Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2021 i Classic Car Mart

Welcome… MANAGING EXPECTATIONS Over the years I’ve heard some hilarious anecdotes from classic car dealers, many of them illustrating the massive gulf between the romantic vision of summer driving in a classic sports car and the grim reality of cold mornings and 1970s-vintage demisting technology. In fact on one of my first assignments for CCM I was forced to retreat to an embarrassed distance while a customer berated a well-respected trader for the ‘funny noise’ a newly purchased Morris 1000 was making. A noise which it transpired was the fuel pump doing exactly what it should but illustrated that the customer expected modern standards from a 50-year old car. I experienced it first-hand this month when attempting to clear some garage space by shifting some of those surplus mowers we…

Classic Crossword 184 Clues Across 1 Post-war Humber saloons (5) 4 _ Scaglietti, acclaimed coachbuilder (6) 7 Ignition component (4) 8 & 23 across Landmark front-wheel drive Citroen (8,5 9 MPV sub-brand from Toyota (5) 10 A late 1950s Fairthorpe model (7) 13 How Mercedes 300SL coupés are referred to because of their distinctive doors (9) 16 See 20 down 17 Middle East country where Lada Rivas were built (5 19 Marcos co-founder (3,5) 21 These Proton cars were based on the Mitsubishi Lancer 22 323s, 626s, etc (6) 23 See 8 across Clues Down 1 Which coachbuilder made the Daimler Regency-based Empress? (6) 2 Volkswagen’s city home (9) 3 Reliant Scimitar updates introduced in 1990 (4) 4 Tilted Chrysler engine (5,3) 5 Vehicle decomposition (3) 6 _ Fraschini, old…

REVIEW: MATHEWSONS, ONLINE, MARCH 19-20 Mathewsons’ most recent sale on March 19-20 proved to be another incredibly busy affair for the North Yorkshire auction house, with an astonishing 445 lots comprising classic cars, motorcycles and memorabilia going under the hammer. And despite the UK being in lockdown, the market once again proved it’s in rude health, with scores of estimate-beating sales. The catalogue at Mathewsons is typically at the more affordable end of the scale, with this sale no exception as a host of classics changed hands for relatively modest four-figure sums. However, there were a few notable exceptions, not least a stunning 1967 Aston Martin DB6, which soared to a best bid of £205,000, plus a lovely 1956 AC Aceca that commanded a top bid of £77,500. And to…

CLASSIC ROAD TEST: BENTLEY TURBO R INSANE IN THE MULSANNE Thirty years after Bentley sales blew past Rolls-Royce, we revisit the majesty of the blown Mulsanne which transformed Crewe’s fortunes. Words Paul Wager This year marks three decades since sales figures for the revitalised Bentley brand overtook Rolls-Royce for the first time since the 1930s and at a stroke ended an all too long era during which it had been very much the junior partner. The renewed prominence of the Bentley marque was entirely due to the appeal of the turbocharged models which after a hesitant start in the guise of the Mulsanne Turbo had rapidly gained traction (quite literally) as they were gradually improved. The very idea of turbocharging the stately L-Series V8 had begun originally as something of…

TWIN TEST: MGC v MGB V8 ENJOY RESPONSIBLY We drive two extra strength MG roadsters to see if the MGC is a hidden gem or if a V8 makes for the ultimate package WORDS: AARON MCKAY PHOTOGRAPHY: GREGORY OWAIN We’re lucky here in England. Pick up a road atlas and you can plot countless routes across the countryside, many of them perfectly conducive for a cruise in your little classic sports car. Going along the unclassified, white roads is often the best way to enjoy the scenery and find an old pub for lunch. Modern traffic can be left to rush around the relatively uninteresting A-roads. Living somewhere like the Cotswolds or along the Cornish coast perhaps, this will be the perfect life with a car like the MGB. But…

DATABASE: LOTUS ESPRIT 1975-2003 DATABASE: LOTUS ESPRIT 1975-2003 As Lotus prepares to leave the Elise era behind, we consider the result of its previous move upmarket which created the Esprit. Words: Paul Wager THE MARKETPLACE THE CARS THE BEGINNING It’s recently been announced that this year will see the final Lotus Elise models and their descendants leaving the Lotus production line, ending a period of rebirth and reinvention at Lotus which first began under the control of former Bugatti owner, Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli. The featherweight minimalist elegance of the aluminium-chassised Elise was seen at the time of its launch to be a symbol of Lotus returning to the clever lightweight engineering philosophies which had earned it a reputation for brilliance both on and off the track. The new generation…

TRIUMPH GT6 Back in the 1960s, the words Fastback GT inspired images of exotic sports cars from the likes of Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lamborghini. Fortunately our two mass-market sports car manufacturers produced their own GTs: MG the B GT and Triumph the GT6. The GT6 recipe is especially appealing because it combines the six-cylinder from larger Triumphs with the compact profile of the relatively small Spitfire. No wonder then that it’s often referred to as the baby E-Type. Today it’s an even smaller fraction of the price of an E-Type FHC, even good value against its larger TR-series relatives. For years, it has been a bit of a hidden gem amongst keen drivers, because, contrary to the horror stories, the GT6 steers really rather well, particularly on modern suspension…

BUYING GUIDE: MERCEDES CL-CLASS COMPOSITE ARROW The Mercedes-Benz C215 CL-class is near the bottom of its depreciation curve, so now’s the time to buy if ever. Here’s what to do to make sure it’s a smart decision. Words: Aaron McKay Not since the 280SE of the W111 generation last seen in 1971 was there a truly elegant luxury coupe from Mercedes-Benz until the C215 CL-Class. The C107 SLC, C126 SEC and C140 SEC models were of a different style: more imposing, almost aggressive and certainly very Germanic. In 1998, following the release of the new, technologically advanced S-Class, came its CL-Class relative. The CL took full advantage of the softer lines first introduced with the S-Class and earlier CLK, not forgetting some echoes of that famous W111 coupe – like…

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. BMW 320ci Paul Wager Back in the January issue our ‘Living with…’ feature covered our experiences with the E46 generation of BMW’s 3-Series coupe. Writing the piece and sifting through photos of my own 330ci as well as various company project cars made me realise what a great car they are and I made a mental note to include the model in some upcoming magazine features. As it turned out though, I didn’t need to wait that long, since one popped up rather closer to home; in fact just a few feet from the front door. To cut a long story…

PLUGS&LEADS SPRING SPARKS ’80s BOOM The market for 1980s and 1990s cars seems to be enjoying a significant purple patch, with nostalgia, changing fashions and increased media coverage all potential factors in fuelling a substantial rise in demand and values. While exceptional classics are always likely to do well regardless of era, anyone with a keen eye on the market will have noticed strong prices for good modern classics in recent times, with dealers quickly selling their stock and scores of eye-watering prices achieved at auction. Indeed, the most recent update to the UK Hagerty Price Guide shows that over the last 12 months, the average price across over 40,000 values monitored has dropped by 3.8 per cent, or £8961 per car. However, cars first sold in the ’80s and…

NO-RESERVE AUCTION FOR MITSUBISHI HERITAGE CARS All 14 vehicles in the Mitsubishi UK heritage fleet and a large selection of private number plates have subsequently been listed online, with interested parties having from April 1 until April 30 to place their bids. The fleet is being sold via specialist platform Auto Auction, with a comprehensive array of images and videos to accompany each vehicle, plus introductory films by TV presenter and ex-Mitsubishi racer Tiff Needell. Among the cars are two of the earliest original UK Mitsubishis registered in the country, a Colt Lancer and a Colt Galant; both from 1974. The brand’s flagship sports cars of the ’80s and ’90s are showcased by a Starion Turbo and a 3000GT, while its iconic 4x4 models are represented by a Mitsubishi Jeep…

BROOKLANDS ON THE SMALL SCREEN Abrand new UKTV series featuring Brooklands Museum in Surrey has hit our screens. Shown on the Yesterday channel and available on demand via UKTV Play, Secrets of the Transport Museum is a 10-part series set at the world-renowned venue. As the home of the first ever purpose-built racing circuit and an extraordinary collection of aircraft spanning over 100 years, Brooklands Museum is home to some of the most important stories of motorsport and aviation history in the world. It’s the first time in the museum’s 30-year history that cameras have been allowed to film so much behind the scenes. The series follows the dedicated band of staff and volunteers who devote their time, skills and passion to maintaining the collection and preserving the site’s incredible…

LIVING WITH THE TURBO R These cars have a reputation for being tricky and expensive to live with, but they needn’t be, as long as you follow two crucial pieces of advice. The first is to pay an expert to assess any Turbo R you might be considering purchasing; you’ll easily save far more than the £250 or so it will cost if it helps you avoid a bad example. The second is simply to use the cars and as one Bentley specialist commented recently, for every pound you spend on fuel, you’ll save two on maintenance. These cars simple hate being sat unused and problems like flat batteries, perished seals and sticky locks can all be avoided by using the car gently at least once or twice every week.…

ROUND UP: V12 CARS ROLLING DOUBLE SIXES Thanks to a revival of the V12 begun with Jaguar, there are now a variety of options open to classic buyers with almost any budget. WORDS: AARON MCKAY JAGUAR E-TYPE V12 (1971-1975) (£50,000-£100,000) Our most expensive option here is naturally one of the most appealing. In fixed head 2+2 form you’re looking at £50,000 and up, while a roadster can reach six figures. It’s not all that surprising. The E-Type is an icon, a beautiful sports car from a golden era of the British motor industry. Based on a racing car, the D-Type, the E-Type’s monocoque chassis was start of the art and, what’s more, covered in a bodyshell to die for. It was enough to be one of the greatest cars ever…

THE LOTUS 900 Central to the development of both Elite and Esprit was the first engine which Lotus could call its own: early Lotus models had used bought-in powerplants and even the Twin Cam was essentially a double overhead camshaft conversion of an existing Ford engine. The Twin Cam served Lotus well and some 35,000 were produced in total but as early as 1965 concerns that Ford may stop producing the engine blocks had seen Chapman looking into alternatives. The solution was for Lotus to design and manufacture its own engine – a brave step for a small company. As ever, Chapman had his eye on racing and so the design brief promised an exotic spec: all-alloy, with twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. It was also to…

FORD ESCORT RS2000 4x4 Hidden in the shadows of a dark era for hot hatches and, let’s face it, dynamic Fords, the Escort RS2000 was a vital breath of life yet in the legacy of fast Fords. This was no bodykit-and-spotlights XR3i, this was a true motorsport homologation special, and particularly in the case of the 4x4. Engineered beyond any normal marketing rationale, the 4x4 featured a 34/66 front to rear torque split, a limited-slip rear differential and even a new independent rear suspension mounted to an aluminium subframe. The power came from the DOHC engine already seen in the Sierra, here with a 16-valve head and four-branch exhaust manifold delivering 148bhp and 140lb.ft. These numbers against a 1240kg kerb weight stuck the RS2000 4x4 with a label of not…

JAGUAR ‘X150’ Tracking the values of the high-tech second generation Jaguar XK. Launched in 2005, the replacement for the XK8 may have looked similar at a glance but under the skin was an all-new creation complete with a new model code: X150. The cigar-like profile of the original XK8 remained, but the retro curves so reminiscent of the E-Type were replaced by sharper creases and the entire structure employed Jaguar’s lightweight aluminium technology, finally casting aside the legacy of the XJS platform. First debuted in the X350 generation of the XJ saloon, this gave the car an immediate jump on its German rivals since despite its 4.8m length, it weighed in at just 1600kg. With 300bhp from the XK and a hefty 400bhp in the supercharged XKR, performance was correspondingly…

NEW BRISTOLS SET FOR RELEASE IN 2022 The reborn Bristol Cars company looks to have revealed prices for its ‘remastered’ 2022 models, with fully electric versions of the 411 and Fighter set to be available alongside Chrysler V8-powered variants. Following its liquidation last year, Essex-based property developer and Bristol enthusiast Jason Wharton completed the purchase of the intellectual property rights needed to begin making improved versions of existing Bristol designs, along with equipment such as chassis jigs and body parts. He plans to launch updated versions of the 411 four-seater and Fighter two-seater during 2022, and has placed adverts for each model, both priced at £295,000 plus VAT. The listings claim eight new Bristol 411 Series 8 cars and eight Bristol Fighters will be built, with prototypes available for test…

MG BUILDS EURO PRESENCE MG Motor plans to increase its presence in mainland Europe by doubling the number of its dealerships in the region to more than 200 on the back of new electric model launches. In an online presentation, MG Europe CEO Matt Lei said the brand will be selling its cars in 13 mainland European countries by the end of May, including Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Norway. MG famously exported cars in huge numbers in its heyday, but the brand has not had a significant presence in mainland Europe since the demise of MG Rover in 2005. It became part of China’s SAIC Motor in 2007 but didn’t begin expanding into continental Europe until 2019, starting with the Netherlands. In the summer the company will start…

REVIEW: MORRIS LESLIE, ONLINE, MARCH 13 The first classic auction of the year for Morris Leslie presented plenty of bargains for the online bidders, although there were also quite a few cars that took strong money. The modern classics were the ones to watch, while the traditional lots were a bit more predictable. If you wanted a classic Jaguar, this was the auction to tune your computer into on Saturday, with a strong range from its golden years on offer. While not quite enough interest was generated for the Mk1 3.4 to sell, a 1959 MkIX glided away with £12,500, and a 1962 E-Type 3.8 FHC took a strong £60,500, even if a little under its £65,000 lower estimate. The bargain was the not-to-all-tastes 1971 Daimler Sovereign, finished in brown…

MARKET TRENDS LATE MODEL CLASSIC MINIS Tracking the values of Rover-era classic Minis Words: Jeff Ruggles Few cars can spark a debate over values quite as much as the classic Mini. An online ad will often attract ridicule from uninterested parties who remember a time when you could buy a runner for £50 in just about every town or village. Those days, however, are long gone. For many years, classic Mini prices were bookended by the car’s first and final decades – the earliest cars and especially Coopers were recognised as established classics, while the final cars were still new enough not to have suffered from significant depreciation. Over time, the previously overlooked 1970s and 1980s examples have become increasingly prized by affluent Gen X buyers snapping them up to…

FLYING SPARES If you're DIY-minded then there's a lot you can do yourself on these cars and it won't be too long before you find yourself on first-name terms with the helpful sales team at Flying Spares. Starting out as a specialist dismantler, the firm has evolved over the last 25 years to offer owners the ideal choice between used parts, OEM-quality equivalents or original Bentley-branded products, as well as operating its own remanufacturing and reconditioning programme for mechanical items. Flying Spares can supply parts for any Rolls-Royce or Bentley from 1946 and our own Turbo R is already wearing a selection of their products. Without firms like this to support these cars, they would certainly be a whole lot more tricky to own and it's certainly made our life…

THE MCLAREN F1 ENGINE The McLaren F1 has an engine codenamed S70/2, which suggests a direct relation to the unit in the 850CSi. However, this is nothing more than a passing familiarity. The engine was developed from the ground up for the supercar under the tough demands of McLaren’s technical director Gordon Murray. The S70/1 didn’t meet requirements, so the BMW Motorsport team went to work on developing an engine that would measure no more than 600mm long, weigh no less than 250kg and make over 550bhp. The result was a 6.1-litre V12 with double-overhead cams, 48-valves, variable inlet cam timing, and state-of-the-art TAG engine management, altogether making 675bhp. It was mounted longitudinally amidships, served as a structural member for the chassis, and was incredibly light and compact. For McLaren’s…

SALES SPOTLIGHT MORGAN +4 That Morgans aren’t all the same quickly becomes obvious as soon as you’re invited to take your pick. I know my 4-4s from my 4/4s, but even so I was a little intimidated by the choice available at Richard Thorne’s. Being a specialist of the marque, there was everything from a rally-spec +4 from the ’50s to a V6-powered Roadster from 60 years later. As a Morgan pre-grad, I left the exceptionally preserved Plus 8 for another day and set up my first time behind a Morgan +4 wheel to be with this 1954 example. In specification terms it’s certainly interesting. It’s shapeshifted from a four-seater to a two-seater roadster in its time, as well as changing colour from red to the shade of ivory it…

ENDANGERED SPECIES: LATE MODEL SAABS CRASH LANDING Never quite as widely appreciated as their iconic predecessors, the late-model Saabs of the GM era are slowly earning themselves a place as modern classics. But with numbers dwindling, could it be too little too late? Words: Aaron McKay SAAB NG 900 / 9-3 (1994-2003) It wasn’t just that the new 900 introduced in 1993 was based on the GM2900 platform shared with the Vauxhall Cavalier that separated it from other Saabs, but it was that this was perhaps the first properly new Saab since the 9000 and before that, well, ever. Saab had been evolutionary ever since the 92 in 1950. Ditching almost all engineering eccentricity that had stuck with Saab for over 40 years, the NG 900 as it was known…

RETRO RIVALS: JAPANESE HERO CARS CONSOLE CLASSICS We meet up with some hero cars from Japan, made legend by the Playstation generation. Words: Matt Bell, Jeff Ruggles, Paul Wager In the news pages this month, you’ll read our observations on the growing influence of ‘Generation X’ car enthusiasts bringing a welcome dose of fresh blood into the world of classics – people who can’t remember an era before fuel injection, four-valve heads, turbos and traction control. For those younger enthusiasts, it’s not the sound of an MGB’s crackly exhaust or the growl of an E-Type’s XK engine, but the whoosh-slam of a high-revving heavily turbocharged engine which makes the neck hairs quiver and the popularity of cars like Evo, Impreza and Skyline coincided with ever more lifelike games consoles which…

TAILGATE ESSENTIAL TRAVEL The death of the high street will kill the car, says Skelton. Act now to save our hobby. I’ve just read in the papers that upmarket chocolatier Thorntons is to shut all 61 of its remaining High Street retailers. This moment brought me a little sadness – for not only does it make the delicious Sicilian Lemon Mousse chocolates, but Thorntons also gave me my first formal pay packet. As a student, I worked Christmas shifts in one of its shops in Meadowhall, Sheffield. There’s a motoring message here, too. 61 retail premises will now become vacant, and given the state of the high street these days it’s looking unlikely they’ll be filled soon. 630 people will find that their pay packets stop arriving. Thorntons will continue…