories put the racing dramas into perspective.
Profusely illustrated, and brilliantly ‘ghosted’
by co-author Tremayne – a veteran of 525 Grands
Prix as a motorsport journalist – this substantial
hardback is certain to be appearing on more than
one shortlist for awards over the next year.

152
McLaren Formula 1 Renault 5 Porsche 911, 60 Years
Car by Car
Nicely timed for the imminent launch of There’s no shortage of books about the 911,
Earlier this year we had McLaren, the Road the new electric Renault 5, this cracking not least thanks to Porsche’s excellent
Cars 2010-2024 – our Book of the Month little softback is stuffed with information archive of period pics, and this one won’t
in issue 251 – and now here’s the perfect and images about France’s erstwhile lead to history being rewritten. However, if
complement. From a different publisher but best-seller. It covers what seems like every you want an attractive and easy-to-digest
with a similar concept, every McLaren F1 possible aspect of the 5’s history, from overview, this hefty hardback will be just
car is profiled from 1966 to the end of the prototypes and advertising through to the the job, reaching from the 901-labelled
2023 season. Authoritatively and concisely Turbo versions and even oddball variants prototypes of 1964 right through to last
written by an F1 expert, very well illustrated we never saw in the UK – such as the year’s 911 Dakar edition. The author’s own
with period colour photos (mostly) and booted Spanish-made Renault 7. Printed excellent photos add variety, and it’s good
rounded off with a full list of race results on good-quality paper, it’s a must-have if to see rarities such as the one-off 1966
or each year, it’s a solid piece of work. you like superminis and/or French cars. Bertone Roadster given a few pages.

STUART CODLING, Motorbooks, MARK BRADBURY, Amberley, RANDY LEFFINGWELL, Motorbooks

£45, ISBN 978 0 7603 8512 8 £15.99, ISBN 978 1 3981 1865 2 £45, ISBN 978 1 0 7603 8265 3

Honda, Road to the

Red Zone Volume 2
The French have a particular liking for
enthusiast-published motoring books,
and this labour of love is a great example.
Volume 1 of this two-parter was dedicated
to Honda’s competition and Type R road
cars, so the follow-up Volume 2 is more
Prodrive, 40 Years of Success personality driven – although still
containing a lot of specific ‘car’ stuff,
It’s an important time for Banbury-based Prodrive, as the company founded by the 1980 FIA such as the development of the NSX.
World Champion rally co-driver David Richards seeks to raise its profile among people other As the author admits in his foreword,
than petrolheads. Even Aston Martin works driver Darren Turner has said that when he first saw ‘I would recommend taking your medicine
Prodrive’s sign on its building alongside the M40, he thought it was a golf driving range… in small doses, no more than a few pages a
In fact, the Prodrive name was originally created for a driver management programme that day,’ and he’s absolutely right: the design
never quite happened. Instead, what had previously been David Richards Motorsport quickly and content is rather manic, the latter
became one of the most respected contractors in the motor industry. It’s best-known for its skipping from, say, 1980s hot Civics to
iconic blue Subaru rally cars in the Colin McRae era, but, for example, in the early 2000s it also Mugen-powered F1 cars to Honda in the
gave Jenson Button a major leg-up when Richards, who’d been engaged to turn around British USA. But it means that a surprise is just
American Racing’s F1 team, signed him as a driver; and Prodrive has run BMW’s team in the around every corner, and you can feel the
British Touring Car Championship, Ferrari and Aston GTs at Le Mans, and so much more. passion almost pulsing out of the pages.
This book generates momentum with an initial whistle-stop tour of highlights from every one Text is in both French and English, and
of the past 40 years, colourfully illustrated with great photos; then it takes a deeper dive into this lavishly produced hardback is packed
individual projects, starting with the Rothmans 911SC and 959 in 1984/85 and concluding with with great images throughout its 440 pages.
the latest diversifications such as the Prodrive Racing Simulator. It’s a beautifully designed, You’ll enjoy taking your prescription.
great-looking tribute to a British success story that’s still going from strength to strength.
LIONEL LUCAS, Red Runner,
IAN WAGSTAFF, Porter Press International, £39, ISBN 978 1 913089 04 7 £120, 978 2 9572 4925 1

153
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Brand Model Pages Part no. water-pump
MG T-type New 392 550907 All Jaguar Water Pumps
MGA Roadster and Coupé 580 251291 available from stock
MG MGB 800 297262 From the Jaguar XK120 early
MGF and MGTF 64 493833 “C4946CONV”
BN1 - BJ8 600 348206 531710 £238
Austin Healey Sprite and MG Midget 324 324658 …to the Jaguar Mark II in the
Mini Classic 740 292014 ultra-light aluminium version
TR2 - TR4A 600 251458 “C15694A”
Triumph TR5, TR250 and TR6 600 219262 513157 £178
Spitfire MK3, MK4, 1500 640 365084 …to the Jaguar E V12 early
Mark II 128 337278 “GWP409”
'E' type series I, II 1.050 540180 504808 £360
'E' type V12 series III 400 501832
XK120, 140 and 150 700 503541
XJ6 / Daimler Sovereign 1008 337971
Jaguar XJ12 / Daimler Double Six 800 353211
X300 200 497251
X308 150 496830 Deluxe tool rolls
XK8/XKR 150 496826 Finest brown nubuck leather,
XJS (1975-1996) New 1.100 551469 14 pockets in different widths,

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Series II, IIA and III 1.100 505623 3 small pockets, 16-piece high-
Land Rover 90, 110 and Defender 1.100 520410 quality branded tool kit.
Range Rover Classic (1970-1996) 1.200 349105
500 308 533762 Imperial tools 489697 £256
553936
126 256 541517 Metric tools 489698 £226
Fiat 600 and Multipla 300 543436
850 300 543437

All Catalogues online with Click & GO

Gear
Compiled by Octane staff

OCTANE
GIFT GUIDE Pages packed with stuff we’d love to find under the tree this year

Motorsport Classic
calendar by McKlein
The folks at McKlein have again mined
their treasure trove of old photographs,
digging out two dozen fabulous images
for the 25th Motorsport Classic calendar.
Among our favourites is a snap from the
1960 Safari Rally (top left), showing an
exhausted Ford Zodiac being cooled down
like a racehorse. The car, crewed by Bill
Young and Colin McNaughton, finished
the 3200-mile event – just about. Footage
from later in the rally shows the Zodiac
lying on its side, seemingly done for after
rolling off the road. Then McNaughton
kicks out the rear ’screen and steps free,
his hat miraculously still atop his head…
Young, somehow also unhurt, slithers
out the front… And locals help the pair
to right the car, which rejoins the rally
sporting a dramatically revised roofline!
€49. rallyandracing.com
 M&K Sound Volkswoofer
40th Anniversary Edition
The company that became M&K Sound
got its start producing a studio subwoofer
for Steely Dan’s notoriously picky guitarist,
Walter Becker, who was then hard at work
crafting the landmark album Pretzel Logic,
which appeared in 1974. Three years later,
M&K released a classic of its own, the
‘Volkswoofer’ – the world’s first subwoofer
with a built-in, dedicated power amplifier.
That famous trapezoidal speaker has been
reissued to mark M&K’s 40th anniversary,
but just 100 units are being made, so don’t
spare the horses on your way down to your
local M&K dealer.
£2395. cinehome.co.uk

Steve McQueen Riverside Richard Mille RM 65-01 McLaren W1

Custom 500 helmet by Bell split-seconds chronograph
A handsome addition to Bell’s collection of helmets styled It was inspired by the latest McLaren hypercar, and this new
after those worn by Steve McQueen. The Riverside Custom chronograph is a similarly astonishing machine, with an incredibly
500 isn’t a slavish reproduction of the actor’s own, green strong yet lightweight Carbon TPT case that houses Richard Mille’s
Bell 500: it has a less bulbous profile, and a more pleasing RMAC4 movement – which, for the uninitiated, allows elapsed
pinstripe design, and of course it’s ECE 22.06 certified. time to be accurately measured down to a tenth of a second.
£224.99. bellhelmets.com CHF 320,000. richardmille.com

157
Gear

Gibson BB King
‘Rumble in the
Jungle’ ES-355
The Gibson Custom Shop has
recreated the guitar used by
BB King at Zaire ’74, the festival
that preceded Muhammad Ali
and George Foreman’s historic
boxing match. In Zaire, BB was
as good on stage as Ali was in
the ring, playing an absolutely
electrifying set that included
the best version of The Thrill Is Original 1958 Angola GP poster
Gone ever committed to tape.
In the late 1950s the Portuguese Government threw its
£8999. gibson.com
weight behind the motorsport scene in colonial Angola.
The Portuguese officials were motivated entirely by self-
interest, naturally, but the resultant Angola GP was a worthy
addition to the racing calendar, attracting drivers such as
Lucien Bianchi and Hans Herrmann and featuring some of
the finest sports cars of the period; unlikely though it may
now seem, there really was a time when Ferrari 250TRs
and Maseratis thundered around the streets of Luanda,
just as shown on this poster promoting the 1958 GP.
$595. arteauto.com

Goldfinger Rolls-Royce by Corgi

To mark the 60th anniversary of the film Goldfinger,
Corgi has released a newly tooled edition of its much-
loved James Bond Aston Martin DB5 toy, plus this –
a 1:36-scale model of Auric Goldfinger’s gold-bullion-
smuggling Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville.
£39.99. corgi.co.uk

158
 Advertising feature

CHRISTMAS WINE
OCTANE EXCLUSIVE
CHRISTMAS WINE CLUB OFFER

HAVING RECENTLY had the

What I’ll be
made close to Reims. Their Brut is
pleasure of meeting the wine 70% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot
enthusiasts at Private Cellar, an Meunier with 20% Chardonnay.
independent wine merchant The base wine for this is 2011,
with a small but perfectly formed
list of hand-picked wines from
passionate producers, I must
drinking this as they don’t release it before at
least eight years to achieve the
necessary depth. Bright, mineral
recommend them to you thirsty
Octane readers.
Having grown up within the
Christmas… and with a lovely hazelnut note,
this is rich yet racy at the same
time, really broad and long on
vineyards of Constantia, in
Cape Town, I regard myself as
a ‘gifted amateur’ when it
Robert Coucher the finish. Great value!

Aristea Chardonnay,
comes to wine – my passion
for wine is up there with my
asks Master of Stellenbosch 2022: £26.95
per bottle (Octane price £25)
passion for cars. But there is so
much more to learn about the
wonderful world of wine, so I was
Wine, Nicola Nicola assures me this was not
thrown into the mix to pander to
my heritage! Burgundy production
looking forward to the chance to
chat to Master of Wine, Nicola
Arcedeckne-Butler has been through some tough years
so prices are high, and we can now
Arcedeckne-Butler. Her ability to
select different and delicious wines from
for her expert get much more bang for our buck by
looking at Burgundian styles from the
gazillions of producers is uncanny, as is her
ability to find them at reasonable prices.
opinion New World – especially when there’s a
French consultant winemaker on board.
Nicola is one of only 421 MWs in the world and A mix of whole-bunch pressing and destemmed
she’s a whirlwind of authority and experience. Nearly 20 crushing gives the finished Chardonnay more phenolics
years ago she and two colleagues founded Private Cellar from and tannins, adding to the mouthfeel. Being fermented and
their kitchen table, and they now have offices in Cambridgeshire and the aged in barrels, some of which are new, with regular lees stirring, adds
Cotswolds. Nicola remains the company’s Buying Director and has the further to the texture. Pale, with a rich, high-toned nose of white stone
pleasure of working with a group of like-minded people she would fruit, citrus, and a hint of green leaf, leading to a lovely creamed white
genuinely call friends. What shines through is that she truly loves her job. fruit palate, a distant grilled note and succulent acidity on the end, this
Her vocation really is to find the best possible wines that are a refreshing wine is intense and eminently drinkable.
change from the usual offerings.
Rather than buying to a formula of price points and volumes, Nicola Morellino di Scansano Podere 414, Simone Castelli 2020:
buys only wines that she personally rates and that she is proud to sell £18.90 per bottle (Octane price £17.50)
or drink at home. Selection is based purely on a price:quality ratio. If For many years Morellino was considered an adjunct to Tuscany as it
that doesn’t stack up, the wine does not make the Private Cellar Selection. lies outside the main growing areas of Chianti and Brunello, but it has
I wanted to know what Nicola would be enjoying this Christmas and proved to be a stayer. Made from Sangiovese from the Maremma
she excited me with a Champagne of excellent pedigree that’s available region of coastal Tuscany, this wine spends 12 months in a mix of small
only from Private Cellar in the UK, plus a South African Chardonnay wooden casks and larger tonneaux, producing a deep and intense
with a dash of French influence, and a fragrant and juicy Italian wine with rich black fruits, smooth and yet well-spiced thanks to
Sangiovese to rev up a traditional Christmas dinner. dashes of Ciliegiolo, Colorino, Alicante and Syrah. It’s incredibly
moreish, perfect with rich sauces and roast turkey.
Champagne Brut, Virginie T. NV:
£39 per bottle (Octane price £36)
With 160 years of family history, Virginie Taittinger has Champagne in As enthusiasts, we urge you to celebrate this year with the Octane
her blood as the daughter of Claude Taittinger, CEO of Taittinger for 46 Wine Club Christmas Case, including four of each of the wines above
years, and Catherine de Suarez d’Aulan, whose family owned Piper- at the special price of £314, including delivery – a saving of £40. Call
Heidsieck until 1988. As a result, these are spectacular Champagnes, Private Cellar on 01353 721999 or email laura@privatecellar.co.uk.

Prices include VAT and delivery on the British mainland.

This offer, which is subject to availability, closes on 31 December 2024.
Payment should be made either by phone or direct from the website at www.privatecellar.co.uk/octanew
Gear

De Rijke & Co x Guy Allen collection

De Rijke & Co and British illustrator Guy Allen have joined forces to produce three watches based on the unusual de Rijke
Amalfi Series design, which allows the wearer to rotate the dial so that it can be read more easily while driving. Each of the
new ‘Land’, ‘Sea’ and ‘Sky’ watches features one of Allen’s drawings rendered in champlevé enamel, and, unsurprisingly, we’re
particularly taken with the Land variant and its charming portrait of a Lancia Aurelia humming along on a warm Italian evening.
€3395 each. derijkeandco.com

Mercedes F1 Team sim racing wheel by Sim Lab Scalextric 1977 Mirage-Renault M8
The latest intimidatingly authentic sim racing wheel to hit the market Scalextric could make a whole series of toys based on Mirage
is a dead ringer for the wheel found in the Mercedes W15 F1 car chassis number 802, which, in different guises, scored three
and boasts a super-lightweight, handcrafted carbonfibre shell. podium finishes in a row at Le Mans between 1975 and 1977.
£2294. sim-lab.eu £56.99. scalextric.com

160
www.hartnackandco.com
Gear

2024 Festival of Slowth

poster by Stefan Marjoram
Collectors of Stefan Marjoram’s characterful
motoring illustrations will be delighted that
he has printed up a number of copies of the
poster he designed for this year’s edition of
the Festival of Slowth – the wonderfully silly,
invitation-only gathering for pre-war cyclecars
‘with proven lack of speed and roadholding’.
The 2024 Festival was held in Wales, where
special features included a race for gentlemen
and their vintage lawnmowers, complete with
Le Mans-style running start!
£10. stefanmarjoram.com

Concorde shirt by T-Lab

Influential aerodynamicist Beverley Shenstone
described Concorde as ‘the most expensive
and most dubious project ever undertaken in
Classic Travelling driving tours the development of civil aircraft’. He wasn’t
Classic Travelling’s slate of tours for 2025 includes a journey to the mountains and wrong, but it’s precisely because the Concorde
fjords of Norway; trips to the Circuit des Remparts and Spa Classic; a two-week drive project was so outrageously ambitious that
around Tuscany and Umbria; and an epic adventure in Namibia, where participants it continues to inspire designers today –
will experience the otherworldly desert landscape from behind the wheel of a 4x4. including, evidently, those at T-Lab.
Guided tours £TBC; tour books from £65. classictravelling.com £34. t-lab.co.uk

162
AUTOMOBILIA LADENBURG
MARCEL SEIDEL AUCTIONS
NOVEMBER 29 - 30, 2024
some results from our last auction

road book Mille Miglia 1957 6FXGHULD)HUUDUL37DUXIÀ

37DUXIÀ5HVXOW½ JROGPHGDO5HVXOW½

Automobilia Ladenburg, Marcel Seidel Auctions,

Ilvesheimerstrasse 26, D-68526 Ladenburg
phone: 0049 (0) 62039577870, info@automobilia-ladenburg.de

163
Gear

Brompton G Line folding bicycle

Brompton bicycles have always been hardy little things, capable of going considerably farther than the office and back, but adventurous
owners (and those who live in places with cobbled streets!) will attest to the limitations of 16in wheels and narrow tyres. Happily for them,
Brompton has just revealed this model with 20in wheels, wider tyres and handlebars, and brand-new geometry. Inevitably, the G Line is
not as compact when folded as its forebears, but early indications are that it lives up to its billing as ‘the most versatile bike in the world’.
From £2399. brompton.com

Bespoke art by Inspired Citroën 2CV socks Tachometer wall clock

Automotive Imagery by Heel Tread by FiveTo
At an indoor facility in Derby, Richard Stone Featuring a good number of the umpteen This novel wall clock was seemingly
produces fine art photographs of his clients’ variants of the 2CV, including the now- designed just for us – or does everyone
cars – the sort of pictures that can never coveted, twin-engine Sahara, and our else also find themselves redlining by 9,
result with an amateur behind the camera! favourite, the rustic Fourgonnette van. and blowing up shortly afterwards?
From £375. inspiredautoimagery.com £12. heeltread.com £35.52. fiveto.co.uk

164
 AS Motorsport ltd

free
shipping

A exclusively at

beautiful rouewatch.com
blend
of VAT
periods included
UK & EU

ASM hand build bespoke versions of the R1 roadster, inspired by the Aston Martin
race cars that won Le Mans and the world Sportscar championship in 1959.
Contact us for details of commission builds and stock.
Poplar Farm, Bressingham, Diss, Norfolk, IP22 2AP
Tel: 01379688356 • Mob: 07909531816
Web: www.asmotorsport.co.uk
Email: info@asmotorsport.co.uk

Tim Layzell
‘BIG NIGHT OUT’
1974 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The legendary Porsche Carrera RSR
of Herbert Muller and Gijs Van Lennep
(2nd Overall) leads the Ferrari Daytona
of Cyril Grandet and Dominique Bardini
(5th Overall and winner of the
GT Class) and the BMW 3.0 CSL of
Hean Claude Aubriet and “Depnic”
(winner of the Touring Car Class)

New Limited Edition of just 450 signed

and numbered prints. £295 + P&P
Other Limited Edition Prints available

+44 (0) 7974 900 580

www.timlayzell.com

165
Gear

Mazda 787B chassis 002

print by Rear View Prints
From Rear View Prints – which also
creates bespoke illustrations of its
customers’ cars and motorcycles –
comes this tribute to the nattiest
of all Le Mans winners, the Argyle-
sweater-wearing Mazda 787B that
delivered victory for Johnny Herbert,
Volker Weidler, Bertrand Gachot
and all of Japan in the 1991 race.
From £15. rearviewprints.com

Pininfarina x Maserati
Cambiano inkless pen
This special edition of Pininfarina’s Cambiano ‘pen’, which features
an Ethergraf inkless tip, rests on a stand decorated with a technical
drawing of the racecar-derived V8 engine that powered the first
two examples of the Maserati 5000 GT.
£140. meandmycar.co.uk

Fitted car luggage

by Classic Travelling
Packing the car for a weekend away needn’t feel like
a game of Tetris: Classic Travelling makes bespoke
luggage to fit the dimensions of your classic exactly.
From £190. classictravellingluggage.com

Lego 1966 Batmobile

It’s entirely possible that some buyers will take longer to assemble this 1822-piece
model of the first (proper) Batmobile than George Barris and his team spent building
the real thing, which was completed in just three weeks. The car was a total dog,
of course, and caused the crew of the 1966 Batman TV show all sorts of bother,
but Barris’s rush job became an icon of pop culture before the year was out.
£129.99. lego.com

166
167
Gear

Vintage Rollei 35
There’s already a waiting list for the new Rollei AF, a modern point-and-shoot film camera that
apes the look of the beloved Rollei 35, so it seems worth reminding people about one of the
few good things to come out of the Covid pandemic: Film Furbish. Founded by photographer
Jeremy Rata from his kitchen table in Leeds during the first UK lockdown, the business sources,
restores and sells more vintage Rollei 35 cameras than anybody else, meaning it’s now dead easy
to get your hands on an example of the diminutive classic that is guaranteed to work perfectly.
Prices vary, but start at a few hundred pounds. filmfurbish.com

BMW Behind
the Scenes by
Steve Saxty
This signed, limited-edition
set brings together Steve
Saxty’s three painstakingly
researched volumes on the
Bugatti Baby II art car post-war design story of
BMW. The perfect present for
painted by Jean-Yves Tabourot any fan of the marque, and
indeed positively reviewed
The Bugatti Baby II, an electric, three-quarter-scale replica of
in issue 253 by Octane’s
the Bugatti Type 35, is a little work of art in its own right, but here
own resident Bimmer fiend,
it serves as a canvas for Jean-Yves Tabourot. His design is based
Glen Waddington.
on a painting of Goodwood Revival that he produced last year,
£239.95. stevesaxty.com
and the project was inspired in part by Sonia Delaunay, the
abstract painter who pioneered the idea of the art car.
£POA. jytbespokeart.com

168
 

      
       
       
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169
Gear

1:24-scale Iso Grifo

Farer Durham Pullman
model by Automodello Eastern Arabic edition
With its look-at-me Italian styling and snarling American V8, Farer’s latest limited-edition watch
the Iso Grifo was a rockstar of a car, yet it has rarely been given is cleverly designed to speak to your
the rockstar treatment by model manufacturers. Illinois-based inner explorer, featuring gorgeous,
highly polished Eastern Arabic
outfit Automodello is seemingly here to make amends: ahead
numerals and a brushed dial that
of the Grifo’s 60th birthday in 2025, the company has released borrows the shade of green used
not one, not two, but five different 1:24-scale models of the car. on the Pullman train cars of old.
$249.99 as shown. automodello.com £945. farer.com

Cannondale SuperSix
Evo Lab71 Team
A dreadful mouthful of a name, that, but what it
means is that this is the exact bike ridden by the
EF team on the 2024 Tour de France. It costs a
mint, but if you’ve ever wanted to experience
what the pros do, here’s your chance.
£12,500. cannondale.com

170
 BESPOKE FITTED LUGGAGE
FOR CLASSIC & SPORTS CARS

The Jaguar
Reading Corner
The perfect gift for Jaguar enthusiasts.
From an armchair read to an under-the-bonnet problem solver,
SNG Barratt has the perfect Jaguar book for you this Christmas.

Discover more. Visit sngbarratt.com

SNG Barratt is the world’s largest independent manufacturer and supplier of classic and
modern Jaguar car parts. Choose from over 300,000 parts and accessories worldwide.

171
Gear

Filson Mackinaw wool Cruiser Ferrari 499 P model

The Cruiser was designed over a century ago for men working in the forests by Looksmart
of the Pacific Northwest, but it turns out to be the perfect jacket for the A super, 1:12-scale likeness of the 2023 car
suburbs of post-climate-change Britain, too: Mackinaw wool is breathable that helped Ferrari come back to Le Mans
with a bang after an absence of 50 years.
but has amazing insulating properties, even when wet, so you can throw
£849.95. grandprixmodels.com
on the Cruiser and not have to worry about Mother Nature getting weird.
£730. uk.filson.eu

Fast and Furious by Richard Pietruska

Sculpted from glassfibre and measuring 1.5m long, Fast and Furious
Lucky Leap APA by is Richard Pietruska’s monumental tribute to the 250 LM-influenced
Ferrari 250 GTO Series II, which turned 60 earlier this year.
Goodwood Brewery $25,000. rpmart.com

A ‘citrusy and hoppy’ pale ale,

Lucky Leap is named for Masten
Gregory’s famous escape act
during the 1959 Goodwood
Tourist Trophy race: with
his suddenly out-of-control
Tojeiro heading for the bank
at Woodcote corner, Gregory
threw himself from the cockpit
in memorable style, narrowly
avoiding a horrible smash
and the fire that immediately
broke out in the wrecked car.
£22.55 (case of 12 bottles)
shop.goodwood.com

172
 GREAT ESCAPES FOR DISCERNING DRIVERS
&KULVWPDV*LIWV Accompanied Small Group Driving Holidays

IRUWKHGULYHUV«

ZZZPHDQGP\FDUFRXN
RUGHUOLQH TEL: +44 1264 710375

T-shirts, sweatshirts,
knitwear and prints.
Inspired by art, design,
sport and good times.
Original British Design.
WWW.T-LAB.CO.UK
See them all at
www.t-lab.co.uk

173
 1934 Bentley 3½-Litre Tourer

Also available: 1934 Talbot AV105, 1925 Vauxhall 30-98 OE, 1936 Talbot BI105 Aero

Landline: +44 (0) 1440 841 447 Mobile: +44 (0) 7493 897 975 john@polsonmotorco.com @polsonmotorco
Please see website for more details: www.polsonmotorco.com

174
 1954 JAGUAR XK120
ROADSTER £95,000

1963 JAGUAR E-TYPE

COUPE £135,000

1957 MERCEDES-BENZ
300SL ROADSTER £925,000

T +44 (0)1869 357126 W www.pendine.com E cars@pendine.com Located at

MILESTONE MOTORCARS

1965 Jaguar 4.2 litre,

561 509 7251
For our current inventory please visit our website XKE Roadster
www.MilestoneMotorcarsLLC.com Finest, Restored E Type available today

175
 Edited by Matthew Hayward

The Market
B U Y I N G + S E L L I N G + A N A LY S I S

TOP 10 PRICES
SEPTEMBER 2024

£1,882,882 ($2,507,500)
2022 Lamborghini Countach
LPI 800-4
Bring a Trailer, Austin, Texas,
USA, 20 September

£753,885 ($990,000)
1933 Auburn 12-165 Salon
Speedster
Mecum, Dallas, Texas, USA,
6 September

£681,170 ($907,500)
2022 Ford GT
Bring a Trailer, California, USA,
25 September
BONHAMS

£672,024 ($882,500)
2012 Lexus LFA
Bring a Trailer, California, USA,
6 September

Zoute alors! Bonhams £621,370 ($827,500)

1962 Ferrari 250GT Spider
Bring a Trailer, California, USA,

goes big in Belgium again 21 September

£614,200
1998 Porsche 911 Turbo
The UK auction house hits a home run for the second year running Bonhams, Goodwood, UK,
7 September

BONHAMS HELD an incredibly successful sale in 1951 Ferrari 340 America Berlinetta, which failed £552,000
Knokke-Heist, Belgium, alongside the Zoute Grand to gain enough bids to trouble the reserve on the day. 1932 Alfa Romeo 8C
Prix in 2023, and the auction house has just returned A 1926 Bugatti Type 35A also fell short. 2300 Corto Spider
yet another stellar result at this year’s event – There were mixed fortunes for Aston Martins in Bonhams, Goodwood Revival,
UK, 7 September
totalling €21,300,064, with a sell-through rate of Belgium. A striking bronze One-77 (the first built,
95%. Although slightly down from 2023’s coming from its original owner with just 550km on £526,000
blockbuster €26.8m result, this year’s sale was the clock) attracted a healthy €1,437,500 all-in price, 2024 Lamborghini
Bonhams Cars’ highest-grossing auction of the year, but the interesting 1959 DB4 4.7-litre works Revuelto LP1015-4
outstripping Monterey by some margin. prototype ‘DP2155’ didn’t find a new home. Collecting Cars, Shropshire, UK,
Top-seller was the overpoweringly red 2010 Just a few days earlier, Bonhams held a somewhat 25 September
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss (above), more low-key auction across the pond at the Audrain
which sailed past its €1.5-2.5m estimate to make Concours. It was a smaller catalogue than last year £525,000
€3,220,000. There were a few other limited-run but, thanks to a substantial number of cars offered 1933 MG Magnette K3
Mercedes-Benzes offered, all at no reserve. The 2007 without a reserve, the sale ended with a healthy Bonhams, Goodwood, UK,
7 September
CLK DTM AMG Cabriolet proved popular at 81% sale rate and a total figure of $3,717,534.
€540,500, as did the 54km 2008 SLR McLaren Leading the way was a 1957 Mercedes-Benz £517,685 ($675,300)
Crown Edition at €483,000. 300SL Roadster, formerly one of Peter Mullin’s cars, 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
Next up was the 1956 Porsche 550 RS, notable with a total price of $1,160,000 – almost the exact Black Series
because this Equipe Nationale Belge team car was price for which Gooding & Company sold the very Bring a Trailer, Florida, USA,
back on home turf for the first time in decades. same car in April! There was a lot of love for the 11 September
It sold to a local collector for €2,530,000, below 1959 Fiat-OSCA 1500 Aerodinamica Berlinetta,
The top ten data is supplied
estimate. One notable no-sale was the headlining which sold for $401,000. Matthew Hayward courtesy of HAGERTY

176
Muscular atrophy:
do powerful classics age poorly?
It takes more than a wave of nostalgia to lift a classic to true ‘collector car’ status,
which means many are never priced out of actually being used. Good!

MY SOCIAL MEDIA feed seems to be full of ads greats, the manufacturer one of the most exclusive,
for different fitness regimes at the moment. They tell and the model must have that elusive, often
me that I need to maintain strength training to stay at indefinable ‘X factor’. In spades.
peak fitness and remind me about muscular atrophy, The outlook for the RS500, E30 M3 and Lotus
the process by which muscle reduces with age. Carlton as classics remains positive, but as
I think the same may be true of classic cars. collectables of the future I fear their reach will be
Britain doesn’t really have muscle cars, but limited and, barring extraordinary exceptions, value
Generation X still has its blue-collar heroes that increases may well be more limited in future years
combined street presence and racing pedigree with than the market has seen up until now. More likely John Mayhead
sheer power. The Hagerty Price Guide average values is a trend that is similar to prizefighter models that Hagerty Price Guide
of three top examples – the BMW E30 M3, the Ford came before, such as the Audi Ur-quattro (RR): its editor, market
commentator and
Sierra RS500 Cosworth and the Vauxhall Lotus average Hagerty Price Guide value nearly tripled
concours judge
Carlton – have all risen significantly in value over the between August 2016 and August 2021, from
past few years as enthusiasts and collectors in their £20,125 to £59,225, but then it stabilised and
forties and fifties have bought the best examples currently sits at £56,050.
of these former heavyweights that they can find. I don’t think that this is a bad thing. Collectable
The problem with these cars is that they rely cars tend to be kept cossetted away under covers and
strongly on a nostalgic memory of past physicality as pulled out for the odd top-flight concours or to be
their USP. As the 58-year-old Mike Tyson may sold. Classics are cars that are meant to be driven, to
discover in a few weeks when he enters a professional be seen on the roads and at events. Cars such as the
boxing ring again with an opponent less than half his RS500, E30 M3 and Lotus Carlton stir real emotions
age, the years can take their toll. Compare and are a key part of our motoring heritage. Just as,
Average UK
acceleration, and the classics are easily outpaced: the win or lose, everyone can’t wait to see Tyson back in Hagerty Price
current BMW M4 Competition reaches 60mph from the ring, just hearing, seeing and feeling these cars Guide values in
a standstill in 3.8 seconds, a speed its E30 on the road remains a very special experience that GBP(£), Sept 2021
predecessor took 6.5 seconds to achieve. should not be rare. to Sept 2024.
As a classic car, this doesn’t really matter. People
tend to want the car for what it represents to them,
often a link back to their youth. But when classic G R O W I N G M U S C L E : T H R E E -Y E A R I N C R E A S E I N VA L U E
turns the corner to collectable, that’s another matter.
Some cars, whatever their attributes, become
collectable because of their double-digit mileage, Sept ’21 Sept ’24
previous celebrity ownership or some other factor
that makes them extremely and individually special,
£150k
but, for every example of a model to become and stay
collectable, they must have a very special
combination indeed. Being once powerful isn’t
enough; the design must be classed as one of the
£100k
‘People tend to want the
car for what it represents
to them, often a link back £50k

to their youth. But when

classic turns the corner
to collectable, that’s
another matter’ BMW E30 M3 Coupé Ford Sierra RS500
Cosworth
Vauxhall Lotus
Carlton

177
The Market Auction Previews

Ultimately successful experiment

RM Sotheby’s, London, UK 1-2 November

IT’S NOT EVERY day that a Jaguar XKSS enthusiast and competitor Phil Scragg, who
comes to the open market, especially not at a returned the car to the works in November
public auction. In fact, RM Sotheby’s says 1958 for full conversion to an XKSS. The
that, when it presents this intriguing example history contains correspondence between
at The Peninsula London next month, it will Scragg and ‘Lofty’ England. As well as all the
be the first time an XKSS has ever been usual XKSS additions, this car was given a
offered at a European auction. higher 3.92:1 axle ratio for better acceleration.
‘XKD 540’ is one of two XKSSs to retain In the hands of its second owner it was
a D-type chassis number, out of a total of 18 returned to the factory in 1960 for a 3.8-litre
built. Originally built as a ‘short-nose’ D-type engine upgrade, importantly retaining its
in November 1955, it remained unsold for original cylinder head. Since the 1970s it’s
over a year. Amusingly, Jaguar records list this been in the care of collectors, with appropriate
rare and now desirable car as ‘redundant after restoration work carried out over the years.

RM SOTHEBY’S
experiment’, although exactly what that RM estimates that the XKSS, offered with
experiment was remains a mystery. a substantial package of spares, will make
Eventually it found its way to arch Jaguar £9,000,000-11,000,000. rmsothebys.com

Hot hatch legend

Iconic Auctioneers, NEC, UK 9 Nov
ALTHOUGH THE 1990s represented a
quiet period for hot hatches – at least those
we would class as legendary – the French
managed to produce this little firecracker.
Stylistically making the most of its Williams
F1 connection, the hottest Clio was actually
developed in-house by Renaultsport.
A total of 5400 Williams 1s would be built,
with just 390 of those coming to the UK. This
is number 0181, which stayed with its original
owner for 25 years – and was utterly cherished.
Iconic sold a 40,000-mile car at the NEC
last year for £28,688, so it’s no surprise that
this beautifully presented sub-10k-mile car is
estimated to make £40,000-50,000 at the same
venue next month. iconicauctioneers.com

178
 1958 Ferrari 250GT AUC T ION DI A RY
Coupé Pininfarina
Christie’s, Paris, France 30 October
20 November, christies.com H&H, Bickenhill, UK
(motorcycles)
This Ferrari is being offered in Paris
by Christie’s in The Exceptional 31 October
Sale, which brings together a SWVA, Poole, UK
selection of incredible items from 1 November
various categories. It is set to be Bonhams, London, UK
one of the stars of the auction, 2 November
notable for coming from the RM Sotheby’s, London, UK
collection of actress Angelina 2-3 November
Jolie. One of 353 examples built, ACA, King’s Lynn, UK
it’s estimated to sell for 8-10 November
€600,000-800,000. Osenat, Lyon, France
9 November
Barons, Southampton, UK
Iconic Auctioneers,
Birmingham, UK
10 November
Iconic Auctioneers,
Birmingham, UK (motorcycles)
16 November
Morris Leslie, Errol, UK
23 November
2004 Toyota Century 1908 Vulcan 20hp 1985 Lotus Excel Historics, Weybridge, UK
Historics, Brooklands, UK Bonhams, London, UK ACA, King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK RM Sotheby’s, Munich,
23 November, historics.co.uk 1 Nov, cars.bonhams.com 2-3 Nov, angliacarauctions.co.uk Germany
Named in honour of company A rare survivor of the British Vulcan Here’s an interesting proposition if 24 November
founder Sakichi Toyoda’s 100th manufacturer, fitted with this pretty you’re happy to take a chance on Hampson, Tattenhall, UK
birthday, the Toyota Century is Roi-des-Belges body. Originally an unknown quantity. This Excel 27 November
Japan’s ultimate luxury car – a delivered to Australia, it lived a full looks extremely presentable, but H&H, Buxton, UK
conservatively styled Rolls-Royce life before being returned to the UK there’s no documentation with the 27-29 November
complete with velour seats! Not in 1989. Following a repaint, re-trim car other than the V5, which Mathewsons, online
only is it the only Japanese car to and new hood in 2008, it took part incorrectly lists it as an Eclat. It 1 December
be built with a V12 engine, it’s also in several Veteran Car Club events, shows 43,260 miles on the clock Aguttes, Paris, France
beautifully screwed together. though has been used sparingly by and, although the MoT expired in
RM Sotheby’s, Dubai, UAE
Imported in 2020, this one is its most recent owner. It’s expected July, it could be a great buy to the
4 December
estimated at £12,000-17,000. to make £30,000-50,000. right person at £5000-7000.
Brightwells, online
Dore & Rees,
Bradford-on-Avon, UK
5 December
Brightwells, online
5-7 December
Also Look Out For… Mecum, Kansas City, USA
6-17 December
SIR THOMAS LIPTON rose from the tenements of
Bonhams, online (motorcycles)
Glasgow to build a grocery store empire and compete five
7 December
times for the America’s Cup, though never wresting the Classic Car Auctions,
world’s oldest international sporting prize from the American Leamington Spa, UK
cup holders. Lipton’s final attempt in 1930 was with the WB & Sons, Killingworth, UK
36.58m Shamrock V, which holds a special place in the
7-8 December
pantheon of J Class yachts as the first British J, the only one Manor Park Classics,
planked in wood and one of only three original class survivors. Runcorn, UK
As this remarkable yacht surfaces from her latest 12 December
restoration, a fragment has emerged that connects to a time Bonhams, London, UK
when the working sailors of Essex fishing villages trod the 14 December
planks alongside aristocrats and royalty. Her skipper in the Barons, Southampton, UK
1930 challenge was Essex man Edward Carrington Heard, 29 December
from a neighbouring village to Albert Turner – skipper of George V’s Britannia – and from equally humble Oldtimer Galerie, Gstaad,
stock as Lipton. Likewise, many of the core crew hailed from east coast fishing stock. Switzerland
From his racing days Heard collected several cherished mementos, including Sir Thomas Lipton’s house
flag, with a shamrock motif that paid homage to the magnate’s Irish roots. Offered with the burgee of the Royal IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Harwich Yacht Club, where Shamrock V took part in her first regatta in May 1930 and won straight out of the
box, the flags are estimated to fetch £2000-3000 when they come up at Charles Miller Ltd on 12 November.

179
The Market Data Mining

classic cars, prices experienced a 105-series cars, and Gordon

Alfa Junior Zagato post-Covid boost but increases
were not as pronounced as for
Murray awarded it the accolade of
commissioning Alfaholics to
A Zagato Alfa that won’t break the bank, but may be a lot of other models and, when create a modified ‘R’ version.
corrected for inflation, current So, why are they not more
stunted by the desirability of the cars it’s based on
prices are a little down on where collectable? Well, they’re a bit
they were in 2018. of a niche car and their ‘standard’
ZAGATO-BODIED Alfas span stands out through a combination That is surprising, as the Spider, Bertone GT and
a wide spectrum, from the of simple yet innovative design, model ticks pretty much every Berlinetta saloon siblings are
glorious elegance of pre-war cars competent performance, and a box that Hagerty considers to be much better-known.
and the muscular beauty of the price that won’t break the bank: collectable positives: well-known John Mayhead
TZ racers through to the bulbous the Junior Zagato. sporting manufacturer,
2600SZ and the boxy ES30 SZ. Hagerty condition 2 world-class designer, excellent
But one Zagato-bodied Alfa (‘Excellent’) values for both the drivability, and limited JUNIOR ZAGATO 1.3-1.6
1300 and 1600 models have risen production numbers, with just

87vs106
UK Hagerty Price Guide
slowly over the past few years 1500-ish made. They are easy to
condition 2 ‘Excellent’ values and currently sit at £42,300 and maintain as they share many
over time (£GBP) £46,300 respectively. Like most mechanical parts with the other
MAX BHP AT 6K REVS – 1300:1600

1970
A L FA R O M E O J U N I O R Z A G A T O VA L U E S

£48k

£46k
1600 THE FIRST NEW ALFA ROMEO
Junior Z
MODEL TO BE BUILT WITH THE
£44k AID OF ROBOTS

1108vs403
1300
Junior Z
£42k

£40k
TOTAL PRODUCED – 1300:1600
£38k

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Ercole Spada
DESIGNER, FOR ZAGATO OF MILAN

and only around half are thought cars at €268,800 (£224,250), Roger Brotton of De Tomaso
Auction Tracker to have survived. a level that was pushed higher in specialist Three Point Four says:
Chassis 998 gives a good 2023 when Mecum sold its ‘Restoration costs are expensive,
De Tomaso indication of the model’s rise
in value in the 2010s: the four-
Wayne Carini-restored example
for $418,000 (£311,500). An
so it pays to buy well in the first
place. The problem is its rarity,
Mangusta headlight European-spec car first
crossed the block at Bonhams’
exceptional unrestored Mangusta
holds the auction record: sold
and the survival rates. Even ten
years ago, the starting cost for
Paris sale in 2013, taking €91,762 by Mecum as a one-owner car a car in need of work was
Argentinian racing driver (£76,500) before returning to (pictured) with 6217 miles for £80-100k, so double that in 2024.
Alejandro de Tomaso’s first Paris in 2018 when RM Sotheby’s $352,000 (£262,250) at ‘Recently, top cars have sold for
supercar entered production in achieved €286,250 (£238,750). Kissimmee in 2021, it went on to £400,000 or more, and, given the
1967. It was styled by Giorgetto RM’s 2014 Monaco sale set the make $440,000 (£328,000) at the enormous cost of a restoration,
Giugiaro at Ghia, 401 were built, bar for the best recently restored same event the following year. that’s about correct.’ Rod Laws

£400,000
Line charts the top prices for comparable cars at auction.

£300,000

£200,000

£100,000
Glenmarch is the largest free-to-access online
resource for classic and collector car auction markets.
2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Visit glenmarch.com to keep up to date.

180
 1997/8
PORSCHE
993 TURBO COUPE
FOREST GREEN
EXTERIOR
MANUAL
34,000 MI

2018
ASTON MARTIN
1970
MERCEDES BENZ
VANQUISH ZAGATO 280 SL
VOLANTE
PAGODA
1 OF 99 MADE METICULOUS
1,250 MI RESTORATION
TO CONCOURS
400 MI

For Collectors of Modern Art,

experts in Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar and AC Cobra

W: hendonwaymotors.com T: +44(0)20 8202 8011

The Market Dealer News

SHOWROOM BRIEFS

1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen

£45,000
A replica of the very first
self-propelled vehicle, built by
John Bentley Engineering to
such a high standard that
Mercedes ordered 100 to be
displayed around the world.
tomhartleyjnr.com (UK)

1990 Porsche 911 Speedster

1975 Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV €199,000
There’s something very
menacing about this Turbo-
POA from The Hairpin Company, Wiltshire, UK bodied 3.2 Speedster, finished in
black. It’s a US-market car
AS AMAZING as a beautifully restored car can be, Alfa, which included a full repaint due to the original showing 51,350km with optional
there’s something very special about a classic that paint going flat. Photographs from the time confirm LSD and short shifter.
has survived almost 50 years in original condition. that there were no major rust repairs necessary. All lartdelautomobile.com (FR)
This gorgeous Alfa GTV is one such example, a late- the seals and consumable components were replaced
registered UK car that has covered just 19,000 miles at the same time, with a light mechanical refresh. The
without any major restoration work or evident wear. car went on to win several concours awards at Alfa
It’s finished in Grigio Chiaro, fitted with a tan cloth Romeo events.
interior, tinted glass and even the original Eight Hairpin bought the car in 2016 and it was lightly
Track player. The first Hertfordshire-based owner fettled before being sold to Harry Metcalfe, who
held on to the car until October 1998, when it was enjoyed it for a year before it was once again sold
offered for sale in the Alfa Romeo Owners Club Car Magazine
through Hairpin to a collector for his ‘Car
1983 Lynx Eventer
magazine with only 14,700 miles on the clock. 1971 Group Test’ collection. Described as ‘a perfect $28,000
After it had been in dry storage for 12 years, the balance of original and refurbished’, it’s certainly one Offered in ‘field find’ condition,
next owner decided to sympathetically refresh the of a kind. thehairpincompany.co.uk this Eventer – the 13th of 67 built
– was exported to the US in
2000, and at some point after
was abandoned in a field, still
wearing its UK numberplates.
lbilimited.com (US)
The Insider
HOW IS THE MARKET for 300SL Roadsters and Gullwings? Recent auctions
have sent a signal that average 300SLs are currently hard to sell, but there is still
demand for special cars, ones in extraordinarily good condition, prime preservation
pieces, or a blank canvas in need of total restoration, especially if it has good history.
Is history the most important factor? Since the demise of Kienle [a German
specialist that went bust while being investigated for allegedly cloning cars], proof
of originality is more important than ever. History has always been important but 1925 Vauxhall 30-98
now the documentation to support that history is paramount. $365,000 NZD
Hans Kleissl Single family owned for the past
And rarity? The more rare the more valuable, like the 29 aluminium Gullwings or Founder of globally 56 years, and imported into NZ
the circa-40 Rudge wheel roadsters, or the final Roadsters with aluminium engines. renowned Mercedes- when the family emigrated in
Does colour matter? Most buyers used to look for silver cars, but an increasing Benz 300SL specialist 2002, this Griffin-bodied 30-98 is
number now desire more distinctive colours, such as yellow, green or even pink. HK-Engineering said to be as ‘as good as it gets
Where’s the market going next? Let’s see how the Junkyard auction [the RM for a preservation-class car’.
Sotheby’s sale of the Rudi Klein collection on 26 October] goes… bains.co.nz (NZ)

182
The Market Buying Guide

THE LOWDOWN

WHAT TO PAY
Although it was widely
criticised when new for its
£30k-plus list price, well over
twice what even a top-spec iQ
cost, the low numbers making
it onto the secondhand
market have ensured that
prices have held up well. For
a good example, expect to
pay around £30,000, with
exceptional cars closer to
£40,000. A standard iQ can be
picked up for between £2500
and £6000 today.

LOOK OUT FOR

Toyota’s legendary reliability
means that the Cygnet’s
mechanicals seldom cause
any issues, especially as

Aston Martin Cygnet they’re generally very low-

mileage cars. Although not
strictly necessary, a full Aston
A failure at launch, the tiny Aston Martin city car is enjoying its swansong dealer service history is a
nice thing to have and will
probably make it easier to sell
in the future.
IT’S DIFFICULT NOT to be slightly cynical about So how did Aston justify its price? Cosmetic
Mechanical parts can be
the Cygnet. Here is a car that was widely reported to changes to the iQ were significant, and all carried out
ordered through Toyota, at a
have been developed solely to lower the average fleet on a dedicated production line at Gaydon. The front
significant cost saving.
CO2 emissions for the Aston Martin range. At bumper is bespoke, and there’s an aluminium grille Bearing this in mind, the
launch, the Cygnet certainly got a bit of a thrashing made to the same quality as the ‘proper’ Astons. main consideration when
from the press – and the public. Yet the world feels The front wings and bonnet have added Vantage- buying a Cygnet is to make
like a very different place almost 15 years later and, style vents and strakes, and there’s a (purely sure that every bespoke
while a lot of Aston purists turned their noses up at cosmetic) rear diffuser. Although the headlights Aston Martin part is in perfect
the idea of a Toyota-based luxury city car, the small are unchanged from the iQ, they’re disguised with condition: bumper, bonnet,
number that actually bought and drove them – trims and the rear lights are bespoke. It was also grilles, badges, all the leather
Stirling Moss included – absolutely adored them. painted to a much higher standard, in a range of interior trim and the
The Cygnet also turned out to be one of the least the usual gorgeous Aston colours. Externally, the diamond-cut alloy wheels.
depreciating modern Aston Martins of all time. transformation was finished off by eight- and You might not expect
At its core, the Toyota iQ on which it was based 16-spoke diamond-cut wheel designs. any Cygnet to have been
was actually a very clever little car. It was not The interior is particularly special, with most trim modified, but Aston did offer
dissimilar in size and shape to a Smart, but was wrapped in high-quality leather and a new ‘waterfall’ an official suspension-
slightly wider and a foot longer, making it centre console design in a style similar to that of lowering option, which is said
considerably more spacious inside. It even offered a other models in the range. Some of the original to improve the handling
pair of rear seats in the back, which realistically made owners had a lot of fun with the colour options, somewhat. Other than that,
it capable of ‘comfortably’ carrying three adults. so you can expect a few lairy examples out there. plenty of aftermarket
modifications exist for the iQ,
Criticised for being too expensive at over £12,000 Although it was widely reported at the time,
such as a supercharger kit,
for the top-spec version, it was typically well- Aston’s then-CEO Ulrich Bez dismissed the widely
and Aston Works has even
engineered, and a (relatively) decent thing to drive. held belief that the Cygnet was a ploy to lower CO2
built a unique V8-engined
Aston Martin took that as a base and began averages, stating that an Aston Martin city car was version for one customer – so
production of its version in 2010, initially offering it something he’d always wanted to do. Aston had there’s definitely scope for
only to existing brand customers. It soon went on hoped to build 4000 Cygnets per year, but slow sales fun if you’re so inclined.
general sale for a hefty £30,995 – around three times meant that it completed only 789 before pulling the Most Cygnets have
the price of the regular iQ! plug in 2013. Just 150 were sold in the UK. covered a low mileage, but
Mechanically, the Cygnet was pure Toyota, It’s fair to say that, while feelings around the they’re getting to a point
powered by a 1.3-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, Cygnet have softened a lot, it’s still a relatively when in-depth maintenance
generating 97bhp and 91lb ft of torque. The manual divisive car. Best to enjoy it for what it is – a may be wise. Check the age of
gearbox was standard, with a CVT gearbox available beautifully trimmed and built, extremely rare and tyres, for example; they rarely
for an extra £1120. The latter is generally considered low-maintenance city car – rather than what it’s not. wear out, but may have
to be the better of the two options. Matthew Hayward perished or hardened.

184
 


C HARLES P RINCE Worldwide Collector Car Sales

1930 Bentley 4.5 Litre Supercharged Le Mans

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1923 Bentley 3 Litre TT Model 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible.

)DFWRU\8SUDWHGWRIXOO6SHHG0RGHO6SHF Full history. Uprated to 4.2 Litres

We are always eager to buy important collectors cars.

$OOFDUVFDQEHVHHQWULHGDQGWHVWHGDW4XLQ+D\)DUP3HWHUVȴHOG+DPSVKLUH*8%=RULQFHQWUDO/RQGRQ
Please see our website for full stock photos videos and details. Valuations always available.
Int T 0044 (0) 79 85 98 80 70
sales@charlesprinceclassiccars.com
charlesprinceclassiccars.com
 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT
(chassis no. #0137/R)

1 of 75 produced
Snow Shadow grey with red leather interior
Original matching numbers car
Original registration number from new
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Extensive racing history
A full body off restoration in 2015 by marque experts
Post Vintage, Bodylines and Spraytec

Tel: +44(0) 1772 613114

Email: sales@williamloughran.co.uk
Address: The Hawthorns, Gill Lane,
Walmer Bridge, Lancashire, PR4 5QN
 2017 Aston Martin Vanquish V12 Zagato 2016 Lamborghini Aventador V12 LP 2016 Lamborghini Aventador
1 owner example comes optioned with Villa D’este 750-4 Superveloce LP750-4 SV Roadster
package, Carbon fibre centre console, 1-77 Style 1 owner, Gloss carbon exterior, Carbon fibre interior Satin Carbon fibre exterior, Transparent engine cover,
steering wheel, Fully electric and memory front seats, package, Sports exhaust system, 20/21” Dianthus Sensonum sound system, Lifting system, Sports
Alarm upgrade. 69 miles. £389,990 centre lock alloy wheels. 7,000 Miles. £337,990 exhaust system, 6,800 miles. £334,990

2020 Ferrari 812 Superfast V12 2018 Lamborghini Aventador V12 LP 740-4 S 2021 Lamborghini Huracan
Suspension lifter, Adaptive headlights with SBL function, Q-citura stitching, Transparent engine cover, Lifting V10 LP 610-2 EVO
Scuderia shields, Rear privacy glass, Titanium exhaust system, Red brake callipers, 20/21” Dionne alloy wheels Fully electric and heated comfort seats,
pipes, 20” forged diamond alloys, Ferrari main dealer finished in Gloss black with Diamond face Piano black interior trim, Satin black tailpipes,
history. 3,000 Miles. £261,990 12,500 miles. £229,990 8,500 miles. £204,990

2018 Lamborghini Huracan 1967 Jaguar E-Type Roadster 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640#
V10 LP 640-4 Performante Supplied via Jaguar cars of New York in Arancio Atlas with full Nero leather interior and
1 owner from new, dark chrome interior package, Lazer October 1967, Undergoing a full nut and bolt restoration, contrasting Arancio stitching, Branding to headrests,
engraved stitching, 20” Loge alloy wheels finished in LHD to RHD conversion, Full UK registration. Arancio painted brake callipers.
Gloss black. 16,000 miles. £204,890 120 miles. £189,990 18,800 miles. £189,990

2019 Lamborghini Huracan 2020 Lamborghini Urus V8 BiTurbo 2013 Ferrari 458 Spider
LP640-4 Evo Coupe Full electric and memory front seats, Q-Citura stitching Equipped with Carbon fibre race seats, Carbon fibre
Multi functional steering wheel in alcantara, in Giallo, Bang & Olufsen sound system, Sliding driving zone with LED’s, Exterior stripe in Argento
Sports ehaust system, Verde mantis brake callipers. panoramic roof, Adaptive cruise control, Milltek Nurburgring, Yellow rev counter, Silver brake callipers.
11,000 miles. £176,990 exhaust system. 53,000 miles. £169,990 12,000 miles. £169,990

2013 Ferrari 458 Spider 2014 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-2 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo V10
Carbon fibre race seats, Carbon fibre drivers zone with 50th anniversary finished in Nero Serapis metallic, This Giallo Midas 3 layer pearl, full Nero ade Leather interior
LED’s, Painted stripe in Grigio Silverstone, example comes with Fully electric and heated comfort with contrasting Giallo piping and stitching. Manual
Full PPF, Giallo stitching, Prancing horse on headrests seats, 19” Superleggera alloys finished transmission, full electric heated seats, 19 Inch Cassipea
in Giallo. 34,000 miles. £134,990 in Titanium. 11,900 miles. £119,990 alloy wheels in Silver. 23,000 miles. £82,990

BUYING OR SELLING LAMBORGHINI MOTORCARS

T +44 01580 714 597 E sales@vvsuk.co.uk W www.vvsuk.co.uk
(Viewing by appointment only) Address: VVS UK LTD PARK FARM, GOUDHURST ROAD, CRANBROOK, KENT, TN17 2LJ
www.lamborghinibuyer.com Additional Websites: www.justlamborghini.com
 A C H E R I T A G E

1964 AC COBRA 289

Fully matching numbers, recent cosmetic restoration by AC Heritage. Extensive hillclimb history at the hands of Paul Channon, continuous
history from new and Channon owning the cobra for forty years from 1969. Supplied with factory hardtop and weather gear, one of the finest
examples of the marque through our doors. POA

1955 AC ACECA 1985 AC MKIV COBRA

Period Works Rally Entrant (Monte Carlo, Liège Rome Liège etc.) 15,000 miles from new. Period looking Mk3 dashboard conversion
Ruddspeed 2.6 Ford Zephyr engine upgrade with four speed and 15” Halibrand wheel upgrade. One of very few factory supplied
manual with overdrive. POA hardtop. £125,000

1960 AC ACE BRISTOL 1956 AC ACE BRISTOL ‘MARY SEED”

Full AC Heritage works restoration completed in 2020. Rare factory The first AC Bristol exported to Australia. Set a womens land speed
supplied hardtop. One previous keeper from 1963 to 2019. record in 1957. Extensive race history in NSW. Full matching numbers
£289,995 and conservation restoration by AC Heritage. FIA HTP expires 2030. POA

For more information about any of these vehicles, please contact our sales team.
AC Heritage · International Broker of Historic & Classic Motorcars · Brooklands Motor Circuit, Surrey, UK
Telephone +44(0)1932 828545 · Mobile +44(0)7557 878123 · www.acheritage.com
AC HERITAGE
 Ferrari 512 BB RHD 1977 UNRESTORED
* Argento Silver * Red Leather * Red Carpets * Last Service Oct ‘23 inc Cambelts/MOT *
Optional extras: * Stereo * AirCon * 3 Registered Keepers * ** 19,000 mls only ** £249,995

Mercedes Benz 500SL (R107) RHD 1988/’E’

* Nautic Blue Metallic * Grey Leather & Carpets * Navy Softop * Becker Stereo (w B/Tooth/AUX) *
* Original Wallet & Books * 4 Registered Keepers * ** 39,796 mls only ** £52,995

Mercedes Benz SL55 AMG Roadster 2006/56 LOW MILEAGE

* Iridium Silver Metallic * Blk Leather * Grey Carpets * Pan Roof * Climate * BOSE * TV/Nav *
* Carbon Interior * Parktronic * 18” Alloys * ** 13,799 mls only ** £49,995
 êŜůĕţĕŪĕĻIJƶêĻIJţĕČIJıöIJŪţÎĪöţƶŝöţŪĻŝÎŪĕĻIJıÎIJÎČöıöIJŪ
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193
 Classic Mercedes-Benz
Sandwich, Kent

1967 Mercedes 250SL £119,950 1967 Mercedes 250SL £89,950

Automatic. Incredibly original, left drive, in rare Medium Automatic. Wonderful early left drive 250SL in Papyrus
Grey metallic. 31,000 genuine miles with outstanding White with Navy MB tex trim. Highly original, with a little
provenance and service history. Stunning! bit of Hollywood history!

More photos and details on our website. Export enquiries welcomed, we are 30 mins from Dover
www.silverarrows.co.uk • sales@silverarrows.co.uk • +44 7710 940 049

194
 1951 Ferrari 212 Inter: Vignale / Drogo,
Mille Miglia 1952, 1954. Ground up WE WILL BUY AND CONSIGN ALL FERRARI AND ALL VINTAGE SPORTS RACING & GT CARS
restoration. Race and Rally ready. PARTIAL TRADES CONSIDERED - FINANCING AVAILABLE

1974 Alfa Romeo Tipo 33-3/Flat 12: Rare, 1968 Fiat Dino Spider: Rare. Frame-up 1974 Jaguar XKE V12 Roadster: 1960 Mercedes Benz 190SL: Matching
fantastic race record, Ickx, Stommelen, resto; bare metal repaint. Driveline & One of a kind, uniquely built. Bare metal numbers, Concours quality restoration.
Reutemann, Monza, Nurburgring, Imola. suspension rebuild; new interior top & repaint, new interior, 5-sp, Webers, Ready for show or rally circuit.
All orig., fresh rebuild, race ready. chrome. With photo docs. Stunning! SS headers, Alloy radiator, Two tops.

1970 Porsche 917:5 liter, flat 12. Total 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 BJ8, red/tan, 1996 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo, Arena 1965 Porsche 356SC Cabriolet: Match-
comprehensive rebuild by ex-factory frame-up resto., 4sp OD, Webers, comp Red/Tan, 55k miles, clean CarFax, ing #s, 1 of 533. 3-owner, full docs, COA.
917 specialist. Driven by Derek Bell, Vic wheels, headers, electronic ignition. excellent cosmetic/mechanical condition, 67k miles. One repaint. Euro version.
Elford, Jo Siffert; used in the making of Performs better than it ever did. service records from new. A beauty. Outstanding original throughout.
Steve McQueen’s movie “Le Mans”.

WWW.MOTORCLASSICCORP.COM
350 ADAMS STREET, BEDFORD HILLS NEW YORK 10507
914-997-9133 • SALES@MOTORCLASSICCORP.COM

195
 info@murrayscott-nelson.com
MURRAY SCOTT-NELSON 01723 361 227
795*ULIÀWK %ULVWROGURSKHDG&RXSH

31,000 miles, last owner 15 years, four seater, stunning build,

power steering........ ...................£26,995 unique........... .............................£75,000
/DQFLD)XOYLD0RQWH&DUOR 3RUVFKH

Austin Healey 3000 MK 3 BJ8 Phase 2.

This car has covered less than 200 miles since a total nut and bolt no expense spared restoration by ourselves
and if for sale due to unforeseen circumstances. It is finished in duo tone Colorado red over ivory white with
a black leather trim piped in red with black mohair weather equipment. We will supply this car with a full
service MOT and warranty. Call for more details. £135,000

factory car, 25,000kms, original Italian LHD, supplied new in Germany, 60,000
car.............. ................................£27,495 miles, very clean and correct......£42,995
0RUULV0LQRU /RWXV(OLWH

Austin Healey 3000 MK 3 BJ8 Early Phase 2. Austin Healey 3000 MK 3 BJ8 phase 2.
North American export built July 1964. The car has Ex US Car, older restoration well maintained by
been subject of an older restoration. Well maintained Marque specialist lovely condition throughout,
with only summer use since, finished in the original recent full interior re trim fitted power steering, 4 door, 803cc, 21,000 miles with history, 32,500 miles since new, auto, PAS,
spec in Healey Ice Blue with blue trim, blue hood & overdrive & chrome wire wheels. Now in … for three owners............ ..................£10,995 complete history, original ........... £19,995
tonneau. Fitted with chrome wire wheels, overdrive further information please contact us for more
and period radio. information 01723 361227 or call Jon 07831
£49,950 83027 £54,950

Murray Scott-Nelson, Beaconsfield Street, Scarborough YO12 4EL

Ever thought
about owning
your own
Stately Home?
Well not quite but almost!
Extwistle Hall is a 16th century Manor House in need
of total restoration. Set in twelve acres of rolling
Lancashire/South Yorkshire landscape, this exciting
project offers the chance for someone to live out their
dreams, maybe your own Wuthering Heights Saga!

Open to offers, exchanges etc, particularly Iso Grifo,

Ferrari 330GTC, Lamborghini 400GT, Monteverdi 375,
Bentley R-Type Continental, S3 Chinese Eye Dhc,
or similar. You must have got the idea by now?!
Give Heathcliff or Cathy a call on:

07934 922 579

196
197
 SPEEDMASTER SPECIALIST IN HISTORIC AUTOMOBILES
Tel: +44 (0)1937 220 360 or +44 (0)7768 800 773
info@speedmastercars.com | speedmastercars.com

1969 Lola T70 Mk 3B - Chevrolet

Chassis SL70/143 was one of the 16 B-spec. T70 MK3 GTs constructed by Lola.Supplied new to Swedish Formula 1 driver,
Jo Bonnier, chassis 143 replaced chassis 101, an old 1967 example that Ecurie Bonnier had campaigned throughout 1968.
The new car was painted the Bonnier team colours of yellow with a broad white centre stripe and single red pinstripe
and contested World, British and Swedish sportscar championship events in 1969 plus a smattering of big independent
events as well. Highlights of its inaugural campaign included fifth overall and first in class at the Spa 1000km World
Championship race, a brace of seconds in the British Sportscar Championship and outright victory in the Paris GP at
Montlhery. Regularly driven by Bonnier, Reine Wissel, Ronnie Peterson and on occasion Herbert Muller. Well documented
history file and restored by Colin Bennett this car is a fantastic piece of sportscar history that is invited to and eligible for
the premier historic motorsport events.

198
199
        speedsport gallery An extensive variety of original motor racing paintings,
photographs and autographed items for sale.
     ) * +,  
-. +/.0  Jacky Ickx Ford GT40 at
Le Mans by
Michael Turner
Large print of a pencil sketch
of the Ford Gulf GT40 driven
to victory at Le Mans by Jacky
Ickx. The print is signed by
Jacky Ickx with a dedication to
    
Walter Hayes. This print was
 
originally presented to Hayes
  by Jacky Ickx and bought
!"# from the Hayes family by the
Speedsport gallery.
$$ Print





PRICE: £500.00
T: 01327 858 167 E: info@speedsport.co.uk www.speedsport-gallery.com
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www.derbyplating.co.uk
200
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E: info@specialisedcovers.com Middleton Cheney, Banbury, Northants, OX17 2NE
W: specialisedcovers.com T: ++44 (0)1869 345766 • carsandparts@middlebartongarage.com
www.middlebartongarage.com

202
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 2022

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204
 If it matters to you, it matters to us.

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207
 Telephone Mobile
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2019 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shootingbrake 2005 Aston Martin Vanquish ‘S’
Indistinguishable from new in rare Lava red with bespoke black interior. Finished in Artic White with unmarked black hide interior. This is a
Built to Launch specification, 2,745 miles only with full-service history. superbly maintained example with just 17,000 recorded miles from new
No 32 of only 99 cars produced, Very rare and collectable and with a complete service history. It is 2+2 configuration with an excellent
competitively priced at £396,000 specification, sitting on multi-spoke alloy wheels with contrasting red brake
callipers. Sensibly priced at £59,950

1997 Aston Martin Wide Bodied 1996 Aston Martin Wide Bodied
Virage Volante, (6.3 Cosmetic) Virage Volante, (6.3 Cosmetic)
Finished in Oxford Blue with Cream hade interior. 25,000 miles only Finished in Rare Cheviot Red with cream hide interior piped in red,
with huge service history, beautifully kept, very collectable, unlikely to 14,00 miles only form new with continuous service history, completely
depreciate. £79,950 unmarked, Unlikely to depreciate, £ please ask

2003 Aston Martin Vanquish 2007 Aston Martin DB9

Finished in Tungsten Silver with contrasting two tone pale grey 2+2 interior. RARE 6 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION. Finished in Midnight blue
Unbelievably good condition, 36,000 miles only with a chronologically kept with Sandstorm hide interior. 39,000 miles only with continuous service
record of all expenditure. Really not expensive at £49,950 history. Last owner for 7 years, Extremely well kept. £31,950

1966 Jaguar 3.8 MkII 2021 289 Cobra Recreation

Finished in Opalescent dark blue with red had interior. UK supplied, By Hawk Cars who we consider produce the very best
matching numbers, never raced but built to fast road spec with high Cobra copies. Highly detailed throughout with superb build quality,
compression fully balanced engine, 5-speed Tremac box, uprated brakes Rover 3.9 tuned V8 coupled to a 5-speed gearbox, Cobra Rocker
and a handling kit, so much better than when it left Browns Lane. covers, adjustable pedal box. Sensibly priced at £49,950
It’s a real driver’s car and wonderful value at £49,950

Email: martinrunnymedemotorcompany.com | www.runnymedemotorcompany.com

208
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209
Autobiography
Interview by Elliott Hughes

Christian von Koenigsegg and Horacio

Pagani. One of the first things I did when I
started my company was to take the four guys
who worked with me on a trip to the Pagani
factory in my VW Passat. We did a tour with
about 30 other people and met Horacio and
showed him what I wanted to do.

Mate Rimac Pagani and Koenigsegg had both been in

business for many years when I started Rimac,
but now we are a lot larger than them. I still
have huge respect for these guys but it just
The real genius of electric cars and now shows how quickly we have built the company
– especially in Croatia, where there was
expanding his brief way beyond them absolutely nothing like this before. It’s crazy.
Now we also have a tech business and build
batteries for other car companies – I could
never have imagined that this would have
happened. There are now 2500 people
working for us across the three companies.
I must say that I’ve personally slowed down
I WAS BORN IN Livno, Bosnia, in 1988 and I was an average student but I was doing a a bit. I used to often work until 3am and every
it was quite a backward place in those days lot of my own projects in my parents’ garage weekend, Christmas and Easter, but I’ve
– both of my parents were still riding horses at the time. My mechatronics professor took reduced that to working from 8am until 8pm
and cars and roads were very uncommon. In notice of what I was doing and saw something or something like that, and then I often have
1990 the Bosnian War started, so my family in me, so he told me to enter a local electronic dinner with a guest or a customer. So, it’s still
emigrated to Germany, and, all of a sudden, innovation contest. I didn’t want to do it, but a full day, but at least I don’t work weekends
cars were everywhere. It was like heaven. he made me enter and I managed to win. or until 3am as much as I used to anymore!
Neither of my parents had anything to do After that, I entered a contest on a national Elon Musk is 17 years older than me and
with cars but they’ve told me that I was always level and thought I had absolutely no chance, he got involved with Tesla when he was a few
obsessed, even when I was a baby – I have no but I ended up winning that one as well, years younger than I am now. His work ethic is
idea why. Once we were in Germany, I just which was a huge surprise. I was then sent insane; if I had retained the same intensity for
absorbed as much about them as I could from around the world to represent Croatia in these another 17 years I’m not sure if I would have
TV, F1, books and magazines, but I was too competitions and I won a bunch of gold and wanted to have dedicated my entire life to this
young to do anything in a practical sense. silver medals and wrote two patents when I when there are other things in life, such as
One of the most vivid memories of my time was 17. I still have all those medals to this day. family. But this job is full-throttle or nothing
in Germany happened in 2001 when I saw my But my real passion was cars. So, when I was – you can’t have a normal life. You need to be
first Bugatti. I was with my parents in Berlin 18 I bought a 1984 BMW E30 323i because a role model to your colleagues and for that
and the Veyron prototype was being I wanted to start racing. I also joined a bunch you need that intensity. I’m trying to build
exhibited. It looked quite different to the of car clubs and we went on overnight coach a company that will last another 100 years.
production car, but I was completely blown trips to the Mercedes and BMW museums. I realised recently that I’ve already done
away. The fact that I’m steering Bugatti today We would all get on the bus, drive all night, everything that I set out to do. I wanted to
– a company with 115 years of history – is visit the museum during the day and then build a crazy electric hypercar with four
something I never thought could happen. drive back. I was a huge BMW fan and my motors, torque vectoring and Drift mode and
Bugatti is one of the strongest brands in the dream at the time was to work as an engineer I’ve done it. Then, when I became involved
world and the Tourbillon really shows what for them. Now we are partners! with Bugatti, I knew what I wanted to do with
you can do with it – Bugatti is renowned for Everything I did at school converged with the Tourbillon and it turned out perfectly.
doing extreme things. But you have to have cars in my mind, so I decided I was going to With the technology business we are now
somebody with the guts to do it; it was Ettore build an electric car. I told my professor and in a real ramp-up phase after finishing the
Bugatti in the beginning, Romano Artioli in he said: ‘Let’s build an electric Yugo.’ Yugos campus and we are doing some really big
the ’90s and then Ferdinand Piëch in the were built in Yugoslavia and they were projects with companies like BMW. Next,
2000s. I’m glad that it is now me, but it’s a basically the worst car in history! I want to see trucks upon trucks of batteries
huge responsibility because it would be very But then my BMW engine failed and I going out, being shipped around Europe.
easy to screw it up in a big way. thought ‘OK, instead of just replacing the Recently we also started a stationary energy
We moved back from Germany to Croatia engine, why not do something a little bit business that has some really innovative
in 2001 and it was very difficult for me. different?’ So that’s when I came up with the technology and I want to see that deployed
Croatia was totally different: the school was idea of replacing the combustion engine with around the world. And then, we also have the
different, the people were different and I had a forklift motor and some batteries. This autonomous RoboTaxi business that’s really
a pretty hard time. I wasn’t a great student but happened in 2008 and even back then I exciting: I hope to see that running without
I chose to study mechatronics, which is a thought electric cars would become a thing, so any human operators over the next few years.
combination of electronics and mechanics, I realised that this could also be a business. But of course, there are more ideas for the
because it was the closest thing I could study That’s when I decided to start Rimac future and you’re going to see some very
related to cars. Automobili. I had two heroes at the time: interesting stuff over the next few months…

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2011 PORSCHE 9972 CARRERA 4 GTS MANUAL
One of 20 GTS 4 models produced for the UK market with the six-speed manual transmission. Finished to a great specification and only 8,500 miles
in the hands of four owners with a full history.

976 ALFA ROMEO 2000 SPIDER VELOCE 1975 ALFA ROMEO 2000 GTV
Probably the best UK RHD example following a £100,000 restoration by all the An excellent very original UK RHD example. 53,000 miles with a comprehensive
right people. Incredible detail and comes with a comprehensive history from new. history. Just how a 105 Bertone coupe should be. Fully sorted and great on the road.

1983 FERRARI 512 BBI 1970 MERCEDES 280SE 3.5 CABRIOLET

One of 42 UK RHD examples. Lovely original spec, matching numbers, 43,000 miles Supplied new to racing legend Roy Salvadori and one of 68 UK RHD examples.
with fully documented history from new. All books, tools. Exceptional. Refurbished to a high standard in 2009 and remaining in very nice order throughout.

T E L : 0124 9 76 0 6 8 6 • T H E H A I R P I N C O M PA N Y. C O . U K
T H E H A I R P I N C O M PA N Y C O M P T O N B A S S E T T W I LT S H I R E S N11 8 R H
 RM 30-01
Skeletonised automatic winding calibre
55-hour power reserve (±10%)
Baseplate and bridges in grade 5 titanium
Declutchable variable-geometry rotor
Oversize date
Power-reserve indicator and function selector
Case in 5N red gold and grade 5 titanium

A Racing Machine
On The Wrist