News about classic and prestige cars
October 10, 2023 – marked the 40th anniversary of Audi Sport GmbH, which evolved from quattro GmbH. quattro GmbH has existed since 1983, and in 2016, it was renamed as Audi Sport GmbH: Today it is a wholly owned subsidiary of AUDI,
By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse
Six untouched Ford cars worth thousands of pounds have been discovered in an abandoned car showroom in Germany.
After some painstaking work, the YouTube channel Auto Retro tracked down the cars nearly 40 years on from the closure of a local dealership.
The ‘new’ cars included three zero-mile Sierras (including one estate), a Fiesta S MkII, an Escort 1.1 Laser MkIII and a 1.6 Orion diesel.
The owner of the showroom died in 1994 and the contents were left to his widow.
The showroom had not been opened to the public since the early 1990s, but his late wife made sure the building was kept tidy until her health meant she had to go into care. This maintenance helped keep the cars largely dust free.
The YouTube team originally found pictures of the garage online and used Google Maps to pinpoint the business.
It seems that in the 80s the owner stocked hundreds of cars at any one time. Many of these were sold when he died, leaving just a handful of untouched Fords kept in memory to her late husband.
The future of the motors uncovered seems unclear. On the one hand, the value of these ‘factory original’ cars is certain to rise. At current prices, the Sierras could be worth around £6,000 and Fiesta S double that.
But, it could be that the most fitting way forward would be to keep these treasures in honour of their late owner.
To view the YouTube film on this rare find click https://youtu.be/Pa5_5bRpgks?si=SJs5iV43D0ERSaIK
McLaren Automotive has confirmed its intention to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) from the 2024 season, with two 720S GT3 EVO cars for the United Autosports team in the new LMGT3 class.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023, McLaren is synonymous with motorsport and its customer racing activities began almost immediately with the McLaren M1 sports racing car in collaboration with Elva Sportscars.
McLaren returned to sportscar racing in the 1990s with the iconic F1 GTR in response to requests from customers. In addition to its legendary victory in the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans – in which McLaren became the first race car constructor to win motor racing’s unofficial Triple Crown – many F1 GTR cars were supplied to customers teams. These included David Price Racing and GTC Competition, both winners of the BPR Global Endurance Series, the forerunner to the FIA GT World Championship. In 1997 a GTC Competition F1 GTR in Longtail specification won the GT1 class at Le Mans, finishing the race 29 laps ahead of the closest manufacturer rival.
United Autosports has become established as one of the most respected teams in sportscar and GT racing since forming in 2010. The Wakefield, Yorkshire-based team also has a long history with McLaren Motorsport being amongst the first to race the original 12C GT3 race car. The team has claimed numerous championship victories over the years including WEC and Le Mans 24 Hours in 2020, establishing a strong reputation amongst drivers including team alumni Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris and Juan Pablo Montoya.
“Motorsport remains a fundamental part of McLaren’s future of performance strategy, and we have long viewed the WEC as a natural fit for demonstrating the performance capabilities of our cars. This includes a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans that is an intrinsic part of our enduring success in motorsport and in particular, the Triple Crown which is unique to McLaren as a supercar manufacturer and racing car constructor. We have selected United Autosports, who we feel shares our passion for endurance GT racing as well as the McLaren brand and, like McLaren, has a history of success in motorsport.
Michael Leiters, CEO, McLaren Automotive
United Autosports started out as a GT team, when Zak and Richard decided to form a team and go racing back in 2010. Since then, they have branched out into racing in multiple categories around the world.
The team are multiple championship and race winners having won the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2020, along with clinching the European Le Mans Series LMP2 title the same year, making them the first team to have ever won all three in the same year.
The team have also won the European Le Mans Series LMP3 Championship three times as well as both the LMP2 and LMP3 Asian Le Mans Series Championships.
Aside from their modern racing activities, they also have a growing historic motorsport sector, restoring and maintaining a huge range of historic Formula One cars, IndyCars and sports cars, all from the same workshop in Wakefield.
Classic Yorkshire’s primary goal is to bring you information that will encourage you to get out and use your classic car. This article is not one of those articles. It is a pure indulgence so that we can take a look at some spectacular cars. Feel free to skip to the picture gallery at the end, but the article is quite interesting. Why not join in the debate and make a comment. Would you have picked a different car, is there something on the list you don’t consider deserving? Did you go to this event? We would love to hear about it.
The organisers of the exclusive Concorso d’Eleganza Varignana 1705 have released details of the pre-1973 automobiles at the inaugural the event within Italy’s Motor Valley in Varignana, Italy, from October 13-15.
Each car, handpicked by a panel of global automotive critics and aficionados for its exceptional provenance, peerless aesthetics, and purity of purpose, represents a seminal moment in the history of automotive design and engineering. A total of 23 cars will be exhibited in five classes – ‘Eleganza Anteguerra – Pre-War Elegance’, ‘Le Corse Eroiche – Heroic Races’ ‘Gioielli Italiani – Italian Fine Gems’, ‘Gran Class Sportiva – Great Sporting Class’, ‘Grinta et Stile – Grit and Style’ and ‘Icone dalla Germania – German Icons’– within the majestic grounds of the 18th century Palazzo di Varignana to conclude the European automotive Concours season in superlative style.
The inaugural Concorso D’Eleganza Varignana 1705 has attracted many leading collectors, who have brought legendary cars from their iconic collections. Corrado Lopresto and his family will display their exceptional Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Berlinetta Touring, Silvia Nicolis releases the wonderful Fiat 1100 E Vistotal from the famed Nicolis Museum while Hidetomo Kimura travels from Japan with his stunning Fiat 750 GT MM Zagato.
Naturally, as the Concorso D’Eleganza Varignana 1705 is located in Italy’s Motor Valley in Bologna, ‘local’ talent, in the form of legendary brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati, is exceptionally well represented. But home victory is far from guaranteed, certainly not in the Pre-War Elegance class, where a regal 1937 Jaguar SS 100 will prove robust competition for entrants, including the aforementioned 1938 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Berlinetta Touring, an ultra-rare, 1933 lightweight aluminium-bodied Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GS Zagato, and a 1929 Lancia Lamba VIII Seire Berlina GT Cabriolet, widely regarded as one of the most technically advanced automobiles of the age.
In the second class of the Concorso D’Eleganza Varignana 1705, a 1927/35 Bugatti 37/44 Grand Prix will line up alongside a 1926 Maserati Tipo 26, a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS and a 1939/46 HRG Le Mans from the sadly long-since defunct British sportscar manufacturer. may seem to have little in common. All four exude the indomitable spirit of Corse Eroiche – Heroic Races – the name of the class in which they are exhibited.
The ‘Italian Fine Gems’ class provides an equally eclectic, yet arguably more exquisite amalgamation of machinery. A Fiat 110 E Cabriolet ‘Visotal’ Castagna will share lawn space at Palazzo di Varignana with a 1951 Fiat 750 GT MM Zagato and a 1952 Ermini 1100 Sport Internazionale – one of just three examples built.
Deciding the winner of the ‘Great Sporting Class’, where entries are set to include a 1965 Bizzarrini 5300 GT, a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, a 1968 Lamborghini Miura P400 and a Ferrari 275 GTB, will not be a task for the faint-hearted or the uninitiated. But the members of the Concorso D’Eleganza Varignana 1705 judging panel, Mr. Stefano Pasini, Mr. Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Mr. Adolfo Orsi, Dr. Mercatali and Dr. Giorgetti, have the resolve, knowledge, and experience to arrive at the correct decision.
‘Grit and Style’ is the name of the fifth class. Such qualities are epitomised by the 1963 Lancia Flaminia Zagato 3C, a car born to cross continents with peerless performance and unimpeachable character. A second legend of the Lancia marque, a 1955 Aurelia B24 Spider, and an exquisite 1964 Alfa Romeo TZ will be also gracing the grounds of Palazzo di Varignana with their enchanting elegance. A 1955 Fiat 8V Zagato, a car as capable of stunning motor show visitors as it was leading the competition a merry dance on racetrack and rally route, rounds off the class.
Finally, the ‘German Icons’ class illustrates the white heat of technological development that fuelled the country’s post-war rise to a powerhouse of automotive engineering. Collectors and enthusiasts alike can marvel at the metamorphosis of the breed as represented by the transition from cars such as the era- defining post-war 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing and 1957 Mercedes 300 SL Roadster to the dawning of a new decade of autobahn-storming performance with the 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL.
Aston Martin specialist Nicholas Mee & Co has a one-of-two Aston Martin DB Mk III Drophead Coupé with high-performance engine and many other competition-specification parts from new and might well be the only one surviving.
Buyers of luxury cars were spoilt for choice in the mid-1950s. Rolls-Royce and Bentley built impossibly expensive limousines for their traditional market of heads of state, royalty, businessmen and the landed gentry. Ferrari and Maserati supplied fast GTs for sportsmen, playboys, film stars and racing drivers. Porsche was beginning to make a name for itself building the ‘thinking man’s sports car’, one constructed to high standards and with individual character. Mercedes-Benz (300 SL ‘Gullwing’) and BMW (507 Roadster) proved that series-production manufacturers could build desirable, ultra-expensive models.
Aston Martin stood somewhere in the middle, an unmatched combination of style, sophistication and performance, all presented as a roomy 2+2. One journalist described the hatchback DB 2/4 as “a very sporting car that you can drive in a dinner jacket.” You could also race it at Le Mans and rally it on the ‘Monte’. With or without DJ.
The DB Mk III was the fastest and final model in the DB2 series introduced in 1950. Although always referred to as a ‘Feltham car’, by the late 1950s when the DB Mk III came out, the production process was increasingly based at Newport Pagnell. Polish engineer Tadek Marek, creator of the DB4/5/6 straight-six and 1970s V8, worked-over the WO Bentley-designed six-cylinder engine to give it more power and reliability. In ultimate ‘DBB’ specification with triple Weber carburettors, a higher compression ratio, special camshafts, strengthened con rods and twin exhausts, it produced 195bhp – some 20 per cent more than a regular engine.
This was a competitive figure, enough to make the fastest DB Mk IIIs perform on a par with touring Italian GTs and Jaguar XKs. Even the production racing car DB3S – 20 built – could not boast much more muscle, though it was significantly lighter.
Far rarer than the exotic DB3S was the pair of DB Mk III Drophead Coupés delivered new with ‘hot rod’ DBB engines. An example of this is now available from Nicholas Mee & Co and is believed to be the sole surviving car.
Aston Martin DB Mk III Drophead Coupé chassis 300/3/1555 was ordered new in Black with a Beige Connolly leather interior. The car’s build sheet is clear: it was built for serious driving. Not only did it have the highest-specification engine, it also sported newly introduced front disc brakes and Alfin rear drums, competition shock absorbers, chrome-plated wire wheels, a twin exhaust system, fly-off handbrake and, appropriately for its first Canadian owner, a high-capacity heater.
Although right-hand drive, the car was delivered new to Montreal. Amazingly, it stayed with this family from May 1958 to 1987 – almost 30 years – when it passed to a collector in North Carolina. From there it returned to the first owner’s son in 2005, who kept it for seven years, at which point it came back to the UK with only 31,000 miles covered from new. It has been displayed in the Rotunda at the Royal Automobile Club’s HQ in Pall Mall and, while in America, in 1989 it was invited by Aston Martin to be shown at the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
With such low mileage and enthusiast ownership throughout its life, successive owners have been careful to preserve as much originality as possible. It is presented in as-delivered Black with Beige leather, a stunning livery that suits the sporting Aston, now totally ‘on the button’ thanks to a rebuilt engineand has just 36,500 miles recorded.
“Move the clock back only a few years and Stirling Moss, Tony Brooks and Peter Collins were thrashing allcomers at the very top level of international sports car racing. The famous David Brown Racing Team could beat anything Jaguar, Ferrari or Maserati might throw at it. It won the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Sportscar Championship in 1959.
“This is the road car of those days, with many shared components, and was built alongside those famous DB3S and DBR1 racing cars. The classic and collectors’ market today prizes originality and unique specification: our DB Mk III Drophead Coupé is in its original colours, just one of two cars with the powerful DBB engine. After 65 years, the other’s whereabouts are unknown.
By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse
A pair of classic 3-litre Ford Capris that featured in the ITV series, The Professionals, have sold for a record £186,750 at auction.
The cars were driven by undercover agents Bodie and Doyle (played by actors Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw) in the 70s TV hit.
Ford were happy to supply the pacy cars for the show as part of the sales drive for the coupe.
The pairs previous owner kept them for 16 years and lightly restored them in 2021, before they went ‘under the hammer’ with Midland’s auction house, Iconic.
The Capri car came in a range of engines from 1300cc to 3100cc and between 1969 and 1986 1.9 million cars were produced.
In the TV show, our all-action duo would zoom around in countless car chases in their 3.0 S model that could reach 148bhp. Bodie took the wheel of a Stratos Silver Capri, whilst Doyle favoured the Solar Gold model.
According to Ford, the Capri’s TV exposure would add to the allure of the popular British coupe, particularly with the younger target market.
The previous record price paid for a 3.0 S was £55,000 in 2016.
The winning auction price for the two cars shows the growing ‘classic’ interest in the Capri – certainly some jump on the £6,147 the 3.0 S cost new in 1980.
Technology has made the whole process of navigation much simpler and relatively easy to obtain data on travel time, distance, traffic and arrival times. But what if you don’t have a postcode for your destination. Suppose it is a field in the middle of the countryside or a layby on an unfamiliar A road.
To deal with this some bright spark invented what3words: a geolocation app designed to make it easier to pinpoint precise locations using three-word co-ordinates when an address either doesn’t exist or won’t suffice.
The app has proved enormously successful since its launch a decade ago, with more than 50 million smartphone downloads in dozens of countries. It is used for everything from car satnavs to music festival maps and food delivery, and has become vital for people with accessibility issues, who can direct taxis to the step-free side-entrance of a building instead of being left outside its unhelpful front doors.
What3words is now turning its attention to even more important matters: saving lives. The geocoordinates are being adopted by emergency services in the UK and beyond to track down people in need of help more quickly. Call takers at control rooms are trained to collect as much location information as possible from callers, and what3words has proven to be useful when identifying exactly where to send assistance.
How useful could the application help the average classic car owner? Well the obvious answer is to find a show or meeting in an obscure field somewhere. But what about a medical emergency, or a breakdown.
It is easy to use and you simply find your location on a map or ariel photo in the app. It will then give you three words, accurate to 3 meters, that will identify the location to anyone you share it with.
Download the app on your mobile phone through the usual app providers.
Footman James has revealed the top five most popular places according to Britain’s classic car and bike community, after receiving hundreds of votes during its campaign to find the UK’s Classic Capital.
Over the last six weeks, enthusiasts from across the country have had their say on the locations and venues that help to make classic vehicle ownership so enjoyable, ahead of a final vote to establish the overall winner.
The UK’s Classic Capital campaign has been created to recognise places that bring together like-minded enthusiasts to share their passion for classic, vintage, and retro vehicles, and has attracted a hugely diverse range of suggestions. From towns and villages with strong local populations of classics, to challenging countryside B-roads popular with drivers and bikers alike, the campaign has captured the imagination of enthusiasts everywhere.
Five finalists stand out after receiving the highest number of votes, with Footman James now asking the public to help the judges decide the overall worthy winner of ‘the UK’s Classic Capital’ title.
The UK’s Classic Capital – Finalists:
Oxfordshire-based Bicester Heritage, situated on the A4421, Launton, is home to 45 specialist automotive businesses on a 444-acre former WW2 RAF Bomber Training Station. Its regular Sunday Scramble and Scramblers Assembly events attract thousands of enthusiasts from across the country, featuring classic vehicles of all shapes and sizes.
Coleshill Auto Breakfast Meet has grown from a small meet-up in a car park in Birmingham into a 4,000-strong gathering now hosted at Birch Coppice Sports & Social Club just off the A5 in Dordon, proving particularly popular with local classic car and bike fans from Birmingham and Staffordshire.
The historic Goodwood Motor Circuit is Footman James’ third finalist in its search for the UK’s Classic Capital, and one of the country’s premier venues for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport. Its annual Festival of Speed and Revival events are key dates in Britain’s automotive calendar, making Goodwood a firm favourite with many enthusiasts.
The Motorist, based in Sherburn in Elmet near Leeds, has quickly grown into one of the North’s most popular automotive venues since its launch a few years ago. It’s now home to an onsite restaurant, shop, and service centre, as well as hosting themed shows and meets held every week, all year round – including Coffee and Cars, Wheels & Wings and Bikes & Bonnets.
Footman James’ fifth finalist is Re:Fuel, opened in August 2022 and is situated close to J28 of the M5 motorway. Open seven days per week, its onsite café, racing simulator and paddock area are open to all petrolheads and enthusiasts on two or four wheels, with space for up to 150 cars or 300 bikes.
Voting is now open via the Footman James website and will close on Sunday 15th October. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 24th October.
Lets all vote to make sure that a Yorkshire business gets the award. Not just because it is from Yorkshire but because The Motorist is bloody brilliant.
To vote, please visit: https://footmanjames.co.uk/classic-capital-2023/classic-capital
By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse
It’s a sad sign of the times that VW bosses have called time on its flagship saloon.
In 2019, the Passat was described as ‘the best selling mid-size car on the planet’, having built over 30 million models worldwide since its launch in 1973.
The original Passat was the work of Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, who also worked on the Mk1 Golf as well as the infamous DMC DeLorean.
The styling of the first Passat mirrored that of the Audi 80 and came in two and four-door hatchback design. A five-door estate model followed in 1974.
Over the decades the Passat has gone through nine generations and become hugely popular in the fleet and family markets.
In terms of design, Volkswagen may have played it safe with the Passat but I have a personal reason to love this particular example of German engineering.
My dad’s last car was a 1998 2-litre Passat in Elegance Green with automatic transmission. It had a quite stunning cream leather interior rounded off with a walnut-effect dashboard. He loved the car and for a previously loyal Jag owner that was saying something!
The end of the four-door Passat is the story of changing tastes, the growing appeal of SUVs and the industry’s relentless shift towards electric options.
Thankfully, VW aren’t throwing the towel in on the iconic Passat just yet as they plan to launch an estate model in early 2024, including petrol and diesel options.
Second-hand Passats traditionally offer great value and they just run and run. Amongst the pick is the W8. Introduced in 2002, the W8 is powered by an eight-cylinder engine generating 275bhp. Inside, the car features plush upholstery and all the executive gadgets VW could muster at the time.
Not bad for a VW range some described as ‘boring’.
Can you help the Historic Marathon Group to locate a couple of cars for their celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 1974 UDT World Cup Rally. On Sunday 21st April 2024 there will be a celebration at the British Motor Museum.
The Historic Marathon Rally Group are looking for two cars which they know exist but don’t know where they are. The cars are Andrew Cowan’s Ford Escort XPU216L and a Hillman Minx MFV632. We know that XPU was sold by Bonhams in 2007 but have no idea who bought it.
As there are very few cars left from this event in this country HMRG are going to make this a Marathon Rally Show for all marathon rally cars, but with the main theme being the 1974 rally. The HMRG will have a stand at the NEC Classic Motor Show, 10th – 12th November.
I am pleased to say that Classic Yorkshire has managed to find two cars for the HMRG and it would be terrific if we can find the final two.
If you know where either of these cars are please email us at yorkshirepublications@gmail.com. Do not put contact information on our comments page or any other public forum.
The Mini must be one of the most iconic British cars to date. Not only was it a successful family car during the 60’s and 70’s it also had an incredible sporting heritage. It was a winner in both rallying and saloon car racing driven by racing legends of the day. Today the Mini is so popular that people pay incredible prices for cars with a celebrity or racing endorsement and some Minis are being assembled from largely new parts and sold for £100k plus.
Once you get the Mini bug it is hard to shake and you can become obsessed with Mini related memorabilia and Mini trivia. For those wishing to learn more about the Mini they would do well to visit the mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk site where you will find an archive of Mini documents and photographs.
The site covers Mk1-3 cars including variants such as the Mini Moke and plenty on the Cooper S. The site is very comprehensive and was clearly a labour of love for someone. You will find many of the original BMC brochures, service guides and workshop manuals, a photo library, promotional posters and advertising.
For those of you who are interested in the motorsport history of the Mini there is plenty for you too, including copies of homologation papers.
There is a Blog too where you can buy your next car or debate how original cars are that have been to auction.
The site is quite old fashioned in design but works effectively enough. Without doubt it is a valuable source of important information and a credit to the archivist who set it up. I won’t tell you any more as you should discover it yourself. If you are interested in the Mini or cars of the 60’s in general then I have no hesitation in recommending this site.
Click the link below to go to the site.
https://mk1-performance-conversions.co.uk/bmc_factory_docs.htm
By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse
Let’s be frank the racy Peugeot RCZ is a real ‘head-turner’, from its sweeping lines to its unique ‘double-bubble’ glass roof.
The coupe, arguably a ‘left field’ alternative to the more popular Audi TT, was launched in 2010.
It offers a sporty driving experience, low running costs and prices that undercut the TT.
Petrol models come with a 1.6 litre turbocharged engine giving 156, 197 and 270bhp. A two-litre diesel engine alternative is capable of reaching a punchy 163bhp.
Pick of the range is the Peugeot RCZ-R, launched in 2013, and developed by Peugeot Sport. Their expertise made the ‘R’ extremely agile, smooth and with a tremendous road grip.
In terms of performance, it gives the likes of the TT, VW Scirocco and BMW 2-Series a real run for their money.
A modified version of the RCZ also achieved touring car success, including class victories at the Nurburgring 24 Hours endurance race.
On the negative side, the RCZ is prone to electrical issues and is tricky to work on under the bonnet.
Despite being one of the best looking Peugeots ever made, it was pulled from production after a big drop in sales from 2013. In six years, 67,900 RCZs were built and roughly a fifth of these made it onto UK roads.
The line-up started at £19,900 for the 156bhp Sport and low mileage examples can be picked up for less than £10,000. At the top end, the R version cost £31,995 at its launch. Only 300 UK-registered R models were sold here and second hand prices are around half its original price.
It’s a car that’s becoming a bit of a rarity but one that looks a future classic in the making.