By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse

If you’re looking for a lively sports coupe blending style and exceptional handling then how about taking a look at the Volkswagen Corrado?

Twenty-eight years ago, production ended but not before the Corrado had given rivals like the Porsche 944 and Audi’s performance models a good run for their money.

The front-wheel-drive car was built on the platform of a Golf Mk2 and initially launched with a choice of 1.8 engines – one a 16-valve Golf GTI unit and the other a supercharged 1.8 litre capable of 160 bhp, known as the G60.

Further variants were added in 1992 including a 2.0 litre 16-valve and impressive 12-valve VR6 engine. The latter comprised a powerful 2.9 litre unit achieving 190 bhp and would really boost the car’s appeal as a high performance motor.

Interestingly, its name didn’t follow the tradition of naming Volkswagen cars after a ‘wind’. The Corrado came from the Spanish verb ‘Correr meaning ‘to run’ or ‘sprint’, however the prototype of the car did have a wind-related name, the Typhoon.

The Corrado was superbly built with eye-catching lines. The price wasn’t bad either with buyers able to pick up a VR6 model for around £25,000.

In return, they got a car mixing quality, great handling and German efficiency.

By 1992 it had superceded its ‘stablemate’, the Scirocco, after being sold alongside one another.

A limited edition VR Storm would round off the Corrado story with 500 produced for the UK market in 1995.

Bosses at Volkswagen might have expected more of a car brimming with features and power, and by the mid-nineties they were keen to focus on the mass market sellers in their marque, such as the Golf and Passat.

Today, there are just 1,200 Corrados on UK roads and many of these have been modified. Original good condition examples can be found for around £10,000 and the VR6 and G60 models can reach £15,000.

For the rarer Storm limited edition, prices top £20,000. That’s if you can find one!

Car & Classic have revealed that the Ford Escort still tops the most searched for classic car of 2022. The outcome is the result of an analysis tracking the classic car searches between 2022 and 2021.

Ford is still the most-searched for brand, but whilst the Escort, Capri and Cortina are still making up more than 50% of overall Ford searches, the humble Fiesta has seen a resurgence, perhaps because of the current model’s discontinuation announced in 2022.

Interest in Triumph, with the Stag and TR6 the most popular models across both 2021 and 2022, remains steady in second place.

BMW, third in 2021, settles for sixth place in 2022, after Jaguar (third in 2022, up from fourth in 2021) and the other two main German brands, Porsche and VW; interest in E30 is everlasting, if not even stronger.

Both Jaguar’s E-type and Mk2 are confirmed as first and second most searched-for models in 2022 as in the previous year.

Real winner among Porsche models is the 924, third most-searched for after the 911 and 944; in 2021, that spot was taken by the 356. “The Porsche community seems to agree that the 924, for a long time the underrated model, is now enjoying a resurgence.

Land Rover Defender and Range Rover are not as popular in 2022 as they were in 2021. Land Rover’s bigger engines are not as desirable as the smaller, 2l diesel units moving older Land Rovers; series 1, 2 and 3 models are still the top 4×4 searched-for.”

There are indications that Toyota may not be as sought-after as it was in 2021: the Supra is third most-searched among the brand’s models, with the MR2 taking the top spot. Overall, Toyota brings up the rear in the top ten marque list.

Top 10 marque searches in 2022

FORD
TRIUMPH
JAGUAR
PORSCHE
VW
BMW
MG
LANDROVER
ROVER
TOYOTA

Top 10 model searches in 2022

Ford Escort
Triumph Stag
Jaguar E-type
BMW 3-series (mainly E30)
VW Golf
MG MGB
Land Rover
Rover Mini
Toyota MR2

Facebook was buzzing this week when MST (MotorSport Tools) teased us with news of a new build Metro 6R4 for the historic motorsport enthusiast.

I have a particular soft spot for the 6R4 and it invokes some very special memories for me.  It was 1985 when I moved into marketing and public relations and my employer was a sponsor of the Lombard RAC Rally.  I was given a press pass which allowed me access to all the special stages as well as Rally HQ.  The Metro 6R4 was the latest Group B rally car to hit the scene, though unfortunately rumors were beginning to circulate that Group B was doomed.  Tony Pond and Rob Arthur piloted the car to 3^rd place.

Many years later (around 20) I was fortunate enough to be able to drive Tony Ponds 6R4 through the streets of Bradford for an unusual event which saw rally cars driving a street course through Bradford City Centre (If you look carefully, you can find it on YouTube).  It is the only Group B rally car I have driven and it is without doubt one of my life’s motoring highlights.

I love rally cars of this period and often ponder which I would own, given a lottery win.  It would need to be a big win as I would find it hard to choose between the Peugeot 205 T16, Lancia Stratos, Audi Quattro and the 6R4.  I still don’t think there has been a more exciting period of car development in the rallying world.

The post that caused the commotion was by MST who are well known Welsh builders of Ford Escorts for road, rally and track.   Such was the interest that in just 48 hours the post received 2 500 comments (mostly offering kidneys for sale) and was shared almost 4 000 times.

The post, shown below contained only limited information

***The All New 6R4 coming soon!***

Yes brand new road registered 6R4s are going into production, mid engined V6, 4-wheel drive, sequential gearbox, all new carbon fibre body kit based on the original classic

Hand built in Wales, with Innovate Composites

Please contact us to register your interest for 2024

No details of the cars specification were revealed so I contacted the company who have been overwhelmed by interest in the project.  They have promised to keep me informed and I shall write a follow up as soon as more information becomes available.

If you are into your early fast fords then you should visit their website and if you want a new 6R4 then get your order in early.   And when you take delivery give me a call so that I can do a feature.

MST Contact details:

Tel: 01758 750 438

Email: sales@mst-cars.com

Facebook: (5) MST Cars | Facebook

http://www.mst-cars.com

By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse

In 1973, British Leyland launched an ambitious rival to the likes of BMW and Alfa Romero’s strong hold on the medium-sized sports saloon market. It came in the shape of the Dolomite Sprint.

It’s fair to say the motoring press loved the new car with its ‘slant-four’ 1998cc engine serving as a punchier version of the Dolomite range that had been rolled out a year earlier.

The Sprint would become the world’s first mass-produced car with a multi valve engine.

For just a touch over £1,700 buyers got a Triumph with 16-valve engine, alloy wheels, wooden facia dashboard, vinyl roof, twin-exhaust and a top speed of 116 mph.

In terms of performance, the Sprint more than matched its continental ‘cousins’ such as the BMW 2002, Fiat 132 1.8L and Alfa Romeo GTs.

The Dolomite Sprint’s image would be boosted by racing success including taking the British Saloon Car Championship in 1975 with Andy Rouse at the wheel.

An oddity with the Sprint was its limited colour choice. It was launched in Mimosa Yellow only, to mirror Triumph’s popular sports car look. Thankfully, other colours came a long, but not metallic.

As the 70s rolled on, the Dolomite range would face troubled times with industrial unrest and a lack of investment at British Leyland ultimately ‘stalling’ the car’s success. 

Indeed, the launch of the Sprint – put back one year – mirrored delays in the roll out of the Dolomite range. Contrast that to the sales of the German 2002 range which was launched a few years earlier and consistently sold well.

In 1980, BL closed Dolomite production at its Canley factory in a so-called restructuring move. Nearly, 23,000 Sprints had been made over eight years.

A year later, the Acclaim came along in a joint venture with Honda. This would keep the Triumph marquee alive to 1984.

Looking back, the Sprint was a fabulous car which gave its European rivals a real run for their money.

Today, if you’re thinking about buying a Dolomite Sprint prices can start at over £20,000 for a good low mileage example – still cheaper than a hot Escort. But, beware top values have doubled over the last five years.

During my research into the racing driver Anita Taylor, I found that she was mostly referred to as Trevor Taylor’s sister.   Trevor was a successful racing driver who drove alongside Jim Clarke at Lotus but he was never referred to as Anita Taylors brother.  

Anita was a successful racer in her own right and was one of those small band of women in 1960’s who raced at the highest level of motorsport.  The garage owning Taylor family were very well connected in motorsport and this brought them many opportunities. 

Anita was born in Sheffield and like many racing drivers she started out in rallying before moving on to circuit racing.  Her first race was in a Ford Anglia at the 1962 Silverstone International, which she failed to finish.  However things improved and she took an important win in the BMRC Trophy driving a Lotus Elan that had been previously raced by Jim Clark.  Later that year she drove in the Brands Hatch six hours with fellow Yorkshire women Anne Hall in another Ford Anglia.  She competed in the British Saloon Car Championship between 1962 and 1967, mostly in the trusty Ford Anglia.  

The BSCC was a very popular series and included drivers like Jim Clark, Jack Sears and Danny Hulme.  In 1964 Anita, with her brother Trevor, formed Aurora racing to tackle the BSCC in Mini Coopers.  The team did not make much of an impact due to the exceptional driving talent that they were competing against.

After two years in the Mini Coopers, Anita and Trevor moved to Broadspeed and were back in Ford Anglia’s once again.   She won the Silverstone International Trophy in the under one litre class.  At the end of the season, she rolled the Anglia in front of the TV camera’s but despite this, Broadspeed took the team championship.

After the 1966 season she married Dave Mathews and went to the Bahamas for her honeymoon.  Co-incidentally it was Nassau Speedweek and she drove a Shelby GT350 in two races for the fledgling  Ring Free oil ladies team.  For 1967 she became a full time member of the Ring Free team along with Smokey Drolet and Janet Guthrie.  They finished 20^th overall in the Daytona 24 hour and in the Sebring 12 hour they were 35^th in an Alpine Renault A110.  Anita continued to be sponsored by Ford during this period as well as driving for Broadspeed in the BSCC. 

Her career was now coming to a close though she continued to take part in rallies and driving stunts for Ford.  However she was becoming increasingly disillusioned by Ford using her as more of a model than a racing driver.  This article announcing her retirement shows what women racing drivers had to put up with and it is a recurring theme in almost every interview and video that I looked at for this piece.  I would like to say that it isn’t like this today but sadly, I don’t think we are quite at the point where we appreciate women drivers for their talent rather than their looks.

In 1967 she retired and settled into family life (though her marriage didn’t last).  She never competed again but remained a motorsport enthusiast and attended many events.

By Classic Yorkshire correspondent Tony Lofthouse

The iconic Audi TT is set to end production this year after 25 years, with the carmaker deciding now is the time to go all electric.

To mark the signing off of the TT, the German car giants are rolling out a ‘special’ Final Edition model.

They add that the TT brand will live on in the form of an all-electric SUV in a couple of years, but for petrolheads it’s the end of an era.

The Audi TT stunned the car world as a concept model at the 1995 Frankfurt Motor Show. Three years later the car went into production with only marginal changes to the prototype.

There have been three generations of the TT following a design notable for its Bauhaus-inspired lines.

The car originally came as a coupe before a roadster version was introduced in 1999. A limited edition Audi TT Quattro Sport come along in 2005.

Under the bonnet, TT buyers had a choice of two turbocharged four cylinder 1.8 litre engines providing 180 or 225 bhp. A 2005 facelift saw the introduction of a Volkswagen 3.2 litre V6 engine giving 247 bhp.

Inside the TT, the cabin is typically robust with styling options to include extensive leather trim.

Sportier S and RS versions were added to the second generation of the car.

The TT proved an instant hit in the UK and the market has stayed strong.

“Few models have lasted the test of time as well as the TT,” says Audi UK Director, Andrew Doyle. “Our Final Edition range combines everything our customers love about this iconic model.”

For interested TT buyers, the time is now! The Mk 1 version is seeing the highest price appreciation and, in particular, the limited edition TT Quattro Sport, with only 800 units made for UK buyers.

At the moment you can pick up an early 1.8 coupe in good condition for as little as £3,000. For the rarer 3.2 V6 prices rise.

It’s fair to say the car was a real game-changer for Audi and with the end of the road in site demand is sure to spike.

When you consider the new TT Final Edition will start at £41,910 (for the coupe), savvy buyers might prefer to scour the second-hand market for a piece of real motoring history!

As McLaren marks its 60th anniversary, the supercar maker has teamed up with the LEGO Group to release the first-ever double pack of LEGO Speed Champions featuring two of McLaren’s most iconic supercars: the McLaren F1 LM and McLaren Solus GT.

Both LEGO creations pay homage to McLaren’s technical innovation and design with authentic details from the real-life cars, including the Papaya Orange colour of the F1 LM, its central driving seat position, and cooling ducts.

The 581-piece set also features two LEGO minifigure drivers in their his and hers McLaren ‘race suits’.

Sixty years ago, New Zealand-born racer, engineer and visionary Bruce McLaren set-up the racing team that remains one of the world’s most successful names in motorsport. McLaren is the only team to have won the ‘Triple Crown of Motorsport’ with race victories in the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans 24 Hours. In the 1960s, Bruce himself unveiled the M6GT, the first ever McLaren supercar.

The LEGO Group and McLaren first joined forces in 2015, and since then have created six LEGO Speed Champions McLaren cars and two LEGO Technic McLaren models. In celebration of McLaren’s 60th milestone and the launch of the first double-pack together, designers from both the LEGO Group and McLaren recently came together at the LEGO HQ in Billund, Denmark. You can watch the video here:

The new LEGO Speed Champions McLaren Solus GT and McLaren F1 LM set will be available from March 1 2023. 

The sale of 7 Lotuses from the Piddington collection has created a great deal of interest in the Lotus community. The debate is mostly about values and the impact of celebrity ownership on values.

I popped along to the auction to see the cars and how they faired. The least famous of the seven was the 1975 Elan Sprint whose claim to fame is that it was the last Elan to be registered for the road in the UK. The car was estimated at £50 000-£80 000 which is pretty strong for an Elan, even one in this exceptional condition. In the end it sold for £45 000, £5 000 below estimate. Given that this was a car without a celebrity connection it seems to be about right.

Next on the rostrum was the Ron Hickman drop head Elan Sprint in blue and white and again the car was in excellent condition. Most Lotus fans will know that Ron was the designer of the Elan and Europa, though he made his money from the design of the workmate which he sold to Black and Decker. This is probably not the kind of celebrity that would add any significant value to the car. The car was estimated at £70 000 to £90 000. It sold for £62 250, a high but not unreasonable price for a car of that specification with a touch added for the Ron Hickman connection. However, the estimate suggests that the celebrity value of the Ron Hickman connection was over estimated.

Next up was the 1974 sprint estimated at £80 000 – £120 000. This S4 Coupé was particularly special as it was presented to Jochen Rindt by Colin Chapman at Hockenheim in August 1970. This was to celebrate his win in the Lotus 72 at that year’s German Grand Prix. It was to be his final win prior to his untimely death at Monza a few weeks later. An association with a top racing driver definitely adds cache and value though at a sale price of £66 250 it still fell short of the bottom estimate.

Next up was the Rob Walker Elan S3 SE. Again Rob Walker is not a figure of popular culture but a gentleman racer and Grand Prix privateer R.R.C.’Rob’ Walker. It was built to commemorate Stirling Moss’ legendary Monaco Grand Prix win in 1961 aboard the Rob Walker Racing Lotus 18. Estimated at £50 000 £80 000, it ran out of steam at £49 500, though it met the sellers minimum price. Again the price was strong for an S3 SE which in this condition would expect to fetch £35-£45 000.

The final car with a Lotus endorsement was an S4 given to Keith Duckworth, co-founder of Cosworth Engineering, by Lotus to commemorate the first win by a DFV-engined Grand Prix car at the Dutch GP in 1967.  Again it was strongly estimated at £50 000 to £80 000 but sold for £39 500.

Next come the two stars of the show. The first was the 1966 Lotus Elan S3-SE which was delivered to Peter Sellers’ Haymarket home on June 22 1966 and, when in London, was driven by him, with wife Britt Ekland in the passenger seat, until 1969. It is a car that was in Peters ownership for 3 years and photographed a number of times with Britt. Peter and Britt were true cultural icons with a clear connection to the car, so what would the impact be on value. The estimate has jumped from £80 – £120 000. However it sold for £74 250 which probably represents a £30 000 celebrity premium.

When it comes to iconic Lotus Elans there is none more so than the Avengers Lotus Elan driven by Emma Peel.  After filming Series 5 and 6 the Television Company gave the S3 Drophead to Diana Rigg who played Emma Peel in 51 episodes of the long-running British TV series. Again this was estimated at £80 000 to £120 000. It sold for a very healthy £164 250 and represents a celebrity premium of around £130 000.

The lesson from the sale of these seven cars is that an association with an important figure does add value to a car as it lifts it above a similar car with no such association. However that premium is relatively small in most cases though this perhaps doesn’t apply to race cars and drivers. However if there is a true cultural icon driving a car in a famous film or television programme then the value grows exponentially. Ultimately however, regardless of the pre auction hype, the market will determine value and like all investments, they can go down as well as up.

By Classic Yorkshire correspondent, Tony Lofthouse

An 18 year-old Renault Clio with just 1,872 miles on the clock is expected to sell for a six-figure sum at auction next month.

The Clio Sport V6 255 has rarely been seen on a UK road since rolling off the production line in France in 2005.

The lliad blue Clio has a 3-litre engine which produces, you’ve guessed it, 255 bhp and comes with the original log book and series manual.

The model was based on the Clio Mk2, though it shares few parts with that car.

At the time of its launch in 2003, the upgraded ‘phase 2’ V6 model was a step up in power from the earlier ‘phase 1’ version built by Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) in Sweden. 

The car came from racing heritage, borne out of the Clio V6 Trophy competition series.

Only 1,309 phase 2 Clio’s were built between 2003 and 2005.

This particular pristine version was off the road between 2013 and 2021 and new it would have cost £25,995.

The car will go under the hammer at Anglia Car Auctions in Norfolk on the weekend of 1^st – 2^nd April and is expected to break the previous record for a Clio which is £92,000.

Auctioneer Guy Snelling said: “This Clio is an absolutely fabulous car with just one registered owner and has been stored in the vendor’s garage for much of its life.

“They made a phase one and two, but it is the phase two which is most desirable.”

Today, good condition V6s are attracting spiralling prices for what is a ‘time warp’ performance classic!

For more details on the car and auction click https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/classic-auctions/

I was going to write a short article about how much I enjoyed the rally stages at Race Retro. But then I thought that a gallery of pictures would tell the story better than words ever could. What I will say is, if you want to see cars from all era’s of rallying, then this is probably the finest selection of cars that you are going to see driven in anger. See the video at the end of the gallery. Museums are great, but these cars were designed to be in the wild, not in air conditioned sheds.

It is three years since Race Retro has been held and many enthusiasts of historic rallying have missed it. Set in Stoneleigh Park near Coventry, it is an ideal location for this type of event. It is an agricultural centre with an exhibition hall, a variety of sheds and tarmac tracks. Race Retro is a unique event with an indoor exhibition of specialist suppliers supported by a live rally stage.

The rally stage is populated by a collection of 130 rally cars from the 50’s and 60’s, through the Group B era to recent rallying history. Every time the regulations change it becomes increasingly difficult for cars to remain eligible for modern rallying. Many of these cars are highly desirable (and valuable) and owners may not wish to subject them to the rough conditions of competitive rallying. So for them the chance to drive their cars enthusiastically on tarmac paths presents the ideal opportunity to enjoy the cars with minimum risk.

The rally stages are organised by the excellent Rallying with GB who ensure that the stage is properly managed, staffed and safe for drivers and spectators. My tip is to make sure you attend on the Saturday or Sunday as the rally stages are not held on the Friday. Also try to attend the morning sessions as the cars breakdown as the event progresses and by the last session of the weekend your favorite car could be missing.

Two exhibition halls house all manner of suppliers. If you are looking for specialist racing or rallying parts or even the opportunity to build a complete car then this is a good place to start. There are the inevitable model car sellers, books and art as well as purveyors of man cave products. For those of you who are looking for adventure on the road with your classic car there are plenty of organisation’s who put on Uk and international road rallies.

You will also find a programme of interviews with interesting people from the world of racing and rallying. Dai Llewellyn and Louise Aitken Walker gave interviews in between driving on the rally stages along with Tony Jardine and Jason Plato.

Outside there was a small Autojumble and a demonstration of historic Go karting.

The third hall is dedicated to Silverstone Auctions who had an extensive catalogue of cars to be sold. The most stunning sale was the 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 which sold for £590 500. Yes, almost £600 000. For a more modest £164 250 you could have bought the Emma Peel Avengers Lotus Elan. However there were plenty of more modest cars such as the Mercedese belonging to Tony Brooks for £4250 through to a good collection interesting cars in the £20 to £30k range (take a look here https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/)

If you are interested in the historic race and rally scene then this is the place to explore it more detail. Or, if you want to do what I did, take your son and explain to him how rallying was better when you were younger.