The theme for this year’s Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, powered by Discovery, will be ‘Family Ties’. Held at Birmingham’s NEC from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th November, the 240 exhibiting clubs are invited to embrace the theme with their own interpretations.
May bank holiday saw the return of Gemini's Motor Show at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, for two-days of motoring action. Up to 1,500 vehicles spanning 70 years of motoring were on display over the two days.
The Motor Show featured two, four, six and even eight-wheelers from the 1920s right through to the 1990s. Great classic American cars lined-up alongside commercial vehicles of the past and an array of motorcycles in the stunning grounds of Ragley Hall.
Expect fantastic club displays from the likes of Jaguar, Mercedes Benz, BMW and Lotus, with different clubs attending each day to provide a glorious mix – such as the Rolls Royce Enthusiast Club, with a great selection of the iconic model on Sunday.
Local manufacturing was celebrated with the attendance of the Austin 10 Drivers Club and Metropolitan Owners Club, both made locally at the Longbridge plant. Royal Enfield’s from the old to the new were displayed on Sunday by The Royal Enfield Owners Club.
The interactive Live Arena brought motoring to life with parades throughout the day giving visitors the chance to get involved by choosing the loudest motor each day in the ‘Decibel Duel’, along with the Daily Driver and Pride of Ownership competition.
Classic car enthusiasm often begins at an early age. It can be prompted by literally any encounter with a car, the admiration for an Austin-Healey 3000 owned by a neighbour or via the library at your junior school. It was there that the seeker of automotive wisdom might discover Motor Cars – A Ladybird Recognition Book – where from the first page, you would be irresistibly hooked.
Around 700 classic vehicles of all shapes and sized gathered at Catton Hall in Alrewas, Derbyshire, for this year’s Classic Motor Show, spanning 70 years of motoring heritage.
Record crowds turn out at Old Warden Aerodrome in Bedfordshire for the 6th Classic Rally & Autojumble sponsored by Lancaster Insurance (held on 2nd April).
As a devoted fan of Sir Roger Moore, I have been writing about quite a few of his television programmes and films for Lancaster Insurance. My aim, as many of you would have already guessed, was to pen a celebration of 40 years of The Spy Who Loved Me this July followed by a 90th birthday tribute in October. Instead, this is a tribute to an actor who always seemed to deprecate his talents but whose deceptively light touch, plus a succession of very fine motor cars helped to entertain and inspire millions of people around the world.
The Paris Motor Show 1967 marked the debut of the latest version of the Ford Cortina Mk. II that instantly became the object of desire for many. Here was a car that felt as modern as the new Radio One pop station and Simon Dee’s chat show on BBC1, from the Ro-style wheels to the Styla steering wheel.
This could have so easily been a ‘Top 20’ or even a ‘Top 30’. For the moment here, in date order and in my opinion, are ten truly fabulous fast Fords – and if your favourite is absent, there will be another ‘Top Ten’ later this year!
Put simply, this is one of my favourite British Fords, a car from the last days of winklepicker shoes, DA hairstyles and British rock & roll. The fact that Heinz Just Like Eddie Burt once drove a Consul Capri 335 seems so appropriate, for this is a car of innate glamour, from its tail fins to the radiator grille decorated with five stars.
Lancaster Insurance is thrilled to announce that it will be joint headline sponsor of the Classic Ford Show 2017, further expanding its event sponsorship portfolio. Taking place on Sunday 4th June at Santa Pod Raceway, the classic car insurance specialist will be in Block C, ready to meet and greet show goers.
Before the Ford Transit debut, the UK’s premier light commercial was arguably the Bedford CA. When it launched in March 1952, it was the most advanced van in its class and for the next 20 years would dominate British roads. A Bedford might serve as a minibus for a thrilling school outing to the local shoe polish factory, deliver your milk in the morning and your Evening Standard on the way home from work.
What was Car of the Year for 1979? Surely it was the Opel Senator or maybe the B2-series Audi 80? But the answer, as all Talbot and Simca enthusiasts will proudly tell you, was the Horizon, a true ‘World Car’ that was made in France, Spain, Finland, the UK and the USA.
1977 was the year that the Medallion Man roamed Britain’s highways, quite often at the wheel of a Ford Capri 1300L decorated to look resemble a 3000S. His sartorial role model was Alan ‘Fluff’ Freeman, his jewellery was real imitation gold – and his confusion on seeing the first imports of the Volkswagen Golf GTi was immense.
Nearly all enthusiasts have their own collecting hobby and my weakness is for motoring magazines of the past. You can buy such titles on eBay of course, but then you would deprive yourself of the thrill of the chase and the sheer satisfaction of finding a Motor Road Test Annual 1975, with an Allegro Estate on the front cover.
We headed off to Snetterton for rounds 3 and 4 of the Hyundai Coupe Cup with the hope of more of sustaining the success we enjoyed at Silverstone in our Lancaster Insurance Coupe. Snetterton has always felt like home to me, however it presents more of a challenge than Silverstone.
Lancaster Insurance has pledged to donate up to £5 to charity for customers who quote the phrases ‘TeamMike’ or ‘TeamAnt’ when they ring up for an insurance policy. Customers who show support to the Charity Build Off by picking a team when they receive a quote will also be helping the Marie Crawford Boyd Foundation (Mike’s chosen beneficiary) and Harrison’s Fund (Ant’s chosen beneficiary).
Lancaster Insurance are pleased to announce May’s ‘Club of the Month’ as the Yorkshire & Derbyshire Retro Ford Club.
Regular readers of Lancaster’s ‘Car of the month’ feature might see a bit of a theme developing. With March’s COTM featuring the Peugeot 205 GTi and April’s looking back at the Escort XR3i, it seems only proper that we now look at the car which started off the whole ‘hot hatch’ movement.
On 14th April 1927, the first Volvo car left the factory in Gothenburg. To celebrate 90 years of this great marque here is my own, very personal, list of my seven favourite vehicles to bear the Volvo badge…
It has been one month since the launch of the #ClassicRumble Charity Build Off and we caught up with our star participants; Mike Brewer and Ant Anstead, about their Charity Projects supporting The Marie Crawford Boyd Foundation and Harrison's Fund.
