Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2023 i Classic Car Mart

44 Reviewing the entries for this month’s updated price guide (see page 82), it struck me what a massively difficult job it is to nail down values. One of the notable risers is the once derided Mini 1275 GT – and no, I haven’t just adjusted it up because I happen to own one. Good early cars can now exceed £20,000, and although I’m not planning to sell mine after its restoration, I’m hoping it will be in a similar ballpark. To this end I’m trying to do the best job I can – excellent paint, spotless interior trim and all-new running gear where possible. Building something immaculate is the aim. And yet, when I noticed a very early 1275 GT like mine was heading to auction at the NEC…

Rolls-Royce is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its rebirth under BMW control, with the all-new 2003 Phantom – the seventh-generation model to wear that historic name – being the first car launched from the marque’s brand new Goodwood-based facility. The 1998 sale of Rolls-Royce and Bentley saw Volkswagen become the temporary custodian of the former through to the end of 2002, giving BMW enough time to develop an all-new model worthy of carrying the famous Spirit of Ecstasy. The highly acclaimed Phantom limousine was joined by the Phantom Coupe and Drophead Coupe, followed by the smaller Ghost – the luxury saloon that went on to become the bestselling Rolls-Royce since the company’s creation in 1904. The range grew further in 2013 with the Wraith, followed by the Dawn three years…

FORD PROBE (1994-1997) Ford didn’t really enjoy the best of starts to the 1990s, beginning the decade with the roundly slated Mk5 Escort and no answer to a raft of new coupes from rival manufacturers such as the Vauxhall Calibra, Volkswagen Corrado and the forthcoming fourthgeneration Honda Prelude. With the Capri long since departed, Blue Oval fans in search of a fastback needed to look elsewhere. We had to wait until spring 1994 for Ford’s response, which came with the European arrival of the Americanbuilt Probe. The first-generation Probe had been launched in 1989 in the US and had been superseded by the sleeker second-generation car in readiness for the 1993 model year, but UK buyers had to be more patient. The new Probe shared the frontwheel drive Mazda G…

Regular readers will know the Great Classic Trade Up that’s been running for the past year with our friends at Lancaster Insurance Services is now drawing to a close. After the final two purchases were put on display at the Classic Motor Show in November 2022, a winner was drawn, who chose the ADO16 Austin 1300. This delightful homegrown classic has now found a home with someone who also owns a Leyland Princess and Bedford CA van amongst other British classics. That left my 2004 Jaguar XK8 convertible as the entry for auction in March 2023, all money raised from that sale going to Auditory Verbal UK. By the time you’re reading this, the sale would have happened, so we’ll have to update you in the next issue about what…

Toyota has something of a history with sports cars, beginning in the 1960s with the 2000GT and continuing the following decade via models like the Celica and Supra. It was in the late ’70s, however, that the company embarked upon an exciting new project, culminating in the SV-3 concept that finally appeared at the 1983 Tokyo Motor Show. The almostunchanged production version made its debut in ’84, badged as the MR2 (for ‘Mid-Ship Runabout 2-seater’). The MR2 arrived in the UK the following year with a price tag of around £9000, and the combination of punchy performance and sweet handling soon had it amassing plenty of plaudits from the motoring press. Seiichi Yamauchi’s sharp design was certainly eye-catching, its combination of angular lines and pop-up headlamps perfectly capturing the ’80s…

The word iconic is often overused, but if any vehicle deserves it then it might just be this one. The subject of this month’s guide has been around for more than 70 years, and it’s been both a source of motoring enjoyment and acted as something of a cultural touchstone. Ask someone to imagine the transport of choice for hippies and surfers and it’s likely to be this that comes to mind. We should clarify the name before going further, though. When it arrived in 1950 it was known as the Type 2 and it was only in 1990 that VW renumbered things so these early split-screen vans became the Type 1 (previously used for the Beetle) with the ‘Bay Window’ version launched in 1967 becoming the Type 2. The…

Check out loads more news at WWW.CLASSICS- WORLD.CO.UK A controversial new £110 million scrappage scheme operated by Transport for London (TfL) could spell disaster for thousands of the capital’s classic cars. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is set to expand to all 32 London boroughs from August 29, with eligible Londoners set to receive up to £5000 for having their non-compliant vehicle crushed. The previous scheme took 15,000 older vehicles off London’s roads, and nearly 400,000 were lost to the nationwide UK scheme launched in 2009, including a large number of popular classics. Applicants with wheelchairaccessible vehicles will receive up to £5000 for scrapping their old car, retrofitting it with catalytic-based technology or converting it to electric power. Owners of standard cars will get up to £2000. Private applicants…

Check out loads more news at WWW.CLASSICS- WORLD.CO.UK A remarkable ‘garage find’ classic Mini will be put under the hammer by CCA when it hosts its next sale as part of The Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show on March 25-26. As an early 1970 Mini 1275 GT it’s already special enough, with features like Hydrolastic suspension (discontinued from 1971), and the bonnet stay on the left-hand side – a feature of very early Clubmanfronted Minis only. However, this Bronze Yellow example is even more notable, having had only one owner from new and showing just 11,936 miles. It’s thought to have been hidden away in storage for the past 33 years, with its last tax disc having expired in 1990. CCA reports that the car’s bodywork and interior…

Back in the 1970s, it was all a lot easier. Success and image were measured by what letters appeared on the back of your Cortina or one of its fellow British rivals; but come the image-conscious early ’80s, it was more about brand itself. A new breed of compact executive models like the Mercedes-Benz 190E and BMW E30 3 Series opened a new gateway into a hitherto unachievable prestige fold, setting a ball rolling that still hasn’t run out of momentum. In the case of the BMW, the E30 arrived at just the right time to ride a new wave of 1980s Yuppie aspiration. It wasn’t the first 3 Series – that honour belonged to the neat but rather left-of-field E21 model launched in 1975 – but it was the…

W hen it comes to risk versus reward, the V12 engine is surely the ultimate way to straddle the thin dividing line. On the one hand, a big 12-pot is massively at odds with today’s drive towards economy and environmental restraint, but on the other, it’s an automotive engineering extravagance to stir the soul. And in the Jaguar XJ-S and the Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, two different takes on the V12 can be experienced for a fraction of the price of a new eco-box. But should you indulge, and if so, which of these platform sharers is most worthy of a beleaguered fuel budget? JAGUAR XJ-S Jaguar’s V12 first appeared in production in 1971 under the nose of the Series 3 E-Type, but its origins are in the early ’60s,…

When it comes to the cars celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2023, the humble Triumph 2000 might seem like a bit of a footnote alongside glamorous icons like the Porsche 911, Mercedes SL ‘Pagoda’ and Aston Martin DB5. And yet, the 2000 is of greater significance than is often realised, both for Triumph and the wider luxury car market. In fact, the 2000 represents Triumph with its pulse most definitely to the ground in terms of changing consumer tastes – most notably, the shift away from larger cars in the upmarket executive segment. It was in the mid-1950s that management of both Triumph and Rover identified a possible decline in the popularity of what was at the time known as the ‘3-litre’ class. Changing demographics and a more youthful population meant…

MG PA MIDGET YEAR: 1934 MoT: EXEMPT The original M-type Midget was so successful that MG saw little reason to change the formula, although incremental improvements were made to the breed. In 1934 came the P-type – very similar in appearance to the preceding J-type but boasting over 100 detail changes. These included a higher-revving three-bearing engine, an uprated gearbox, bigger brakes and new hydraulic dampers on the rear springs for a better ride and stability. The P-type received a cosmetic and mechanical overhaul in 1935 to become the PB, which makes a PA quite a rare machine, as well as being regarded as the last of the ‘first generation’ Midgets stemming from the original M-type. This one went through three owners between 1934 and 1993, when it was shipped…

Mazda’s CEO in Europe, Martijn ten Brink, has confirmed that the MX-5 sports car “will never die." But in an interview at the recent Brussels Motor Show in Belgium, he confirmed that the technical specifications of the next generation have yet to be confirmed. The current MX-5, which made its debut in 2015, will continue to be updated and is said to be under no threat of being taken off sale from emissions regulations. On the longer-term future of the MX-5, Martijn ten Brink stated: “How do you stay true to the concept of what the car stands for taking it into the next generation of technologies? That’s not been decided. But I think for Mazda, it would be fair to say that the MX-5 will never die.” Commenting on…

After a short festive hiatus, the UK’s classic auction houses have returned to action with a glut of sales in recent weeks. And although it’s too early to draw any hard and fast conclusions from the results, we’ve already witnessed some eye-raising performances amid some very promising sale rates. Certainly, the traditional January blues failed to get a grip of bidders at the latest South Western Vehicle Auctions (SWVA) sale in Poole, as its January 27 event achieved an impressive 91 per cent clearance rate. The star was arguably an increasingly rare slice of BL metal, with a wellpreserved 1982 Morris Ital 1.3L showing a mere 42,126 miles doubling the top end of its £1000-£2000 estimate to sell £4000 plus fees. Among the other notable lots was a much older…

Few could’ve blamed Vauxhall for casting envious glances in Ford’s direction. The Cortina had proved to be smash hit for the Blue Oval, with the Mk1 shaking up the family and fleet market, and the Mk2 knocking the BMC 1100 off its perch to become a UK best-seller in 1967. Even Ford’s gamble in launching the bigger ‘Coke-bottle’ Mk3 Cortina would pay off handsomely, as it once again soared to the top of the Britain’s sales chart. By contrast, Vauxhall was suffering something of a nosedive in the early ’70s. While the Viva was a decent seller, the FE Series Victor failed to make inroads into a fleet market dominated by the Cortina. Unfortunately, unlike Ford who’d spent tens of millions to develop the Mk3, Vauxhall ultimately would lack the…

Some classic cars are like the Morris Minor and MGB – simple machines with admirable spares availability, keen clubs, and a painless ownership experience. But owning some classics can be the automotive equivalent of a torture chamber; somewhere you’d really rather not find yourself. And the 10 we’ve lined up here, if you listen to accepted wisdom, are very definitely in the latter category. But if bought cannily, they can be very rewarding indeed. So if you’ve always fancied abandoning your better judgement, read on… BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT The Bentley Continental GT is a brave buy for two primary reasons. Firstly, their attractive price means some have fallen into the arms of those who skip servicing in favour of flashy addons, and once a car’s maintenance has slipped it will…

REPORTING ON: 2002 ROVER 75 See more of our project cars on our Classics World YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ ClassicsWorldUK I was rather enjoying life with our new Rover 75 – comfortable, practical and relaxing, it was shaping up to be a nice daily driver. Then I reached into the rear footwell to pick something up and my hand felt damp carpet. Not in a way it gets when you open the door in rain, but soggy, with water rising out of the carpet when pushed. Noticing more damp under the driver’s seat, I unbolted the four Torx bolts, unplugged the wiring for the airbag and heated seat and removed the seat completely, before cutting a small section of carpet out to inspect beneath. What I found wasn’t a damp…