The whole Classics World team was at the Classic Motor Show this year. Here are our personal favourites from a weekend full of great cars
1984 Ford Orion Ghia
Jeff Ruggles – Editor, Classic Car Buyer
With the Classic Motor Show having reached its 40th anniversary, it felt appropriate to highlight a car also celebrate the same milestone – both in terms of the model, and the individual example in this case. Carl Evanson’s 1984 Ford Orion Ghia is a rare Mk1 example from the first year of production, and is thought to be one of only a handful remaining with automatic transmission.
Carl has been an Orion fan for a few decades, having owned several in the 1980s and ’90s. When he spotted this one with a registration number matching his wife’s initials – and age – he couldn’t resist. With two previous owners, the car was in good condition, but it has received some attention to the bootlid and one of the rear doors, as well as a full respray and a through service. It remains faithful to the original spec, right down to the factory radio.
1984 Austin Montego Vanden Plas
Phil Weeden – MD, Kelsey Media Motoring & Lifestyle
I’ve always been a fan of Austin Rover era cars. Even at the time it felt like the last throes of the dice for the British car industry. When the Metro debuted in 1980, it definitely injected some confidence into the rebirth of Austin Rover, and the Maestro and Montego that followed were worthy competitors to the likes of the Ford Escort, Orion, Vauxhall Astra/Belmont.
It’s 40 years since the Montego was introduced and I think the distinctive lines still look good to this day. This 1987 Vanden Plas example on the Lancaster Insurance stand in hall 1, owned by Will Holloway, is a fabulous example, complete with this ‘VP’ wheels and leather lined interior. It’s been steadily restored over the past couple of years, with new paint, rebuilt engine, brakes and suspension.
1989 Subaru Legacy RS
James Howe – Digital Content Editor, Classics World
I’m a big fan of Subaru and its exploits in rallying, so this rare Legacy RS was a real treat. Undoubtedly one of the finest surviving examples with just 22,500 miles on the clock, this Legacy was one of a number made to homologate the Japanese firm’s rally car first campaigned in the WRC in 1990, and later to British Rally Championship victory with Colin McRae at the wheel.
Resplendent in white, this example benefitted from some choice gold tarmac-rally-spec alloy wheels and ‘PWL’ numberplate in honour of J314 PWL, the Rothmans-liveried 1992 Legacy RS used by McRae and co-driver Derek Ringer in their 1992 championship win. That rally car was sold by Iconic in August 2023 for £414,500; by contrast, the road car was secured by its lucky new owner for £20,250 including premium.
1956 Jaguar MkVII hotrod
Joe Miller – Deputy Editor, Classic Car Buyer
Although many will dismiss a modified classic, this stunning Jaguar on the National Street Rod Association stand stood out to me. For a start, this custom car was turned from a four- into a two-door example with bespoke rear bodywork. It then had five inches of roof height chopped out and its nose and tail were chopped and shortened by 15 inches overall. It then gained the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 and seven-speed gearbox from a Jaguar XFR that was tuned to 570bhp, before the vast majority of the XFR’s interior was grated inside, but done so neatly and elegantly that it honestly looks as though the modern leather seats and satnav screen are meant to be there.
This extensive level of customisation won’t be to everyone’s taste, but the hundreds of hours of graft, the standard of work and quality of the finished product are simply incredible – it probably turned more heads than any E-type or XJ at the show.
1971 Datsun 240Z
Lucas Cochrane – Videographer, Classics World
This 1971 Datsun 240Z led with the bold claim that it’s the lowest mileage, original, right-hand drive UK supplied example left in the country! The odometer reads just north of 24,000 miles and the car comes for sale with a veritable mound of documentation to back that figure up with everything from MOTs to old tax discs. Apparently, the car has only ever had two owners, the first of which kept it from new right up until he sold it, aged 80, in 2020 to its current keeper who has since given it a full repaint in its original red and a touch of rust repair to the arch lips.
That aside, the car is completely original, sitting at factory ride height on some gorgeous stainless steel wolf race wheels. In any guise, these early Z cars are in my opinion some of the most beautiful vehicles ever to have graced a public road. But at the £62,950 asking price for this example, it really ought to be…
1992 Freight Rover 200
Paul Wager – Group Editor, Classics World
I suddenly realise with a mixture of horror and delight that I’ve been visiting this show in its various guises for the best part of two decades, so it takes a standout classic car to grab the attention these days. Which is the perfect excuse for picking not a car but a van as my favourite. Back in my early publishing career I covered thousands of miles in the Freight Rover 200, thanks largely to being one of the few in the office happy to drive a van to events and shows. I remember we used to take great delight in winding up the hire company by requesting a “Sherpa” and always enjoyed spotting the BL componentry inside.
Of course the Transit and the Transporter drove far better but there was something honest about the Sherpa (I’m sticking with that name) and they were unbelievably rugged, never letting us down no matter how much we overloaded them. This example was fully restored a few years ago, which was when it gained the Birmingham Post & Mail livery as a tribute to the owner’s father who used to drive for the paper back in the day. It’s a lovely job, too, the quality of the bodywork on a par with many of the high-end cars on display.
Comments are closed