Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i Classic Car Mart

Welcome… BELT AND BRACES Working with old cars for so long means you do tend to become pretty resourceful and many’s the time we’ve resorted to pushing non-runners to get enough speed for an ‘action’ photograph, or performing clever field repairs/bodges (delete as appropriate) to get the job done, often with the rain lashing down on people and cameras. Sometimes though you have to admit defeat and often it’s caused by the most basic thing, which this month was a simple alternator belt. In my defence, the vehicle in question was two and a half tonnes of Bentley which chose to throw the belt on a Friday lunchtime just two miles into a three-hour journey. Fortunately, the Turbo R had failed to proceed rather conveniently outside a local garage, but…

Classic Crossword 183 Clues Across 5 Famous luxury German marque founded in 1909 (7) 7 _ Snipe, classic car from Humber (5) 9 Monsieur Rédélé, founder of the Alpine marque (4) 10 1990s Vauxhall coupés (8) 11 Mid-1950s models from Fairthorpe (5) 12 Devilish little Bedford microvan! (6) 14 The Citroen 2CV’s roll-back roof was made from this material (6) 15 The Renault 5 GT Turbo was a hot one! (5) 17 Mr Gandini, designer of the Lamborghini Miura (8) 18 G-Wagen assembly site in Austria (4) 19 See 20 across 20 & 19 across Rear-access feature on some MPVs (7,5) Clues Down 1 1960s Daimler (8,5) 2 AC coupé that survived until 1963 (5) 3 Boosted, like the Lotus Carlton’s engine (12) 4 An option that adds some sparkle…

NEW SCRAPPAGE THREAT FOR MIDLANDS Older vehicles face a renewed scrappage threat in Coventry, with a new two-year trial scheme that will see drivers paid up to £3000 to ditch their old petrol or diesel car set to begin in late spring. West Midlands mayor Andy Street revealed that “a number of candidates” were in place for the scheme, which was originally announced early last year. In a first, drivers will receive public money to surrender their vehicle in favour of credits that can be spent on public transport, bicycles, electric scooters, car clubs and taxis. It caters for vehicles that don’t meet Euro 6 standard for diesel or Euro 4 for petrol, so roughly pre-2016 and pre-2006 respectively. The scheme is not the only one in the UK, with…

AUCTION NEWS REVIEW: MATHEWSONS, ONLINE, FEBRUARY 5-6 Every so often in classic car circles, something comes along to really make you take notice. Mathewsons’ sale on February 5-6 proved to be one of those occasions, as we found ourselves glued to our screens, open mouthed. Despite having to be conducted online and with no viewing for private customers, entry after entry smashed past its estimate and rocketed off into the stratosphere. We can only speculate as to why this happened. Was it because people have more spare capital to spend on a classic during lockdown? Or was it because Mathewsons had kept its original date when other auction houses had postponed their sales, thus giving it a captive audience? Whatever the reason, the results were truly remarkable. The tone was…

CLASSIC ROAD TEST: TRIUMPH GT6 A SWING AND A HIT With just a roof, an engine, and some interior pizazz, the GT6 propels itself well above being just a fixed-head Spitfire WORDS: AARON MCKAY PHOTOS: GREGORY OWAIN Some say that the GT6 is a sort of miniature E-Type. It’s true that it shares a lot of the same proportions and even some shapes with the classic Jaguar. The blend of sports car and luxury GT is also in there. But the first thing that comes up with the GT6 that bears a striking similarity to the E-Type is that it’s simply an event to start up, get in and put your hands on the wheel. It’s that special feeling that separates the GT6 most from the Spitfire on which it’s…

ROUND UP: 1950s STYLE GLAMOUR MODELS With a £20,000 budget we consider the stylish products of the post-rationing British industry. WORDS: SAM SKELTON The 1950s was a boom era. National prospects were finally starting to brighten after the dark days of war, rationing – while still in effect for part of the decade – was easing off, and attitudes were positive. This was an era of safety and perceived prosperity; one which in America was reflected by the change in the motor car. Postwar Britain still relied on the Austin Seven and Morris Eight, but Harley Earl and his General Motors colleagues were paving the way for some truly unbelievable sights from Detroit. What GM started, Ford and Chrysler continued, and the automotive jet age would soon become a reality.…

THE CARS DATABASE: JAGUAR E-TYPE 1961-1975 THE E-TYPE IN COMPETITION The passion to race was always present, especially as there were constant rumours of a new GT production sports car series. When this looked like becoming a reality Jaguar started development virtually as soon as the E-type had been released at Geneva. But Jaguar did not return to racing as a factory, preferring instead to offer considerable support to private teams. Of the first batch of production cars, seven open two-seaters coded ZP537/24 were set aside to be prepared with a racing bias in mind. These went to Tommy Sopwith’s Equipe Endeavour (2), John Coombs (2), Peter Berry 92) and a single example to Sir Gawaine Bailey. In reality little more than careful assembly, higher compression ratio and gas flowing was…

RETRO CARS ENDANGERED SPECIES: ‘90s HONDAS RISING SUN STARS Hot 1990s Hondas are often praised for their reliability, but that hasn’t necessarily translated into longevity. Words: Joe Miller Having spent the 1980s producing sensible, practical family transport whilst learning ever more about the European market from Rover, Honda increasingly spent the final decade of the 20th century cooking up exciting, sporty cars aimed at the enthusiast. The NSX and S2000 halo models survive well, but what about more everyday offerings? HONDA PRELUDE The Accord-based Prelude was introduced in the late 1970s but enjoyed relatively little market share for its first two generations. The wedge-shaped third-generation BA3 attracted slightly more interest in Europe on account of its futuristic styling, practicality, high equipment levels and radical four-wheel-steering. However, costing around 20 percent…

RETRO CARS RETRO RIVALS: MAZDA MX-5 v FIAT BARCHETTA PUSH AND PULL Fiat’s ‘little boat’ could never match the ubiquitous MX-5 for sale success, but does that make it the more interesting choice today? Words: Joe Miller We all take the Mazda MX-5 for granted nowadays, but when it was unveiled in 1989 it was possibly the most successful attempt at remaking the wheel the world has ever seen. At that point, we all thought little sports cars were dead; hot hatches were king and compact twoseaters were restricted to the mid-engined Toyota MR2 and Fiat X1/9 with their targa tops. If you wanted a full roadster there was really only the ageing Alfa Spider, and that was a ’60s design in the first place. But then, Mazda rocked up to…

CHECK OUT LOADS MORE NEWS AT WWW.CLASSICSWORLD.CO.UK RENAULT TO CELEBRATE 60 YEARS OF THE R4 Renault is to mark the 60th anniversary of the Renault 4 with a series of celebrations across 2021. Exclusive displays on the Champs-Elysées and an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival are just some of the highlights planned in tribute to the French icon, which sold in more than 8m units across 100 countries over the course of more than 30 years. Numerous events and celebrations will take place on the 4th and 14th of every month across all of Renault’s social media channels. At the heart of these will be exclusive content, such as interviews with collectors and celebrities. L’Atelier Renault, the brand’s showroom located on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, has already received a…

CLASSICS TO GIVE EV BATTERIES A SECOND LIFE? A five-month study is to investigate if EV battery packs can be recycled for classics and older vehicles. The Classic Car Electrification (CICERO) study will focus on deconstructing old batteries to a modular level before reassembling their materials for use in retrofit EV conversions. The consultancy group behind the study, HSSMI, has partnered with Aspire Engineering, PatrimonyEV and Loughborough University for the project, with funding coming from Innovate UK, a non-departmental public body funded by the government. HSSMI says the research is needed to combat the 250,000 tonnes of “unprocessed waste from EV batteries” that it expects by 2027. The company believes that up to 98 per cent of an EV’s battery pack could be recycled, and intends to develop a digital…

GARAGE FIND MGA HEADS TO AUCTION A classic MGA 1600 discovered under piles of rubbish is to go under the hammer in April. Dorset auctioneer Charterhouse discovered the stricken roadster after being instructed to inspect and clear a property. The 1960 example had been buried in a garage and is believed not to have moved since before the millennium. It was hidden by piles of wood, plastic, old wires and more that had built up around and on top it over the years. It is thought that car was moved to the property 50 years ago, and stayed with the house while three different owners moved in. In the 1980s it did go through a partial restoration, as documented by photos also found in the property. Some of the old…

REVIEW: BRIGHTWELLS, TIMED ONLINE, FEBRUARY 18 Brightwells’ first classic car auction of 2021, ending on February 18, saw plenty of buyers ready to start spending ahead of the government’s announcement on restrictions with some positivity about better weather and mixing with family again potentially inspiring bidders to get out on British roads in a new classic. It was the classic sports cars of the ’60s and ’70s that drew the most attention, with estimates appearing slightly more optimistic on cars only 20 years old - even with plenty of opportunities to buy a convertible ready for spring driving. However, some equally sporty but in some cases unusual ’80s models were seeing prices fly above estimates. The auction was opened with two MGBs, both projects but with tempting estimates that got…

TWIN TEST: ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER SERAPH v BENTLEY ARNAGE CUTTING CREWE We compare two outwardly similar but very different models from the final days of a British-owned Rolls-Royce. WORDS: PAUL WAGER PHOTOGRAPHY: GERARD HUGHES, PAUL WAGER On the face of it what we have here is a pair of really very similar cars, sharing both their bodyshells and target demographics. Certainly that’s what the casual onlooker might think, were they not fully up to speed on the convoluted modern history of Crewe’s car production. That period which saw the Bentley and Rolls-Royce brands pass into German ownership has been covered many times before here in CCM but still bears repeating. The accepted version of history is that when parent Vickers put the famous brands up for sale, it was Volkswagen which…

THE MARKETPLACE THE CARS THE BEGINNING DATABASE: JAGUAR E-TYPE 1961-1975 DATABASE JAGUAR E-TYPE 1961-1975 It was 60 years ago that Jaguar launched the car which would define it forever, yet the E-Type was one of the first products not to be styled entirely by the company’s founder. Words: Paul Wager By all accounts, Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons was a somewhat measured individual, sufficiently prudent in his business dealings that he was seldom found unprepared. Except, that is at Geneva’s Parc des Eaux-Vives exactly 60 years ago when the public reaction to his company’s latest unveiling at the motor show in the nearby Palais took the Jaguar staff present, including Sir William, by surprise. As was common practice at the time, the sole press demonstrator car had been lent to…

RETRO CARS LIVING WITH THE BMW E39 FIVE ALIVE Car design reached its zenith with BMW’s fourthgeneration 5-Series and it still holds its head up against modern competition. Words: Paul Wager Inspired recently by a late ’70s magazine test of ‘Best car in the world’ candidates, we fell to discussing options other than the obvious Rolls-Royce, Daimler and Cadillac, whereupon at least two of us suggested the fourthgeneration BMW 5-Series. A stretch, you might think to propose a mass-produced executive saloon as the equal of the Double-Six or Silver Shadow, but there’s some credibility to the idea. A big leap forward from previous generations, the E39 represented the state-of-the-art in car design when it was launched, offering a combination of safety, performance, handling and efficiency which has only been incrementally…

RETRO CARS MARKET TRENDS FRENCH FLIERS Fast but flimsy, the go-faster Peugeots from the ’90s are sought-after today for their rarity. 205 GTI The iconic 205 only just creeps into the 1990s, since the 1.6 ended its days in 1992 with the very last 1.9s wearing a 1994 L plate. At six years old, the 1.9 GTI had dropped to £2500 and it spent a good few years after that in the twilight. By 2013, good GTI’s of either persuasion were creeping up to the £3000 mark but it wasn’t until the middle of the decade that values for the nicer cars started to gather speed, with the best 1.9’s making £7000. Even today there’s a huge gulf between the average £5000-£7000 cars and the pristine headline examples like the £17,360…

UK SCRAPS CONTROVERSIAL VNUK RULING Following the UK’s departure from the European Union, the Department for Transport has confirmed that it’s taking the necessary steps to exempt the UK – and consequently UK motorsport – from the EU’s controversial Vnuk law. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that dropping the law would save an average £50 on annual insurance premiums for British drivers and stop the insurance industry being liable for an estimated £2bn. The EU’s interpretation of a 2014 court case, brought by Slovenian Damijan Vnuk after he was knocked off his ladder by a reversing tractor in 2007, resulted in changes to its Motor Insurance Directive (MID). The Vnuk law requires a wider range of vehicles than those such as cars and motorbikes to be insured, including ones previously…

LANCASTER’S LOCKDOWN CHEER Lancaster Insurance has announced a raft of monthly competitions in a bid to bring some much-needed cheer to classic car enthusiasts this year. A new prize will be revealed each month on Lancaster’s website and social media channels. Prizes include a Meguair’s Ultimate MT320 Polishing Kit and a Kärcher 4 Premium Full Control Pressure Washer. Towards the summer, Lancaster will also be giving away a VIP taxi ride in a Lancaster Bomber aircraft at Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. Andrew Evanson, Senior Operations Manager at Lancaster Insurance, said: “With us spending more time at home currently, we wanted to help raise people’s spirits with these monthly competitions. The majority of the prizes on offer will help enthusiasts get their pride and joy ready for when we can once…

HISTORICS CANCELS MONACO SALE With restrictions set to jeopardise international travel and Covid-19 cases still on the increase on the French Riviera, Historics Auctioneers has made the decision to cancel its live collector car auction scheduled to take place in Monaco on April 23. “We are most disappointed to have to make this decision,” said Historics’ founder and Managing Director, Mark Perkins. “There is too much uncertainty whether a major public event such as ours will be permitted in Monaco on the day in question and whether, indeed, it would be appropriate under the circumstances. Timed to coincide with the Monaco Historic F1 Grand Prix weekend, the Historics auction was to feature 120 varied classics including significant collector car consignments. “We are disappointed too for those consigning to the sale…

MARKET TRENDS MG Tracking the values of late-model traditional MGs. Words: Aaron McKay MG MIDGET 1500 (1974-1980) It’s been touted as the rising star of the MG Midget market for the last few years, successfully rousing itself from the £500 mark of ten years ago to join the rest of the rising Midget range. It’s only natural that the once dismissed rubber-bumpered Midget 1500 is valued more seriously now that earlier chromebumpered models are going for as much as £10,000. But there’s another part to this story, and that’s a general appreciation of these cars’ late ’70s styling. The rubber bumper is becoming something not to remove but to embrace. The Midget market had hovered around £4000 for years and as we turned over to the 2010s, the rubber bumper…

GOING GREEN Whenever the Arnage is discussed, the original BMW-engined car tends to be dismissed in a sentence, but it’s worth so much more than that. BMW’s all-aluminium, quad-cam 32-valve V8 is by any measure, an excellent engine; smooth, cultured, strong both in build and performance. Even so, an engine built at Munich in a Bentley didn’t quite have the right flavour for some tastes. Fortunately there was more to the recipe. Specially prepared units with low compression pistons were sent to Cosworth in Northampton for further seasoning with two low-inertia turbochargers, neatly installed close to the exhaust manifold to optimise response. The aim wasn’t to produce a mountain of power and torque, rather to blend the naturally sporting characteristics of the BMW V8 with a feeling of effortlessness worthy…

HISTORY: MG IN THE ’90s RESURRECTION We chart MG’s remarkable 1990s rebirth and the turbulent years beyond which culminated in it being one of just two marques to post a sales increase last year. WORDS: PAUL WAGER As the 1990s dawned, things couldn’t have looked more bleak for the MG brand. In 1990 the MG Metro disappeared from showrooms in preparation for the reinvention of the Metro from Austin to Rover and the following year the octagon-badged Maestro and Montego would also disappear as part of Rover’s drive upmarket under Graham Day which had seen the two ageing models sidelined without even a proper marque badge. INSPIRATION Despite the doom-laden predictions of industry pundits and marque enthusiasts, the famous badge wouldn’t lie dormant for long, but inspiration for its rebirth…

RETRO CARS BUYING GUIDE: Mk3 VW GOLF THREE OVER PAR Many think of the Mk3 Golf as a low point for VW, after the iconic Mk2 and before the revolutionary Mk5. But behind the naysaying, the forgotten third generation represents an affordable entry to a very usable modern classic. Words: Joe Miller As the ’90s dawned, Volkswagen’s much-loved Mk2 Golf was showing its age; amongst Ford’s ever-evolving Escort and hit after hit from Peugeot, the Golf looked dated. 1991 saw the release of the Golf 3 and where the second-generation car evolved the original formula, the new car really was new – more spacious, yet merely four inches longer and a single inch wider, the Mk3 demonstrated effective packaging and featured a much larger interior in an identical wheelbase to…

RETRO CARS STAFF CARS STAFF CLASSICS It's more change on the fleet as we revisit some old projects, welcome some new members to the collection and look into staffers' own garages. Bentley Turbo R Paul Wager We had an early start back in February when a freezing winter morning saw us trying to coax our Mk3 Escort project car into life after the year of Covid had forced it into a few months’ inactivity in our company car park. The early start and cold hands were worth it though, since its replacement arrived just a few hours later: this majestic Bentley Turbo R. Yup, we’ve done exactly what all the advice we’ve received and dispensed over the years says you should never do… and bought a Bentley unseen online. It’s…

TAILGATE BINGO Sam thinks using less fuel is the way to use less fuel. With the fuel light blaring as brightly as it was possible to be, and the needle bending against the stop at the bottom of the fuel gauge, I was convinced I could eke out just a few more miles from the tank of my Citroën Xantia HDi. My good lady was less convinced (“You do know I have to be home tonight?”), and distinctly unimpressed at the prospect of a 15-mile walk at 9pm when there was a job interview the following morning for her to prepare for. We were 45 miles into a journey which had begun with the fuel light on, and I was adamant that I could made it on what little was…