Meet The Club Chair - Alex Sebbinger-Sparks and the Modern Executive Classic Cars Group

We decided to found the group at a time when the traditional club structure was based primarily around ‘one make/model’, and we saw a gap in the classic car scene for the overall genre of vehicles that we cover. There is no one group that covers the range of cars, from something like a Ford Fiesta Ghia Mk.1 or Mini Metro Vanden Plas to traditional ‘luxobarges’ like Jags, Mercedes and BMWs. We also wanted to cater to the ‘everyday’ top-of-the-range cars like Vauxhall Senators and Ford Granada.

I first met Alex on a Princess’ Wedge’ photoshoot over 20 years ago. Since then, it has always been a privilege to encounter him and his splendid array of 1980s and 1990s machinery. We recently featured his oldest two cards – a brave of 1984 Ford Granada 2.8 Ghia X Mk.2 Estates. The youngest member of his fleet is a 2007 Jaguar XJ8 X356 Sovereign 4.2, and it could be said the Modern Executive Classic Cars Group is a logical development of over two decades of collecting. It has certainly proved a success; anyone who visited the 2024 Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show will remember seeing their display of fine machinery from a time of hair gel and Filofaxes. Alex recalls:

We have been displaying the group at both the Resto Show and the Classic Motor Show since 2019. On each occasion, we’ve been overwhelmed by the support and positive feedback we have received. In terms of this year, we displayed a wide variety of cars - my Daimler XJ40, a Land Rover Discovery Series 1 and a Ford Focus Ghia Mk.1 - quite an eclectic range! The stand was busy throughout the entire weekend and the feedback received about the ethos of the group and what we cater for was widely commended.

With regard to the future, Alex says, “We have no real specific plans other than to continue to cover the genre of cars and promote them at various events. One thing we will never be, however - a “paid up” subscription model of a car club”. And for anyone who still says such cars are “too new” to be classics, Alex’s 37-year-old Daimler in its metallic gold splendour is the equivalent of a 1947 DE 27 at a 1984 car show. Similarly, the Wolseley 6/110s, Humber Super Snipes, and Jaguar S-Types displayed at a mid-1980s event might have been only 20 years old. 

Classic cars are an ever-expanding pastime. That is why the Modern Executive Classic Cars Group is so important.

With Thanks To: Alex Sebbinger-Sparks and his permission to use the image in this blog.