What is Bicester Heritage?

Did you know that, around a disused airfield around 30 minutes' drive north-east of Oxford, you can now find one of Britain's most important and fascinating destinations for classic car enthusiasts?

We're talking about Bicester Heritage: an absolute mecca for lovers of vintage and classic cars – and indeed, for fans of the machinery of yesteryear in general.

An endlessly absorbing collection of classic car-related businesses, Bicester Heritage is a place where any vintage car buff will want to while away a few hours. Founded in 2013 on a former RAF Bomber base, the site is now home to more than 40 specialist businesses, all connected to the sales, restoration or refurbishment of classic cars (and, in some cases, classic aircraft too!).

We'll be looking at a few of the brilliant businesses and organisations on site – but first, we're going to explore the site's own extraordinary story. Beginning as a key player in the Allied air war effort during World War II, this large former airfield on the outskirts of Bicester has now made the inspiring transformation into a central hub of the UK's thriving vehicle restoration business.

From RAF Bicester to Bicester Heritage: a short history of the site

The land and buildings now occupied by Bicester Heritage were previously an important RAF base during World War II. In fact, the airfield's first military residents were the Royal Flying Corps, who occupied the site from 1916.

The British army's air arm before and during the First World War, in 1918 the Royal Flying Corps merged with the Royal Naval Air Service to form the Royal Air Force. The renamed RAF Bicester quickly became a major training centre for the newly formed force. From 1925, the airfield became a Bomber Station, devoted to training in, and technology of, the very latest aspects of military aviation.

RAF Bicester saw a major extension in 1936, as Britain prepared for war with Germany. Indeed, in the buildup to war, the Oxfordshire air base was home to some legendary flying machines, including the Hawker Hart and Bristol Blenheim. The base also saw the first flight of the Handley Page Halifax four-engined bomber, which was the Royal Air Force’s first heavy bomber to enter production.

During the war itself, Bicester's RAF base was at the centre of the action. Glider pilots and their tug aircrews were trained here, before setting off for the key campaigns of D-Day, Arnhem and, eventually, the Rhine Crossing. Then, as the fighting headed towards the German capital, Berlin, RAF Bicester found itself in a new role – as a busy maintenance hub looking after Britain's hard-worked aeroplanes and motor transport alike. Yes, people have been tinkering away with vehicles on this site for decades now – making its current incarnation all the more appropriate.

So, Bicester's latest transformation into a thriving centre of the classic vehicle industry is just the latest chapter in a fascinating story. It's now the UK's central gathering point for historic motoring excellence.

What can you find at Bicester Heritage?

Here is just a small sample of the many wonderful heritage vehicle firms operating out of Bicester Heritage.

Note that the site operates on a ‘by appointment only’ basis, unless you’re visiting an event (yes, Bicester Heritage also holds some special events, and we'll look at a couple of those at the end). In order to avoid disappointment, we'd recommend calling the relevant business ahead of your visit, and arranging a time to look in.

Heritage Skills Academy

This place is a hugely important part of the Bicester Heritage setup. The Heritage Skills Academy recruits and trains apprentices who love heritage vehicles, and who want to forge a career in the classic vehicle restoration and maintenance sector.

The Academy works closely with commercial partners, many of them neighbours at Bicester Heritage. These businesses will take on Academy apprentices for work placements, helping the next generation of classic vehicle restorers and engineers to develop the key skills they will need.

The particular qualification that the HSA provides is the Heritage Engineering Technician Apprenticeship Standard, which has been designed by the UK’s leading employers in the sector. The qualification aims to preserve those skills and knowledge of classic vehicle maintenance, engineering and restoration which have been fading over the past 30 years. Apprentices can follow one of two routes: that of Vehicle Mechanical Technician, or Coachbuilding and Trim Technician.

The Academy also runs a series of short courses for members of the public, both at Bicester and at their other site at Brooklands in Surrey. (We're big fans of Brooklands here at Lancaster Classic Car Insurance: for instance, we were proud to have a stand at the venue's MG Era event back in 2016).

Courses offered at the HSA's Bicester site include the monthly Care for your Classic, a two-day course in essential maintenance, keeping your classic in good condition and preventing premature wear and cost.

Blue Diamond Riley Services

This company is dedicated to the preservation of pre-war specimens of the revered British marque. Indeed, Blue Diamond has been restoring, reviving and renovating Rileys for four decades now. Whether it's servicing, restoration, parts supplies or race preparation that you and your Riley require, Blue Diamond will be able to oblige.

In the last five years, cars prepared by the company have entered four Monte Carlo Classique rallies, and two Flying Scotsman endurance rallies. That's over 10,000 trouble-free miles covered in those six events.

Since its foundation in 1974, Blue Diamond has built, repaired, serviced and restored a variety of sports, saloon and touring Rileys. It has also worked on some revered specials, including the 1938/9 Peking to Paris 16hp car. The outfit's extensive spares department, meanwhile, stocks parts for all Riley models built between 1927 and 1939.

The company also supports the UK's various Riley owners' clubs, through its sponsorship of rallies, talks to local groups and other activities. Riley owners' clubs include the Riley RM Club, catering to owners of 1945-57 Rileys; the Riley Register, for cars built during the marque's first four decades (1899-1940); or the Riley Motor Club, for owners of cars across the marque's 55-year history. The latter is – we gather – the world's second-oldest one-make club, having been in existence since 1925.

As ever, we strongly recommend belonging to the relevant owners' club for your classic car. Membership of an owners' club brings a host of benefits, including access to a friendly community of experts who can answer all your technical and parts-sourcing questions. Better still, classic car insurance providers will often have their own links to owners' clubs, meaning that members are eligible for a discount on their annual classic car insurance.

Here at Lancaster, we are able to provide discounts to members of a huge variety of UK classic car owners' clubs, from the P6 Rover Owners' Club to the marque-wide Renault Owners' Club.

Harry Fraser Vehicle Upholstery

A lover of vintage vehicles with a wealth of restoration experience behind him, Harry was one of the first businesses to move into Bicester Heritage back in 2014. Since then, he and his small but passionate team have refurbished seats, trim, leatherwork, door cards, steering wheels and more for a wealth of vintage, classic and modern vehicles.

A look at the website will show you the wonderful jobs Harry and his team have done on the interiors of an Aston Martin DB2, Jaguar E-Type, a 1930s Alvis Silver Eagle and more. In short, if the interior of your classic needs a little car and attention, Harry Fraser will do you a brilliant job. Better still, if you have some dedicated classic car insurance, you may be able to get some financial help with the cost of the project.

Legends Automotive

If you're after something fast and/or beautiful, Legends is the place to visit.

Our most recent visit to Legends' digital showroom turned up some truly wonderful classic sports and racing cars for sale. These included a 1953 Jaguar C Type FIA, which had undergone a complete restoration in 2017 and was eligible for various road and circuit events. The C-Type (or the XK120-C, to give it its full designation) was built and sold by Jaguar from 1951 to 1953 and designed to be entered into racing events (the 'C' stands for 'competition'). The car used the running gear of the contemporary, road-proven XK120 (you can read our appreciation of that seminal car elsewhere on our blog).

To this framework, Jaguar then added a lightweight tubular frame designed by Jaguar Chief Engineer William Heynes, and an aerodynamic aluminium body. The car is rightly famous, both for its astonishingly long, sleek body, and for its exploits in motor racing – chiefly at the Le Mans 24-hour race, which it won twice.

Other sporting icons from the Legends showroom include a GSM Flamingo once owned by F1 designer Gordon Murray. Now, chances are you may not be familiar with the GSM Flamingo, but if you love beautiful sports cars of the early 1960s you should definitely take a look. Built from fibreglass by short-lived South African makers Glass Sport Motors (19958-1964) this sleek two-seater has some of the featherweight grace of contemporary offerings from Lotus or Alfa Romeo.

Last but not least, we were very tempted by a 1966 Porsche 911 in concours condition. As we documented in this feature, the iconic 911, with its unmistakable clean lines, has been found to be the most valuable historic vehicle on the classic car market.

Electrogenic

Electrogenic's own brilliant niche is the conversion of classic cars into electric vehicles. Recent arrivals at Bicester Heritage, Electrogenic operates out of Building 118 at the centre of the site, while also using the onsite track for testing and development.

The company already has some fine conversion projects behind it. Classic cars that have successfully undergone the Electrogenic treatment include a Citroën DS, a Porsche 356 and (one of our favourite classics of all time) a Jaguar E-Type.

Electrogenic has even electrified a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, proving that cars of all shapes and sizes are suitable for the electric treatment. By the way, if you're a fan of this imposing icon of British motoring excellence, you may like to have a read of our guide to Silver Shadow ownership.

If you're wondering whether it's worth your while converting your own classic into an electric vehicle, we've listed some fairly compelling reasons to do so in this article. There are plenty of good reasons to make the switch: suffice to say that, as well as benefiting the environment, you should be in line for savings on your vehicle tax, fuel and more.

Classic Performance Engineering

This company offers a wide range of restoration services, from managing an entire restoration project right down to minor modifications and improvements. It also occupies a well-chosen niche in the market, being dedicated to vintage and historic vehicles. In particular, Classic Performance Engineering is able to help with those many vehicles from the past – particularly the rarer ones – that don't benefit from specific parts suppliers.

After all, if you're restoring a once-familiar car such as a Mk3 Ford Escort, you won't be short of restorers and parts traders up and down the country. However, if you're trying to get something a little more unusual back on the road, that network of expertise, support and – crucially – key parts may simply not be there.

Which is where Classic Performance Engineering comes in. The company is able to fabricate one-off parts in-house. Whatever crucial bit of kit you're missing, the team here may well be able to help.

The company will also carry out regular servicing – a crucial part of your ongoing care of your classic vehicle, every bit as essential as keeping up to date with your classic car insurance.

Bicester Sports & Classics

A classic car sales brand with some 35 years' experience behind it, Bicester Sports & Classics takes the selling of classic cars seriously. For this company, the sale doesn't begin and end with the exchange of vehicle and payment. No, it likes to introduce clients to some of the joys and responsibilities of vintage vehicle ownership.

When you buy a car from Bicester, you will also get a full workshop inspection and report, plus a full service and MOT inspection, a detailed valet, an engine compression check and other key vehicle health checks. In short, the staff at Bicester Sports & Classics have a passion for looking after the classic cars that come under their care, and any vehicle that you buy from the company should have plenty more miles left in it.

This kind of attention to detail may also help you to avoid some of the large repair bills that can so often be a feature of life with an older vehicle. If you can arrange a thorough health check of this kind for your classic, and pair this with some specialist classic car insurance, you may well be keeping your future repair bills down. You may also be minimising the time that your beloved runabout has to spend in the garage, undergoing extensive repairs.

Most of the cars sold by Bicester are around 30 or 40 years old, and will be well looked after. The company is very thorough in its documentation of the cars under its care: each vehicle for sale should have at least 25 pictures of its interior and exterior, or more, so you can get a really good idea about each vehicle right from the start.

The Motor Shed Ltd

Founded by vintage car enthusiast and Austin Seven racer Mark Elder, The Motor Shed is another company offering more than simply the sale of a classic car. You'll find classics aplenty on the company website – the day we checked, the website showed 61 beautiful classic and vintage vehicles in stock, from a 1922 Vauxhall 14.40 M-Type Tourer to a 1987 Daimler DS 420 – but Mark and colleagues will do more than simply sell you a classic.

Having spent a lifetime in and around historic motoring, Mark has a huge wealth of experience in the upkeep and maintenance of older cars, and he will be on hand with all the maintenance expertise you require.

Regular events at Bicester Heritage

Bicester Heritage has also introduced a members' club, Scramblers, which meets every month. Arising out of the success of the site’s Scramble events, Scramblers now hosts monthly Sunday Scrambles – themed members' events, with a variety of well-chosen themes including British Classics, Le Mans and Festive Four wheelers. Barely more than a year into its existence, Scramblers now has more than 6,300 members. You can find a rich variety of film, photography and writing about Bicester Heritage and the wider classic car industry on the website.

Other events include the annual Classic Car Drive In Weekend, a three-day outdoor event dedicated to the worship of classics in all their infinite variety.

The Test Track

Of course, every class-leading centre of automotive excellence needs its own dedicated test track. And Bicester Heritage – being a former RAF base – doesn't disappoint.

The site's 0.5-mile Test Track has already been used by a host of manufacturers, teams, TV channels and magazines, and no wonder – it's a great place to put any classic through its paces. In controlled conditions on a large private airfield, the track has six technical turns, as well as a decent straight section to allow you to work the gears. It can be driven in a loop or a figure-of-eight configuration.

The perfect place, in short, to see what your car can do – whether that car is a prospective purchase, fresh from the repair workshop, or your beloved classic of many years.

Coming from afar? Stay over…

If Bicester is just too far away from home to make a day trip feasible, never fear: you have options.

There are four comfortable Crew Rooms on site, available for visitors who need to spend the night before heading home. Staying over will allow you to spend more time doing what you need to do – collecting your car from the repair workshop, using the Test Track facility, or simply drinking in the atmosphere of this shrine to the joys of vintage motoring.

The Crew Rooms are housed in what was once the RAF's base power generation and pump house, distributing water and electricity all around the WW2 bomber training station. Before its thorough restoration in 2014, the building had a starring role in the WW2 codebreaker film The Imitation Game, where it stood in as the home of Alan Turing’s computer, Christopher.

Protecting classics for the future with Lancaster classic car insurance

We're full of admiration for everything they've achieved at Bicester Heritage, and we hope that this fascinating place continues to be an epicentre for the British classic car industry for many years to come.

Here at Lancaster, we bring a similar passion and commitment to tailoring our classic car insurance to our clients’ needs and offering our best price. the best vintage car insurance for our many clients. We have been arranging classic car insurance for 35 years, and have a huge network of contacts within the industry.

Whether your own beloved classic is an Alfa Romeo or a Volkswagen, a '60s roadster or a '90s hot hatch, in concours condition or in serious need of some TLC, we will be able to find classic car insurance for you.

Why not contact us for a quote today?