Classic & Sports Car UK – September 2019

YOUR CLASSIC READERS’ CHERISHED CARS

September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 201

Thetroubleis,I buya carandthen
I can’tbringmyselftogetridof
it.Why?Well,thecarsI have
collectedovertheyearsmostly
havesomethingincommon:they
havebeenimplicatedina memory
of aneventin mylife,orof anindi-
vidual.Arethereothersoutthere
whosharesimilarsentiments?
I spottedmyfirstMaseratiat
OultonParkin 1967– a brand-new,
Giugiaro-designed Ghibli in
yellow.I was 13 andit lefta big
impressiononme,suchthatI told
myelderbrotherthatoneday
I wouldowna Maserati.Fast-
forwardnearly 40 yearsandI did
indeedbuya Maserati:a 3200GT.
Theoccasionwasmyturning
a half-century.Thecarwasnearly
newandI stillthinkit’stheperfect
colourcombination– BluSebring
withGrigioChiaroleather.And,
beinga manualversion,it demands
concentrationif youwouldprefer
toremainontheTarmac.

TheGThascosta smallfortune

inmaintenance,butit resultsina

smilewheneverI getbehindthe

wheel.Valuesofthismodelmay

shootuponeday,butthat’snotthe

point;myMaseratihassoul,and

thereinliesitstruevalue.

I needto mentionmywifeat this

stage.Havingtoleratedmypassion,

shefinallyachievedretribution

whensheboughta lovelyMercedes

R129SL.Again,it’sa carwhose

valuewillundoubtedlyincreaselike

itspredecessors,butnodoubtlong

afterwe’vedepartedthisworld!

Anothermemberofour‘club’

is a PorscheBoxsterS,whichwas

ownedformanyyearsbymyelder

brother.HeandI usedtoargue

overthe merits ofPorschevs

Maserati,butsadlyhepassedaway

a fewyearsagoandit wasobvious

to methatI shouldtakeit on.I have

toadmitthatthehandlingand

brakingarefarsuperiorto my3200,

butwhenit comestonoiseand

presencetheGTstillwins.The

Porschehasbeencosseted,butas

theyearspassit maybecomephysi-

callyimpossibleformetosqueeze

intoit.Yetthismattersnotbecause

I shallneversellit – howcouldI?

Recently,overa pint,a fellow

enthusiastsuggestedweshouldbuy

somethinga bitdifferent:enterthe

BentleyTurboR.It wassupposed

tobea ‘project’aimedatkeeping

tworetireesoutofmischiefwhile

theyattempteda rebuild,butthis

planhasgonebadlywrongbecause

it is almostlikenew!Thepleasure

nowis inadmiringthecraftsman-

shipof theseCrewe-builtcars.

I’mafraidthatoverChristmas

I retreatedto thegarageto keepthe

Bentleycompany,suitablyreclined

onwhatmustbethemostcomfort-

ableseatingevercreated,sippinga

brandy– a mildlydecadentmemory

thathasalreadyputa markerdown

forpermanentresidency.

Finally,inanothermomentof

madness,a secondMaseratijoined

thefold:a GranTurismoSport,

purchasedtocelebratemyretire-

ment.It’sstilltoonewsocontinues

todepreciate,butmyrewardis to

enjoythiscar’sslightlyunhinged

dualpersonality:a benignDrJekyl

inautomode,it changesintoan

antisocialMrHydeupona press

of theSportbutton.

WhathaveI learntfromowning

thesecars?Onevaluablelessonis

toliveforthedayandenjoythe

moment.Forsome,cars area

meansoftransport;forothers,an

investment,keptidleinthefear

thatextramileswillharmvalues.

Butforme,it’smorecomplicated:

I findit hardto saygoodbyeto a car

thathashelpedcreatea memory–

to sellit onaftera yearortwo,often

toanuncertainfuture,seemstobe

a littledisloyal.Irrational,I know,

butwhatpricea memory?

Thenagain,I maybesuffering

froma strangedisease:onethathas

nonameandis,I fear,incurable!

Send hi-res photos (300dpi) and

600 words to martin.port@

haymarket.com or to the p12

address. For Guy Allen gen

see: http://www.guyallen.co.uk

WIN! A BESPOKE

GUY ALLEN PRINT

OWNEDBYNigelLawford
FROMDerbyshire
FIRST CLASSIC
1975 Lancia Fulvia S3
DREAM CLASSIC
Maserati Ghibli SS
BEST TRIP The Bealach na Ba
(Pass of The Cattle, Scotland)
in a Mercedes SL

MASERATI 3200GT

TRIDENT ANSWERS BOYHOOD PRAYER

Lovely cabin and all-important manual ’box

Fabulous signature ‘boomerang’ tail-lights

Maserati 3200 looks great in Blu Sebring and Lawford reckons it’s a blue-chip investment

Just part of the Lawford

fleet (l-r): Gran Turismo

Sport, 3200GT, Merc SL

and Porsche Boxster S

‘I find it hard to say goodbye

to a car that has helped

create a memory; to sell it

on seems a little disloyal’