Classic & Sports Car - December 2015 UK

T60pairfrontedBerkeley Enthusiasts’Clubdisplay,contrastingwithYa nksalongside

PeterHubbard’s Jensen-bodiedAJSNine

‘Fiat 126’ burnsrubberon thedrag strip

16 Classic&SportsCarDecember 2015

Racersand raritiesat aerodrome

Thisyear’s PistonsandProps

fixture,heldat SywellAerodrome

on 26-27September, provedto

be a richlyvariedgathering,

withentertainmentfor all tastes

and a fine selectionof vehicles.

With its periodbuildings,the

Northamptonshireairfieldallows

enoughspacefor morethanjust a

staticshow,and visitorscouldenjoy

the spectacleof drag races,karting,

anddemonstrationsof single-

seaters,motorcycles and GroupB

rally cars on the mile-longrunway.

Thedragracingin particular

attractedgoodcrowds,withthe

vehiclesrangingfromclassic‘rails’

to manicFiat 126sand DonScott’s

PlymouthSuperbird.

Plane-lovershad all theycould

wishfor, withSeafireand twin-

seaterderivativesof the Spitfireup

in the air for generousspells,plus

equallylongdemonstrationsof a

Hurricaneand a DC-3Dakota.

Car clubswerewell represented,

includingsomethat are less often

seen,suchas the AJS NineCar

Cluband the BerkeleyEnthusiasts’

Club.Theformer’s standcreated

muchinterestwith the sole Jensen-

bodiedNine,whichis being

recreatedby PeterHubbardpurely

fromphotographs– and usingash

cut downfromhis garden.

Raritiesto be encounteredelse-

whereamongthe showfields

includedtwo examplesof the ill-

fatedMarcosMantis,a superb

BMW328 and one of the estimated

16 survivingSlough-builtCitroën

TractionAvant roadsters.

NEWS&EVENTS

INVADINGTHEWHITEISLE

TheTrobadaBalearattracted

66 classiccars to Ibiza on

10-11October. Enthusiasts

travelled from Menorca,Mallorca

and Barcelonato join the tour.

Entrants includeda1922Donnet-

Zedel,and therewas astrong

turnoutof Britishmarques.

ANOTHERREGALBACKDROP

The Concoursof Elegancewill

returntoWindsorCastlefrom

2-4 September2016.The site

continuesthe meeting’s run of

royal venues,havingbeen held at

St James’Palace,HamptonCourt

and the Palaceof Holyroodhouse:

http://www.concoursofelegance.co.uk

RACINGONSILVERSCREEN

C&SCcontributorAlain de

Cadenetplaysaleadingrole in

anew film documentingtheTarga

Florio.ASicilianDreamalso

featureshistorianFrancescoda

Mosto,and tells the storyof the

famousroad-race. It will be out

on DVDfrom 9 November.

HAMPSHIRECALLING

Romsey’s busy AnnualBoxing Day

Meettakes placefrom 9am-1pm

in the Aldi, CrosfieldHall and Bus

Stationcar parks.It’s open to all

pre-1976Europeanclassicsand

pre-’86Americans:www.romsey-

classiccarandbikemeet.co.uk

PrizedMercat

Londonfixture

The ClassicCar BootSale moved

to a new venue at Kings Cross for

its fifthrunningon 3-4 October.

ThepopularLondoneventonce

againmixedtraderssellingvintage

memorabiliawith live music.

C&SCcontributorJulianBalme

joined fashionguru Wayne

Hemingwayto presentour award

for BestCar to OwenThompson

and his 1965Mercedes220SE.

Thompson– who passedhis driv-

ing test in a Wolseley 1500 – has

ownedthe W111for threeyears

havingshippedit acrossfrom

Ireland.He restoredit himself,

apartfromthe roof,dash,seatsand

carpets– whichweredoneby his

partner– and finishedit onlytwo

weeksbeforethe event.

The Germantown of Aachenwas overrun by an array of Stuttgart’sfinest

on 27 Septemberfor the sixth annualClassicDay celebration,whichthis

year was dedicatedto the 40th anniversaryof the 911 turbo.

Nearlyevery variantof turbochargedPorschewas representedat the

well-supportedevent, from early 930s throughto amonstrous962C,

plus aselectionof 934 and 935 racers.

An immaculate964 turboSwith just 1700kmon the clockmadearare

outingfrom Porsche’smuseumin Stuttgart–as did René Metge’s

Paris-Dakarrally-winning959.The crowd’s favourite,meanwhile,proved

to be the ex-JackyIckx 936 in whichthe Belgianwonthe 1977Le Mans

24 HoursalongsideJürgenBarthand HurleyHaywood.

Despiteastrongmotorsportoffering,one of the event’smain draws

camefrom the clubs’parkingarea, whichonce againturnedup anumber

of gems.Acompletelyunrestored356 1500wearing its originalred

paintwork and fittinglyregisteredonValentine’sDay in 1955was chief

amongthem.It was joinedby anarrow-bodied911, whichwas delivered

newto the USAin 1966.In contrast to the earliercar,it had been the

subjectof aconcours-standardrestoration.

Porsche iconson show

JackyIckx’s 1977 Le Mans-winning 936 Early 911 hadbeenbeautifullyrebuilt

JON PRESSNELL