For many years, James Ross Sinclair craved a Volvo 343 and so XRU 557Y recently joined his Triumph 2000 Mk. II and his Renault 10. ‘I have an odd almost unexplainable liking for them. Partly the multicultural background, partly the DAF history, the questionable British snob value of a small Volvo, the odd design - and they are genuinely fun to drive too’.
Many of us, over the years, compile a shortlist of cars that we read about in brochures but never encountered in the metal. For example, I cannot recall ever seeing the single-headlamp Vauxhall Cresta PC “Standard”, a Citroën LNA, a Lancia Prisma or a Mitsubishi Tredia on the road.
The Hyundai Coupe Cup mid-season meeting was held at a sunny Snetterton, so for me it was like a home coming. It had already been a fantastic week, as I got married and celebrated my birthday, so I was going into the race meet on a high.
2019 sees the 30th anniversary of the MX-5 and Lancaster Insurance were proud to be headline sponsors for the MX-5 Owners Club celebrations. This year also sees the Owners Club mark their 25th anniversary, so last weekend’s National Rally was one not be missed!
‘Most people haven’t got a clue what it is. Some think it is a Volvo while others read the badging on the front and get it confused with a Borgward’. But to be fair, Peter Frost’s 1963 Wartburg 311 Luxus-Limousine is a fairly exclusive sight, even by the standards of the classic car world.
‘I receive so much respect when I take it for a drive; thumbs up and waves from pedestrians and headlamps flashed by other drivers. And it is small wonder that Tim Mullings’s Morris Marina Jubilee attracts such positive attention for if you owned one of these fine cars some 46 years ago, you would have enjoyed enhancing status in your community.
In the early 1970s, the sort of person who owned a new Triumph 2000 or 2.5 PI Mk. II was an instantly familiar type. They would dress fashionably but not outrageously – think Terry Scott as opposed to Jason King – and they would regard Watney’s Red Barrell as an abomination and Hai Karate aftershave as totally naff.
In the 1970s, a Renault 12 was a vehicle that stood out in virtually any car park. The radiator grille was angular, there were height adjustment levers next to the headlamps (to compensate for heavy loads) and the roof sloped upwards over the rear passenger compartment.
We never learned if the Miss Marples of the Margaret Rutherford series of films for MGM-British owned a motor-car – but if she did, it was likely to have been a well-polished Triumph Renown Limousine.
For owners seeking technical expertise on a Talbot Express, the Talbot Express Owners Club & Forum should be your first point of call for the sheer breadth of knowledge and experience.
On the morning of August Bank Holiday, certain residents of Cowley must have thought they were experiencing a Doctor Who-style time warp, as 60 Minis thundered along the road from the Mini Plant Oxford. The Cavalcade was, of course, a 60th birthday celebration of one of the select few cars that merit the term ‘icon’ and was an event that involved the resources of BMW UK, BBC Radio Oxford, Tanya Field, and countless enthusiasts who gave their time and effort.
On 10th January 1989 Roy Williams acquired a 1987-vintage “Diamond White” example of one of the greatest sporting saloons of its era. In the words of Andrew Frankel, ‘in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), the Cosworth RS500 won 40 races on the trot, a number unapproached by any other car before or since’.
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