Innehållsförteckning för January 2023 från Classic Car Mart

A warm welcome to the first Classic Car Mart of 2023. Yes, I know you’re probably reading this in December, but we couldn’t let the January issue pass without paying tribute to some of the cars set to celebrate significant anniversaries over the coming 12 months. Over the following pages, we pay homage to 60 years of the Rover P6, Triumph 2000 and Hillman Imp, 50 years of the MGB GT V8 and 40 years of eight of our favourite models from 1983. We’ve also got a road test on the Fiat Cinquecento to coincide with the oldest UK cars reaching their third decade. Even at 60, cars like the Rover, Triumph and Hillman Imp can still boast impressively large followings, but I can’t help but worry that other, younger…

Highlight of the annual classic car calendar, the Lancaster Insurance NEC Classic Motor Show took place at Birmingham’s NEC over the weekend of November 11-13, with a total of 69,324 enthusiasts enjoying an estimated 3000 classic cars and motorcycles – many of them via the 300 clubs in attendance. In addition to the significant milestone anniversaries being celebrated by clubs (including 60 years of the Lotus Elan and MGB roadster, 50 years of the Alfasud in the UK, 40 years of the MG Metro and plenty more) came the show’s official theme, ‘Part of the family’. And alongside an array of striking vehicles filling seven halls came myriad traders and specialists, plus various experts offering advice in the Restoration Theatre. PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP Celebrating all kinds of classics, the Lancaster…

T heMGB deservedly received plenty of fanfare in 2022 as enthusiasts commemorated 60 years of what is almost certainly Britain’s bestloved sports car, but for those who like their B with an extra batch of cylinders, it’s not time for those celebrations to end. That’s because 2023 will mark the golden anniversary of the MGB V8 – acar that battled the odds from the very start, and yet is now fondly remembered as one of the best BL products of the 1970s. The V8 wasn’t Abingdon’s first attempt at a more powerful MGB. Five years after the roadster made its debut in 1962 and two years after the launch of the handsomely styled B GT coupe in 1965, the short-lived MGC was revealed using the six-cylinder BMC C-Series also found…

AUSTIN/MG MAESTRO The genesis of the Maestro can be traced back to the middle of the 1970s. Intended to f reshen up BL's outdated range, it was developed along conventional paths in the vein of the Volkswagen Golf and forthcoming Ford Escort Mk3 – so no Hydragas suspension here. Following a somewhat drawn-out development programme, it was March 1983 before the Maestro was officially launched. Engine options initially consisted of the entry-level 1.3 or 1.6-litre units, with trim levels ranging through L, HLE, Vanden Plas and the sporty, range-topping MG Maestro. While the A-Plus 1275cc engine offered acceptable levels of performance and was noted for its efficiency, the larger 1.6-litre R-Series was a development of the E-Series and nothing more than a stopgap, as it was always set to be…

REPORTING ON: 1992 FORD SIERRA SAPPHIRE 1.6 AZURA With our Sierra Sapphire sailing through its MoT last month and f reshly serviced to boot, next up was the trip to the NEC Classic Motor Show, where it would be proudly displayed on the Kelsey Media stand in Hall 1 before being handed over to its new temporary custodian as part of the Classic Car Loan Project. But though the car was now mechanically sound, the state of the paintwork and trim left a lot to be desired. In short, it was more matt white emulsion than shining splendour. Eager to redress the situation, I borrowed a Das 6 Pro dual-action machine polisher from my pal and serial Yugo owner Matt Pink. As and when I could find the spare time,…

A brand-new online auction site – biddingclassics.com – has launched, with its first sales up and running at the time of writing. Prospective buyers are invited to view the lots online, while would-be sellers are also encouraged to get in touch – regardless of their vehicle make, model, age or value. The company is aiming to “revolutionise certain aspects of the auction process”, as each winning bidder pays just the hammer price, with no hidden fees. There is also a concierge service available, with all aspects of the sale taken care of by the Bidding Classics team, from arranging and handling viewings to the point of handover, plus any transportation requirements. For more details, check out the Bidding Classics website.…

T he British Motor Museum has announced its busiest ever schedule for 2023, with a total of 38 different motoring events planned – including several first-time shows. And despite rising costs, the museum has pledged to freeze ticket prices at their current rates to ensure good value for money. Kicking off the year will be a late evening tour of the Collections Centre on Tuesday, January 10, followed by the annual Historic Rally Car Register Open Day on Saturday, January 14. The first Gaydon Gathering – afree event offering classic vehicle owners a fun and informal evening – takes place on April 11, with subsequent Gatherings scheduled for May 9, June 13, July 11, August 8, September 12 and October 10. New events for 2023 include Vaux ALL on May…

Recent auction results have suggested that the market is continuing to remain robust amidst a challenging financial backdrop. While there is evidence to suggest that things continue to tilt in favour of buyers as 2022 draws to a close, exceptional cars have still created headlines over the last month and there have been some impressive conversion rates too. For evidence, we didn’t have to look any further than Silverstone Auctions’ sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show. Once again it was chock full of lowmileage stunners, motorsport heroes and rarities, to the extent that sales totalled £8.1 million, with an excellent 78 per cent sale rate. A 1955 Porsche 356 Pre-A Speedster and a genuine 1999 Subaru Impreza WRC car both impressed by selling for £270,000 apiece, but the biggest…

W hileits roomier efforts can justifiably be described as a mixed bag, if there’s one thing Fiat knows how to do well, it’s city cars. Having brought four-wheeled motoring to the masses with its 4 million-selling ‘Nuova’ 500, the Italian giant’s 126 replacement sold in even greater numbers and the modern-day 500 has now racked up over 2.5 million units. Throw the increasingly collectable Panda into the mix and you’ve got another success story, but there’s one Fiat The Cinquecento's cabin is not as austere as you might expect. “IT WOULD FINALLY ARRIVE IN BRITAIN IN 1993, MEANING THE EARLIEST UK CARS ARE NOW CELEBRATING THEIR 30TH BIRTHDAYS" city car that still tends to go under the radar these days – the diminutive Cinquecento. Named using the Italian word for…

J aguarmay have moved away from retro styling in later years, but back in 1994 a healthy slice of tradition was exactly what the company needed. The angular XJ40 had proved just a little too modern for the company’s existing clientele while not pushing the boundaries far enough to tempt buyers away from German rivals. Ironically, with the early electrical and quality control issues finally sorted, the later XJ40s could match their Teutonic competitors. That was just as well, for even with Ford backing funds were too tight for an all-new XJ. Instead, Jaguar opted to re-skin its existing model in such a way as to provide a true successor to the fondly remembered Series 3 XJ, thus creating the X300. Introduced in September 1994, the X300 benefited from Ford’s…

W ith the Mk2 Escort facing stiff competition from a new wave of hatchbacks, including its Fiesta stablemate that was actually more spacious inside, Ford gave its bestseller a radical makeover with the launch of the Mk3 version in September 1980. Codenamed Erika, the Mk3 was now driven by the f ront wheels and the new body embraced the hatchback design, although there was the addition of a bustle that extended the tailgate with a hint of a conventional bootlid. Also brand new was independent rear suspension and the addition of Ford’s new CVH engine (Compound Valve Hemispherical) in 1.3 and 1.6-litre sizes, with the entry-level engine now the 1.1-litre Kent-based Valencia motor as seen in the Fiesta. What was more familiar to Escort buyers was the choice of trim…

Check out loads more news at WWW.CLASSICS-WORLD.CO.UK The controversial Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is set to cover every London borough by next summer, raising fears that modern classics could end up scrapped as a result. The move by London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, means the current zone – which was expanded last year to cover all areas within the North and South Circular roads – will move to the boundary of the current Low Emission Zone (LEZ) from August 29, 2023. It means only cars that meet strict Euro 4 emissions standard for petrol vehicles (roughly post-2005) and Euro 6 standards for diesels (post 2015) will be allowed to enter without incurring the ULEZ charge. Vehicles that don’t comply will have to pay £12.50 per day to drive within the…

The hugely successful Silverstone Classic gets a fresh identity for 2023, with the announcement of the Silverstone Festival marking a new era for the venue’s annual spectacular – set to take place over next year’s August bank holiday weekend. A rebrand was decided on to better represent “the wider experience now enjoyed by festival-goers”. The worldfamous British circuit has played host to the Silverstone Classic since 1990. Silverstone Festival will boast plenty of exciting on-track action, as well as major displays of classic vehicles. All the usual grids will be returning in 2023, along with some landmark automotive anniversaries, plus an impressive line-up of off-track entertainment and music. This summer’s event saw the popular addition of Foodie Fest, extreme stunt shows, three nights of live music and current F1 car…

RETRO MODERNS VOLKSWAGEN NEW BEETLE (1998-2011) A product of VW’s new American Design Centre, the New Beetle was first unveiled in concept form in 1994, with the production version that arrived four years later being little different. In shape and proportions it bore little resemblance to the original Type 1, and since it sat on a Golf platform it was mechanically the complete opposite. But its arched window area, chubby wing shapes, ovoid lights, flared sills and smiling bonnet seam were all enough to get people’s nostalgic neurons sparking. To say that the New Beetle sold well in the USA would be to understate things – it was a phenomenon, with huge waiting lists, literal queues around the block at dealers and people making cross-country flights to get their hands…

L istento almost any motoring expert, and they will claim that it was the baby boomers in America who drove a change in the automotive market dynamic of the post-war years, with the Mustang as its first fruit. But the two saloons we’ve drawn together here tell a different story. The silent generation, those who had grown up during the war and maybe even some of those who had fought, found themselves constrained in post- war Britain by a market tailored to their forefathers. If you wanted to step up from the drab Morris Oxford or the dreary Vauxhall Wyvern, you had the choice of an establishment Humber or a badge-engineered big Wolseley, as driven by all the best policemen. There was nothing with dash, nothing aspirational for someone in…

Despitethe detail differences, today’s small city cars are almost universally variations on the same theme; squashed-looking five-door hatches with three-pot engines, many of which are built on the same platform. Rewind back to the late 1950s though, and things were very different. BMC may have grabbed the headlines with its f ront-wheel-drive Mini, but Rootes was well underway with what would become the Hillman Imp – acar that contrasted with the trends of the day thanks to an all-alloy OHC engine driving the rear wheels. But while it was Rootes’ great white hope, setbacks and hurdles meant the Imp was ultimately a tale of what might have been. And as we sit on the cusp of its 60thanniversary, it’s a story worth revisiting. For the Rootes group, the mission statement…

VOLVO 121 ‘AMAZON’ YEAR: 1968 MoT: EXEMPT The model designations of Volvo’s 1960s saloon range are among the world’s great impenetrable mysteries. What we usually refer to as the Amazon started off as the 1200, then the 120, before becoming the 120 Series with 121 and 122S spinoffs. Then there was the 220 estate version and the two-door versions, which were sold under the same 120 Series model names but technically designated by Volvo as the 130 Series. Thankfully that’s the only thing about the Amazon that’s a bit uncertain – its reputation for toughness and longevity is well-deserved. This one is described by the dealer as a 131 – aterm well-understood by Volvo fans but never used in period and never on the car itself. Nevertheless, it means it’s…