Lancaster News

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Welcome to Lancaster Insurance News

Keep up to date with the latest news and events from the world of classic cars.

Red car

LAST OF THE LINE – SAAB 96 V4 SOUVENIR

  • 13th November, 2024

A select number of limited-edition cars celebrate the demise of a long-running model with flair, style and dignity – such as the Saab 96 V4 Souvenir. Stuart Barnes’s example is not the last of the famous range to leave the production lines – but it is number 28 of the final batch of UK-market versions.

Silver car

The Wolseley 6/90 at 70

  • 13th November, 2024

“When Wolseley announce a new model there cannot be a more exciting expectation for that very typical Englishman, the man who likes his motor-car to be, in all things – in performance no less than appearance - exhilarating, discrete and distinguished.”

Cars

MEET THE OWNER – DEBS WADE AND HER TOYOTA 1000 ESTATE

  • 13th November, 2024

It is Mission Impossible to select my favourite car of the recent Rustival 2 – but I can immediately identify the vehicle that evoked memories of Hampshire in the late 1970s.

Red car

Meet The Owner – Chris Salter and his Citroën GSA X1

  • 13th November, 2024

I am the second owner and bought her over 25 years ago. Last year, I took her to Spain via Monte Carlo, and she clocked 100,000 miles just as she drove into Arommanches in Normandy.

Black car

THE AUSTIN A50 CAMBRIDGE AT 70

  • 12th November, 2024

The Austin A40/A50 Cambridge represented a genuine departure for the British Motor Corporation on their launch in late 1954.

Gold car

REMEMBERING THE 1984 MOTOR SHOW

  • 12th November, 2024

This year’s Classic Motor Show is marking 40 years, as is Lancaster Insurance, and it evokes so many memories of the 1984 event for those of us of a certain age. So, what stands at the NEC might have tempted my 14-year-old self after investing £2 in the “Comprehensive Catalogue”?

Blue car

40 YEARS OLD – THE VAUXHALL ASTRA MK.2

  • 12th November, 2024

When Vauxhall launched the second-generation Astra on 17th October 1984, its main challenge was - “How we follow such a success?” In the first 9 months of that year, the 293,545 combined Opel Kadett and Astra sales represented 21% of all GM Europe’s car sales.

Car and dog

A VISIT TO THE MOTOR SHOW AT THE NEC - FORTY YEARS AGO

  • 12th November, 2024

Were you one of the 696,183 visitors to the NEC four decades ago? A Toyota MR2 is just one of the delights you might have encountered on 20th of October 1984 at the Motor Show:

Red car

MEET THE OWNER – FIL BAKER AND HIS BRISTOL 400

  • 12th November, 2024

“I first saw one of these magnificent cars at a rally, of sorts, in the early or mid-1970s, and promised myself on the spot that I’d have one.

Gold car

MEET THE CLUB CHAIRMAN – SIMON HAYES OF THE LEYLAND PRINCESS ENTHUSIASTS’ CLUB

  • 12th November, 2024

Simon joined the Princess and Ambassador Enthusiasts’ Club “in 2020-ish,” but his interest in the British Leyland ‘Wedge’ began during childhood. He says: “We had one in the family, and I loved its shape. I’d spent ages drawing them and wanting one of my own, but it wasn’t until I saw one on television during lockdown, I decided it was high time I had one!”

Orange car

RARER THAN RARE – THE BMW 600

  • 12th November, 2024

Car and Classic is to auction the ultimate version of the BMW 'Bubble Car' family – a 1958 600. To quote the original sales copy: "Everything which was unnecessary and cumbersome, everything which served no practical purpose, was thrown overboard in the constriction of the BMW 600".

Horse and rider

The Not-So-Secret Diary of Diva the Shetland Pony

  • 8th November, 2024

Hello, I’m Lorraine. I’m a qualified riding instructor who has worked in the veterinary industry for more years than I care to remember! I live in Rutland and enjoy writing novels, listening to rock music, and spending time with my rescue dog, Flora.

Red car

MEET THE OWNER – TONY BROOKS AND HIS 1979 LANCIA BETA SPYDER

  • 8th November, 2024

Tony Brooks is a connoisseur of fine cars, and the previous owner of a Colt Sapporo. His most recent acquisition is equally distinctive; a vehicle that belongs in a Return of the Saint adventure, probably driven by a sun-shaded driver.

Horse competition

The Not-So-Secret Diary of Diva the Shetland Pony - FUSS Show 2024

  • 8th November, 2024

This show almost passed me by, but luckily the schedule was posted on one of the Shetland Pony Facebook groups that I am a member of. The show was being held at Onley Grounds Equestrian Complex, which is where I should have gone to a show a month or so earlier, but was ill and unable to take Diva (Melland Queen of Scots).