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Keep up to date with the latest news and events from the world of classic cars.
The challenges facing classic car owners in London
- 29th June, 2023
It can be tricky running a historic vehicle in any city, but our capital poses its own unique challenges. As the expanding Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) will affect owners of modern classics after 29 August, Lancaster Insurance caught up with Darren Vince, founder of Waterloo Classics, to better understand the situation from within Greater London and the Congestion Charge zone.
The MG Cyberster is set to become a future classic
- 21st June, 2023
Britain’s sports cars are among our most precious motoring legacies; of all the storied marques of yesterday, MG is sorely missed. Fans have been waiting nearly a quarter of a century for a new MG sports car – and if everything goes to plan, they’ll get one sometime next year: the Cyberster, an all-electric cabriolet that’s set to go toe-to-toe with Tesla’s second-generation Roadster.
Eight summer drop-top convertibles for £10k or less
- 21st June, 2023
Winter blues be gone! As the days get longer and the nights shorten, the chance of decent weather grows by the hour – and there’s plenty of open-top motoring to be had, even on a modest budget. For those seeking miles of headroom, our cheapest cars hail from the mid-Nineties and early Noughties at £2500 and wind back the decades just before breaching £10,000.
Understanding TVR: the life and times of an unforgettable British car maker
- 21st June, 2023
The appeal of a TVR is obvious: powerful, affordable, and handsome. Before and after the closure of the Blackpool factory in Bristol Road in 2006, the TVR Car Club enthusiastically supported (and continues to support) every TVR, from the earliest specials to the last Sagaris or Typhon.
Behind the shutters: MG Owners’ Club Race Championship
- 21st June, 2023
Since 1981, the MG Owners’ Club’s Race Championship has given drivers of all skill levels a chance to race for an affordable sum. Run to strict safety standards, differing little from how they left the factory, MGs from Abingdon, Cowley and Longbridge compete on circuits the length and breadth of the UK.
Summer driving: We pick the UK’s best roads
- 21st June, 2023
The lure of the open road becomes all the more special behind the wheel of a classic car. It’s the antithesis of the motorway grind on the cross-city commute; even if your historic vehicle isn’t particularly quick, it’s the experience and the scenery that counts more than making progress.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY
- 15th June, 2023
Father’s Day will soon be upon us, so I would like to celebrate the return to the road of one of my parent’s projects – his 1983 Talbot-Matra Murena 1.6. Here is what I wrote about his previous projects in 2018:
Our ten favourite English motor museums
- 15th June, 2023
Museums still have a lot to offer classic car enthusiasts. They’re part of the preservation movement that keeps historic vehicles on the road; not only are venues given over to exhibits, but space is also allotted to owners to gather and display their cars. As institutions, they repair and display our past motoring heritage.
THE MGA – ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CARS IN MG’S HISTORY
- 15th June, 2023
On 27 May the British Motor Museum paid host to the Centenary of MG. Such a magnificent event prompted a question that is impossible to answer – what is the most historically significant car to bear the octagon badge? Obviously, there is ‘Old Number One’ but you could also cite the TC, the first MG officially marked in the USA, or the MGB, once the world’s best-selling sports car.
STARS AND THEIR CARS – BARRY NEWMAN AND THE DODGE CHARGER R/T 440 MAGNUM
- 15th June, 2023
The passing of Barry Newman on the 11 May means there can be only one choice for ‘Stars and Their Cars’ for this month. Some readers may remember the actor as Petrocelli, a television series filled with Cadillac Fleetwoods and other fine Detroit machinery.
THE RETURN OF THE RALEIGH CHOPPER
- 12th June, 2023
The 20th June sees the return of a vehicle that embodies 1970s popular culture as much as a Ford Cortina GXL with a vinyl roof and a bottle of Hai Karate aftershave in the glove compartment. On that date, the Raleigh Chopper is to return, in either Infra Red or Ultra Violet, at a price of £950
The Panhard Dyna Z at 70
- 12th June, 2023
On the 17th June 1953, Panhard launched the Dyna Z at Paris’s Les Ambassadeurs – and to say it caused a sensation would be an understatement. For one, there was its appearance; the company’s Head of Chassis Development and Chief Stylist, Louis Bionier, designed and tested the monocoque aluminium body in a wind tunnel. Moreover, Panhard proudly claimed the Z had a drag coefficient of just 0.28.
MEET THE OWNER – STEVE POWLAY AND HIS POLICE MGC ROADSTER
- 12th June, 2023
In the 1980s, Steve owned an MG Midget and an MGB, and his recent retirement prompted him to buy a third Abingdon sports car in July 2019. Any MGC Roadster is a distinctive machine, but this example is one of 18 commissioned by the London Metropolitan Police.
MEET THE OWNER – THE MARK DENTON COLLECTION
- 12th June, 2023
“My father always had Triumphs and drove a Vanguard pick-up when serving in the RAF. I took a shine to my Vanguard van in the village when I was 13 years old”. And today, Mark Denton’s fleet includes a TR7 Convertible and no fewer than six Vanguards – one of the UK’s most important post-war cars.
