I suspect it was the much publicised success of the Goodwood Breakfast meetings which did much to encourage groups of enthusiasts all over the country to copy the formula and to create their own events at venues some of which are better known than others. The one most local to me, held in the historic Queen’s Square in the historic centre of Bristol, whilst not quite on a Goodwood scale, is always well attended and on a sunny day. space runs out by about 9am. It’s a gathering that I have attended many times in the past couple of years, and always enjoyed, even though after a while you do tend to find that there are really quite a lot of cars which are the same each month. With nothing else in the diary for the second Sunday of July, I could easily have gone along to see what, judging by the photos that others have posted, was a large and varied array of cars and other wheeled machines, but instead, I opted to go and sample a Breakfast meeting at a different venue, at legendary Shelsley Walsh, in the Tean Valley just to the west of Worcester, and somewhere I know well from hill-climb meets. I arrived at 8:30am, and was one of the first to get to this scenic venue. A couple of marshalls were doing their best to direct cars to different parts of the Paddock are, to group cars together by theme, and to send the more every day stuff to the adjoining Orchard area, which worked pretty well. A steady arrival of all sorts of cars then ensued, so by about 10am, the place was full, and it was not until around 11am before anyone much headed away. I would estimate that in total there were perhaps a similar number of cars as you would find in Queen’s Square, but of course they were all very different, which made this a very interesting morning. Here are my highlights:
AC
Just one Cobra type model present. This one pulled quite a crowd on arrival and again on departure.
ALFA ROMEO
Just when it was looking as if the cars of Italy would only be represented by supercars and one lone Lancia, this fabulous Giulia 1600 Spider arrived.
ASTON-MARTIN
This V12 Vantage Volante was one of the cars that was already parked up when I arrived. A sizeable crowd gathered when the owner turned up and got in, as everyone wanted to hear that sonorous V12 as he fired it up and headed off away from the venue. A very splendid car indeed!
It was not long before another open topped Aston arrived.
A “regular” V8 Vantage arrived mid morning, meaning it ended up parked up in the middle of the Paddock area.
AUDI
As the pictures evidence, I arrived at this event in my S5 Sportback. As luck (or unluck, depending on your point of view) would have it, the very next car to arrive, and therefore which was parked up alongside me was its close relative, an RS Avant. The proud owner did eventually stop cleaning it!
Later in the morning, an ur-Quattro arrived. Who could have predicted that when this car first appeared back in1980, not only would a new weapon be unleashed on the rallying circuit, but a new word would become a familiar part of everyone’;s vocabulary and 34 years later, Audi would announced that they have made 6 million cars with the iconic “quattro” badging on them (4 of which I have owned!).
AUSTIN HEALEY
This lovely Austin-Healey 100 was really very splendid indeed.
Parked up nearer to the start line of this famous hill climb was a “Frog Eyed” Sprite.
BENTLEY
One of the first cars on site was this magnificent Mulsanne Turbo, the car which really resuscitated interest in the brand, offering a level of performance that was previously unheard of in what was a largely and stately car. This is an early example.
Later on, a far more recent Continental GT arrived.
BMW
I whole group of BMWs arrived all at once. It did not take long to realise that this was a bunch of dealer personnel who clearly thought that they could gatecrash the event to get some free advertising. They would have derived more value from the event if they had actually been pleasant to the person whose car they wanted moved so they could park all together and if they had actually spoken to people who were there. I suspect that it was actually a bunch of them who had blagged cars to some nice new cars and wanted somewhere to take them out for a drive. The cars included an i3, an M4, the hideous and bulbous X4, an M235i, an M135i, and an M6 in Coupe and Gran Coupe guises.
Luckily for the sales guys, there was also a proud owner of a new i3 there, and he was only too prepared to take the time to talk to people, answer their questions and show them facets of his car.
Nicely presented E30 model M3s are much in demand these days. Whilst the bright red one that is as regular at Bristol’s Queens Square is perhaps my favourite colour for the car, this one looked pretty good, too.
BUICK
It was probably just as well that the owner of this Buick Roadmaster Wagon arrived early, as it is a very wide and bulbous car and threading it down the narrow lanes that lead to Shelsley would be challenge enough even before meeting any on-coming traffic.
CHEVROLET
Just about the last vehicle to arrive was this, the El Camino SS. It turned out that the owners had planned to bring something else, but when it would not start, they had to resort to Plan B and bring this Chevy. Judging by the interest it created, I don’t think many people felt unduly short-changed!
FERRARI
There were 12 Ferrari present during the morning, which is probably at least double the number I would have expected, and of these, the 458 was the most common model, also not what I would have guessed. Most of the 458s were Spiders, and once the threat of the dark clouds receded, most owners returned to their cars and opened the roof so everyone could get a closer look at the interiors of these cars.
First Ferrari to arrive was this, a 599 which has undergone a certain amount of modification, both cosmetically and mechanically. I have to say that the carbon fibre additions are not to my taste, but there were plenty of people expressing profound admiration for the car all morning.
Next Ferrari to arrive as a 360 Modena, a car which I still think looks good (and more elegant than the F430 that followed it). A second model, a Challenge Stradale, came later in the morning.
One of the most admired cars of the day was this, a BB512i. Object of desire for all small boys in the late 1970s and early 1980s, this striking car still pulls the crowds. This is one of the last cars produced before its place at the top of Ferrari’s range was taken by the Testarossa.
Technically, this is no a Ferrari at all, as the tax disc says Renault. I found this out when I saw this car at the recent “Caring with Cars” event and got the chance to talk to its owner. A faithful replica of the stunning and very rare Ferrari P4, it has a Renault chassis and a Rover V8 engine. That means that it sounds great as well as looking fabulous.
FORD
The only car with the Blue Oval badge on it in the main display was this, a Focus RS. Shame about the number plate!
HEALEY
Probably the best known of the small numbers of cars made by Donald Healey’s eponymous marque in the late 1940s, the Silverstone was the fastest production car you could buy when new.
HILLMAN
This Estate version of the Hillman Minx, was based on the Commer Cob van. The cars had a hard life when new, so survivors are rare indeed.
HONDA
The S2000 is one of relatively few Japanese cars which has a keen following, an active Owners Club, and a recognition of (forthcoming) classic status.
JAGUAR
Needless to say, this F Type Convertible was a real centre of attention, with crowds around it most of the morning. It was the V8 model, so sounded pretty darn good when it was fired up and departed, too.
A couple of lovely E Type models arrived during the morning,. as well.
JENSEN-HEALEY
The owner of this Jensen-Healey joked that his car was far rarer than a Ferrari, and on the evidence of this event, he was of course right.
LANCIA
For a while it looked as if the only Italian car at the event was going to be this, a very pretty S3 Fulvia Coupe.
Later on, a Delta Integrale arrived as well.
LOTUS
There were a number of different Lotus models here, of which the early Elite has to count as the rarest (and the smallest).
A couple of the Peter Stevens facelifted Esprit models had a prominent position in the middle of the paddock.
More recent models present were a couple of Exige and an Elise.
There was also one of the front wheel drive Elan cars.
MAZDA
There were lots of MX5 cars present, with examples from each of the three different model generations that have been produced in the 25 years of the model.
This RX7 ended up in the overflow car park.
McLAREN
Judging by where it was parked, I would guess that this MP4 12C must have been one of the first cars on site. Certainly it had arrived before I did. The colour is rather dull, but the car itself most certainly is not.
MERCEDES-BENZ
Although I prefer bright red as a colour for this model, there is no doubting the elegance and desirability of the long running iR107 SL Mercedes. This was a 300SL dating from the mid 1980s.
Arriving later in the morning was the W126-based Coupe. the SEC, which replaced the SLC versions of that R107 SL.
MG
There were lots of MGs present, reflecting the enthusiasm for this marque. Most numerous were the MGB generation of cars, with several examples of both the roadster and GT, and a rather nice MGC, the 6 cylinder version was also among the cars on show.
There were a couple of the MGR V8 models that were produced in the mid 1990s as a prelude to the rebirth of the marque.
Not surprisingly, the MGF and TF were also much in evidence with several of these popular sports cars parked up around the site.
Winding the clock back nearly 60 years, there was a couple of rather nice MGA models, with an open topped model and the fixed roof Coupe.
The ranks of the MG were completed by a trio of Midget cars.
MINI
Both types of Mini were there, with several examples of the Issigonis classic on show.
Most of the more recent MINI were asked to park in the adjoining Orchard parking area, but a couple, which came with the Dealer BMWs were permitted to park up in the main Paddock. I can understand why the limited edition JCW GP was accorded that privilege, the Countryman was, I think on dodgier ground!
MITSUBISHI
This was a very nicely presented example of the Evo IV.
MORGAN
With the Malvern Link factory only a few miles away, it is no surprise to find lots of Morgan at Shelsley events, and whilst there were nothing like the number that had been present the previous weekend, there were a few of these classic British sports cars present.
MORRIS
Needless to say, there ever popular Minor was represented, with a couple of examples parked up in the Paddock.
NISSAN
Er, yes…….. you definitely would not miss this one, even on a dark and foggy night. Peel away the body kit and you have a Japanese market Nissan Silvia Coupe. The seats bore 180SX logos, so I suspect that in its original and less adorned spec, it was more show than go. This one had upped the ante in both particulars more than somewhat.
A more familiar Nissan was this Skyline GT-R. In V-Spec, this one looked relatively standard, though closer examination revealed that it too had been modified a bit.
PORSCHE
There were lots of 911 models, ranging from the 1970s G Series cars, through all the subsequent iterations of 964, 993, 996 and 997, with a rare Targa model among them.
Also nice was this 944 model.
This pair of Cayman R cars arrived late on, and took the place where the Bentley and Aston V12 Vantage had been earlier in the morning.
The owner of the Boxster Spyder must have hoped that the rain would stay away, and for once, his prayers were answered. This is definitely a dry weather car, as the so-called roof is pretty useless.
RAILTON
This elegant looking saloon was one of those pre-war cars where I had to look at the badge to find out exactly what it is.
An open tourer model arrived later in the morning as well.
RELIANT
This Sabre is one of the last of the line, a brave effort at producing a small sports car in the mid 1980s which fell foul of the fact that Toyota had the same idea and were able to enjoy massive economies of scale in the design and production of their rival, the MR2.
SUBARU
There were a couple of first generation Impreza models here, including the special P1 car that is now highly collectible.
SUZUKI
This brand new Swift Sport was clearly the pride and joy of its young owner who spent quite a while cleaning it once he was parked up, but who could then be seen wandering around the other display cars taking in what everyone else had brought. Visually little different from the regular Swift models, the Sport is widely credited with being one of the very best cars in its class.
TEMPEST
I will confess that when I saw these three vehicles arrive, I was not at all sure what they were. They turned out to be Tempests. That did not make me much the wiser. A bit of research has revealed that they are built locally in Malvern by company owner Joe Watson, and that the original cars bearing the badge date from the late 1980s when they were produced in Tamworth by the Reliant company, based on the old Reliant Kitten and Fox chassis. Tempests were originally designed as trials cars but evolved into road cars using an 850cc engine and are able to be driven on a motorcycle licence. The company is now creating various new examples using original chassis and donor vehicles and they certainly created plenty of interest during the morning,
TOYOTA
The MR2 is definitely what the Germans would call a “youngtimer” classic, with their ranks reduced by rust and over-enthusiastic owners who crashed a lot of them. This was a nice second model generation car in the main part of the event, and a first generation model was to be found in the overflow car park.
TRIUMPH
There were not that many Triumphs present, which was a bit surprising, given the number of the Abingdon rivals that were there. First of the examples from this brand was a rather nice Spitfire.
There were a couple of the small cars offered throughout the 1960s, the Herald and Vitesse. The former was present in Estate guise, and the example on show was clearly either a work in progress, or simply not a concours entrant, and a close inspection of the Vitesse Convertible revealed that whilst it did not sport gaffer tape over the rusty edges of the wings as the Herald did, it also could benefit from some more TLC.
There was also one example of the elegant Stag.
TVR
There were lots of TVR models present, with examples of almost all the different models offered from the late 1970s until the sad end of production in 2006. Oldest car attending was this Taimar, a hatchback version of the long running M Series was constituted TVR’s offering for the 1970s.
The Tamora was one of the cars in the range when production ceased. Not exactly the prettiest car that the Blackpool firm produced, it is much rarer these days than most of the other models.
You would not call the Sagaris beautiful, either. This dramatic looking car, in bright yellow paint, has lines and scoops all over the place, many of which are functional and aimed at making this wild beast driveable on public roads.
The Sagaris was based on the T350 cars, and there was a fixed roof version of one of these, the T350C.
The S was an important car for TVR, increasing sales volumes over what had been achieved by the “Wedge” models in the early to mid 1980s, setting the stage ready for the Chimaera and Griffith. There were a couple of these here.
The popular. and very pretty Griffith was also present, as was the slightly cheaper Chimaera model.
Also on site was the 4 seater (well, 4-ish) the Cerbera. This one looked really good in its iridescent silver paint.
There was a Tuscan, as well.
VAUXHALL
First Vauxhall to arrive was this Monaro, a rebadged Holden that offered a spectacular combination of performance with value for money when it was launched in the UK early this century.
The VX220 sports car that was offered at the same time never seemed to capture the public’s imagination, and sales remained small during the short life of the car.
VOLVO
This is an early example of Volvo’s well known sports coupe from the 1960s, the P1800.
WESTFIELD
In case the slightly altered looks were not sufficient to set you on notice that this is not a Caterham, a badge on the nose cone reminds us that Westfield also build a range of small light and very fast sports cars. The Seight was so named as it features a V8 engine crammed under the bonnet.
I really enjoyed this event. A nice relaxed atmosphere in the stunning setting that is Shelsley, on a morning when only a few spots of rain were felt, with the vast array of cars depicted more than vindicated my decision to attend this one instead of the Bristol Queens Square Breakfast Club. How many of these cars are regulars at Shelsley is something that I can only find out by attending this event a few more times, and that is certainly something I intend to do, to find out.
