ABARTH
Unsurprisingly, there was a big showing of Abarths at the event. For starters, there were 20 Abarthisti cars, with a variety of models from Grande Puntos and 500s through the 500C and Punto Evos, and an example of the latest Punto SuperSport which John Hutichinson had brought up from Vospers in Plymouth as well as Dave Quinn’s newly acquired works van which he has adorned with Abarth badges. When a similarly modified Doblo van arrived late in the day, he disappeared for a lengthy conversation with its driver! .
Brooklands is “home” to AC, and with the iconic Cobra celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, it was no surprise to find a line of cars on show here. A wide variety of Cobra models, including many of the recent types were joined by the rare and rather attractive Frua-designed 428 Convertible and the very latest 378 Zagato.
This Montreal was parked up in the central display area in front of the main building along with the DTM replica 155 that had starred at Ace Cafe a couple of days prior.
DB6
This ur-Quattro made all the right and oh so characteristic noises
.
Seven.
A pair of ex Formula 1 Benetton racing cars from the early 1990s. One of them is Nelson Piquet’s car and was raced – among other times – in the 500th Grand Prix. It took to the track for demonstration laps, but clearly was particularly hard to drive, as the tyres were not warm and it could not go fast enough to improve the situation.
1930s 4.5 litre model.
A couple of Bugatti, though one of them was actually a modern recreation.
Corvette
A relatively late model Pantera with the wider body to accommodate the much larger wheels that were fitted during the produciton life of this model.
One of the more unusual cars of the day was this Elva Courier, a slightly idiosyncratic British marque that made cars in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
This 250GTO was one of the star attractions of the day. Needless to say, it is not actually one of the genuine models, but a faithful recreation using as many genuine Ferrari parts as possible. It looked and sounded epic regardless of its provenance.
Among the wide variety of Fiats were some really rare models, and none more so than this 128 1100CL Saloon. There are very few surviving 128s, and this one was absolutely pristine.
Fords on show included a couple of Mark 1 Cortinas and a couple of Mark 2s. Proving the theory that the survival rate of Mark 1 Lotus Cortinas is well over 100%, there was a 4 door Mark 1 car in Lotus garb, which cannot be an original model.
Sole Lamborghini present was a Gallardo Spider,in Performante guise which Phil Ward, event organiser, was able to take this one up the Test Hill. He did – jokingly – offer it to me in exchange for taking my car up the hill. Perhaps I should have tossed him my key and done the swap!
A whole line of Lancia up the approach road to the banking meant that this marque constituted probably nearly 40 % of the Italian Car Display, and there were plenty of interesting and rare machines, ranging from a 1930s Aprillia and Augusta though a 1950s Aurelia GT, all the way to (undepicted as it arrived late in the day) a Chrysler Delta.
A random few Lotus included Esprit, first model Elite, Europa and Plus 2.
A trio of Maserati comprised the Khamsin, a Quattrioporte and a BiTurbo Spider.
This splendid pair of SLs were parked up by the main building. Both made sorties up the Test Hill, with the only driver I spotted who was wearing a tie. I am guessing that the cars either belonged to Mercedes themselves or a prestige dealer. The black one was the less powerful 190SL and the silver one clearly the real deal, a 300SL and particularly lovely.
Very different MGs ranging from a J2 of the 1930s to a TD from the 1950s and the more recent MGB.
Four classic Minis, not one of them quite as they left the factory.
This Airflyte dates from around 1950 and was quite a bold shape for the day. You can see where Standard got the inspiration for their Vanguard from.
A number of 911s of different generations of the model were assembled at the bottom of the approach to the banking. I seem only to have photographed a subset of the cars there.
A slightly modified version of the rather unusually styled 1980s Scimitar SS1.
A rather nice RM series saloon.
These 1000 Rallyes were probably the equivalent of the “hot hatch” of their day, with surprising performance from some very humble beginnings. Relatively few were sold and very few remain.
This 105 series car is one of the famous racing cars that performed so well at le Mans and elsewhere in the early 1930s.
A small number of Triumphs included a couple of the 2000 model, one of which was the rare estate car, as well as a few Stags.
A large group of TVRs gathered on the banking, and they made for a colourful sight once they were all gathered there. The rumble of the engines as they arrived and departed (and sadly they did all depart far earlier than I was expecting as I found out when I went back to get some more pics hoping that the sun/shadow problem would have moved, only to find most of the cars had gone) was really very agreeable indeed.
This VXR8 had come thundering past me on the M25, and I guessed that Brooklands was perhaps it destination for the day.
As well as meeting up with a number of Abarthisti friends, I also bumped into a colleague who lives locally and who had popped down to see what was on show. He had recently upgraded his membership to “Club Member” which meant that he is entitled to access the Members’ Bar, up on the first floor of the main building, and to take in a guest. We duly popped in for a welcome lunchtime pint of Hogs Back brewery’s finest – noting that one of the Abarthisti is actually a delivery driver for that brewery and that he had probably brought our beers on site. The corridor leading to the bar is lined with original posters for events at Brooklands in the 1930s and there are some interesting paintings on the wall.
2012-10-17 19:25:59
