Classic Cars

Bentley Motors enjoyed an exciting and successful weekend at the 17th Jochpass Oldtimer Memorial and Historic-Rallye in Bad Hindelang, Germany. Four historic Bentleys competed in the world-renowned classics event between 9 and 11 October, including the Team ‘Blower’, R-Type Continental, Speed 6 and a Bentley 4,5 Litre Le Mans. About 18.000 enthusiastic spectators were in attendance to admire the 280 classic cars on show. The drivers travelled from all over Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

One of Britain’s best-loved luxury car manufacturers, Aston Martin, will be celebrated in grand style at the inaugural Classic & Sports Car – The London Show, with a stunning collection of some of the luxury brand’s most iconic models, from the oldest-surviving to the very latest. Seven of Aston Martin’s handbuilt machines will appear at the Alexandra Palace event from 30th October to 1st November in a display sponsored by EFG International. A3 Taking the Aston Martin story back to the very beginning, an ultra-rare A3 will headline the display. The 1921 car, the oldest Aston Martin in existence, was the fourth and only survivor of marque founders Robert Bamford’s and Lionel Martin’s original prototypes. The car is now looked after by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust. DB MkIII Fewer than 500 DB MkIIIs were built from 1957 to 1959 and hardly […]

October 25th is the day. The British Car club of Charleston will host our 31st British Car Day at the beautiful Mt. Pleasant Waterfront Park on Sunday, October 25th, starting at 9:00am. There will the amazing silent auction tent, food on the grille, plenty of fun stuff and lots of great cars. The family can enjoy the pier at the park and views of the Charleston harbor. For those of you who don’t know, this is my home club, and the club I founded over thirty years ago with a great group of friends.  So, yes, this event is special. I will be there, of course, with “Catherine” my 1966 Vanden Plas Princess 1100. Well, and maybe my 1978 Triumph Spitfire. Also, since the rains in South Carolina delayed the Grand Strand British Car Show up in Myrtle Beach to […]

Goodwood is delighted to announce provisional dates for the 2016 Festival of Speed and Revival, ahead of tickets going on general sale on 5 November. The Festival of Speed, which celebrates the very best from the past and present of motoring and motor sport, will be held on 23-26 June, 2016*. As usual, the event will open with the Moving Motor Show on Thursday, 23 June, featuring many of the world’s largest motor manufacturers showcasing their latest models, alongside exciting and innovative concepts. From Friday-Sunday, 24-26 June, the famous Goodwood hill will be taken over by a glittering collection of the greatest cars, bikes, drivers and riders from the history of motor sport. The Revival is the world’s largest and most celebrated historic motor racing and vintage culture event, bringing back to life Goodwood Motor Circuit’s glory days as an […]

With a diverse and impressive range of cars already consigned, the early entries for Barons’ Autumn Classic (October 27th, Sandown Park) indicate that the auction house’s strong run of sales in 2015 is set to continue. The sale is headed by a very fine 1962 Bentley Continental S2, which was built for the celebrated musician, nightclub owner and bandleader Edmundo Ros, a huge star worldwide from the 1940s to his retirement in the 1970s. Once a familiar sight around the streets of Knightsbridge, London, this handsome Tudor grey Bentley has been the subject of considerable restoration, and comes complete with a comprehensive history file, including original Bentley build sheets and correspondence with Edmundo Ros. Estimate: £85,000-£105,000. The Bentley is followed by a magnificent, concours-winning 1965 Series One E-type Jaguar convertible, which spent most of its life in New York, returning […]

The ground-breaking Caterham Academy championship celebrated its 20th anniversary Thursday, October 1. The very first Academy event took place, under the banner of the Top Gear Caterham Scholarship, at Mallory Park in 1995 and Caterham has located rare footage of the event to celebrate the landmark birthday. Since its inception, the Academy has gone on to become one of the most popular novice race series in the UK, with more than 900 amateur male and female drivers competing across the 21 seasons racing the iconic Caterham Seven. The series is still going strong, with only a handful of the 56 grid slots for 2016 remaining. Academy graduates and aspiring racers alike can get a taste of the action from the inaugural event by viewing the following video.

Once again we welcome Robert Morey of British Sports Car Consulting to our site with his story of The Wizard. Does this sound like someone familiar to us all? The Wizard sat still, trying to shake off the sluggish mind of sleep, trying to move slowly every little muscle starting at the toes and working up. This seemed the safest way to get all the old parts moving and prepare himself for a day of the new spells, “Ha the new spells!” What a far cry from the magic of his childhood, so sad an excuse for magic;  again he could not move. Sitting another 10 minutes and moving all the parts of his fingers, he finally got up for a small breakfast to stop the hunger. This simple act brought up the courage to get on with it; the […]

In celebration of London Motor Week the Royal Automobile Club will host a series of expert motoring lectures by some of the most prominent historians in the industry. The lectures will take place at the Pall Mall clubhouse on Tuesday 27th October, 2015. With such a stellar cast the lectures are sure to appeal to a wide cross section of motoring enthusiasts.

The entrants of Classic & Sports Car’s global poll to find the best British car ever are set to be celebrated in an iconic feature at Classic & Sports Car – The London Show. After votes were cast in their thousands, the winning car has been decided and will be revealed at the inaugural event, taking place from 30th October to 1st November at Alexandra Palace. The display, including all ten contenders, will continue its British theme with Hertfordshire-based company, Autoglym, revealed as the sponsor. Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, the royal warranted brand manufactures over 100 car care and valeting products. With cars as varied as the Austin Seven, McLaren F1, Ford GT40 and Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost also making up the top ten shortlist the feature is sure to be a key attraction at Classic & Sports Car – […]

Britain’s mighty atom, the original Mini Cooper, has a huge reputation out of all proportion to its size. The Mini was created by the fertile mind of Alec Issigonis and modified by John Cooper to become known as the Mini Cooper in 1961. Giant killing in motorsport, particularly in the Monte Carlo Rally, built the enduring Mini Cooper legend. Original production ended in the early 1970s but  was resumed in the early 1990s. 1994 once again saw Paddy Hopkirk campaigning a Mini Cooper in the Monte! Mini Cooper: The Real Thing! by Johnny Tipler ISBN: 9781845847524 Print equivalent ISBN: 9781874105227 EBOOK AVAILABLE NOW! $23.99 / £18.99 – prices may vary between vendors Features … The story of Britain’s mighty atom the original Mini Cooper Production history & evolution Building the Cooper Profiles of Sir Alec Issigonis and Paddy Hopkirk Details […]

There is no doubt that of all the British marques, MG is the one that has sunk deepest into my veins. And of those classic cars, the MGBGT holds a special place in my heart. So, for our video of the week this go round we will turn to an MG buyer’s guide. Danny Hopkins, editor of Practical Classics Magazine, uses a 1975 MGBGT Jubilee edition to illustrate what to look for — including typical trouble spots — before you make a purchase.

We welcome a new contributor today, Robert Morey of British Sports Car Consulting. Robert is a long time friend and car lover, and he brings us a remembrances of the old homestead and vintage cars. Hopefully Robert’s contributions will be a regular occurrence here, and your feedback and comments are both welcome and requested. There’s Always Better by Robert Morey I remember my great grandmother’s chairs. They were huge. Seemingly the size of a car, but perhaps this was due to my size as these are some of my earliest memories. The enormous overstuffed  chairs had comforters of the “grandma knitted them” variety draped over them in several layers, and this made the already over padded appearance even more inviting. Never mind the fact that those chairs were situated like the wagons of the Wild West around the also huge […]

Classic & Sports Car – The London Show is delighted to announce, as a complement to its ‘Best of British’ theme, a display of important British single-seaters raced by ‘Mr Motor Racing’ Sir Stirling Moss. While Moss raced hundreds of different machines in dozens of different categories, including single-seaters, touring cars, sportscars and rally cars, all over the world in his spectacular career, it was his dedication to promoting Britain and its racing industry that was unrivalled. So much so that he would use his outrageous skill to compensate for often less-competitive machinery in his patriotic pursuits.

Our video this week is dedicated to the British Invasion show in Stowe, Vermont. The 2015 edition occurred this past weekend, and although we couldn’t make it (hope to next year), we are told it was a great event. This video features the show held last year. This video is an episode of My Classic Car hosted by Dennis Gage. In this particular episode, Dennis travels to Stowe, for the 2014 British Invasion car show. Additionally he discusses classic car restoration in the Autogeek Garage. I will admit that one of the segments I had to rewatch multiple times in this episode is the piece with one of my favorite cars, the 1932 MG J1.

As many as half a million spectators will line the route of the Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run this November, when the longest running motoring event in the world sets off on its annual adventure from London to Brighton (Sunday 1 November). Like the hardy teams piloting their amazing horseless carriages from the capital to the coast, the spectators brave whatever the weather conjures up to salute motoring’s pioneers: every car taking part was built before 1905. Best of all, every vantage point along the 60-mile route offers completely free viewing allowing everyone to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of more than 400 veterans as they ‘put-put’ their way to Brighton. Although the Run follows more or less the same route as last year, there have been a few changes to make it even better for participants […]

In 2016, the Concours of Elegance returns to the spectacular venue which saw the event established, the largest and oldest inhabited castle in the world, Windsor Castle. From Friday the 2nd of September through to Sunday the 4th of September, the most exceptional cars from all over the world will gather to help celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday with a spectacular Concours of Elegance display in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle. The Concours of Elegance remains unique in the UK as the only automotive event to be held at a Royal venue each year, with 2016 marking the show’s fifth year of spectacular automotive gatherings in some of the world’s most iconic locations, including St James’s Palace, Hampton Court Palace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and next year’s return to Windsor Castle. His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent […]

With British-made classic cars continuing to hold their own at auction, Bonhams is offering for sale a unique collection of Bentley, Aston Martin, Frazer Nash and Invicta vehicles. The fleet was assembled by Lancashire-based businessman Gordon Willey. British cars are sometimes effectively beating more highly estimated cars at auction. With Ferraris hitting records, buyers have been selective in recent sales at several houses. Willey’s multi-million-pound collection includes seven Bentleys such as a 1929 4½-Litre Tourer estimated at £400,000-£500,000. There are also pre-war cars such as a 1938 Frazer-Nash BMW 328 Roadster, once owned by British dance-band leader Billy Cotton and estimated at £550,000-£650,000 ($101,000). The lots also include Willey’s 1964 Aston Martin DB5 Sports Saloon, estimated at £400,000-£500,000, and delivered new to the Nizam of Nabunda. There is also an ex-Nigel Dawes 1934 Invicta 4½-Litre ‘S’ Type Low Chassis Tourer, […]

Jaguar’s legendary test driver Norman Dewis OBE is to host a special tour to the famous Hotel de France between October 28th and November 1st. Drivers will be able to join Norman on a 5-day trip that will take them to the circuit at Lohéac, the famous motoring hotel, where they will spend three nights, and Le Mans, where he raced for Jaguar. The tour is being run by specialist tour operator Classic Grand Touring and spaces are still available. Owner of the Hotel de France Martin Overington said: “This is a unique opportunity to spend time with one of motoring’s legendary drivers and to hear from him about his racing and driving experiences as we explore the Loire Valley, one of France’s most beautiful regions.” On Saturday evening, after a day of driving and visits to the principal chateaux […]