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Keep up to date with the latest news and events from the world of classic cars.
2024 HERO-ERA London to Lisbon Rally – Platts and Ripley take maiden victory on all-Austin podium!
- 30th May, 2024
The 2024 HERO-ERA London to Lisbon Rally reached the finish on Saturday 4th May, in the historic city of Lisbon, 2800 km and 10 days after it began at Brookland’s, London. The winners of the event were Graham Platts and Neil Ripley, driving a 1956 Austin Healey 100M, the oldest car on the event.
MEET THE OWNER – JON COUPLAND AND HIS TOYOTA MR2 MK.1A
- 24th May, 2024
“It is exceptionally rare, being one of the earliest in the UK. It is a Mk.1a, which they only produced for a year (the same as the colour). I know of maybe only four in the UK in that shade”.
MEET THE OWNER – JOHN WALLIS AND HIS BORGWARD P100
- 24th May, 2024
If the fates had been kinder, the name "Borgward" would have been as familiar to 2024 drivers as Audi or BMW. John Wallis, a long-term devotee of the German marque, has recently become the custodian of the P100 ‘Big Six' - Borgward's last hurrah and a car with the potential to be one of the finest big saloons of its generation.
Meet The Owner – Steven Gray and his Vauxhall Chevette 2300HS
- 24th May, 2024
Steven Gray recently fell prey to a phenomenon known to many classic car owners. There he was, minding his own business and thinking his current fleet of Bedford HAs and Vauxhall Chevettes was quite enough, when suddenly he was caught in the tractor beam of a tempting vehicle.
Meet the Owner - Ian Gillson and his Renault 16TL
- 24th May, 2024
“My father had TL back in 1977, and around 1980, the family acquired a 1974 TS. Sadly, it succumbed to the dreaded rust and ended in Renault 16 Heaven, but I never forgot them”.
MEET THE OWNER – JAMES ROSS SINCLAIR AND HIS WOLSELEY 1300
- 24th May, 2024
These things were so popular in the 1960s and 1970s that nobody took any notice of them. There was at least one on every street. By the late 1970s/early 1980s, they were falling apart and becoming a rarer sight. If familiarity breeds contempt, then 50 years after production finally ended, I think objectively, this is a very pretty car.
THE SUBARU 360 – THE CAR THAT TRANSFOMRED JAPANESE MOTORING
- 13th May, 2024
Bonham Cars Online is currently listing one of the most significant cars in Japanese motoring history: This 1968 360 is an example of the vehicle that brought mobility to so many families. Not to mention that the 360 was the pioneer car to wear the Subaru badge.
MEET THE OWNER – PHILIP HANSON AND HIS WOLSELEY 16/60
- 13th May, 2024
“My Wolseley was registered in Worcester in January 1967 and is a manual gearbox model. It has covered only 46,000 miles and I am only the second owner.” Philip undertook some body restoration in 2016 and the result is a car that lives up to the British Motor Corporation’s promise of: “Luxuriously practical...a car that satisfies.”
Meet The Owner – Carl Pearce and his Triumph Stag
- 13th May, 2024
There are mixed reactions to my Triumph – you often get told how these cars used to blow up. This is incorrect; they suffered from overheating, which was caused by casting sand that hadn't been properly removed when the engine blocks were made. The sand used to block the radiator, hence the overheating.
A Truly Exclusive Renault – Jason Crawley’s 20TX
- 3rd May, 2024
At last year’s Silverstone Festival, many visitors were seen mouthing the phrase “What is it?” at a handsome, burgundy-coloured hatchback. Some seemed to think it was a Lancia while others were under the belief it was an Audi. Few seemed to recognise Jason Crawley’s 20TX – the car Renault claimed was “certainly no slouch”.
Sportissimo – Robert Meldrum’s Vauxhall Viva HB De Luxe Estate
- 3rd May, 2024
This is a totally and utterly subjective view, but this writer regards Robert Meldrum’s Viva HB as one of the most handsome estates of its era. Today, his white Vauxhall creates a stir whenever he goes for a drive, with amazed reactions from members of the public too young to recall the HB.
Meet The Owner – Darren Staples and his Vauxhall Nova Sola
- 3rd May, 2024
The reasons why people engage with a classic car are as diverse as the vehicles themselves. It could be due to their performance or the opportunity to realise a childhood dream of owning a machine last glimpsed in The Ladybird Book of Motor Cars. For some, it is the chance to experience a favourite television programme or film vicariously.
MEET THE OWNER - ANDREW THOMSON AND HIS VOLKSWAGEN SANTANA
- 3rd May, 2024
Andrew Thomson recently acquired a car from the 1980s that has been almost entirely forgotten in the UK through no fault of its own. The Santana GX5 was spacious, dependable, and very well-appointed, but its main fault was that the Volkswagen badge meant little to the UK’s middle managers.
Join us for the Lancaster Insurance Services Classic Motor Show at the NEC on 8-10 November!
- 1st May, 2024
Tickets go on Sale for the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show on 8 May!
