Meet The Owner – Darren Staples and his Vauxhall Nova Sola

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.

And Darren had a particular reason for restoring this 1991 Vauxhall Nova. It is a very rare example of the limited-edition Sola, with sales of only 50 in Flame Red and 50 in the optional Silk Violet Metallic that cost an extra £155. Vauxhall based the Sola on the 1.2 Merit, and the full-length electric sunroof was its main sales feature.

For a very reasonable £7,999, motorists could enjoy “Vroom with a View,” to quote the brochure. The Sola also featured a five-speed gearbox, a security-coded stereo system, and the additional distinction of “colour keyed rear view door mirrors.” Sales were through London’s Vauxhall dealers, and Darren believes his Sola is now the only remaining road-going example.

The Silk Violet Nova is a car of distinct charm. Darren devoted many hours to returning his Sola to a showroom condition, and in his words: “The Nova has been with me for a little over 21 years. It was my late wife’s daily car, found for sale in a pub car park, then bought from a farm. It went from being a ‘second car’ to a ‘daily driver’ to an ‘everyday hack’, well-serviced but very well used in all conditions until it failed an MOT. I then put the Vauxhall away for a few years, as this came at the same time as the start of my wife’s cancer treatment. She was only 31.

Three years “and many life changes” later, Darren’s mother told him that he needed a hobby: “Reflecting on how I have always liked messing around with cars, she got the rusty, scratched, and dented Nova through an MOT for my birthday. I started tinkering and had saved a little money, so I had the bodywork restored. Everyone thought I was insane - this was 2009, and at that time, you could still buy a Nova for £100. But £2,500 later, I had a lovely wee Nova”.

Above all, the Sola reminds us why so many of us enjoy such machines. Some may say that a car is a mechanical device, but that is merely its construction. What it is - what it means - is often very personal to the owner. That is why Darren’s Nova is so important. As he says: “The car remains in the same as it was when my wife passed away in 2015. I kind of like keeping it as a rolling time capsule.”

With thanks to: Darren Staples.