THREE DAYS AT THE LANCASTER INSURANCE CLASSIC MOTOR SHOW

How do you select a Car of the Show from the recent event at the NEC? It is a true Mission Impossible from the moment you enter any of the Halls, with cars as varied as a Volvo 262C and a Vauxhall Cresta PA waiting to bombard your senses. At one point, I covetously eyed a Riley Pathfinder in metallic blue, but then I suddenly noticed its Wolseley 6/90 Series One stablemate in grey.

After quickly adding these two fine vehicles to my mental shortlist of “Splendid Vehicles For When I Win The Lottery”, the Austin Counties Car Club stand lured me with its incredible trio of ‘Woodies’ – a Sixteen, an A70 Hampshire, and an A70 Hereford. The last two looked like a beguiling combination of a scaled-down Chevrolet and a Tudor cottage just as the Sunbeam Venezia appears to have emerged from a 1960s Italian film starring Vittorio Gassman. We should also mention a white Tatra T-603 that belonged in the famous PR feature, The Happy Journey.

Some of the exhibits, such as the police Rover 3500 P6B, made this writer feel very old as I remember such patrol cars in Southampton during the 1970s. Almost every detail of a BLMC J4 Van created a similar on-rush of nostalgia, down to the footwell air flaps aside the radiator grille. Other cars made me double-take - an array of Sunbeam Alpine Harrington Le Mans, some exceptionally svelte Opel Manta As, and the BMW 600, the last flowering of the Isetta concept with a rear seat and a second side door.

Nearby, the Bond Bug line-up was a further reminder of the genius of the late Tom Karen, and an HA-Series Vauxhall Viva SL belonged in a Scales of Justice suburban mystery. Similarly, Peter Simpson’s Audax-Series Hillman Minx would have been quite at home in a late 1950s Rank comedy starring Michael Craig. A pale green Singer SM1500 is a rare example of one of the most underrated post-war British cars, and a brown Y-registered Vauxhall Chevette L Estate epitomised early 1980s suburban life.

Of course, it would be invidious of me to highlight a car from Lancaster’s own stand, but as one born in 1969, I did appreciate the Rover 2600’s avocado paint finish; in the late 1970s, it was the ‘in’ colour. Equally, the metallichrome green of the Austin A90 Atlantic Convertible put me in mind of a post-war Mayfair dandy with a Laurence Harvey hairstyle, just as the Citroën Traction Avant Onze Normale made me think of the Brigade Criminelle during the 1950s.

A cream 2CV was another fascinating Citroën at the NEC, and this example reminded visitors of 75 years of the Deux Chevaux and 70 years of the Slough-built models. The British 2CVs are instantly recognisable via their trafficator boxes and other details that Citroën hoped would lend the Deux Chevaux extra appeal to Morris Minor owners. As for Matt Prinn’s Ford Fiesta, it made me realise how distant the early 1990s now seem.

Naturally, I spent time in the autojumble, where I acquired four Motor Show editions of Autocar and The Motor - 1958 to 1961 - for just £10. The colour advertisements alone were priceless, especially the 1960 promotion for the 1961 Vauxhall line-up; the message appeared to be that the Cresta was the car for cads with David Niven moustaches. The used car classifieds had even more appeal, and I had to prevent myself from calling HAMpstead 5712 to enquire about a duotone green Riley Two Point Six. This was because a) that telephone exchange no longer exists and b) the Riley has probably been sold by now.

And as I was reading about the sort of chap who ordered a new Austin A55 Cambridge Mk. II (Brylcreem seemed to be of prime importance), the visitors to the Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership stand faced a significant challenge: choosing a winner from the array of fine machinery. They finally awarded first prize to Tahmid Haque and his 1993 BMW 850CSi Individual, with Liam and Ryan Rippard’s 1977 Leyland Mini in second place and James Tetherton’s 1982 Ford Fiesta XR2 in third. Meanwhile, I was working on my own list for my purely subjective Car of The Show.

One prime contender was the 1972 Simca 1501 Special Estate, resplendent in Champagne Gold, for who could resist a car with a folding picnic table incorporated in the tailgate? Another was an FE-series Vauxhall Ventora Estate, which was unique in the British car market of the early 1970s as a five-door fastback.

In fact, my shortlist appeared to be lengthening at a rate of knots. There was the Austin A35 with Hobbs automatic transmission – more of which in another blog - the police Triumph 2500 Mk. II and the Saab 92. The last-named was from the days when the company embarked on car manufacture. Stephanie Holloway’s Morris Marina cleverly treated to resemble a 1980s Exchange and Mart ‘Bargain of the Week’ greatly appealed – as I vividly remember such cars. But my prize has to go to the gold 1963 Rover 2000: the actual car from the 1963 Earls Court Motor Show – Motor Show (1963) - YouTube

More importantly, the P6 stand typifies the time, effort, and sheer dedication behind each and every stand, from the exhibits themselves to the settings and décor. The spoof advertisements of Matra Enthusiasts Club UK (matra-club.net) and the tribute paid by The Mansfield Notts Capri Club to The Professionals are just two examples of the detailed club work that makes the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show unmissable. Long may it remain so.