Innehållsförteckning för November 2020 från Classic Car Mart

Welcome… ALL CHANGE I’ve lost count of the number of cars which have come and gone over the years during a career working on car magazines – from the Escort RS Turbo I was given with my first Editor’s job, to press loan BMWs in the early 2000s and then a stream of everchanging classics in more recent years. One constant which was there almost since the beginning though was my Alfa Spider, a car I bought long before family or any kind of responsibility were on the horizon. Marks on the paintwork attested to the attentions of long-gone pet cats, there’s still an indentation from various baby seats on the passenger seat and when cleaning it out recently I found a roll of wedding ribbon. Despite this, after 23…

BRIGHTWELLS, TIMED ONLINE, SEPTEMBER 24 Brightwells has taken its own path with the move to socially distanced car selling, favouring the timed auction format rather than a live online sale. It’s a move which looks to have worked well, with the firm’s extensive site allowing plenty of opportunity for safe appointments-based viewing and the sales still attracting big catalogues of varied lots. The September sale was no exception, with lots ranging from a Riley RMB to a modern Mitsubishi Evo IX. Both MGB and Bentley buyers had plenty of choice, as did Land Rover and Jaguar buyers with some tempting projects and modern classics also thrown into the mix. We’ve picked out some favourites here but for the full results visit www.brighwells.com.…

CLASSIC ROAD TEST: BENTLEY CONTINENTAL AUTUMN OF YEARS Putting in a combined 27 years of service, the elegant Mulliner Park Ward, Corniche, and Continental models represent some of the best Rolls-Royce and Bentley qualities. We take a late Continental out to experience what it’s all about. Words: Aaron McKay Photography: Gregory Evans Suppliers of quality Rolls-Royce and Bentley Parts • www.flyingspares.com • 01455 292949 The image conjured by the words Rolls-Royce or Bentley is normally of a richly adorned limousine, the shape of a Phantom or perhaps a Bentley Mulsanne. But there is magic beyond the familiarity and function of these cars, and for years it has been a spell cast by coachbuilders. Commissioned officially by Rolls-Royce, in 1966 Mulliner Park Ward produced a two-door saloon version of the Silver…

DATABASE: TRIUMPH 2000/2500 THE STAG THE CARS As you’ll see in our boxout on proposed 2000/2500 derivatives, one model on the drawing board was a convertible but in the event it was left to Michelotti to develop this independently. The Stag originated as a proposed motor show concept. A time-worn 2000 saloon was sent to Italy where Michelotti’s studio promptly chopped the roof off, shortened it and would have displayed it at the 1965 Turin show had Triumph management not immediately decided to take up their option to productionise the design. In its transition from concept to production car back in Coventry, the car gained the Stag’s trademark T-bar roof arrangement after Michelotti’s fully open design was found to lack structural rigidity despite the addition of double-skinned panels. With an…

RETRO CARS MARKET TRENDS SUBARU IMPREZA With a golden history in motorsport, popular fame on the road, and diminishing numbers, the Impreza Turbo is a sure-fire classic and values are on the rise Words: Aaron McKay Of all the iconic rally cars of the 1990s, the Subaru Impreza was the most popular for private buyers on the road. Unlike most other manufacturers, who only made the necessary motions to homologate their cars, Subaru took an active interest in marketing its high-performance Impreza to the general public. It was a huge success, and particularly in the UK where Colin McRae’s hero status resonated, the Impreza quickly became the car everyone wanted – and could afford. Looking over the classifieds today, you’d almost forget that they made a nonturbocharged, plain-Jane version with a…

RETRO CARS BUYING GUIDE: RANGE ROVER P38A THE SECOND ALBUM Replacing the classic Range Rover was never going to be easy, and the P38A is still often considered an outsider to the classic scene. But if you want to buy one and see just how good it really is, read on. Words: Aaron McKay The second-generation Range Rover was introduced in 1994, codenamed LP but commonly known as the P38A. It was a huge step forward for Land Rover and the SUV market as a whole. Today, it’s fair to say that the P38 represents a sweet spot between the old-fashioned hardy Land-Rover qualities and the comforts that might otherwise have you questioning this whole classic car thing. Much of the P38A is actually classic Range Rover. The chassis underneath…

TAILGATE FULL CIRCLE Craig Cheetham ponders if great car design is about to make a comeback One of the reasons that I’ve always adored cars is that, from an early age, I’ve been fascinated by design and engineering. A car is the perfect fusion of both and I have nothing but admiration for the people who see them through from concept to production, a great many of whom I’ve been lucky enough to work with in a 20+ year automotive industry career. The car industry is full of petrolheads, and that’s a good thing. But for the past 10 years, car design has been a bit of a mess. Even the designers themselves will often freely admit this. With the odd notable exception (the Alfa Romeo Giulia being my favourite)…

CHECK OUT LOADS MORE NEWS AT WWW.CLASSICSWORLD.CO.UK PLUGS&LEADS CLASSICS FACING ENVIRONMENTAL BACKLASH? Traditionally, classic car owners are used to compliments, with a passing comment at the filling station or positive feedback at a show only adding to the pleasure of ownership. Sadly, not everyone sees a historic vehicle in such a positive light, with owners facing a possible backlash from those who feel that they are damaging the environment. Fossil-fuelled cars undoubtedly face more hurdles than ever. The impending ban on sales of new combustion-engined cars could be as little as a decade away and restrictive emission zones, though in some cases delayed by Covid-19, are still on the cards in many major cities. Climate change groups such as Extinction Rebellion have also become prevalent, demonstrating at motor shows in…

Classic Crossword 177 Clues Across 7 Like ARO, nationality-wise (8) 8 Design firm responsible for the Reliant Robin (4) 9 & 19 down Small German two-cylinder car introduced in the late 1950s (3,5) 10 Famous Rolls-Royces with nearly a century of heritage (8) 12 V8-engined Maseratis from the 1970s (5) 13 A 1950s Daimler (7) 15 John Player _, limited edition Ford Capri (7) 17 _ litre, engine size of the Rover P5 (5) 20 Classic Jeep model (8) 21 Panther model whose name was later used by Kia (3) 22 Mid-1930s Wolseley car (4) 23 Puncture-resistant tyres (3-5) Clues Down 1 Racing driver synonymous with performance Minis (4,6) 2 Renault 21 successor (6) 3 How the Perodua Kancil was known in the UK (5) 4 Follow-up to the Gilbern…

MATHEWSONS, ONLINE, OCTOBER 2-3 Mathewsons’ regular classic sales continue to enjoy incredible momentum, so much so that its most recent sale at the beginning of October was the biggest in its history and had to be split over two days. The first 100 lots went under the hammer on the Friday night, with over 300 further lots following on the Saturday – an incredible total given that the sales are still being held behind closed doors. As we’ve come to expect of Mathewsons, the lots were incredibly varied, ranging from classics over a century old such as a 1915 Ford Model T right through to the likes of a 2004 Maserati Quattroporte and a 2006 Volvo V70 R. While the headliners included a £69,000 Jaguar E-Type roadster and a £46,500…

TWIN TEST: MAZDA MX-5 vs TOYOTA MR2 CUT-PRICE CONVERTIBLES The Mk1 Mazda MX-5 reinvigorated the sports car genre, but competition came thick and fast – can the ‘NB’ Mk2 tackle the often forgotten Mk3 Toyota MR2? WORDS: JOE MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL WAGER, ADE BRANNAN If you fancied a fun little roadster, up until the late 1980s your only options were Spitfires, Midgets and Elans, or perhaps a Fiat or Alfa Romeo Spider if you fancied something foreign and exotic. All fine cars, but by that stage, most were tatty, careworn examples with leaky roofs, interiors that smelled of damp and leaky carburetted engines that required constant fettling. The Mazda MX-5 changed all that. Yes, it took styling cues from the ’60s Elan and rumours suggest the gearchange was made to…

DATABASE: TRIUMPH 2000/2500 DATABASE: TRIUMPH 2000/2500 (1963-1977) The last gasp of an independent Triumph was strong enough to last from its introduction in the ’60s until the arrival of its replacement, the Rover SD1. Words: Paul Wager THE MARKETPLACE THE CARS THE BEGINNING In classic car circles it’s Triumph’s TR sports cars which generally get all the attention but the 2000/2500 saloons are of greater significance to the company’s history than is often realised. 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…

RETRO CARS RETRO RIVALS: MERCEDES SLK v BMW Z3 DOWNSIZING Even the premium brands joined in the ’90s roadster revival but BMW and Mercedes took very different approaches. We try to choose between SLK and Z3. Words: Paul Wager Photography: Paul Wager, Matt Woods On the face of it, here we have two very similar modern classic two-seat convertibles, both currently boasting similar values and a similar place in the market. It wasn’t always this way, though: the BMW Z3 was very much inspired by the success of the Mazda MX-5, while the SLK was Mercedes grudgingly downsizing into a more affordable part of the market. This is illustrated by their prices: back in 2000, the SLK was £27,480 against the Z3’s £21,025 yet both were way short of Porsche’s entry-level…

RETRO CARS RETRO PROJECTS STAFF CLASSICS Reporting on our retro project car fleet. FORD PUMA Jeff Ruggles Features Editor Last month, I promised to sort out the Puma’s oil leak, fit new spark plugs and give it an oil change. The oil change is still awaiting, but I’m pleased to report that the leak has been halted. I suspected the cam cover gasket was at fault, so shelled out over £50 at my local Ford dealer to procure a new one. Fortunately, some meticulous cleaning, careful fitting and a light smear of gasket sealant saw the job turned round with relative ease, and I popped a set of genuine Motorcraft spark plugs in at the same time. Another recent task was to get a new set of rear tyres fitted.…

CHECK OUT LOADS MORE NEWS AT WWW.CLASSICSWORLD.CO.UK MGB EV RAISES THE BAR Adding electric drive to classic cars is a subject we’ve covered many times in CCM but with the unveiling of RBW’s electric MGB on October 7, the game has been moved forward decisively. Rather than a conversion of an existing car, the RBW product is built using all new componentry and has been engineered by global automotive OEM supplier Continental, even gaining certification to be sold as a brand new vehicle. Many readers will have seen the RBW car displayed some time ago but the lengthy process of engineering a car to OEM standard – and a certain virus which has been doing the rounds – explains the delay. As we discovered when sampling the car though, it’s…

MARKET TRENDS AT THE TAIL END A slight tailing off of the Porsche 911 market has turned into a landslide during lockdown, at least for some models Words: Aaron McKay From the 2018 peak of 911 appreciation, average values of the iconic sports car model have declined by about five per cent. Most of the fall has been at the top end, and it’s this segment that’s really been hit hard by the changing demand conditions of the Covid-19 crisis. While some high-end cars have been flagged for investment during this time, many 911s are perceived to already have been buoyed by previous speculation. Air cooled values Pre-impact bumper 911s, particularly the very earliest 1960s models seem to have held their position, still actively selling for around £100,000. Interestingly the…

PROJECT CAR: FORD ESCORT XR3i PUTTING THE BOOT IN The Escort gets a long-overdue interior tidy-up. WORDS: PAUL WAGER NEED CLASSIC CAR INSURANCE? UP TO 25% DISCOUNT FOR CLUB MEMBERS 01480 484 860 Last month saw us sign off having fitted most of a new ignition system to the XR3i and having ticked off the misfire as being fixed, we were able to turn our attention to the inside. Ford’s woeful lack of interest in its older models means that trim for the ’80s Escorts is hard to source, especially for the Mk3 cars and good used parts are generally your only hope. In fact if there was one thing letting this car down it was the boot area, with the parcel shelf no longer supported properly and half falling…

RETRO CARS ENDANGERED SPECIES: B3 AUDI 80/90 PATH TO STARDOM The Audi 80 and 90 set the brand on its path to market domination, but that’s not enough for them to have survived in any great numbers. Words: Jeff Ruggles Putting aside the current-day tendency for many of its products to be driven by entitled and impatient tailgaters, there can be no denying that Audi has enjoyed runaway success in the premium car market. Nowadays the brand comfortably sits alongside the likes of BMW and Mercedes, but it hasn’t always been this way. It wasn’t really until the ‘80s that Audi loosened the shackles of parent company VW to become a desirable brand in its own right – and we’d argue the B3 80 and its five-cylinder 90 offshoot played…

LIVING WITH THE JAGUAR X-TYPE THE X FILES Jaguar’s smallest car for 40 years may have been tainted by its Ford associations but still stacks up as a fine modern classic. Words: Paul Wager The ’90s was a fascinating decade for the motor industry as a whole, characterised by a general scrabbling to reach a so-called ‘critical mass’ production volume. It was this trend which saw a wave of mergers, takeovers and collaborations including Volkswagen Group’s takeover of Skoda, the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the creation of the ill-fated DaimlerChrysler… and of course, rather more relevant to us here, the acquisition of Jaguar Cars by Ford Motor Company and Rover’s purchase of Rover Group. In the case of Jaguar, the accepted history is that Ford was kept busy in the early years…