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NEC Classic Car Show, Nov 2009 - Part 1 |
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Written by Colin Rear
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Sunday, 15 November 2009 15:30 |
Even 2 full days are not sufficient to see all the exhibits at the UK's largest classic car show, the NEC Event, which is also linked to the MPH show with Top Gear Live Action theatre. Two days is more than enough to walk your legs short, though, so it is some relief in that respect to sit at my PC, uploading photos, writing this item and formatting it, as I reflect on the bewildering array of interesting cars I have just seen, the many good conversations both with friends and fellow forummers and some perfect strangers who were clearly also blessed with the enthusiast's love of cars.
Although I took in excess of 800 photos, there are plenty of vehicles that I saw, and which simply did not get the camera pointed at them. With several thousand cars on show, that is almost inevitable. It is worth commenting on the lighting, too, as many other frustrated photographers did just that. I found that using the flash pretty well all the time gave better results than not doing so, even though this means that the colours in the pictures may not look quite like the cars were in real life. There were simply too many dark patches with the result you could barely see the car in the picture if you turned the flash off. Even so, I'm not entirely happy with all the results, but have left most of the pictures in the report, as I figured that a sub-optimal picture is probably better than just text.
I have chosen to present the cars by marque, rather than by club stand. This year the organisers seem to have done a far better job at grouping all the clubs associated with a marque closely together, which was something I appreciated, though whether this was a good thing for the rivalary between clubs, I am less sure.
Enjoy the show. You can appreciate it without walking your legs short, or battling with the crowds!
ALFA ROMEO
The "big one" for Alfa is next year, when the marque celebrates its centenary, with a whole panapoly of events. I've now got the listing of those which the Alfa Romeo Owners club are organising, and will make sure that Forummers are not ignorant of these! For this show, a relatively small stand was always busy, populated with a number of cars with "Z" in their name. That meant predominantly a mix of the SZ and RZ cars from the 1990s. among the many new items of trivia that I picked up at the show was the fact that virtually all the RZs were finished in yellow or black, so a red one is particularly rare, and although the cars look similar just about every body panel is different between the two models.
     
Sole other car was the stunningly attractive Guilietta SZ from the very early 1960s.
   
ALVIS
 
An estate body is definitely one of the more unusual versions of this Coventry based marque.
ARMSTRONG-SIDDELEY
An early offering.
The Sapphire was launched in the mid 1950s, and sold in small numbers until the marque ceased production.
ASTON MARTIN
AUDI
I was expecting a rather bigger presence, to celebrate the centenary of this marque, but instead, there were just a few cars to represent the last 100 years.
This 1000 model, also branded as a DKW 3.6 had an unusual 2 stroke engine, and a roomy body.
 
The Junior was launched in 1960, and was a popular small car of its day.
 
An urQuattro, one of the later models of this genre-defining car.
AUSTIN
Vast numbers of the Austin Seven were made, as this little car was really the vehicle that put Britain on wheels, and vast numbers of them have survived, for us to enjoy now.
     
  
Several of the larger Austins from the same era were also on show., too. There was a very complex range of models, many named after towns in the UK. - a precursor to the "County" series of cars that came post WW2.
  
The A40 Dorset was the family car that launched immediately after the war, along with a pickup version.
 
The A90 Atlantic was aimed at the US market, but whilst the styling might have hit the mark, the wheezy and anaemic engine was simply not powerful and the car did not sell well..
The A125/135 cars were frequently used as the basis for various limousines and other conversions such as these cars.
   
The A30/A35 was a popular small car in the 1950s.
The third in the trio of Alec Issigonis' front wheel family of cars was the 1800, launched in 1964. It never enjoyed the success of its smaller relatives. This car was unbelievably spacious inside.
     
Space efficiency was also the forte of the Maxi, a much under-developed hatchback that the the potential to be a world beater, but which never even got close to that potential.
 
AUSTIN-HEALEY
Much loved by enthusiasts, there was a nice display of the 100/3000 cars, the "Big Healey".
  
The Sprites were on a separate stand.
This Arkley car was a special body on Sprite mechanicals.
BITTER
A three car stand, with 2 examples of the SC and one of the earlier CD model.
 
BMW
The popularity of this marque is not yet reflected in the number of BMWs that you find at am event like this. Star of the stand, without question was this 507. One of just 252 cars built, it ended up costing more than double the price estimated, which meant that the market for the car in 1955 was very small. Very lovely, though.
  
Also nice were these 3.0 CS and CSL cars.
   
The stand was completed with a Z1, an E3 3.3Li and a 635CSi.
    
Elsewhere, an immaculate E28 based Alpina B10 was generating many compliments for its condition and its understated lines.
BORGWARD
There were three examples of the Isabella, a well respected German quality car of the 1950s, to enjoy.
    
BRISTOL
A 405 saloon, one of few Bristols ever offered with four doors.
  
The 405 Zagato looked familiar, as we had seen this car at Prescott earlier in the year.
  
BUGATTI
Crowds were gathered around this stand all day long on the Saturday, and it is not hard to see why. Star attractions were the EB110S and the Veyron, both of which had been in action at "La Vie en Bleu" earlier in the year.
 
Classic Bugatti were represented by the very lovely Type 57, a Type 59B and a Type 15
   
CADILLAC
Some splendid 1950s machines here, and none more splendid than the 1959 model, the one with the largest tail fins ever. Fabulous!
This is the 1960 model, when the excess had been toned down a little.
CHEVROLET
A stand specialising in US imports offered a view of the new Camaro and a 2010 Mustang alongside it for comparison. Offered for less than £25,000 in the UK, these cars appear to be bargain priced, but the running costs would clearly not be quite such value for money, in the UK. Which would you prefer? Form your own conclusion, but the consensus of the Forummers present was the Chevy.
 
There were numerous Corvettes in the American car section. Only this, a 1962 model seemed to be captured by my camera
 
CHRYSLER
An Australian muscle car, a Charger from the early 1970s.
CITROEN
A particularly fine stand here, with three unique prototypes on loan from the "Conservatoire Citroen", a collection of priceless treasures not usually open to the public.
The Cocinelle dates from 1956, and is an interesting vehicle, but one with rather a lot of practical challenges, which may help to explain why the vehicle was not developed further.
  
This is the C-60, a prototype for a car to slot between the Ami and the DS, with some styling cues from each. It did not proceed, but eventually a car was produced to fill that gap in the range, and this was, of course the GS.
  
"Project L" dates from 1971, and evolved into the production CX. Draw your own conclusions, but I think the styling alterations that were made towards production were all of benefit.
    
A good mix of the popular 2CV cars were on the stand, including one of the prototypes.
     
In an effort to come up with something less unconventional looking, Citroen UK devised the Bijou, but this small car was a complete sales disaster with less then 250 of them sold. Survivors are very rare now days.
  
There was a lone example of the Dyane, slightly upmarket brother to the 2CV.
 
I've seen this particular Ami 6 Estate at a couple of other events before. Believed to the last survivor in the UK.
  
This Mehari was splendid to behold.
  
As was this very lovely DS23 - an elegant car even now, some 54 years after the first presentation of the DS model.
The Traction Avant cars were well represented, with many different models to enjoy.
     
Even the BX is now quite a rare sight, this deserving its place on the stand.
COMMER
This was the brand for the commercial vehicles in the Rootes Group, and several of these once commonly seen vans were included in a display
    
DAIMLER
A separate display for these cars, showing both those which were merely re-badged Jaguars and those which were unique models in their own right.
The DS250 sports car, otherwise known as the Dart, was the best example of that uniqueness.
  
The V8250 was based on the Mark 2 Jaguar, but was fitted with a 2.5 litre V8 engine.
 
The Majestic was a luxury model with no Jaguar equivalent.
Elsewhere was this fabulous 1911 model.
DELOREAN
A couple of these popular gull-wing cars were on display.
DKW
Following the well-received stand of the 2008 event, the Irish DKW club had a stand again this year, with a variety of models on show.
DODGE
A Charger, from the height of the muscle car era
This car dates from about 1963.
FAIRTHORPE
A lone example of this largely forgotten British marque from the 1950s.
FARBIO
A lone example of this little known GT car.
FERRARI
One the Friday, there was free access to see the cars close up. but on Saturday, non-FOC members were confined to the barriers, from where a variety of cars could be enjoyed.
212
  
250 GT California Spider
 
250GT 2+2 Lusso
 
Daytona
   
Mondial
328 GTS
Enzo
  
This 275 GTB was on the Meguiars stand for competition winners from throughout the year.
 
FIAT
This 125 saloon is one of very few survivors of the once popular sports saloon. Sadly, most of the show-goers I heard thought it was a Lada!
  
Attracting most of the attention on this diverse stand was this Multipla. Very rare in right hand drive, it was stunning.
  
Even rarer than the 125, was an example of its successor, the 132.
  
There were a couple of X1/9s, this one being a rare limited edition.
Rarer still is this fabulous Siata 500 convertible. This car underwent a lengthy and meticulous restoration, finally emerging for the Bristol Italian Auto Moto event in April.
 
FORD
2009 marks 40 years since the launch of the Ford Capri and there were plenty of the "car you always promised yourself" to see.
         
It is 50 years since the launch of the reverse-angle rear window Ford Anglia, and a special display had a representative of a car from every year of the 8 year production life of this car.
        
Cortinas of all generations were well represented.
    
              
Among the Sierras on show was a South African XR8 model, which came with a 5 litre V8 engine.
  
The Corsair was a slightly bigger brother to the Cortina, but never really captured the public's imagination in the same way. A number of these cars survive, though, and a variety of the different models were presented at the show.
    
In its day, the Mark 3 Zephyr and Zodiac was a big car, and one that would be driven by senior managers. Now, it does not seem that huge, with the wheels looking lost in the wheel arches.
       
Successor to the Z cars were the Consul and Granada and a number of the more unusual variants of this range were on show.
   
There were a good number of sporting Escorts, mostly from the popular first generation.
    
Plenty of sporting Fiestas to look at. Once a common sight on our roads, the Supersport and early XR2 cars are now a rare sighting.
      
The Puma was one of the more recent Fords on show.
Among the older cars were some Model "A"s, along with a Model C and a Model Y.
   
Other Ford cars included the 1950s Anglia/Prefect/Squire range, and the Thames commercial body.
    
In the American car display, there was a splendid Edsel and some V8 cars from the 1930s.
   
 
GILBERN
I spent a good while at this display, talking to a very personable gentleman about the history of this marque - the only range of cars ever made in Wales, and admiring the 4 show cars. These cars were very costly when new, but
were nicely built, and as they were based on BMC, and subsequently, Ford components are mechanically straight-forward and easy to keep running. A little over 1000 cars were built between 1961 and 1974 and over 500 of them are known still to exist. The vast majority were sold in the UK, with just a few headed overseas.
The GT was the first model produced, and this is a late example of the genre
 
It was replace by a larger car, initially called the Genie, but subsequently renamed the Invader, which came in three different iterations, before production ceased in 1974. The last cars, the Mark 3, may look similar to the earlier ones, but in fact that body is completely different. The car is wider, as it needed to accommodate the Cortina running gear which underpins it..
    
HEALEY
Donald Healey made his name with cars like these, the Silverstone.
HILLMAN and CHRYSLER
The Super Minx was initially intended to replace the long running Minx model, a name that dated back to the 1930s, but in the end, this larger car slotted into the range above the Minx, until both ranges were replaced by the "Arrow" range of cars.
  
The "Arrow" cars were offered in a bewildering array of different models, with Hillman, Singer and Sunbeam badges on them. Mainstay of the range was the Hunter, a car I know well, as my father had a succession of these when I was little. Some much needed publicity was gained when this car won the London-Sydney Marathon in 1968, and this is a replica of one of those cars. Top model in the long-running range was the GLS, a car with luxury (for its day) trim, and a twin carburettor-ed engine, which endowed it with lively performance. These cars rusted badly, so to see any survivor now is rare indeed..
   
Hillman's small car venture was the Imp, about which many words have been written over the years. A number of specials were produced (several of which appeared at the 2009 Bristol Classic Car Show), of which this is one.
The Avenger was the mass market competitor of the 1970s that never captured the public's imagination in the same way as the Escort and Viva, its principal competitors. The cars shown were a basic 1300 DL 2 door, a late example of the facelifted 1600 model (by which time it had gathered Talbot badges) and the rare Tiger.
    
When a small hatchback was required, to replace the long running Imp, a cut-down Avenger chassis was used with a contemporary body draped over it. The result was the Sunbeam, a car now largely remembered for its rallying prowess and when fitted with the the Lotus 2 litre engine. The show featured a rare Ti model, too, which was a sort of "hot hatch" before the term had been coined and before the market for such cars really took off.
    
HONDA
A small stand, with representatives of the S800 cars from the 1960s and the diminutive Beat.
  
HUMBER
This car, based on the contemporary Super Snipe, was produced as transport for HM the Queen and Prince Philip for their Australian tour in 1953. The car was retained for official visits for many years, until eventually it passed into private ownership and gradually deteriorated, until repatriation and restoration to the stunning standard which it now enjoys.
 
An Australian pick-up of similar vintage was an interesting and rare accompaniment to this car.
 
The Imperial was the top model in the range, and this particular was one of a small batch produced with a V8 engine. This venture was not deemed a success and the plans were shelved.
 
JAGUAR
Common consensus was that this car, the SS Airline, was probably the most stunning car at the show. How could anyone fail to fall for the looks of this? Remarkably, this car was sold for the equivalent of under £18,000.
There were plenty of other classic Jaguars, too. Such as this SS1 and the SS100
  
Several of the ever popular XJ cars, including a one-off prototype 2 door coupe XJ40 model
   
And the XJ220
Several "E" Types, of course.
  
The 240/340/380 cars were popular as a "compact" Jaguar in the 1950s and early 1960s.
   
The "S" Type
Mark IX
 
The XJS is now well accepted in the classic car scene, and numerous examples of this long running car were on the stands.
   
JENSEN
A wider variety of cars that most people would credit Jensen for were on show.,including a couple of pre-war cars.
 
The 541
 
The CV8.
 
The final Jensen car was the SV8, of which a few were built before the company ceased trading.
LANCIA
It is 30 years since the launch of the Delta, and there were examples of all three different model generations.
    
  
The Hyena was a brave effort to build a stylish couple based on the Integrale. When Lancia refused to supply the component parts, complete cars had to be acquired, dismantled and then recreated with the stylish body. This meant that the price rocketed making the car far too expensive. I saw one advertised for sale recently, and there was not much change out of £100,000..
    
 
There was also a full range of Beta models on show, including the very rare Series 3 Berlina that I so enjoyed seeing at the Gaydon Italian car event in September.
       
LAND-ROVER
A varied mixture of early Land-Rovers and the second generation Range Rover comprised the stand here.
  
LINCOLN
From the mid 1950s was this car.
LOTUS
A couple of the Elan Plus2S
  
There were numerous examples of the long running Esprit, from some early Series 1 cars to the last S4S and V8 models.
    
The Excel was well represented, too.
 
A first generation Exige
MARCOS
There was a large stand for these relatively unknown cars, with examples of many of the different models that were built from the 1960s right up to the last effort, the rather nice TSO that sadly did not make production before the company ceased trading a couple of years ago.
    
    
Rarest of all was this 1971 Mantis. Just 32 of these cars were produced, the only 4 seater Marcos ever made. It is probably better known as a Corgi model (I had one as a youngster).
   
MASERATI
A very simple stand with 2 rows of classic Maserati from the 1960s and early 1970s, augmented by one of the latest GranTurismo cars.
3500GT
5000GT
   
Sebring
 
Mexico
Mistral
Indy
  
Ghibli
  
Khamsin
   
MATRA
A mix of Bagheera and Murena cars from the Romorantin maker were on the stand.
  
MERCEDES-BENZ
This was a big stand, with a lot of space on it, making me wonder if half the cars did not show up. Centrepiece was a W212 E350CGi.
The W124 E500 was tucked away in one corner.
Other classic Mercedes were in a line along one side of the stand.
 
There was an immaculate W124 car on the Meguiars stand.
Also on a stand all by itself was this 190E 2.5-16 Evo.
MG
Some lovely MG cars from the 1930s were to be found in the show, many of the unusual cars that are less commonly seen than the pure sports cars.
These Tickford bodies cars were particularly splendid. This is a TA.
 
This is a 1.5 litre car, a car which was modified slightly for continued sale after WW2.
  
This Magnette was a popular sports saloon offered between 1953 and 1958.
The well known sports cars were also on show, of course, These are Midgets.
 
MG A
 
The recent F and TF models were on display, too.
MICRO CARS
Tucked in the corner of Hall 1 was a varied display of Micro cars and bubble cars from the 1950s.
This Isetta-BMW and the BMW 600 should be celebrated as the cars that kept BMW in business (sales of the 501 - 503 and 507 were never going to do that) and thus all current BMW drivers should be grateful for these rather odd looking devices. This argument did not seem to go down very well with the other forummers, who seemed less than convinced.
 
Messerschmit Tg250
Two different examples of the Peel
 
Bond Model F
Berkley
The Scootacar
Meadows Frisky
Goggomobil TS250
Zundapp Janus
MINI
Not surprisingly, for a car celebrating its half century, there were lots of Minis on show.
   
MORGAN
A big year for the Malvern Link marque, which celebrated its centenary earlier in the year. Many of the cars that I enjoyed seeing at those events were on this large stand to see again.
  
The early three wheelers are always fun to see, and even better to hear in action.
     
This a Plus 4 from the 1950s.
Other cars included the ill-fated Plus4 Plus, one of just 22 cars that were made, and this one-off body on a mid 1950s chassis.
MORRIS
An early "Bull Nose" model
Morris Six
Every Classic Car show, it would seem, features the Morris Minor and there were certainly plenty of these much loved cars in attendance, with saloons, traveller, tourer, van and pickup to enjoy.
        
   
A Morris badged version of the 1800 "Land Crab".
 
Much derided even when new, the Marina and Ital enjoy a limited following these days, as the 4 cars on the stand testified. I used to go to school in a Sandglow Series 2 estate car and have to say I am not really a fan!
 
NASH
The Metropolitan was conceived as the right car for a niche identified in the US for market for something fun that was far smaller than the domestic offerings, and it enjoyed moderate success. Based on Austin components, the cars were made in the UK,and a few of the stayed here.
     
If you enjoyed this article, then take a look at:
NEC Classic Car Show and MPH09, Nov 2009 - Part 2
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Last Updated on Monday, 25 January 2010 19:42 |
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