If you don’t know much about car history, then you should watch all of the Fifth Gear Legends shows on youtube. This is of course the Ford Lotus Cortina, an (at the time) hot saloon car. Colin Chapman added lightness and Lotus fettled it with their driving ethos. It is a true legend of a car and features a wonderfully memorable engine.

This is sure to be one of the events of the year, so don’t miss it!

From 22nd to the 24th July 2011 Silverstone will be host to a massive variety of cars from racing E-types to historic F1 via Group C and GTs – meaning there’s something for everyone.

Event Director Nick Wigley revealed that this year’s event – marking the 21st anniversary of the first classic racing festival at Silverstone – will be the biggest and best yet.

“The numbers are astonishing. We will have more than 1,000 competitors racing more than 800 cars spanning the full spectrum of motor racing history right up the nineties. We are promised a number of exciting cars that are seldom seen racing in the UK including a newly restored black and gold JPS Lotus 72 grand prix car while an awesome Lancia Martini LC2 Group C sports car is due to star in an atmospheric dusk race on the Saturday.

“We are planning two special races celebrating the 50th anniversary of the glorious E-type Jaguar, with up to 58 examples starting one of the headline races on Saturday evening. We hope to create a world record with a cavalcade of 1,000 road going E-types taking to the track and we have more than 120 car clubs taking part with more than 7,000 classic cars on display,” he said.

Under the banner ‘Rocking and Racing’, the three-day event promises a feast of entertainment for race fans and their families. There’s a full programme of 22 races for all manner of historic and classic machinery over the weekend – and there’s a celebrity charity event in identical race-prepared Morgans featuring star names from TV, radio and music – while the evenings are packed with live music: three top tribute bands on Friday followed by classic acts Suzi Quatro, 10cc and Wishbone Ash on Saturday.

On Sunday, spectators will be encouraged to take things a little easier and bring a picnic to the paddock while listening to the Amadeus Orchestra, Tetra Electra and Tenors Un Limited.

Other attractions include air displays, hot air balloons, a funfair, shopping village, steam rally and even lawn mower racing. To ensure no visitor goes hungry, festival catering will be provided by Jamie Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts. Because there’s so much going on, a fleet of iconic London Routemaster buses will be laid on to ferry spectators around.

Best of all it’s ‘access all areas’ – the displays, the live music, the fun fair and, of course, grandstand seats for the racing are all included in the entry ticket.

A recent survey (conducted entirely at the 2009 NEC Classic Motor Show, by Footman James) has shown that almost half of classic car owners would rather spend time with their beloved set of classic wheels than the other half. Does James May come to mind there? Joking aside, for some this is a passion that is lovingly held dear to their hearts. The type of owner that is not only knowledgeable but also understands the real joy to be had in something raw, unique and without all the driver aids that appear on cars these days.

There’s something much more evocative provided by a classic car or bike and it’s something that you don’t find in a modern machine. Perhaps it’s simply down to the fact that it harks back to simpler times, or maybe it is the fact that things seemed far less homolgated back then (notice I don’t put a timescale on ‘then’). It’s the same for super-rare exotica – it’s almost like the ‘essence’ of driving distilled down and waiting for you to take it in, even when stationary.

I can see myself down the line owning maybe a classic car and motorbike – going into the garage on a lazy weekend (not that these exist really!) and pottering about with the tools. At the moment, it’s a pipe dream but I’d love to have an uncomplicated motor that I could look after myself, polishing the nuts and bolts, carefully waxing the bodywork, checking idle speeds etc.

However, would I say it was more important than spending time with a loved one? Well, who can say. For some, sure. If I had my dream TVR, who knows?!

The Horch

A true car fan appreciates the classics – and they don’t come much better than this exquisite 1937 Horch 853 Voll & Ruhrbeck Sport Cabriolet, owned by an American private collector.

It was named “Best of Show” at the 59th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance along the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach Golf Links® on August 16th.

From the Audi press release:
The Horch company, which was founded in 1899 and began manufacturing cars in 1901, was unified with three other car manufacturers – Audi, DKW and Wanderer – to form Auto Union, or what is today known as Audi. In fact, Audi is the Latin translation of Horch.

In 1935, the Horch Company introduced the Horch 850 with a five-litre, straight-eight engine. The shorter wheelbase 853 model, which won this year’s “Best of Show” and featured coachwork by the Berlin coachbuilder, Voll & Ruhrbeck, was very popular among Germany’s rich and famous, offering luxury at a very competitive price. The last Horch roadcar was built in 1958.

Owner Robert M. Lee, from Nevada, spent five years restoring the Pebble Beach winning vehicle to a show-worthy condition requiring specialised parts and information to be sourced from Germany.

TVR Tuscan

Or rather, driving any older, powerful sports car is quite like riding a motorbike. What do I mean by that?

Power
The deliver of power on a motorbike can be quite savage – much like the 4-5 litre V8s that appear in many older sports cars. Both need power meeted out in a sensible way that won’t put too high a demand on the tyres or the amount of traction/roadholding available.

N.B. The picture is a new, beautiful TVR Tuscan S. Yes, I desperately want one! I’m a huge fan of the ‘purist’ driving experience.

Electronics and Aids
Few driver aids exist in older sports cars – let’s take for example the TVR Chimaera I recently drove. No power steering, no ABS – no nothing. A light touch was required at times. Similarly, a motorbike is superb at teaching you to be progressive and smooth with your motions.

Driving Dynamics
How a car feels to drive is all-important. Mazda got it right with the MX-5, which is why it remains so popular and the best selling roadster in the world. Ford fettled the Focus and made a very nice, usable chassis. Older sports cars (going back to the TVR) are set up to be driven; with the great lump of the engine in mind. They respond in a way you’d expect, taking corners and giving you feedback through the whole of your drive. A motorbike will tell you much from how it is pulling away in-gear, whether you’re braking enough or even if the bike is happy with your riding position (well, you wouldn’t want to upset it would you!).

Stopping Power
Some older sports cars are poor at stopping – the TVR Chimaera was especially good – but you can forget about ABS. So, what did I do? I worked with the car, keeping a good line, braking then turning into the corner, carrying the speed through. The same is true for a bike – ABS is an especially new development and one which not all riders will want to use anyway.

Ultimately, the experience of driving a powerful sports car and riding a motorbike is quite similar due to the sensation, the speed and the amount of fun it can deliver to the person in control of the vehicle. Once again though, it takes a certain level of skill to control either with any amount of skill…

The Dolomite Sprint

The government’s scrappage scheme is good news for 300,000 or so people.  Well, supposedly good news.  They get money off a new car, so that their old scrapper takes the final journey it will ever make.  There it’ll probably lie rusted, dead and at the bottom of a pile of a bunch of other (likely previously serviceable cars).

Most worrying of all though is that some cars will actually vanish from the road forever.  They’ll literally never be seen again.  Cars are, whether you like it or not, a part of all of our shared histories.  Think of the cars your parents had.  Even if they were horrible repmobiles or even a Lada (yes, my parents did own one) it’s a part of history – my history.  Our history.

Soon, British roads will be awash with cars that look ever similar – if not the same.  In times of crisis, manufacturers will reuse platforms and parts of cars to reduce costs as much as possible.  Few of them are pouring money into developing truly new vehicles.  Where will this leave us when the new cars look the same and the old cars are gone?  Vanilla city.  Fairly soon, you’ll wish you could see a Dolomite Sprint in amongst your daily commute…

It may come as no great surprise if you haven’t seen a Marcos car before.  It may have an illustrious history but was quiet for some years.  A couple of years ago saw the release of some new models, including the Marcos TSO – a real alernative to the many sanitised two seaters out there and something with real spirit.

The TSO GTC is a classic British race-inspired 2-seat sports coupe that comes with racing suspension, racing brakes and a rear diffuser. The GTC is priced at £49,950.

The TSO R/T delivers a thrilling open top driving experience with dual removable roof panels – combining a roadster experience with the safety, confidence and styling of the coupe. The R/T comes equipped with touring suspension, cargo nets and premium sound and is priced at £53,950.  Both models come standard with a 420 horsepower Aluminium V8 Engine and a 6-speed manual gearbox. A 462 horsepower Performance Pack is also available.

“The TSO’s combination of tuned V8 power and lightweight design delivers both stunning performance and breathtaking sound in a reliable, precision Engineered and affordable British Supercar”, said Tony Stelliga, Marcos Engineering’s Managing Director.

The TSO is professionally Engineered. Composites and components are CAD designed and fabricated in England. The Chassis is Engineered and manufactured by Prodrive – a leading developer of motorsport chassis and race cars that have earned five British Touring Car Championships and six World Rally titles. Designed to be lightweight and responsive, the TSO inspires confidence and is communicative up to and beyond the limit.

The TSO is reliable – with the same proven V8 Engine and drivetrain components found in the Corvette and Monaro. Induction, exhaust and electronics modifications by Marcos further enhance the TSO’s drivability and performance.

The TSO is a performer – a lightweight composite body, space frame chassis and V8 engine provide an impressive power-to-weight ratio. With the Performance Pack the TSO accelerates to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and to 100 mph in 8.5 seconds. Huge 340mm AP Racing brakes deliver a 0-100-0 time of 12.9 seconds. Overtaking is effortless with a 50 to 70 mph time of just 2.1 seconds. Top speed is over 185 mph.

Marcos Engineering is a based in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England – the heart of the British Motorsport Industry. The Company builds exclusive, fun to drive, high performance British sports cars. For more information visit www.marcos-eng.com. 

One of the things that I love to see is a nice happy story about cars in the papers.  Too often you get some sulky journalist whinging about how vehicles are killing they environment, killing children or just generally being the scourge of the Earth.  However, these same people probably climb into their 20MPG Aston Martin at the end of each day.  It is, therefore, a pleasure to read a good ‘happy’ story about motors.

Bill Silver was in The Daily Mirror a few days ago due to him having a motor that’s been around some time.  When I say some time, I mean a REALLY long time.  His Hillman 14 is a bit special.  Not only is it really old (made in 1939), it has managed 240,000 miles in Bill’s 45 years of ownership.  This is, as the paper has pointed out, enough to get Mr Silver all the way to the moon (though not back).

Perhaps the greatest achievement of this wonderful mechanical creation is the fact that it has been utterly, utterly reliable.  This Hillman 14 has managed to be a trouble-free motor; never braking down and passing MOT’s (including its’ latest one) with flying colours.  A classic in two senses of the word then.

Unfortunately, Bill has had to sell the car due to ill health.  He’s not asking much either mind, only a mere £1,800 at auction.  Given the car has some wonderful history and an impeccable record for not braking down; I’d quite like to be in the queue for this one.  However, you might want to change the interior – it has something akin to what I’d describe ‘dogs bed pattern’.

What does this story tell us though?  Well, aside from cars being made just prior to the war being invincible, it poses some interesting questions.  If I buy a car today, it theoretically should last for 240,000.  However, this is only what ‘some’ engines are capable of.  Is this the truth though, or simply that people get rid of cars too early?

I have a sneaking suspicion that Bill isn’t quite telling the whole story.  You see, Bill looks like he knows his stuff in the picture.  I think that although modern motors are far more complicated, they don’t get looked after.  Mr Silvers, I’d wager, is a man who would know exactly how to change a tyre, as well as check oil levels, know what knocking sounds like etc etc.  Basically, all of the things that the modern driver apparently has great difficulty with.

Whatever your car is, I dare you to try to make it a success story (rather than changing it every few years).  Take Bill’s example here and look after your motor.  Clean it, care for it and check your fluid levels.  Get to understand the basics.  Follow the instructions to change your tyre, so if you ever have to do it for real you’ll know what exactly you have to do and in which order.  Perhaps then you’ll have a motor to be proud of too.

The Hillman 14 is a medium sized car that was produced back in 1925 by the Hillman Motor Car Co Ltd.  It has a large stroke monobloc side valve 1954cc four cylinder engine.  It has a four speed gearbox and drum brakes.  Top speed is 55MPH flat out and it can manage around 25MPG – not bad for a car that’s as old as your granny.

Click here for more information on Hillman.

Apparently, the best thing to buy these days is a Mini.  Why is that, I hear you ask?  Well, very simple.  The Mini is the most popular car on the social networking site Facebook.  I guess they found that out through one of their scientific surveys of course.  Well, there’s 24,000 members of Mini Cooper related Facebook groups, the next being Honda Civic fans.

There aren’t too many cars that have as much of a reputation, or indeed a history, as the Mini.  Going to a quick history lesson, the BMC (British Motor Corporation) produced the car and its successors from 1959 – so this car has a long shadow.  The first variant is considered a style icon of the sixties, as nothing else quite matched it for profile or indeed fun driving.

One of the most amazing things about the Mini is the small form factor.  It’s pretty damn tiny on the inside, but due to the way in which the design maximises space, it is actually reasonably roomy on the inside.  This gives enough space (just about) for five people.  There have been numerous parodies on this, with a record being set back in 2000 when 18 women fit into the car.  I’d imagine they were all of one sex as it could lead to some compromising positions, even in the new, larger Mini One.

Driving forward (pardon the pun), Mini was given a facelift by the newest owner, BMW.  This MINI (capital letters, or Mini One) is bigger than the original, in height, weight and breadth.  It also weighs almost double the original style icon.  The biggest change perhaps it the addition of modern configurations to the car.

Of course, as the MINI is a modern car, it had to be updated for safety and expectation reasons.  Has it lost its charm though?  Well if you ask me, it never really had that much.  A product of the time it was made, it seems now a dinosaur.  A relic.  Would I have an original?  Frankly no, I prefer bigger cars, and more to the point, I’d hate to see how it fared in a NCAP safety test.  What with some of the monster-sized vehicles we have on the road these days that could end up messy.

What of the new cars’ driving ability though?  Well, it is interesting.  It comes in a variety of formats such as the MINI Clubman (insane – why do you need a small car in an estate version?), the Mini One (hatchback, very reasonable), the MINI Convertible (yeah, okay, I’ll admit this is actually cool) and the Mini Cooper S (or the newest version of the sport, the John Cooper Works) – the sports variant.

Let’s look at the Cooper S – it’s the car I’d be most likely to own, if I were ever to own a Mini (or MINI).  The 7.1 seconds to 60 is actually quite quick, and it has the superb handling characteristics you’d expect from a smaller, road-hugging vehicle.  The turbo kicks in nicely and creates an engine that is a little peakier than the supercharged variant.

The car handles well, being both agile and responsive through turns.  You’ll also find that it is quite grippy too, so it should do you quite nicely whether you’re journeying through the city or those B-roads we all know and love.  Overall, the MINI is extremely good – if not personally to my taste.  I think it’s the faux-retro that annoys me actually – you’ll see what I mean when you step inside one.  The huge oversized speedo might get to you.  Or maybe how the MINI isn’t actually mini anymore.

Whatever your opinion on the MINI, you’ll find it reliable, a good driving experience and something that other people will respect you for driving.  I’ll be one of them.  I’d just never have one myself.  But then, that’s the beauty of cars right?

Despite what we maybe seeing on TV, it seems for those people who are old enough the Porsche 911 is the iconic cars of the eighties and the Audi Quattro which has had a nice bit of publicity on the hit TV show Ashes to Ashes came in a close second.

Out of all the cars on the list, I am amazed that at least one of these Fords made it onto the list, the RS 2000, Capri 30s and the Capri 2.8 Injection these cars were true eighties machines and really reflected the times.

The Results of the HPI survey:

What would be your dream 80’s car?

Porsche 911 29%

Audi Quattro 28%

Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 15%

BMW M5 12%

Peugeot 205 GTI 3%

Sinclair C5 1%

Which 80′s car do you most remember?

Ford Capri SLE 71R (Terry McCann – Minder) 30%

Ferrari Testarossa (Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice) 26%

De Lorean DMC12 (Back to the Future) 23%

Ferrari 308 (Magnum) 21%

Reliant Regal (Only Fools and Horses) 19%

Jaguar Mark II (Inspector Morse) 18%

KITT (Pontiac Firebird Trans Am) (Knight Rider) 17%

British Leyland Mini (Mr Bean) 11%

Jaguar XJ6 (Arthur Daly – Minder) 11%

Golf GTI (Paula Hamilton commercial) 10%

What are some people thinking about?

Source [Auto Trader]