Supercar Sunday at the Gaydon Museum is now an event firmly embedded in many a motor enthusiast’s calendar, and for good reason, as it can pretty well be guaranteed that not only will a large number of cars be on display, but that there will be something to see to suit all tastes, with vehicles ranging from the true “supercars” of Ferrari, Lamborghini and other such exotica, all the way down to some much loved vehicles that perhaps stretch the interpretation of the event’s title more than a little. In years gone by, the event has had to compete with Fathers’ Day for attention, but in 2010, it was scheduled to take place a whole week later than the day when the male of the species might have an even better excuse than normal to indulge in his passion for things automotive., This year the challenge came from South Africa, with an England v Germany World Cup game of epic significance scheduled to start before proceedings at Gaydon were due to conclude. This did not seem to make any difference either to the number of cars on display, or indeed to the crowds of visitors until early afternoon, when, somewhat predictably, both people and cars started to depart. Of course, the event organisers had connected up a large TV screen, and it was possible to watch the national team’s rather lamentable performance from the event. Anyway, on to the cars.

ABARTH

Having read the qualification criteria on the event website, where not only “supercars” were invited to apply for display space, but also cars that came in categories of “performance” or “rare and interesting”, I decided to enter the Abarth, and was delighted to be accepted. I was even more pleased that when on arrival, I managed to get pretty much pole position in the entire display, with a very central parking spot, and that I could persuade the organiser to leave room for other Abarths from the Abarth forum who had also applied. In the end, only one other such car arrived, and so our two Pasadoble Red Abarth 500s ended up next to each other.

Both cars attracted a lot of attention, and I was really chuffed when someone came up to near the end of the event and told me that mine was the “best” car there. He went on to explain that he had recently been loaned one of the Tributo Ferrari models when his Ferrari 360 was in for a service and he had completely fallen for its charms and the fun of driving it. He is now trying to persuade his wife that she does not need her Discovery and to get one of these instead!There were a few more Abarthisti at the event, but they had to park up in the main car park, and more would have surely attended had there not been other Abarth and Italian car events on elsewhere in the country . Next year, the Abarth Forum will surely put in a bigger presence!AC
The Cobra was definitely a 1960s super car, much copied with replicas, though the chrome car was definitely an original.ARIELThis Atom looked like fun, especially on a day blessed with high temperatures and plenty of sunshine.

ALPINA
Roadster 3.4SASTON MARTINThere is always a strong showing of this most British of marques at this event.

The more modern models are best represented, as these have been built in far greater volume than their predecessors, but nevertheless, there were some classic models, ranging from the DBIII convertible to DB6.V8 Vantage 

This DB7 Volante is one of just 9 cars billed as the Jubilee edition, created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the marque.V8 VantageThe latest V12 Vantage looks very striking, and is quite easily distinguished when out on the road, with its large bonnet vents.AUDIFirst car we saw on arrival was an example of the new R8 Spider. It was the perfect day to be driving one of these. Very desirable!

QuattroR8 coupeS8 – complete with carbon ceramic brakes Late in the day an RS4 had appeared, too.BENTLEYPerhaps the first “supercar”, long before the phrase had been coined, there was this Blower Bentley.

BMWI was more than a little surprised to see that a 118d Convertible had been admitted, as this is not exactly rare, and it is not really a performance car. No such issues with the other 1 series in attendance, though, as the 130i hits both of those criteria, and anyway, it ensure that Piers did not have a long trek to and from the main car park. When he popped open the bonnet, and then revved the engine, there were more than a few surprised people, who perhaps had not realised just what this rather subtle “Q” car really can do!
M3
There were some Z3 and Z4 models, as well, as you might expect.A rather badly decalled V12 850CATERHAMOnly one lone Caterham, from what the photos and the memory bank evidence 

CHRYSLER/DODGEAn absolutely superb showing of roadsters, GTS coupes and a couple of Mark II roadsters. There was even an Oreca racing car replica. Although rather crude in some ways, this car has massive appeal, and the sound of that V10 engine is just wonderful!CORVETTE
1960’s C2 and a late ’90’s/early 2000’s C5 DELOREANAll seven of these cars arrived, mid-morning, in convoy, with the gull wing doors open, making for quite a spectacle.

DERONDA
FERRARITraditionally, this has been an event that sees too few Ferrari, but there were more here than in some previous years. Oldest model was this 246 GT Dino.
There were three Testarossa, one of which had been treated to some different wheels, of rather dubious aesthetic value.From the 1990s were these 348 and F355 cars.There were several of the big V12 engined 500 and 575M cars. These remain one of the best looking Ferraris of recent times, in my opinion.456GTThe 612 Scaglietti can hold its head up high, and the noise it makes is just, well, …… pleasingThere was a 599GTB, and it was on duty with the Sporting Bears. It seemed to be the most popular car of all for trips out. 

There were a small number of the 360 cars, too, including these:FIATA lone example of the ever popular Fiat Coupe was at the event.

FORD
Lots of Mustangs. There were a couple of lovely early ’60’s versions and a wide variety of the much later cars including a GT500′ Super Snake’ and a ‘Bullit’ F150 – not a supercar, but it does have a 5.4 litre V8A solitary Mark I Focus RS
There were examples of both the recent GT and its earlier namesake, though in fact that earlier car was a Safir replica and not the original Ford car.The Cougar Owners club put in a strong showing, just as they did last year. Many of their cars had been somewhat modified, but there were a few that were as originally supplied.HONDAThere were far fewer NS-X cars at the event than last year, but there were still plenty, with examples from throughout the production life of the car, showing how the styling did not change but some of the details did.

JAGUARThis XJ220 was kept busy taking lucky passengers for a ride, under the aegis of the Sporting Bears charity scheme.

There were plenty of XK8 cars on display.JENSENThere were 2 of these cars, a CV8 and an Interceptor. With their large American V8 engines, these cars certainly capture the spirit of the event’s theme pretty well.

KTMPerfect weather for an X-Bow, surely.

LAMBORGHININot as many Lamborghini at the event as in previous years, but even so there were still some nice cars. Although recent Lamborghini are quite a common sighting these days, they still turn heads, with the bold styling and bright paint hues.DiabloMurcielagoGallardoLANCIAA lone Integrale represented this Italian marque.

LOTUSRepresentatives of the current range were on show, including the 2010 model Elise, the Exige Scura and the much praised but still rarely seen Evora.

There were plenty of Elise and Exige cars, from the now rather long production life of this car.This is another example of the limited Exige Scura. Only 35 were sold internationally and it was even in the show! It was in one of the car parks. 

A lone 340R, now 10 years old, was rather distinctive in its lime green paint finish.Lots of Esprits were on show, including a fabulous S1 car.MARCOSA lone example of the marque was this recent model.

 

MASERATIThere were surprisingly few Maserati in attendance this year, with just a couple of recent models to be seen, including this GranTurismoMAZDAThe MX5 Owners Club had a display right at one end of the event, and given the massive modifications that most of the cars had received, this was perhaps the best place to put them!

MITSUBISHI
As usual, there was a big gathering of 3000GT’s, mostly in rather modified formatMORGANThe Abarths ended up parked next to this rather nice Aero 8 car, and another one appeared later in the day.

Even more unusual was an example of the latest Supersport car, which will be limited in production totals just like the AeroMax on which it is based.MG
This is an SV, and is an example of the very rare 5.0 litre V8 version.NISSANAs for the Mazdas, the same can be said for the Nissans, which were in fact co-located with the Mazdas.

There were plenty of Skylines, too, from the R32 to the latest R35 GT-R models
NOBLEThe M12 is still a dramatic looking car, even though the design is now some 15 years old.

PORSCHEThe Porsche Owners Club had a display area to the left of the entrance drive, as in previous years, and had showed confidence in the handbrakes of some of the cars by parking them at some rather improbably angles. There was good variety in the cars on show.

968911SpeedsterTargaGT3928BoxsterRELIANT This Scimitar Sabre is from the early ’90’s and is one of the last of the line of this shape. Only 159 were made and is recognized by the bodykit and body coloured pop-up headlights.RENAULTThere were a couple of Alpine A110, a couple of the later GTA/A610 models and a couple of V6 Clio from this French marque at the event.

Various GTA’s and late A610’s, last built in 1995.A couple of the 255bhp V6 Clios.In the upper car park area we came across a couple of the last generation Megane, including one of the R26R cars.ROLLS-ROYCE
ROYALENot something with which I was familiar, was this pastiche of a 30s tourer.

SUBARUThe P1 model Impreza was perhaps the zenith of the much loved first generation of this model.

And an RB5TOYOTAThere were a couple of MR2 cars at the event, from the second and third model generations.

There were 2 Supras as well. The grey car, a Japanese import, looked very plain indeed, unadorned with a rear spoiler and some very ordinary looking wheels.There were a couple of very suspect looking modified Supras, but there was also one totally unmolested version. It looked like a non-turbo Japanese import version.TRIUMPHOne of the rarest cars at the show was this, a prototype of a Stag Fastback. Three such cars were built in 1969, but the other two have not survived, making this car unique. Such a shame it was not built, as it looks very elegant indeed.

TVR Numerically, there were more TVR than anything else at the event, largely thanks to the TVR Owners Club.

There was but one example of the M Series cars.

There were a few more of the “wedges” on show.Most of the cars were from the last few years or production, with a bewildering array of Chimaera, Griffith, Cerbera, Tuscan, T350 and Sagaris, painted in every colour imaginable.ULTIMAVAUXHALLThe VX220 is the only true sports car that Vauxhall have made since their glory days of the 30/98 back in the 1920s and there were a few of these cars at the event.

VXR8VWWESTFIELD Parked up near the entrance booth were a number of these cars.

 

BIKES
This year, the event was also SuperBike Sunday, and there were just so, so many bikes on show. The organisers were aiming at a world record for the largest number of Yamaha R1’s in one place, though it is not clear if they actually achieved their ambition or not.
AND FINALLY……..And a couple of oddities. 

2010-06-28 22:08:40