Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Classic Car Mart

Welcome… Little wins It’s traditional in the publishing industry for magazine cover dates and printing schedules to be some way adrift of each other, which explains why you might be holding the February issue of CCM but it was put together at the end of 2021. As a result, writing this on December 23 I can only hope that you’re not reading this during another lockdown and if you are, then hopefully you have a few old car-related projects to stave off cabin fever. Personally I was rather hoping that since the Covid variants all seem to be named after Lancias that it would eventually bail out of the UK and by the time we were on the Kappa variant it would be largely unknown here, so let’s hope. Regular…

MARKET TRENDS AUSTIN-HEALEY ‘FROGEYE’ SPRITE Once the cheapest car of its kind, the Mk1 Austin-Healey Sprite isn’t quite such a bargain these days. Words: James Bowers Two-seater sports cars don’t tend to be cheap. Today, the Mazda MX-5 is the most financially friendly of those available from dealers in the UK, but even the base spec variant still weighs in at a hefty £24,000. With that in mind, it almost seems implausible that a company could offer a similar type of vehicle for half the price. But back in 1958, BMC did exactly that. Upon its launch, the Mk1 Austin-Healey Sprite hit the showroom floor attached to a price tag of just £455 – or only £11,165 in today’s money. But how could they sell a roadster so cheaply? Well,…

JOIN THE CULT Cars which may not have been best sellers but whose images have never wavered. WORDS: SAM SKELTON Some cars have always had a halo effect – special models that only the real enthusiasts would appreciate no matter how hard they tried to show the rest of the world. Often the reasoning was based on performance, sometimes on a heritage link with days gone by. Cars like the Renault Clio Williams and the Lotus Carlton have never become bangers, unlike the rest of the cars which shared the majority of their components. And the dream is kept alive even today by new generations of enthusiasts determined never to let their heroes be forgotten. And as time passes and interest grows, values of cult cars like this can only…

SALES SPOTLIGHT MERCEDES 560SL CONVERTIBLE The third generation of the Mercedes-Benz SL marked a bit of a left turn for the nameplate. Weighing in at 1715kg, it was now only a ‘Sport Light’ in name, rather than nature. By the ’70s however, when it was first introduced, this seemed somewhat fitting given what the Mercedes brand had become. This wasn’t a marque that was chasing driving dynamics. It was a marque that was chasing status and solidifying itself as one of the go-to luxury car manufacturers in the world. The SL no longer needed to be agile and dainty, like its W198 and W113 predecessors. Instead, it needed to have a big engine and a big roadgoing presence while keeping the two-door body style to give off impressions of high-performance…

TAILGATE RUNNING OUT OF STEAM Sam makes the connection between heritage railways and old cars. I’ve made no secret in the past of the fact that I don’t really understand electricity, and were it not so crucial for everyday life I’m not sure I’d believe in it either. Mechanical engineering is simple, you watch one component move and it directly affects another. Internal combustion is simple. Suck, squeeze, bang, blow is converted into rotational energy by the crankshaft, and this makes your car work. Electricity is different. I tried mending a broken Metamec clock recently – the only visual sign that it was live was the shock I received when I inadvertently touched a live surface. Electricity doesn’t show its workings. It just exists, ready to take you by surprise.…

Classic Crossword 194 Clues Across 4 Makers of the S-Type in the 1930s (7) 6 A noisy deterrent to car theft (5) 9 Improved versions of the Standard Eight (4) 10 A Triumph saloon from the 1970s (8) 11 Early 1970s Intermeccanica car (5) 12 High-flying post-WWII Fords? (6) 14 Fiat that model that succeeded the Regata (6) 15 Rover 25-based hot hatches (2,3) 17 See 7 down 18 A measure of wheel size (4) 19 Old German marque - once part of the Borgward group (5) 20 Models introduced by the Standard Motor Company in 1957 (7) Clues Down 1 _ Harvester, American marque behind the Scout off-roader (13) 2 Fasteners possibly required in classic car restoration (5) 3 _ _ green, classic car colour (7,6) 5 Those found…

TRACTORS AND CLASSICS JOIN FORCES Fans of the popular Tractor World shows have two events to look forward to in 2022, with both set to include extra classic vehicle content. Visitors to the Three Counties Showground in Worcestershire will get two shows in one as the Malvern 4x4, Land Rover and Vintage Spares Day is joined by the Tractor World Spares and Parts Day on February 27. As the name suggests, the event will see 4x4 and vintage bits offered alongside tractor parts, spares, tools and consumables, with model farm retailers and merchandise stands also present. The show will be Covid compliant and costs £7.50 for adults if they pre-book, or £10 on the day. Under 15s go free and there’s free parking too. The same venue will also host…

THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD It was 40 years ago that the Jaguar V12 engine gained an improvement in efficiency which saved it from oblivion and rescued the XJ-S with it. WORDS: PAUL WAGER PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL WALTON WThe passage of time has taken the Jaguar XJ-S from an outsider forever in the shadow of the classical glamour of the E-Type, into a blue chip classic in its own right. It so nearly didn’t happen though and writing this in the closing days of 2021 it’s 40 years since Jaguar’s V12 engine received a much-needed improvement in efficiency, by extension giving the XJ-S a new lease of life too. As many readers will doubtless already be aware, the production version of the Jaguar V12 which debuted in the Series 3 E-Type wasn’t…

BUYING GUIDE IN ASSOCIATION WITH LANCASTER INSURANCE GENERATION Z Priced out of the E-Type? There’s an underrated Japanese alternative which is more affordable and equally credible. WORDS: PAUL WAGER LANCASTER INSURANCE It’s often accepted that the Japanese car makers have taken their own direction in sports cars over the years, employing a high-tech, high-efficiency route to speed courtesy of high-revving multi-valve fours instead of the simpler powerplants in European and US cars. Back in the day though, the young Nissan company knew that if it wanted to compete in the potentially lucrative US sports car market, a high-revving four-pot engine just wouldn’t do it, at least not in the ’60s when the V8 was still king. The firm had shown the world it was more than capable of engineering, designing and marketing…

SALES SPOTLIGHT TRIUMPH TR6 Mechanically speaking, there wasn’t all that much to separate the Triumph TR6 from the outgoing TR5 when it was unveiled at the tail end of the ’60s. Instead, it was the styling that was the main difference. As a new decade approached, Triumph decided that their TR sportscar needed a bit of a makeover, having only made subtle changes to its exterior since 1961. With their usual stylist, Michelotti, too busy to take on the work, Triumph sought input from Germany – specifically, the production firm Karmann, which had most famously been involved in Volkswagen’s aptly-named Karmann Ghia coupe. Between them, Karmann and Triumph came up with a new look for the car which very much stayed away from the curved lines usually associated with European…

PRICE GUIDE 1945-1980 Our ‘Condition’ ratings Condition 1 First class, well cared for. Not ‘Concours’ (for which prices are higher). Condition 2 Good condition, with legitimate MoT and on the road. May require some work. Condition 3 In need of work, usually major. 1980-2000 NEXT MONTH IMPORTANT NOTES 1 The Classic Car Mart Price Guide is compiled by reference to a wide variety of sources, including clubs, auction results and advertisements, both printed and online. It is impossible for anyone to accurately value a specific vehicle without first examining the car. 2 These listings are intended to provide a useful guide only. Asking prices can vary widely between different examples of the same model. The optimism of the seller can be a major factor. 3 Our figures relate to private…

SANTANA AXED The name might not be so familiar outside VW circles but the car we know as the booted version of the ’80s Passat was also responsible for getting VW Group’s foot in the door of the Chinese car market – the first German maker to do so. Local manufacture of the Santana by Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive, a joint venture between VW and STAC (predecessor of current MG owner SAIC) began in 1985 and since then over six million have been produced. The Santana quickly became a symbol of China’s emerging middle classes and continued in China long after it had disappeared from Europe, with a third generation even being designed locally. The car is currently in a fifth generation but VW has announced that the car won’t be…

SAINT VOLVO AT AUCTION OK, forgive us the headline – it’s not Roger Moore’s P1800 going under the hammer at SWVA’s Winter Classic Car Auction early next year. However, it is a last-of-the-line Volvo 144, first owned by Leslie Charteris, author of the Saint books that gave rise to the TV series of the same name. The car is a 1974 fuel-injected model, which was given by Charteris to his chauffeur, J W Baker, who put it into storage in 1992. It remained there for almost 30 years or more until the vendor purchased and recommissioned the car. The brakes have been completely renewed and the bodywork touched in, but it largely wears its original paint. The exhaust, fuel tank and tyres have also been also replaced, while concessions to…

BLUEBIRD CELEBRATED To celebrate 35 years of its manufacturing plant in Sunderland, Nissan has got in on the EV act with a rather unlikely restored version of its first ever model to be built in the UK – the Bluebird. Known as the ‘Newbird’, the car is the work of Kinghorn Electric Vehicles, also based in the North East. It retains the body of the 1980s original and is visually unaltered, save for some rather bold contrasting stripes inspired by the consumer tech of the period. However, under the skin is a the same 150bhp EV powertrain you’ll find in a Nissan Leaf. As a result, the car also has a custom suspension set-up to help deal with the extra weight, while the power steering, brakes and cabin heating have…

MARKET REVIEW MARKET REVIEW 2021 We quizzed the UK’s auction houses on their thoughts about the past year, along with their stand-out lots and what they have in store for 2022. WORDS: JEFF RUGGLES Mark Perkins, Historics Now that 2021 is done, how was it for you? Inevitably there was a degree of apprehension bearing in mind the on-going pandemic concerns but the resilience and strength of the market was clear to see from our first auction in April and was sustained throughout the year. Our regulars will know that we remain utterly committed to hosting traditional, open-to-public auctions and I’m pleased to say that our auction hall was full at all our five auctions in 2021. It was an equally robust story online, where we welcomed 4300 bidder registrations…

TWIN TEST: CITROËN CX V ROVER SD1 SPECIALIST DIVISION The Citroën CX was undoubtedly the most advanced executive contender of the 1970s and 1980s. But how does it compare to Britain’s best loved classic exec? Words and photography: Sam Skelton There are few cars capable of overshadowing the mighty Citroën DS when it comes to technological achievement, but if any were to be capable it would surely be its successor. The CX was more sensibly sized, more slippery in shape, and offered additional technology to boot. But in Britain its image was firmly in the niche sector owing to its complexity. British buyers were far more enamoured by the Rover SD1 – which underneath its supercar-apeing body had a chassis that was distinctly old tech. Despite new engines and a…

THE MARKET PLACE THE CARS THE BEGINNING DATABASE: JENSEN INTERCEPTOR (1966-1976) The life and times of the West Bromwich answer to Aston Martin. WORDS: PAUL WAGER The story of Jensen Motors is afascinating one, even without any mention of the Interceptor. The company was founded by the Jensen brothers when they bought out their previous coachbuilding employer but the story also includes car industry legends Kjell Qvale and Donald Healey as major players. Oh and Colin Chapman played his part too, notably in the company’s eventual downfall when his Lotus twin-cam engine proved to be the Jensen-Healey’s Achilles’ Heel In the early years the firm produced coachbuilt bodies on other makers’ chassis, progressing to complete cars in the mid ’30s and then commercial vehicles – among them some trendsetting designs…

OR MAYBE..? James Bowers, Editorial Assistant Volkswagen Corrado VR6 Keeping within the VW Group family, the Corrado VR6 represents a slightly less expensive ’90s liftback alternative. Being a more common car compared to the S2 when they were new, these are often much easier to find for sale. Pristine ones will cost you an arm and a leg though, so the average buyer would probably be best advised to look for a mechanically sound but maybe slightly worn sub-ten grand example. Essentially based on the Mk2 Golf platform, dynamically the Corrado lacks the ultimate grip of the all-wheel drive Audi, yet it was praised at the time as one of the world’s best-handling frontdrive cars. Its V6 engine still churns out 187bhp, and with a 0-62 time of 6.2 seconds…