In 1981, when this writer was eleven, and Adam and the Ants were the pop group du jour, certain mass-produced executive cars were about as rare as a watchable episode of Runaround. I seldom encountered a Vauxhall Viceroy, a Renault 30TX, a Citroën CX Prestige, a Volvo 264 or a Rover SD1 V8S on Lower Swanwick’s (less than) mean streets.
At 5:15 p.m. on Saturday 23rd November 1963, after Grandstand and before The Telegoons and Dixon of Dock Green, BBC Television premiered the first episode of a series they billed as “A new adventure in time and space”. And the first car to be seen in Doctor Who was a Wolseley 6/80 – albeit only the front half, which the production crew mounted on castors.
The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show lived up to its ‘biggest and best’ tagline this weekend as 71,290 enthusiasts joined at Birmingham’s NEC to celebrate another great year for the classic car community.
What would have caught your eye at the 1983 London Motorfair, which ran from the 20th to the 30th October? The second-generation VW Golf? The Renault 11? The Fiat Regata? Or the Ford Fiesta Mk. II? All of which impressed the then 13-year-old writer, although I cannot recall seeing the AC Cobra Mk. IV by Autocraft.
There are those rare but wonderful times when an advertisement for a classic car stops you in your tracks. A 1972 Toyota Crown Custom Estate in the finest orange available to humanity is just such a vehicle. 51 years ago, this would have been the vehicle for the local elite – the sort of motorist who also owned two colour television sets.
There is an elite group of cars that fall into the category of “whatever happened to” - cars such as John Kingsford’s magnificently Orange Tan Vauxhall Carlton. 45 years ago, this was the perfect transport for the someone who was really “going places” – and who chose a paint finish that would undoubtedly stand out in the office car park.
At last, the doors to Earls Court are opened - The Lamborghini Countach is the most expensive car of the 1973 London Motor Show at £16,314, and the Fiat 126 is the cheapest at £699. Your initial ports of call are the British Leyland stands, and firstly, there is the Austin Allegro, which made its bow on the 17th May.
The first car you hope to see at the London Motor Show is the Lotus Cortina, which debuted earlier that year. £1,100 2s 11d may be rather a lot of money, but The Motor thought it "a good compromise for a keen driver who has to remember that the family must sit somewhere".
When Motor Sport tested the Triumph 2000 in 1964, they described it as "a 6-cylinder, luxuriously equipped and styled family-type 5-seater saloon, likely to appeal to ordinary rather than discerning motorists".
Buckle up, car enthusiasts! The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, the crown jewel of classic car exhibitions, is back and roaring with excitement - you won't want to miss it!
Sebastian has long been an enthusiast of old cars, and he recently sold his 1987 Toyota Celica to buy this incredibly rare machine – “It was a no-brainer!”. His 1978 first-generation Honda Accord saloon is believed to be the only remaining example in Gibraltar.
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