Innehållsförteckning för February 2025 från Classics World

There's been a lot going on behind the scenes at Classics World recently so here's a quick update. Our former editor Simon Goldsworthy has moved on to pastures new and the task of running the magazine has fallen to Group Editor Paul Wager – who you will have seen in this spot last issue – and me. We'll be working together with some other members of the wider Classics World team to produce the magazine each month; as Paul mentioned last time, we don't have big changes planned but you may notice some interesting new additions. Long-time readers might recognise me from my Classic Car Buyer days, or perhaps as Digital Content Editor on our website classicsworld.co.uk, which Paul and I continue to work on alongside the magazine. I'm biased…

After much anticipation, Jaguar unveiled its TYPE 00 concept in Miami on December 2, a show car that previews the firm's new design direction as it attempts to improve its fortunes. Some, including Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club magazine editor Wayne Scott, were positive about the concept: “A concept car should shock, challenge, and inspire. This does all three and more. If this is anything like the production cars, then there are some very special things ahead from Jaguar,” Scott said. Isolated comments were more favourable than those surrounding Jaguar's abstract rebranding advert that ruffled feathers a few weeks ago, but negativity still featured heavily. Online, comparisons were made to Lady Penelope's FAB 1 from Thunderbirds and The Pink Panther car. Meanwhile, the man who Murray Walker once called ‘Mr. Jaguar’, Philip…

CHRISTOPHER WARD C65 SUPER COMPRESSOR REVIEW From £1,025 — christopherward.com – James Howe British firm Christopher Ward has become a big name in watches despite its short 20-year history. Founded in 2004, the British firm graduated from ‘microbrand’ status to become a widely recognised producer of lower-priced watches spanning multiple collections and boasting interesting mechanical touches. All are designed in the UK, made in Switzerland and powered by Swiss movements. Christopher Ward's penchant for mechanical eccentricity is clear to see in its C65 Super Compressor. Like many retro-inspired dive models, the watch incorporates an internal rotating dive bezel operated by the upper crown on the right-hand side of the case. Unlike most of these homages, however, the Christopher Ward is a super compressor in the true sense of the term. A…

EMAIL: CLASSICS.ED@KELSEY.CO.UK I much enjoyed last month's history of the Ford Zephyr and Zodiac (p102, January 2025) which took me back to my younger days when I was employed as an assistant to a motorsport photographer. In particular I remember using the commodious rear of the estate version as a camera car to follow one of the 1970s RAC rallies which was a real adventure if a bit damp and chilly at times. I remember the big Ford went back in a bit of a state, in spite of our best efforts to clean the mud out of the cabin……

Iain Ayre comments (p18, December 2024) that it is not possible to determine the oil to be used on Rover SD1 gearboxes. When the car was put into service it came with standard gear oil, however in service problems were experienced under certain conditions that created the change to Auto Transmission Fluid (ATF) and this was a factory recommendation. Under very cold conditions customers experienced difficulty changing into second gear from third. A change to ATF reduced the problem considerably, however the problem was not consistent in that a car parked overnight in a garage may not show the problem. Also, in many areas of the country it didn't show up at all even in winter. I know this because I was involved at the time. In Best of British/Groundbreakers…

A short while ago, we featured an MGB GT Jubilee, owned by London-based DJ Lord Anthony and at the time the only other car he wanted was a Lotus Elite, a car he had craved ever since he saw one at a Worcestershire dealership as a child. In February of 2024, he duly became the owner of a 1979 Elite 501 that goes by the nom-de-Lotus of Lola. The Elite's origins date from 1967, when Colin Chapman envisaged a new type of Lotus that would appeal to motorists in the Ferrari and Porsche income bracket, offering a higher profit margin than the current range and appealing to existing Lotus drivers who now demanded more comfort in their middle-age. Work on Project M50 Elite began in March 1971, and the former…

So you've been priced out of the E-Type market long ago, but you hanker after a 1960s British sports coupe with six-cylinder power and style to match. Not a lot of affordable choices are there? There's the MGC GT of course – loved and loathed in equal measure – and the evergreen Reliant Scimitar, but otherwise your choice is limited to low-volume models like Gilberns, the Bond Equipe and the TVR Vixen. Except, that is, for the oft-overlooked Triumph GT6. Either a hotter version of the Spitfire or a more stylish reworking of the Vitesse depending on which way you look at it, the GT6 tends to be overshadowed in Triumph's sports car history by the TR models, which makes it a great left-field choice for those wanting to be…

Although it was essentially a product of BMC, it was British Leyland which finally brought the Maxi to production. The car, like BL, was emblematic of a difficult time in the UK's motor industry which saw declining sales of home-built cars, vans and trucks and the virtual disappearance of the once supreme British motorcycle industry. The Maxi was however, outstanding right from the start in one important respect: it was extremely well packaged, providing spacious accommodation for five with the benefit of a hatchback design using a huge tailgate. The seats could also be arranged to provide rudimentary sleeping accommodation for two in this versatile car, which makes it all the more amazing that BL introduced both the Allegro and the 18/22 Princess without hatchbacks, thereby limiting their appeal. The…

The E30 M3 needs no introduction as almost everybody's favourite homologation special. The first M3, the E30, is a true performance legend, a sports car icon that has only become more desirable as the years have gone by – and it's easy to understand why. The E30 M3 road car came about through BMW's involvement in Group A racing, with rules stipulating that each race car had to share its core mechanical components with a road car, of which at least 5000 road-going examples had to be produced. BMW M decided to work backwards, first designing the racing version of the M3 and then making the necessary changes to turn it into a road car. This is why the latter looks so similar to its full-on track counterpart; those iconic…

The second generation of VW's long-lived load lugger to employ a front-engined layout, the T5 was launched in 2003 and its combination of solid VW build, car-like handling and sheer versatility saw it convert many owners from premium SUVs. Rather than an evolution of the preceding T4 model, the T5 was an all-new platform – the 7H in VW speak. The T4 had represented a big leap forwards from the old rear-engined vans and the T5 took this one step further with the range spanning basic workhorse vans to lavishly trimmed people carriers. In the UK, the engine range kicked off with the familiar 1.9-litre Pumpe-Düse diesel found in everything from Golf to Passat, while the petrol options were either the 2-litre four-cylinder or the 3.2-litre VR6, in which form…

A brand-new classic car show will launch at the Haynes Museum in Somerset next summer, with The John Haynes Classic set to take place on Sunday September 7, 2025. As the name suggests, it will pay tribute to John Haynes OBE, the visionary behind the iconic Haynes Manual and founder of the museum. One of the show's main highlights will be the Haynes Manual Display – a curated collection of cars and motorcycles immortalised in the famous Haynes Manuals. It will also incorporate the Car Club Arena, which will provide a showcase for hundreds of classic cars and motorcycles, plus the Live Show Paddock, which will feature talks, debates, live music and a special vehicle parade. Meanwhile, families and budding engineers will enjoy the Discovery Zone, where workshops, demonstrations and…

Former Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone is to sell off his entire collection of ex-F1 and Grand Prix race cars. The 69 cars were acquired over the past five decades, and now the 94-year-old has decided the time is right to part with them. Responsibility for selling Ecclestone's cars has been given to Tom Hartley Jnr, a high-end specialist based in Leicestershire. The collection spans 70 years, and boasts many Grand Prix and championship-winning cars. Each and every one of the cars is unique, having been stored away from the public gaze, in some cases for more than half a century. Among the Ferraris is Alberto Ascari's Italian Grand Prix winning 375 F1, plus the Ferrari Thin Wall Special, which was the first Ferrari to beat Alfa Romeo. There's also…

This is my first Marcos, bought four years ago having found it advertised on eBay. I hadn't gone looking for anything in particular but I was browsing online and this just popped out at me. The auction was finishing fairly late in the evening, I'd had a glass or two of wine, one thing led inevitably to another and I ended up winning. I do realise that sounds a terrible way to buy a car, but I was drawn to the Marcos by its rarity, the fact that it had a Rover V8 engine, and by the styling. I didn't know anything about the model at the time, it was largely a visual thing and something of an impulse buy. Winning the auction was all well and good, but then…

Peter has been a classic car journalist for nearly 40 years, and is a past editor of Practical Classics, Car Mechanics, Classic Car Weekly and Classic Car Buyer. These days he writes mainly about old lorries as editor of Classic & Vintage Commercials, but old cars remain his first love. MY FLEET 1949 RILEY RMB 1955 MG ZA MAGNETTE 1958 HILLMAN MINX 1965 MORRIS MINOR TRAVELLER 1970 ROVER P6 3500 1990 VOLVO 240 ESTATE 1992 ROVER 827 COUPE The big news this month is that I finally seem to have found myself somewhere that I can store most of the Simpson collection, and which also includes some decent working facilities including a four-post lift. It's not 100% perfect as restricted headroom means the lift will only go about two-thirds up,…

With not much more than a light clunk, body number 80210 was lowered onto engine 00847494 and front and rear suspension assemblies were bolted in. Trim went in, wheels went on, fluids were added and brakes were bled. And so, on September 30th 1994, this Boston Green metallic BMW 318Ti – one of the very first right hand drive examples – was completed at the factory on Munich's Petuelring in the Milbertshofen district. According to the build sheet, this one had ‘special dealer preparation’ meaning it was a demonstrator, optional extras including an electric sunroof, sports seats and suspension, fully body coloured bumpers and front foglights. A day or so later, it left the factory compound on a lorry bound for Hull and from there, Stafford's BMW dealer Radford Bavarian.…

Back in the early ‘50s buyers in the upper middle market looking for a powerful, sizeable saloon car with a quality badge would have been very limited in their choice compared to today's market awash with German brands. Perhaps the first choice for the solicitor or bank manager would have been the Rover range, where the P4 was offered in a range of engine sizes and despite their staid styling, top-end models were capable of an easy 100 mph. Rover at this time was very much an engineering-led company and the cars were well-made, thoroughly engineered products with a reputation for high quality. Launched in 1949, the P4 was the Rover Company's first entirely new postwar design: its predecessor the P3 had been more of an evolution of the firm's…

One of the earliest cars to emerge from the Luton works, the 1911 Prince Henry was also one of the first vehicles which could be described as a sports car, featuring a four-speed gearbox and a mighty 60bhp. The cars were successful in long-distance European trials and the name comes from the 1910 Prince Heinrich Tour named after Prince Henry of Prussia. During the war years the Luton plant, like most in the UK, was turned over to armaments and one of its main products was the Churchill tank, shown here in early guise without the track guards fitted to later versions. It was the Churchill which kicked off the convention for British tank names beginning with ‘C’, one of which would later be the Cavalier… The Luton plant in…

Ford Focus RS • Morris Leslie, Nov 16 £19,081 Well on its way to becoming another valuable fast Ford, the Focus RS has a strong following and remains one of the best hot hatches of its generation. A few non-standard parts on this example didn't deter bidders, who pushed the car to a strong £19,081 result. 1990 Citroën AX GT • Anglia Car Auctions, Nov 2-3 £8100 A 1990 example showing just 34,400 miles, this Citroën AX GT was very original, right down to the original dealer plates and tax disc holder. Recently treated to a new cambelt, water pump and head gasket, it beat its £5000–7000 guide to sell for £8100. 1997 BMW Z3 2.8 • SWVA, October 31 £3400 A rare combination of the 2.8-litre engine with ‘narrow…

On the face of it, turning three very different Rovers into three very different MGs in 2001 was a return to the worst badgeengineering excesses of the 1960s. However, in the new millennium there was one crucial difference – this time the engineers at Longbridge didn't just stick an MG octagon over the Rover longship and call it a day. The new MGs were true drivers’ cars thanks to plenty of changes under the skin, and as a result they sold well – sometimes better than their Rover equivalents – and introduced a whole new generation to the joys of MG motoring. There's a wide choice of cars on the market today, some of which are already regarded as classics and others that are well on the way, and all…

VW Phaeton 2001-2011 There was always going to be something ironic about the idea of a brand named after the ‘People's car’ chasing the very top end of the luxury saloon segment but with proud Porsche blood running through his veins, then-VW chief, the autocratic Ferdinand Pïech, wouldn't take no for an answer. The plan was to develop a VW-badged car which would challenge the very best in the premium executive segment, surpassing even sister brand Audi in its ambitions. Such was the budget earmarked for the project that the company built a showcase factory for the car before it had even been designed: the so-called ‘glass factory’ in Dresden. The original show car featured a hatchback, but even back then VW knew the Chinese and Asian markets would be…

The Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens (FIVA), the worldwide organisation dedicated to the protection, preservation and promotion of historic vehicles, has welcomed Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines and South Korea to its ranks. The news was announced at FIVA's recently concluded annual General Assembly in Vienna. “We are thrilled to be welcoming three exciting new nations to the FIVA fold,” said Gabriela Magureanu, FIVA Vice President of Membership. “While the club in the Philippines is the country's biggest and oldest club, Kyrgyzstan is an example of the many new and growing historic vehicle movements emerging around the globe. Meanwhile, South Korea is a relatively new addition to the international community of enthusiasts but joins FIVA at a significant milestone in its automotive history. “Exactly 50 years ago, the Hyundai Pony was launched,…

EMAIL: CLASSICS.ED@KELSEY.CO.UK Your archive feature on the VW Golf (p96, January 2025) made me recall my first job after university. The junior partner in the firm part-exchanged his MG Midget for a smart young second-hand Golf 1500 five-door. I advised him to carry out rustproofing treatment, but he never got round to it and as the car neared three years old, rust was bubbling through both front wings. The middle partner had a Triumph GT6 which had increasingly annoying (British Leyland) quality issues and one day he arrived in its replacement, a brand new red Alfa Romeo Alfetta saloon. This drove very well, but the quality of the bodywork was dreadful, and when the car was barely two years old, we felt it unwise to touch the rear window glass…

Classic car enthusiasts buy their cars for all sorts of reasons, many of them because of happy memories from their childhood. In my case, it was a 1955 vintage Meccano set that was to blame for the purchase of this 1964 Rover, and it wasn't the first time in my life that the toy had led me into a Rover experience. In the late 1960s at the age of 14, I spent my spare time building Meccano models of steering and suspension systems. My dad showed a pal of his, Frank, one of my contraptions and Frank suggested that an apprenticeship at ‘The Rover’, where he worked as a foreman, would make for a good start for my career in the car industry. I started there in 1971 and ended…

The development of the Porsche 924 began as a proposed replacement for the 1969-76 Volkswagen-Porsche 914. Volkswagen provided project EA425's parts supply and funding and Porsche consulted on sports car engineering know-how, until VW backed out of the deal at the 11th hour, CEO Toni Schmücker influenced by the 1973 OPEC fuel crisis and forthcoming Volkswagen Golf development costs. Porsche wisely purchased the project, continuing its plans to produce an entry-level sports car and to reverse the company's financial woes. The agreement saw Volkswagen employees build the 924 at the former NSU factory in Neckarsulm from 1976. Power came from Audi's front-mounted 125bhp 2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, while the rear-mounted transaxle gearbox gave the 924 almost perfect 50:50 weight distribution. The 924 became an instant hit, with many younger buyers…

PART 7 Last issue we had got as far as sourcing new paint for the Marina. We think the original paint was Damask, but the paint factor did not have the codes for this and so used a spectrometer machine to analyse the existing paint on the fuel filler cap. This came up with two options: Rover Damask Red and Rover Cranberry Red. Naturally enough we expected Damask to be the correct one, but spraying test cards proved inconclusive. We were still not sure which was the best match after spraying test areas on one front door, but in the end plumped for the Cranberry. We were also still undecided on how far to take the respray. With the best will in the world, Marinas are not high-value cars and…

Approaching the P4 the first thing to strike you is that the comments about Rovers of this era being engineers’ cars are certainly true. There's a feeling of quality and heft to everything from the ornate chromed viking's head on the prow to the door latches and the dashboard controls. The bench front seat and thin-rimmed wheel are typical ‘50s fare, the latter necessary for a 1400 kg car without power steering. The cabin features just as much leather and wood as a Jaguar and firing up the six-pot motor is of course done by separate starter button. It's incredibly quiet at idle, much more so than the growly Jaguar XK motor and slotting the elaborate-looking gearshift into first, the clutch is nice and light. With enough speed to lighten…

While he was content to call the five-door ‘elegant’, Jeremy Clarkson described the three-door Citroën C4 as ‘properly striking’ when he reviewed it back in 2008. He went on to say that he could pretty much guarantee it would break down every 15 minutes, which was something of an exaggeration. Either way, while the front end is pretty conventional, the three-door coupe is a car that tore up the rule book when it came to its rear end styling. The real talking piece is that subtly domed roof, which is glazed at the rear then chopped off into a separate rear window, complete with the tiniest wiper blade known to man. In reality, only the Honda CR-X looks anything like it. Strange then that when creating a television ad campaign…

Realising my attempts in the last issue to adjust and improve the efficiency of the handbrake had failed miserably after a mere 64 miles, I turned to my local garage, MJ Motors, for help. Fortunately, mechanic Jacob knows every inch of most BMWs, so he soon had a plan of action. As mentioned last month, the handbrake cables can stick, but also the mechanism that's fitted between the two brake shoes and operates them, when the respective cable is pulled, can seize. Having realised we needed to replace the damaged wear sensor on the offside, it was wise to replace the rear brake pads at the same time. So, there was a growing list of rear brake related jobs. Unfortunately, as you'll see over the following steps, we didn't discover…

I've just come back from a couple of weeks in the USA, and although the trip was primarily to visit family, there was of course time to squeeze in a little classic fun. 40 years ago when I first went to the States to meet my future in-laws, I was amazed at how cheap cars like the Citroën SM, Karmann-Ghia and Volkswagen Beetle could be. At the time they seemed to be available at giveaway prices when compared to their UK counterparts, but it appears that the internet has levelled the playing field considerably since then. On this trip, as well as looking around the Martin Auto Museum in Glendale, I managed to visit an acquaintance whom I'd never previously met in person, but who had very kindly arranged a…