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39 Articles

When you truly know cars, you understand how the gloss and dazzle of a new car or fresh restoration can deceive – it’s not until you zoom in for a closer look at the fit and finish that you can begin to assess underlying quality. From the neat stitching and taut fit of seat leather to the gorgeously consistent ripples in a run of weld, evidence of true craftsmanship is as delightful as it is reassuring. Full disclosure, I’m a bit of a weld pervert, unable to resist running an index finger along perfectly pooled steel or aluminium. Thank you for listening, I feel better for unloading that. These clues suggest care and time-served skill have gone into a job, pieces of a jigsaw that once complete forms a picture…

‘Ambience like a Bentley, at a fraction of the price’

Andrew Lobb has never driven a Jaguar MkX or 420G himself, but he does have a strong personal connection to the big Sixties saloon. ‘My grandfather had one back in the day which I vividly remember riding in,’ he reveals. ‘It’s funny the details you recall from long ago. I can still remember the blue tinge to the glow of the instrument lighting at night.’ Today we’ve lined up a fine 420G so that, after all this time, Andrew can finally get to experience what they are like from the driver’s seat. Andrew’s dream car list is nothing if not eclectic. The machinery ranges from exotic GTs to sports cars to executive saloons. Cars from the Sixties like the Jaguar and the Rover P5B jostle for space with the Gilbern…

$‘Ambience like a Bentley, at a fraction of the price’$

Condition trumps service history

BMW E30 3 Series appear to be holding their value. In February, Mathewsons drew strong money for a brace of low milers. The first, a 1986 316 automatic, in Cashmere with just 14,300 miles, made £10k. Fresh, mint, bone stock and unmolested, still wearing its supplying dealer window sticker and plates, it was pronounced by Mathewsons’ promo video as ‘Too good to use’ and ‘This will not disappoint’. The auto may not be the most desirable transmission, especially with the smallest engine, but I remember the auto four-cylinders as cosy, sweet-spinning and smooth. I liked the fact it was still on steel wheels with plastic hubcaps, had an almost virgin toolkit, and still carried its original factory music. Perhaps its unsporting spec helped it dodge owners who favour adding big…

Condition trumps service history

Range Rover A-suffix values are losing their shine

It was only a few years ago that restored A-suffix Range Rovers were being offered for up to £100k by the trade. Some perfectly restored cars were making up to £70k at auction and there were specialists who did nothing but restore very early Seventies examples. But in February Brightwells sold a Masai Red 1972 three door – with £46,000-worth of bills – for £33,600 including premium. This was its second appearance at Brightwells after a no sale in October 2023. A fine car with a £4500 engine rebuild and £2500 retrim, it was kept in factory spec, including the sought-after optional overdrive. With matching numbers, a huge file of ownership history and bills, it seemed well bought. Glossy, level and inviting, it needed detailing to make perfect. Given that…

Range Rover A-suffix values are losing their shine

Boxster bargains are out there, for now

MORE QUENTIN WILLSON P39 Early Boxsters are now firmly in neo-classic territory and looking great value. In Brightwells’ February online auction, a 1999 2.5 manual was bid up to only £3550. But this wasn’t the usual tired and ratty example, it had a warranted 71,000 miles, seven service stamps in the book – the last at 69k – bills for new timing chain and Variocam sensors, 18 old MoTs and, get this – Porsche service stamps showing eight brake fluid changes. Who does that many? With an almost unmarked body and fresh interior it stood out as an unmolested, original, and fanatically maintained example. Well-preserved warranted mileage cars like this should carry a premium, but this was way behind retail money. Sub-80,000 mile 2.5s are usually advertised at around six…

Boxster bargains are out there, for now

Right time for a 300SL? I am planning to buy a Sixties Mercedes-Benz 300SL, the Roadster not the Gullwing. I like a car that I can drive regularly, and apparently the Gullwing is not very practical. I’ve been looking for a year, but do you think that the timing is right? I follow your recommendations regularly and greatly value your opinion in this. I currently have two options, one in Sweden and one in Germany, I am planning to go and look at them soon. Wish me luck. Dan Quashani How exciting! Given what you said in your email about budget, you might just be in luck because there have been a few auction sales for Roadsters at around £1m to £1.2m in the UK, Europe and US. Try for…

Starter’s orders

There was a fat catalogue for Historics’ first sale of 2024. Even after a disappointing number of late withdrawals there were 178 classics on offer. To continue the racecourse theme, we’d call the going good to soft because so many cars were offered without reserve and there were more than a few bargains. One lot that bucked that trend – by a good few lengths – was the pictured Maserati 3200GT. It’s a car many enthusiasts want to love but have heard too many cautionary tales about, keeping values low. Equipped with a manual ’box, this was a very good example out of 13 years’ fastidious ownership with 65,815 miles. Certainly worth the top end of its £8-12k estimate. That it eventually sold for £16,800 surprised everyone – like a…

Starter’s orders

Aston’s Vantage hero now far below peak values

For me, the 1977-1989 V8 Vantage is one of the great British coupés. Aston Martin took its majestic but mildly disappointing V8 and turned it into a honed beast, its fastest production car at 168mph and always breathtaking to drive. Even during the Eighties, when it remained resolutely old school Bond in a world of Miami Vice, it still gave a Testarossa a good run for its money. It’s not just my opinion either. In the market Vantages have long fetched prices two and a half times those of plain V8s. That differential continues, but today at values way off where they used to be. In fact, recent research showed the Vantage to be one of the market’s biggest fallers, with values down 24% on where they were seven years…

Aston’s Vantage hero now far below peak values

Lotus Esprit Turbo – a good buy despite rises

That same research that revealed the Aston Vantage’s fall in value told a very different tale about another Eighties British star. Over the same seven-year period, values of Lotus Esprit Turbos have risen by around 50%. We’re talking about the original sharp-edged models here, though the later Peter Stevens redesign models have performed strongly too. An early one will still cost you at least 15% more though. The best examples now sometimes exceed £37,500. To be fair, these rises did come from a pretty low base. When I wrote about them in 2017 the news was that they were hitting new highs of over £20k at auction. My conclusion then was, ‘I’ll stick my neck out and say the Esprit’s day has come. Buy now because they’ll be worth even…

Lotus Esprit Turbo – a good buy despite rises

A vibrant legacy

1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT Veloce For sale at RM Sotheby’s, Monaco, 11 May, rmsothebys.com Why buy it? It was restored by specialists in Italy under three years ago to the tune of €27,000. That work was commissioned by the son of the car’s original owner – it’s been in the same family from new. Now it’s somebody else’s turn to own this desirable step-front Alfa, one of just 21,542 built with the 108bhp version of Alfa’s 1570cc twin-cam. Looks good at low end of estimate. Estimate £42,800-£51,400 1973 Fiat 124 Abarth Spider For sale at Bonhams, Monaco, 10 May, bonhamscars.com Why buy it? Top condition, provenance and a touch of stardom. These rare cars are desirable enough – but this one was owned by world rally champion Miki…

A vibrant legacy

DVLA front frame assembly clarification

The Historic and Classic Vehicle Alliance (HCVA) has announced that negotiations with the DVLA have resulted in a re-assessment of what may be considered a modification that would trigger the issuing of a Q plate. Talking about a Jaguar E-type, DVLA Head of Strategy and Policy Lynette Rose said, ‘Replacement of the front frame assembly, including the “picture frame”, will no longer be considered to be a modification requiring the allocation of a DVLA VIN and Q registration number. The HCVA stated that its goal is to work with the DVLA and other stakeholders to agree a published definition of what work can be performed during restoration without jeopardising a vehicle’s historic status, and other common changes, such as for the Lotus Elan chassis, will be hopefully clarified soon. HCVA…

DVLA front frame assembly clarification

MULLIN FLEET SELL-OFF Other than some selected cars destined for the Petersen and Mullin UK collections, the remainder of the Mullin Collection is to be auctioned by Gooding &Co on 26 April at Oxnard, California. Peter Mullin, philanthropist, collector of exceptional art deco cars and 2011 Pebble Beach Best in Show winner, died in 2023 aged 82. Lots in this auction include a 1939 Bugatti Type 57C Aravis 'Special Cabriolet', a 1935 Hispano-Suiza J12 Cabriolet, and a 1930 Bugatti Type 46 Semi-Profilée. All are offered at no reserve. HOPE LEAVES H&H After 31 years at the helm of H&H Classics, Simon Hope has left to pursue other passions. The news was announced on 14 March, the day after the H&H spring auction at Duxford. He said, ‘I’m immensely proud of…

Generation Godzilla

Classic and collectable cars with an above-average number of younger owners tend to be from either Germany or Japan and were built since 1982, according to newly released data from Hagerty. The company identified nine cars: four Nissan models (R32, R33 and R34 Skyline and the present GT-R), two BMW M3 generations (E36 and E92), the Toyota Supra and Porsche 944. These Japanese and German modern classics are at the heart of a thriving network of enthusiasts, and are the cars that Gen X and Millennials grew up watching in films, computer games and on TV, as Caffeine & Machine founder Phil McGovern explained. ‘From the poster on your wall to the model you had on the side table, cars of the early to mid-Eighties are now the achievement of…

Generation Godzilla

Stars of Stage and Screen at NEC

A Hollywood film-star car, rally heroes and vehicles with all manner of fascinating stories to tell all descended on Birmingham’s NEC for the Practical Classics Classic Car &Restoration Show. A packed autojumble and lively stage shows seemed to partly make up for the cancelled Race Retro a month earlier too. Lotus 20 ‘Eagle’ ‘It’s the first time it’s ever been shown,’ said head of RH Insurance Emma Airey of the Lotus single-seater on its stand. ‘A collector, Phillip Lane, bought it from a friend’s barn a few years ago – it’s one of just three surviving cars used in Grand Prix, driven by James Garner.’ The car began life in 1961 as a Formula Junior car owned by the Jim Russell Racing School based at Snetterton. However, when John Frankenheimer…

Stars of Stage and Screen at NEC

Striking gold at Gaydon

Drawing upon the cars-and-coffee format, but on a much grander scale that filled the vast car park, Rustival broke new car-show ground. Tired of club cliques and show-car snobbery, classic-car YouTubers Ian Seabrook, Carly Spencer, Steph Holloway and Matt Richardson sought to create a non-judgemental place where all enthusiasts and cars could meet and share a love of all things automotive. Maseratis parked alongside Montegos, luxobarges met base models, and mint examples sat by rusty projects. Plymouth Fury Aero On show for the first time, this wildly-finned Plymouth sedan may well be unique in the UK. ‘I drive it a lot but don’t usually take it to shows,’ said owner Tom Turner. ‘I’ll happily do 1000 miles in a weekend in it though. It was found by a guy I…

Striking gold at Gaydon

Marcello Gandini, 1938-2024

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Gandini – son of an orchestra conductor – came to car styling from an education in fine art, rather than formal Polytechnic training in vehicle design. Having realised he had a talent for drawing cars, reworking friends’ damaged cars and devising one-off racing bodyshells, he approached Nuccio Bertone for work in 1963, only to be turned down by the then styling chief Giorgetto Giugiaro. Gandini tried again in 1965 and was accepted by Bertone, Giugiaro having left for Ghia. Gandini worked on a part-time basis before being appointed design chief on November 1. Two days later, Nuccio Bertone met Ferruccio Lamborghini to discuss the mid-engined Miura. The Miura’s stylistic parentage was often disputed and Gandini, although credited for it, often declined to discuss it. However,…

Marcello Gandini, 1938-2024

April-May event highlights

April 18-20 Salon Privé London, Royal Hospital Chelsea salonprivelondon.com 19-21 La Jolla Concours d’Elegance, San Diego, California, USA lajollaconcours.com 20-21 HSCC Snetterton, Norfolk snetterton.co.uk 20-21 Equipe GTS, Cadwell Park, Louth, Lincolnshire cadwellpark.co.uk 21 Simply Italian, National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, Hampshire beaulieu.co.uk 21-27 Tour Auto, Paris to Biarritz, France peterauto.fr 25-May 4 London Lisboa Rally, London to Lisbon, Portugal heroevents.eu 25-28 Retro Classics Stuttgart, Messepiazza Stuttgart, Germany retro-classics.de 25-28 Spa Summer Classic, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium spasummerclassic.com 27 CSCC Classic Sports Car Series, Oulton Park, Cheshire oultonpark.co.uk 27-28 Mega Mix Weekend, Cadwell Park, Louth, Lincs cadwellpark.co.uk May 4 Shedfest, Mallory Park, Leicestershire malloryparkcircuit.com 4-5 Donington Historic Festival, Donington Park, Leicestershire doningtonhistoric.com 4-6 Nostalgia Nationals, Santa Pod Raceway, Northats santapod.co.uk 11 Prescott Italia, Prescott Hillclimb, Gloucestershire prescotthillclimb.co.uk 12 Classics at Prescott, Prescott…

April-May event highlights

The South African superhoard

These photos come from one of several hanger-like barns on a few different farms in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. All were owned by one Louis Coetzer, known as Oom Louis (which translates approximately as ‘Uncle Louis’) to family and friends, a farmer and some-time Toyota dealer and petrol station owner. He was featured The Collector, Classic Cars August 2016 issue. Apparently a very private and religious man, the extent of his collection was known to very few people. He and his wife sadly died following a road accident in 2020 and since then, Joff van Reenen of South African auction house Creative Rides has been helping the family work through Oom Louis’s possessions. ‘We’ve already held sales for some of the collection that the family knew more about,…

The South African superhoard

The Offord mystery

LET TER OF THE MONTH A casual enquiry from me to Kelvin Price at our monthly pub meet, asking whether he had seen Nigel Boothman’s article on the Offor-dbodied Alvis Speed 25 (An Offord You Can’t Refuse, April 2024) sent (Alvis) hares scattering in all directions. Two RREC members had taken the Offord and Sons Ltd design archive to the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Trust for safe-keeping when Gordon Offord’s widow moved to a care home. Shortly after my pub conversation, images of two Offord pencil drawings were unearthed from the archive. Sadly, neither was of Jim Sprague’s featured Alvis, but they offer interesting speculative ideas. One is of a two/three-seater dhc for a 4.3 Litre Alvis chassis. It is numbered 14106/APN, or possibly RPN. The other is for a 4.3…

The Offord mystery

QUENTIN WILLSON

Quentin Willson had a 10-year stint presenting the BBC’s Top Gear, has bought and sold countless cars and has cemented a reputation as everyone’s favourite motoring pundit. Which car do you most regret parting with? It’s a question I’m often asked. I’m (un)lucky enough to say that there were several – an early 3.8 E-type flat floor, Maserati Ghibli, Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible or a 10,000- mile Seventies Mercedes-Benz 350SL. But surprisingly, my one car steeped in the greatest seller’s remorse is a modern. A Mercedes SLS AMG. You know the one – the contemporary homage to the legendary Fifties Mercedes Gullwing, with its party-trick doors and cackling 6.2-litre AMG V8. Back in 2012, in a moment of wild recklessness, I treated myself to a white 2011 SLS coupé. I’d…

QUENTIN WILLSON

Alex landed his first television job in 1998, working behind the scenes on TopGear. He’s made several classic car TV series since, and currently writes and presents TheCar Yearson ITV4. My collection of British car magazines goes back to the Fifties and Sixties. But recently I’ve started buying the odd magazine from France and Italy. I don’t understand the languages but the cars they cover and the insights they give are so tantalising that it’s worth persevering with a translation app even if does send me cross-eyed after a while. I’ve got two issues of the Italian magazine Quattroruote from 1965 and they’re a treasure trove of information on rare and unusual cars as well as offering a fascinating snapshot of the Italian car market. In the December issue there’s…

Eternal Extremist

The Lamborghini Countach is 50 years old. Half a century. The distance between its arrival and now is the same as that between the Wright Brothers’ first flying machine and the arrival of the swing-wing Grumman Jaguar fighter jet. And yet, after all these intervening years, I’m not sure any road car quite matches a Countach for sheer chill-down-the-spine, did-I-really-just-see-that shock value. Even today, most mid-engined supercars still look like Countach tribute acts to some degree. Build materials may change, performance figures may climb, but these are mere nudges of the dial. A look back through the American motoring press reveals that the muscle cars of the Sixties were the first to be dubbed supercars. Journalists grasped for terms to describe the preceding Miura, plumping for things like ‘dream-car’ (Autocar)…

Eternal Extremist

VALENTINO BALBONI

Laughter subsides long enough for Balboni to ask, ‘Oh, mamma mia. How do you expect me to answer that?’ He is clearly tickled by the question. It seemed pertinent given that few men are so intertwined with the Lamborghini Countach as Valentino Balboni. He was the development jockey, after all. He personally evaluated each car to leave the factory, too. But no, he has no idea how many miles – kilometres – he has travelled aboard the Countach in all its many flavours. ‘You know, I used to drive three cars a day,’ he says. That was all models of Lamborghini, but I would do 180 kilometre in each one and perform three separate tests.’ Pause. ‘I cannot even begin to think of a number.’ Dario Bunuzzi was Ferrari’s horse…

VALENTINO BALBONI

LIFE STORY OF A 1970 VW Beetle

Nov 1970 – Cecil Toseland pays £860 for his Beetle ‘My grandfather used to live with my parents and my dad Cecil, aka Sid, was having problems with starting the first two cars he owned in the winters,’ recalls Phil Toseland. ‘They were a Morris 1100 and a Hillman Minx, but even though they were both garaged and always had UFO-shaped paraffin burners placed underneath their engine blocks, the winters were much worse back then and he was getting really fed up with it. My grandfather always used to tell him about how good German engineering was and he’d heard all this stuff about air-cooled cars not freezing up so he said, “Why don’t you try a German car?”’ Phil shows me a framed, hand-written, and signed letter from His…

LIFE STORY OF A 1970 VW Beetle

‘The Monteverdi does a fine job of being a car, rather than a racing machine with badges’ Life’s no piece of cake, mind you, but the recipe’s my own to fool with,” the Japanese author Haruki Murakami once said. It comes to mind when taking in the bright-red form of the Monteverdi 375L High Speed. After all, if you wanted a big-engined hyper GT in the Sixties and Seventies, you had plenty of choice from Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati, and that’s before you delve into transatlantic concoctions from the likes of Gordon Keeble, Iso and Jensen. Choosing a Monteverdi, then and now, might be seen as an irrational choice given the talents available elsewhere – especially because the 375L was much more expensive than any of them. A…

SWISS TIME’S UPV

I’m in the Swiss Alps driving a Monteverdi High Speed 375L ; it’s a pinch-yourself moment. The morning dawns bright, drying the road after last night’s storm. On either side of the valley the jagged mountain tops are covered in snow, the morning sun is chasing away the last of the clouds. It’s early, but that’s not the reason I have this amazing road and magnificent views to myself. I climb out of the valley, ascending the eastern side of the Furka Pass, the 7.2 litre Chrysler V8 working ever harder to pull the Monteverdi up the steep slope and through the hairpins. My guilty pleasure is accelerating a high-powered car up a steep incline and here I get to do it repeatedly; throttle hard along the short, inclined straight…

SWISS TIME’S UPV

‘I told him he had such anice name, he must call the car Monteverdi’

His family and my family were good friends; Peter came to me one day and said, “Paul, I need somebody for sales management.”’ Paul Berger recalls. ‘I said ok, I am young, but I’ll try to do my best.’ At the time Monteverdi held the concession for BMW, Lancia, Rolls-Royce and Ferrari, but a fateful day in 1963 would alter the lives of Peter and Paul forever. ‘Peter had gone to Maranello and Enzo Ferrari had told him someone else in Switzerland was prepared to pay for 70 cars in advance, and asked whether we could do the same,’ Paul explains. ‘Peter said there was no way. Enzo said that if we bought 70 to 100 cars, then we could keep the Ferrari agency for Switzerland; if not Ferrari had…

‘I told him he had such anice name, he must call the car Monteverdi’

‘We ended up having to replace pretty-much everything’

You tend to be told, “I used to have one but I’ve never seen an estate before,” says HC Classics’ Richard Carp as he regards this newly restored Alfa Romeo Alfasud Giardinetta. ‘Alfa built 188,000 of the ’Sud-based Sprint coupés, but just under 6000 Giardinettas. And this one is even rarer than that. While most were built in Naples in Italy, this one was actually made in Sandton, South Africa. ‘We have a client who likes unusual, but understated cars,’ he continues. ‘Believe it or not, this will ultimately sit in a collection alongside a beautifully-restored Austin Allegro estate! But he found this car by complete chance on a UK auction website. It was a very dingy car in appalling condition. It was beige with a black interior, looked superficially…

‘We ended up having to replace pretty-much everything’

Four steps to buying a Volkswagen Golf MkII

Purists may not want to hear it, but Volkswagen’s MkII Golf is a better car than the MkI – as well as a bargain. Simple evolution ensures it, and yet unlike flabbier later Golfs the second-generation car lost nothing of the original’s appeal. It’s better-built, more practical and shares largely the same engine range. Herbert Schäfer’s square-cut styling is clearly in the same idiom as Giorgetto Giugiaro’s MkI inside and out too. They always looked a bit older than they actually were, accelerating their classic appeal nowadays. And yet unlike the MkI, you won’t suffer to own it. It resists rot far more effectively, parts are easier to come by for it than both its predecessor MkI and, paradoxically, successor MkIII. And it’s cheaper too – a lot cheaper. While…

Four steps to buying a Volkswagen Golf MkII

De Tomaso: Rise and fall

By Paolo Tumminelli and Bart Lenaerts, £90, waft.be, ISBN 978 9 464590 01 2 This huge, lavish tome is effectively two books in one, the latter being a car-by-car assessment of the vehicles to bear De Tomaso’s name, written by Lenaerts. However, the main bulk of it is a biography of Alejandro de Tomaso himself. It’s Tumminelli’s work, and unlike so many sycophantic and laboured automotive profiles, this one is beautifully written. Tumminelli blends immense analytical powers with the flourish of a literary novelist; you’re quickly drawn in by his skill for scene-setting and intricate description. The firm’s often-forgotten motor sport innovations, his rivalry with Colin Chapman and friendship with Frank Williams are all here. So too is the involvement of women often sidelined by history, such as racing driver…

De Tomaso: Rise and fall

Shakedown success

1961 Sunbeam Alpine series 2 Owned by Gareth Evans (gareth.evans@bauermedia.co.uk) Time owned Two months Latest/total miles 50/44,234 Latest/total costs £300/£300 Previously Found my road-legal racer The first time I drove the Alpine was on a cold, sunny trackday at Donington Park. Slotting into the bucket seat and clipping into the harness, I gingerly slipped the clutch and pulled out of the pitlane, snicking up the ratios early and taking it easy to awaken the tyres, me, and everything else. A couple of sighting laps later, I pulled back into the pits, grabbed the copper mallet and checked the knock-ons for what must have been the thousandth time. It’s amazing how paranoid these made me, despite the fact they’re meant to self-tighten because of how they’re threaded, and that I’ve raced…

Shakedown success

Gearing up (or not…)

1923 Alvis 12/40 Owned by Nigel Boothman (c/o classic.cars@bauermedia.co.uk) Time owned Five years Latest/total miles 0/unknown Latest/total costs 0/£3950 Previously Triumphant Le Mans trip It took me all autumn and most of the winter to make a decision about how the Alvis’s gearbox would be fixed. What was obvious even to me was the need for a new third gear pair, such was the erosion of each tooth on that gear and the sparkling quantities of swarf in the gearbox oil, even after three oil changes to get me home from Le Mans. First came the challenge of establishing that this gearbox was what it appeared to be – the uncommon Type B that Alvis made for only a short while in 1922-23. It looks very similar to later ones…

Gearing up (or not…)

Rustival? Bust.

2002 Toyota Celica VVTi Owned by Sam Dawson (sam.dawson@bauermedia.co.uk) Time owned Seven months Latest/total miles 150/145,388 Latest/total costs £0/£1349.62 Previously Taunted by an elusive warning light Addressing that warning light would have to wait. Although I know one of the Celica’s O 2 sensors will need replacing, events season was fast upon us. Not least Rustival, a fantastic new show at Gaydon that you can read all about on page 25. One of a new breed of classic show, which fills up a car park with classics of all ages, types and values brought by its visitors. It’s more about sharing than showing off, and turning up in your enthusiast-car is a bit like going to the Goodwood Revival in period costume: you might think you’ll be a bit out…

Rustival? Bust.

1989 BMW 635CSi £44,995

This is a late example of the 635CSi and as such its rarity will drive its price – it’s a very original example in excellent condition. Its history is comprehensive, and it drives like the day it left Munich. There are 24 stamps in the original service book alone with a massive file documenting the main dealer and latterly BMW-specialist attention up to December 2021 and 76,210 miles; only 130 miles ago, after which it was handed over to the vendor for sale. Being a later car in the series, this Highline Motorsport Edition benefits from electronic engine control, and starts instantly to a smooth low idle. The automatic transmission – with switchable modes – engages cleanly into forward and reverse ratios with no lurch or noise, the selector throw…

1989 BMW 635CSi £44,995

Renault Clio RS182 Trophy £24,995

Just 550 of these Clio II RS182 Trophies were built, with 500 coming to the UK; this is number 220 according to its numbered plaque on the driver’s seat base. So while £24,995 might seem a lot for an 18-year-old Clio, this rare RenaultSport variant is something special – low mileage, preserved condition and still potent performance. This car is all-original, and it’s obviously been very well-cared for. The paint is Capsicum Red – the only hue available on 182 Trophies – and it’s still vibrant and even throughout. There are some signs of age and use – a few stonechips on the nose and bonnet, light scratches on the roof and some UV clouding to the plastic at the top of the headlamps. But overall, it looks great; the…

Renault Clio RS182 Trophy £24,995

1984 Ferrari 400iA £49,999

These Seventies and Eighties four-seater Ferraris are being restored, and prices are rising to reflect this newfound desirability. This 1984 400i Automatic is one such example. Originally bought from Maranello Concessionaires by Lord and Lady Harris, it was fully restored from 2011-2013, with Grimaldi handling the mechanicals and reconnolising the leather, and Curves restoring the bodywork. It was commended at a concours at Hatfield House in 2018, then recommissioned by Modena Engineering in 2021 ‘after a long period of no use’, according to Modena-letterheaded paperwork. It still feels fresh from restoration. All opening panels hinge with a well-oiled, silent stiffness, and the bonnet’s gas struts are so healthy that the vast steel panel springs forward with an eagerness bordering on violence – a good sign given how worn-out springs and…

1984 Ferrari 400iA £49,999

1952 Jaguar XK120 £109,995

This car was once hand-picked to sum up the glamour of travel itself. It was used as a promotional car in an advertising campaign for Air France, according to a letter in its history file. Also, despite outwardly standard appearance, it’s full of subtle period-style upgrades that promise to make it better to drive, not least a C-type-spec cylinder head. Unfortunately nothing is known about its early history beyond its 1952 build date. It was originally a lhd US car though, from where it was brought back in 1989 for Lord Bagot. MoT certificates cover 1995-2010; before then there’s extensive correspondence between Bagot and Jaguar authenticating the chassis details. Since 2010, it’s been subject to a gradual, but ultimately full restoration, courtesy of reassuringly established names, predominantly Garage On The…

1952 Jaguar XK120 £109,995

WHAT’S IT WORTH? Whether you’re buying or selling, our guide illustrates how the market is treating that model. We consult specialists, clubs and dealers, and scour auction results to ensure our guide is as accurate as possible. But an individual car’s value can only be assessed in person. Cars with exceptional mileage, history, unrestored originality or fresh restorations can be worth disproportionately more. On ‘bluechip’ models our price spreads reflect the importance of provenance and history over condition. USING THE GUIDE NEED TO SEE PRICES EVERY MONTH? Our price guide is in every issue of our digital edition. Subscribe on p36…

‘It may end up wearing a 2 Series badge’

BMW is going ahead with a new small car that will slot in below the 3 Series compact,’ began Georg Kacher in his report from Munich for the June 1994 issue of CAR. The new platform, codenamed E1, was radical for BMW, drawing as much upon its motorcycle experience as its four-wheelers. ‘It will have a spaceframe structure made from aluminium,’ Kacher reported, ‘and it will use lightweight body panels made of steel, aluminium, magnesium and composites.’ Controversially for BMW in 1994, it was also going to be front-wheel drive, with transversely-mounted four-cylinder engines. Kacher’s source was an unnamed but high-ranking board member, who was nonetheless very specific about the car’s engineering. ‘There is likely to be a 4WD variant, and a hybrid version with an electric motor driving the…

‘It may end up wearing a 2 Series badge’

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