A WOLSELEY 6/99 AT SILVERSTONE

“Will you stop moaning, Andrew” said Stephanie, as she pressed the Wolseley’s accelerator. “We are only doing 30 mph”. “It is not so much the speed as cornering”, was my reply as the big car lurched around another corner on the Silverstone racing track. From the back seat, Aaron Prior wore a stoic expression while Sam Dawson of Classic Cars magazine wryly observed – “Doesn’t that 1979 Toyota Corona have air-conditioning as standard?”. At that moment, all four of us were envious of that metallic blue Liftback and all who rode in it.

The date was Saturday 27^th August, the venue was indeed Silverstone Classic, and the event was The Telegraph’s ‘UK’s Rarest Cars’ display. So naturally, the visitors bypassed the various vintage racing machines to gaze upon a VW 411, a Nissan 300C Estate, a Fiat Argenta Volumex, and around 40 other exhibits – including my 1960 police specification Wolseley 6/99. The air was thick with such exclamations as “my dad/mum/uncle/grandmother had one of those” and “I thought they had all rusted away”. The obvious answer to the latter remark was “clearly not”.

The three-day show’s highlight was the parade along the circuit, following in the footsteps of Fangio, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, and so many others. However, it is doubtful any of these luminaries competed at Silverstone in a Morris 1100 or a Škoda Estelle 120L. Lancaster’s own Stephanie Hoy took the wheel of the Wolseley of Justice, with Sam and Aaron as honoured guests and me on bell/loudhailer/gripping the dashboard duties. As is standard practice with Silverstone, there was a long wait before the parade commenced. During this time, we all paid careful attention to the water temperature gauge, as the needle hovered ominously between ‘Neutral’ and ‘Hot’.

Finally, we were on the circuit, and the next 20 minutes felt slightly unreal. Of course, we were all in safe hands, as Lancaster’s Car Club Manager can drive anything with verve and aplomb. Still, the fact remained that a 6/99 belongs in the sort of black & white film in which the villain favoured a Jaguar Mk. VII and too much hair oil. Where it did not seem to belong was on one of the world’s most famous racing circuits, and I think everyone in the car thought we were in each other’s motoring dream. Aaron looked out of his window in mild bemusement at one point as a 1967 Vauxhall Cresta PC ‘Standard’ appeared to bounce its way along the hallowed circuit.

All too soon, the adventure concluded, and you will be able to read about the display’s Lancia Beta 1600 Berlina, the Honda Accord Mk. II and so many other fine vehicles in our ‘Meet the Owner’ series. As for the lessons of the Classic – well, the sound of a police ‘gong’ really does drown out an over-revving Aston Martin in the Silverstone Tunnel…

With Thanks To:

Stephanie Hoy

Sam Dawson

Aaron Prior